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Letter in Support of Commutation of Sentence of Michael Santos
If the prison system’s entire purpose is to (a) punish for crime and (b) retrain individuals for entry into society, I believe the system has more than accomplished its goal with Mr. Santos. Not only has he bettered himself as an individual through education and self reflection, he designs training and mentors others in the system (and outside the system, like me). He is truly giving back to society from outside of society.
Lessons on Ethics from Prison – Conference Paper
Lessons on Ethics from Prison
* Just because you are raised with good values doesn’t mean you cannot get caught up in an ethical scandal.
* Written codes of ethics are nothing if they are not followed.
* Ethics starts at the top.
* Ethical expectations must be communicated throughout the organization.
* Everyone should be held accountable, not just execs.
* It is possible to have both an aggressive and ethical culture, but there’s a fine line that should not be crossed.
* Personal ethics were violated once a situation arose that affected individuals financially.
Seventy-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
I’ve been thinking a lot about the role I want to lead in society upon my release. As a prisoner confined in Taft Camp, I’ve come into contact with many people who lacked the privileges that I took for granted while growing up. Although I never would have thought of their struggles before, since sharing [...]
Seventy-seven Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
Many years ago, when I was a sophomore at USC, I played in an important baseball game. We were the top-ranked team in the nation and I was scheduled to start at third base. The game was against the Korean national team and it was being held at Dodger stadium. My family was there to [...]
Seventy-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
This afternoon I will lead a class seminar for thirty other prisoners at Taft Camp. The class is called the Entrepreneurial Compass, and it is usually led by my friend Michael Santos, who writes for PrisonNewsBlog. We both have been amazed at the number of business professionals who have been targeted for prosecution by the [...]
Eighty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
TheSecond Chance Act of 2007was signed into law about one year ago. One of the provisions of that legislation was that it expanded the authority of prison administrators to release offenders to community confinement centers a lot earlier than was previously authorized. As a consequence of that legislation, I will report to the halfway house [...]
Eighty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
As a prisoner, I feel humbled in ways that I never expected. Sometimes, those feelings are more profound than at others. It is surprisingly easy to adjust to the daily living patterns inside the Taft minimum-security camp, and the ten months I’ve served have passed well. Yet sometimes I feel shaken with the reality that [...]
Eighty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
Today I woke with a wonderful feeling, as if I’ve really made a contribution to society. These good feelings come from an opportunity I had yesterday to contribute to courses on corporate ethics that Professor Kelly Pope was leading at DePaul University in Chicago.
I had come into contact with Kelly through my friend Walt Pavlo, [...]
Eighty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
My release date continues to approach at a rapid pace. I like it. Other prisoners I’ve met have expressed deep anxieties about returning to society. They all wanted freedom, of course, but they left trouble behind when they began serving their sentences. During the months, years, or decades that they spent inside prison boundaries, they [...]
Ninety Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp
Yesterday afternoon my counselor called me into her office. The counselors in Taft Prison Camp have the responsibility of assigning job details, approving visiting and telephone lists, and overseeing the sanitation levels of the housing units. When called, I wondered which issue she wanted to speak with me about.
As I walked to her office, I [...]
Ninety One Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp
As I was running the track at Taft Camp this morning, I thought about the real value I derived from these past ten months I’ve served. I never would have thought that my time as a prisoner would evolve into something I would value. Surprisingly, that is the frame of mind I’m in now, as [...]
Ninety Two Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp
I had an awkward encounter in the bathroom of my housing unit at Taft Camp. It was early on a weekend morning, a time when many of the other prisoners were still asleep. I was washing my face when Mark walked in. Mark was another prisoner with whom I had been friendly in the past. [...]
Ninety Three Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp
Through my readings I learned something about the history of America’s prison system. The entire concept of imprisonment began with a religious sect, the Quakers of Pennsylvania. Prior to my own incarceration, when I thought of Quakers, the only image that came to mind was the round tube of oats with the picture of the [...]
Ninety Four Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp
As I sat to write this morning’s blog, I realized that today was Valentine’s Day. This was the holiday for people in love, yet I was alone, as I had been for the past ten months. Living in prison meant living within a community of men, separated from the fairer gender. I missed women, and [...]
Ninety-five Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp
I read an article in a news magazine that intrigued me. It described a young gang member from Los Angeles who was struggling to reform. The gang member was covered in tattoos and he was participating in a program to remove the tattoos through surgery. That was a step he needed to take, the gang [...]
