News FeedAuthor Archive
Giving Prisoners Access to E-Mail Could Result in Safer Communities
Roberto Gabino asked some questions with regard to an article I wrote about providing e-mail access to people in prison. He wanted to know whether I thought such a program would provide criminals with more opportunity to direct criminal activity from inside prison. He also wanted to know whether I thought administrators ought to exclude […]
Prison Reforms Save Money
Ana Plascencia responded to an article I wrote about the need for work-release and study-release programs for those in prison. She recognized that due to the difficult economy, such prison reforms were unlikely to find funding. Ana asked my thoughts on how we could incorporate such prison reforms when our society had other priorities. As I […]
Enthusiastic Endorsement for Prison Legal News
As a long-term prisoner, I want to express my admiration for what Paul Wright and Alex Friedman have accomplished. They are former prisoners who have made a huge difference in society through their publication known as Prison Legal News. Through that newspaper, they publish content that can be of great value to prisoners, family members […]
Love Makes Prison Easy
Yolanda Perez read my report from the Fourth Quarter of 2008. From that article, she rightfully realized how fortunate I am to have such a loving, magnificent wife. I thank God and count my blessings for Carole every day. Yolanda had a few questions for me about my thoughts on release. She wanted to know […]
Is My 45-Year Sentence Reasonable?
Maria Iniguez reviewed an article I wrote about PSI reports and posted two questions. She asked whether I thought the 45-year sentence my judge imposed was reasonable for the types of crimes I committed. She also wanted to know whether the PSI could have left out information that might have influenced a lighter sentence. When […]
Prison Guards Interfere with Corrections
Brenda asked me two questions with regard to my article entitled They’re Prison Guards, Not Correctional Officers. Brenda wanted to know whether I thought guards were trained to harass prisoners or whether the culture conditioned them to abuse their authority. She also asked whether I came across any prison guards who were not abusive. When […]
Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance
Date Read: March 1, 2009 Book Title: Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance Book Author: Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker Book Publisher: Tyndale House/2009 Nonfiction/260 pages Uncommon was the fifth book I finished reading in 2009. Reasons I read Uncommon: I have been a fan of Tony Dungy’s leadership style ever since I saw profiles […]
Incentives Lead to More Effective Prisons
Noel responded to an article I wrote about the need for work-release and study-release programs in prison with questions about specific prison reforms I thought would work best to prepare more prisoners for law-abiding, successful lives upon release. The 21-plus years that I have served inside prisons of every security level convince me that we […]
Economic Crisis Opens Possibilities for Prison Reform
I’ve been following newspaper reports that describe a crisis in the California penal system. Prison population levels have soared beyond the system’s capacity to handle effectively. Without sufficient space, administrators have crammed three prisoners or more into cells designated for one. Thousands more serve their time locked inside gymnasiums and rooms designed for recreation. Such […]
Locking More People of Power in Prison Will Promote Prison Reform! Bring in the Governor!
News reports show that federal law enforcement officers have arrested the sitting governor of Illinois. Governor Blagojevich may soon follow his predecessor, Illinois’ former governor Ryan into federal prison. I’ve been locked inside various federal prisons since 1987, and it always pleases me when formerly influential members of society join our community of felons. Besides […]
Compare Sentences for White Collar Crime With Nonviolent Drug Offenders
Disparity in sentencing laws has been a topic in the news for years. Such discussions usually revolve around arguments comparing sentences for those who sold crack cocaine with sentences for those who sold powder cocaine. I’m all for expanding the argument and comparisons. As a long-term prisoner who has been locked in federal prison since […]
Prison Camps Waste Taxpayer Resources
Prison reforms should include the elimination, or significant restructuring, of minimum-security camps. I have been a federal prisoner since 1987, and since then I’ve served time in high-security penitentiaries as well as Federal Correctional Institutions. In 2003, administrators transferred me to serve the final decade of my sentence inside the open boundaries of various minimum-security […]
Media Attention May Promote Prison Reform
Television networks have begun broadcasting shows that bring the ugliest aspects of the prison culture into American living rooms. Shows like Lockdown, Maximum-Security, and Inside America’s Prisons perpetuate the stereotypical images of the prison yard. Those shows focus on the failure, the gangs, the tattoos, and the violence. I am convinced that lobbyists who represent […]
Thoughts on Pardoning Prisoners and Executive Clemency
My wife, Carole, received questions from Maya Schenwar, a reporter at Truthout.org who was writing about the pardoning process. Ms. Schenwar asked Carole about experiences we have had with our efforts to seek a Presidential commutation of sentence. The reporter and her readers were interested in changes to the executive clemency process under President Obama’s […]
Prison Culture Doesn’t Want Prisoners Writing About Prison
Nick wrote a comment in response to my article entitled They’re Prison Guards, Not Correctional Officers. He inquired as to my thoughts on why the prison system would discourage prisoners from writing about the culture of corrections. My perspective, of course, was shaped from having been locked inside prisons for the past 21-plus years. During […]
