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Andrew’s Potential Problem: Lies and Deception May Bring New Criminal Charges
About a month ago, I spoke with Andrew (not his real name), another prisoner at Taft Camp, who told me a story that caused me to feel some concern for him. Andrew was once a finance executive, but he found himself in trouble with the law when prosecutors accused him of using his finance company [...]
How Seven Habits Change Lives
Today I enjoyed a magnificent visit with my wife, Carole. She came with a message that Dean, a representative of the group who promotes Stephen Covey’s work, contacted us through PrisonNewsBlog. Dean asked some questions about how the magnificent book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People influenced my adjustment through 22 years of imprisonment. [...]
New Prisoners Should Prepare Family Before Self-Surrendering
John was a fellow prisoner at Taft Camp who was going through a difficult adjustment. The trouble was not so much the 14-month sentence he served, but rather the pressure he felt as a consequence of his not being able to meet the financial needs of his family. John said that he could have made [...]
New Prisoners Ought to Understand Security Level Classifications
Prisoners who are new to the system should understand how their behavior can influence their security-level classification. Such an understanding can help them adjust in manners that will allow them to serve their sentences in the least-restrictive environments possible. Unfortunately, many prisoners make decisions in the camp that result in their moving to higher-security prisons. [...]
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 [...]
New Prisoners Must Prepare for Release
I’ve written many articles with hopes of helping new prisoners understand effective adjustment strategies. One simple article I recommend is Master Discipline, Expect Nothing. As a prisoner begins to adjust, he must simultaneously be thinking about how he wants to emerge from confinement. Preparations for release must begin the day an individual walks inside prison [...]
Watch For Prison Visiting Rules
Visiting in any federal prison requires discipline. That lesson sometimes eludes newer prisoners.
The rules in every prison where I’ve been confined for the past 21-plus years specifically stated that prisoners were allowed to hug and kiss their visitors briefly at the beginning of each visit and again at the end of each visit. Most lower-security [...]
Beware of Roman Frabrizi in Prison
I’ve met scores of con artists during the more than 21 years I’ve served in prison. New prisoners should avoid interacting with them.
I say con artist, I’m not talking about the men who led Ponzi schemes or who were convicted of the various fraud statutes. Those types of white collar offenders filled federal prison camps [...]
Matt Reports To Marion Prison Camp
Matt is a prisoner who was scheduled to self-surrender to Marion prison camp in February. He discovered my writings through an internet search and wanted to know how I was able to publish while I served my own prison term. Matt also requested information on prison life and what he should bring with him when [...]
Motivating Prisoners to Make Positive Changes
In the fall of 2008, Forbes.com invited me to contribute an article on the concept of Power in Prison. As a long-term prisoner, I considered the opportunity a privilege. Intrigued with life inside the society of felons, readers issued a top ranking to the article.
My wife, Carole, periodically checks the article and prints comments that [...]
Can Tina’s Fiance Serve his Ten-Year Sentence in a Camp?
I recently received a question from Tina. Her fiance was just sentenced to serve a ten-year prison term. Tina wanted to know whether it was possible for her fiance to serve that sentence in a prison camp. The short answer is yes, it’s possible.
In my article Security Level Classifications, I described the criteria that administrators [...]
Should Prisoners Request Specific Prison Camp Placements?
Eric wrote me asking whether it was beneficial to request the court to recommend a specific prison where the defendant could serve his sentence. He wanted to know whether the Bureau of Prisons would honor such requests. If the BOP did honor judicial recommendations, Eric wanted to know whether any Federal Prison Camps were worth [...]
What is life like at FPC Fort Dix?
A reader recently wrote to ask me a question about what life is like at the Federal Prison Camp at Fort Dix. He wanted to know what an individual should expect on the first day of placement in a prison camp, and what the typical routine was like.
For more than seven years, I was confined inside [...]
Prison Culture: Are You a Convict or an Inmate?
In the prison system, a difference exists between a convict and an inmate. Each word has its own connotation in prison culture. The words describe the manner in which a prisoner adjusts within the system of confinement. In minimum-security camps the terms don’t carry much weight. Yet in higher-security prisons, where the stricter boundaries prevail [...]
Who Protects the Female Prison Guards?
In the prison system, every staff member is considered a prison guard first. It doesn’t matter whether the individual works as a secretary, a receptionist, a nurse, or any other position. If the individual works for the prison system, that individual has an obligation to work toward preserving the security of the institution.
When I began [...]
