Prison Journal

Why Prisons Will Always Be Full

Prison Journal: Day 8,227  It’s 3:30 on Wednesday morning as I write this entry. I’m in the room where I begin every day, watching as Dave walks on the concrete pathway that leads to the Control Center of Taft Camp. Dave is being released from prison, and in a few hours the guards will finish […]

Michael’s Daily Prison Journal

Michael’s daily prison journal now appears on MichaelSantos.net.

My 7,861st Day In Prison

Monday, 16 February 2009 I left my cubicle at 3:05 this morning. The extraordinary visit I enjoyed with my wife yesterday took a lot of energy out of me, so I slept in a little longer than usual. The payment for those extra 30 minutes of sleep would mean that I had to sacrifice my […]

College Professor and Students Visit Me at Taft Camp

After more than 20 years of continuous confinement, every opportunity to interact with or contribute to society comes as an incredibly welcome treat. Yesterday, I had such a privilege, and I will savor the memory for many years to come. These experiences remind me that I will not live as a prisoner forever and that my return […]

Weekly Writing Activities

Now that I have finished the fall classes I was taking at Taft Community College, I am left with more time to work on my independent projects. That does not mean I will have free time, as the projects on which I’m working have no end. Specifically, I am revising the content on MichaelSantos.net, and […]

Mondays at Taft Camp

Mondays bring a busy schedule for me here at Taft Camp. I participate in two groups; one consumes my mornings, and another takes up my afternoons. Each Monday morning, at 8:30, I join between 25 and 35 other men for our chapter meetings of the Taft Camp Toastmasters Club. I have participated in Toastmasters for […]

Avoiding the Prisoner Profile

Every man in federal prison is assigned to a particular job. At Taft Camp, where I was transferred in June of 2007, I was assigned to work in the food service department. As far as prison jobs are concerned, I consider my job at Taft one of the best work assignments that I’ve had during […]