Prison Reforms Should Reward Those Who Reach Goals

Editors from Time magazine met with President-elect Obama in early December. Among numerous other questions, the editors asked Mr. Obama how voters in the 2010 mid-term elections would know whether his administration was succeeding. I really liked his answer. He set benchmarks, or clearly-defined goals, and the President-elect invited voters to hold him accountable. When […]

Response to Reader of Inside: Life Behind Bars in America

Chip is a reader of my book Inside: Life Behind Bars in America and he wrote me a supportive message. He asked me to provide an update on the characters I wrote about in the book. The truth is, I am now confined in the federal prison camp at Taft, California. The colorful characters I […]

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 […]

Prisoners Can Earn University Degrees

Christine sent me a question asking whether prisoners could earn university degrees while they served sentences inside federal prison. The answer is yes. I provide details about education in my article Opportunities for Higher Learning and College Degrees. During the course of my imprisonment, I found the pursuit of higher education to be extremely fulfilling. […]

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 […]

Prison Reforms Are Good For America

The recent comment from a reader identified as ssteacherme in response to my Forbes.com article expresses the cynicism I’ve come to expect from those who adamantly support America’s prison system. In the end, the writer asserted that “Those who spin their prison punishment into success empires cloak themselves in hero’s clothing made from the fabric […]

Prison Reforms Should Bring Transparency to the Prison System

In a recent Newsweek magazine, an author published an article that offered President-elect Obama some advice. The author suggested that our new President should look much deeper for information on American life. Presidents error, the author said, when they rely primarily on policy wonks and insiders. Instead of relying on the experts alone, the author […]

Successful Adjustment to Prison Does Not Happen by Accident

Writing about prison adjustments is an important part of my adjustment. I have been serving time in prison for longer than 21 consecutive years, and thriving through confinement is one subject that I know a lot about. I began my term inside a high-security penitentiary, and I remained locked inside those walls for longer than […]

Prison Reforms Should Include Parole

When I began serving my sentence, in 1987, a parole system was in place. Tough-on-crime legislators abolished the use of parole in the federal system, and such decisions contributed to a surge in the federal prison population. Whereas fewer than 40,000 people were locked in federal prisons when I began my term, today we have […]

Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 5: Prison Reforms Ought To Enable Financial Stability

Prison rules that prohibit inmates from earning an income do not serve society’s interests. More than 650,000 people return to American communities from places of confinement each year. Those who have served lengthy periods of time leave confinement without the resources necessary to function. They lack clothing, shelter, and money. For many, finding employment may […]

Madoff May Bring Attention to Need for Prison Reform

I hope the case of Bernard Madoff brings some real attention to the absurdity of America’s sentencing scheme. Newspapers are reporting that he may face up to 20 years in prison. I know that sounds like a lot of time in confinement. Truthfully, as a man who has just finished his 22nd holiday season in […]

Prison Reforms Should Introduce the Concept of Parity

Bernard Madoff, the con artist who led the largest Ponzi scheme in history, is said to have misappropriated more than $50 billion of investor funds. I’ve been reading about the people who suffered as a consequence of his massive fraud. One news report described people in their sixties and seventies who would have to return […]

Prisoners Can Be A Resource For Society

As a long-term prisoner, I am also looking for opportunities to contribute to society. One of the strategies I enjoy is writing, but when possible, I also enjoy speaking. I participate in a group at Taft Camp that goes by the unusual acronym TOAD. The name stands for Those Outspoken Against Drugs. Its purpose is […]

Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 4: Prison Reforms Should Include Partnering Prisoners with Community Leaders and Mentors

Blinky and I were confined in the same housing unit when I began serving my term. He had been incarcerated for ten years and he had a set pattern for serving time that I found typical of the penitentiary. Every morning he left for work in the prison factory, where Blinky presided over an operation […]

Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 3: Prison Reforms Should Encourage Prisoners to Build Supportive Success Networks

Prison administrators like to hang signs and posters promoting success platitudes. Reach For The Stars! Be Persistent! Never Give Up! The motivational signs might fool those in groups that tour institutions into believing that administrators make authentic efforts to prepare offenders for successful re-entry into society. Those locked in prisons, on the other hand, recognize […]