Federal Prisoners Serve More Than 85% of Their Time

I recently received a question from a reader who asked whether it was really true that federal inmates had to serve 85 percent of their sentences. The sad truth is that inmates who are sentenced to federal prison today must serve more than 85 percent of their time. Many prisoners mistakenly believe that they will […]

Maintaining Loving Relationships While in Prison

I recently received a question from a reader who wrote that her childhood sweetheart was serving a life sentence and he suddenly broke off their relationship. She worried that her sweetheart may be breaking off the relationship as a consequence of something going on inside the prison. As a long-term prisoner, I value my relationship […]

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 […]

Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 2: Prison Reforms Ought to Offer Incentives to Transform Prisoners into Students and Teachers

Our prison system churns out repeat failures at an alarming rate. As a prisoner who has been locked in various prisons since 1987, I’ve learned a great deal from the thousands with whom I’ve served time. Personal experiences, observations, and lessons I’ve learned from others convince me that I know the prison reforms necessary to […]

Top Ten Prison Reform Goals, Article 1: Prison Reforms Should Influence Positive Attitudes

To succeed, prison reforms must begin by changing prisoner attitudes. After more than 21 years of thriving through prisons of every security level, I am well aware of the attitude necessary for a successful prison adjustment. I also know the changes administrators must make to reverse the costly and troubling trend of high recidivism rates. […]

Redemption in Prison has Meaning Under Obama Administration

We must pass through a few more weeks before a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will swear President Obama into office. Yet reports I have read in various newspapers indicate he is moving quickly to fill the void of wisdom in leadership for our country. As a long-term prisoner, I am particularly interested in […]

Consider Prisoner Voices in Deliberations on Prison Reform

President-elect Obama spoke about reforms he intended to bring to America’s health care system. He said that in working to improve the system, as President he would bring all parties to the round table for discussion. Mr. Obama wants input from doctors, nurses, patients, administrators, and others who can suggest steps the Congress and our […]

Ordinary Americans Face Harsh Justice, While Powerful Enjoy Christmas at Home

In 1987, I was 23-years-old. That was the year I was arrested. I did not have more than a high school education then, and I had made some bad decisions. To earn an income, I wrongfully joined a group of friends and acquaintances to sell cocaine. We distributed cocaine to consenting adults only, and we […]

Expanding The Broken Glass Theory for Prison Reform

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference , the author wrote about The Broken Glass Theory. I had read about the study before, as many law-and-order types extolled its merits. The Broken Glass Theory held that when society allowed the most trivial offenses to go unpunished, more […]

Dan is Getting Out of Prison

After 14 years of imprisonment, Dan is going home. Dan has been incarcerated since the summer of 1994. At the time of his arrest he was a 25-year-old without much more of a formal education than the GED he earned in night school. He had been working in an Arizona gas station when friends who […]

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 […]

Does the Corrections System Care About Inmates?

I can relate to the feelings of tax payers who want vengeance from those who have broken society’s laws. Prisoners have been convicted of crimes, and many of you want them to pay. Yet prisoners eventually pay that debt and return to society. Although punishment should represent one component of society’s response to crime, an enlightened […]

Prisons Fail to Prepare Prisoners for Society

A noted historian named David Rothman wrote in his book, Asylums that prisons were total institutions. Those of us who live in prisons must function within the rules and policies that prison administrators set. Prisoners do not necessarily abide by all of the rules and policies, though they must function within them. For example, prison […]

Serving a Prison Sentence Without a Gang

Prison environments frighten those who have never been exposed to confinement before. Television shows and popular myths influence perceptions. New prisoners have heard stories about  prison gangs, prison rape and brutal guards. In reality, the worst part of prison is the unknown. When I began serving my sentence in 1987, I didn’t know anything about […]

How Prisoners Focus on Goals in the Midst of Negativity

Prisons are volatile environments. The infrastructure is one that extinguishes hope. Many of the men who serve time choose to abandon thoughts of the outside world because they cannot project themselves decades into the future when release dates loom. Some respond with violence, or with bullying others. Despite my having served more than 21 years […]