Our Sixth Anniversary in Prison

On June 24, 2009, Carole and I celebrated the sixth anniversary since we married under bright lights of the Fort Dix prison visiting room. The devotion and love she has given so consistently over all these years has been the greatest blessing of my life, and I thank God every day for the treasure of […]

An Open Letter to President Obama from a Prison Wife

April 16, 2009 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500  Re: Michael G. Santos, #16377-004 Dear President Obama: I write this letter in support of the Petition for Commutation of Sentence submitted by my husband, Michael G. Santos, federal registration number 16377-004. President Obama, you will find no better […]

Preparing for Happiness Through Adversity

The headline that crossed the news this morning revealed unemployment rates for March at 8.5 percent. That’s a number I watch closely, as it suggests the struggles I expect to face after I complete a quarter century in prison. If the unemployment rate is at 8.5 percent for all Americans, for those coming out of […]

Utilize the Family Structure to Prepare Offenders for Re-entry

More than two years have passed since I’ve heard my mother’s voice. I have not spoken with my younger sister, Christina, in the same length of time. During those two years I’ve seen my older sister, Julie, three times. I hardly know my nieces and nephew, as prison rules prohibit me from playing a significant […]

If I Weren’t a Prisoner

The Washington Post published a story about Ricky Bryant, a federal prisoner who has been locked in prison for 30 years. As I read through the story, I thought about what Mr. Bryant’s life may have been like had he not committed a crime that necessitated so many decades in prison. That wasn’t a subject […]

Maintaining A Thriving Marriage From Prison

Since I am a long-term prisoner, many people wonder how it is that I enjoy such a magnificent marriage with my wife, Carole. I understand those curiosities. Divorce rates in America for couples who don’t struggle through the obstacles of confinement do not bode well for the concept of marriage. Carole and I are enjoying […]

A Long-term Prisoner’s Reaction to Bush’s Clemency Orders

As I sat watching the CNN broadcast on Monday evening, November 24, 2008, I read a streaming announcement on the bottom of the screen. President Bush had commuted the sentences of two federal prisoners and granted pardons to fourteen other people. Although that news should have filled me with optimism, I was filled with a […]

Does Prolonged Prison Exposure Leave a Negative Influence?

People who meet me for the first time have a hard time believing that I have been in prison since 1987. When I tell them that I served more than 16 years in higher security prisons before administrators transferred me to minimum-security camp, they think that I’m exaggerating. Yet it is true. Almost all of […]

Love affair grows in a prison marriage based on love and commitment

Readers sometimes write me with questions about my marriage and my wife. They want to know how we keep our love alive and whether we anticipate challenges when we begin living together. Through books I’ve written, and articles available on www.criminal-indictment.com, I’ve described my relationship with Carole, whom I’ve known since grade school. I am serving […]

President Obama election and newly elected Congress give real hope for prison reform

Two days have passed since millions of Americans elected Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. For the sixth time, I watched election poll results from inside a federal prison. I sat in one of the television viewing rooms at Taft Prison Camp, cheering when the networks called Pennsylvania for Obama. Then […]

A New Earth, Chapter 2 Workbook Questions

As part of Oprah’s online class, my wife and I are working through Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, together by reading and answering the weekly workbook questions. Following are my answers to the questions posed in the Chapter Two workbook: Pay attention to any repetitive thought patterns, particularly negative ones about yourself, your life, or […]

A Message of Gratitude to my Wife

More than three months have passed since administrators transferred me from the camp at Lompoc to the camp at Taft. As I’ve written in various other articles, this move has been a good one for me. The living conditions are better than anywhere I’ve been since my confinement began, back in 1987. The one difficulty […]