I meet many prisoners, however, whose wives did not sign up for a prison term, as Carole did. For them, the challenges are more difficult. Open communication and constant nurturing have worked for Carole and me. I am confident that the efforts we have made and continue to make to tie and link our lives together is what keeps our marriage strong.

Last year I read a career-building book by Marshall Goldsmith. Mr. Goldsmith is a well-known executive coach who wrote What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. In that book, the author suggested that the steps an executive must take to advance his career during the formative years differed from the steps he would have to take to reach the highest levels of leadership. In courses I’ve taught in prison, I frequently referenced Mr. Goldsmith’s work. I feel convinced that the lessons don’t only apply to career building, but to staining a marriage or relationship through the adversity of confinement as well.

Carole and I have thrived through seven years of my confinement together because we continuously work on understanding each other and fulfilling the needs of each other. During the beginning of our relationship, we both understood that we had to create stability. We worked together as a team to generate the resources necessary for Carole to earn credentials that would ensure her stability. We chose nursing. With that focus, we expected that we could always be close enough to nurture our marriage through visits, regardless of where administrators confined me. Carole is my family, my every breath.

Weekly visits would not be enough to carry us through the many years we had to serve. Through regular correspondence, meaning daily letters, we made plans together, measured progress together, shared dreams together, worked through problems together. I anticipated Carole’s needs and worked to help resolve them before she had to ask; I felt her commitment to do the same for me. These were the continuous investments each of us to do the same for me. These were the continuous investments each of us made to keep the passion, romance, and commitment alive in our marriage, despite our having to wait years to enjoy more physical intimacy than kisses under the bright lights of a prison visiting room.

What brought us through the first seven years of our magnificent relationship, however, differs from what we build now. We’re in the final stretch, and although we both continue to grow closer by anticipating the needs of the other, we’re also focusing more intently on preparing for the challenges that await my release. We’re focusing on building our savings. We’re focusing on preparing for my career rather than Carole’s career. We’re working harder than ever before.

The greatest blessing God has given me has been Carole’s love. I feel grateful for every second I have with her. My commitment to her and to our marriage is what drives and inspires my adjustment. It is the reason I exercise, the reason I devote so many hours to writing, and the reason behind the books I read. I feel a duty, an obligation to prove worthy of the love and commitment she gives to me. That can never stop. I will always strive to give her more. These are the strategies that allow our marriage to thrive through imprisonment.

The post Nurturing My Marriage Through Prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.

David and Tuvia gave me a gift when they told me that their family members and friends frequently turn to my daily blog postings as a source of information for life at Taft Prison Camp.  As a long-term prisoner, my constant challenge is to lead a life of meaning, of relevance, and it pleases me to no end when I hear that my writing on the prison experience eases the anxieties for family members of my fellow prisoners.  Both David and Tuvia have adjusted well.  Although they look forward to returning to their families and community in Los Angeles soon, they’re making the most of the brief sentences they serve here in Taft.

I see both men each morning, as we exercise at the same time, soon after the sun rises.  While I’m running laps or strength training with pushups, they’re committed to a brisk walk, frequently conversing with other prisoners from the Israeli community.  The time at Taft Camp gives them a break from the busy pace of the active life they lead outside.

David and Tuvia have been business partners and friends for more than two decades.  Their business is an American success story, one that employs more than 100 people and makes significant contributions to society.  Although their separation from family and community challenges them, they both serve brief sentences and will return home before year’s end.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to have met them.

 Family members of David and Tuvia want them home, of course, but I have a different perspective.  Since I work tirelessly to write about the prison experience and to promote the need for reform, I consider it a privilege to share time with successful businessmen and community leaders.  Had David and Tuvia not joined me at Taft Camp, I don’t expect that either would have given much thought to the troubling state of America’s prison system.

When David and I spoke, he told me that experiencing the system first-hand upset him, as he considered it a great untold story of America, one that is telling in its lack of compassion.  Although he served a six-month sentence that inconvenienced his family, since he has been at Taft David has met many men who have been separated from society for 10 years and longer.  To him, such sentences do not make sense for a responsible society.   They render an individual incapable of returning to their communities as contributing citizens, and they punish the family in unconscionable ways. 

David is a big believer in the importance of making contributions that strengthen society, and he plays an active role investing his time and resources to improve communities in both California and Israel.  It is because of his personal commitment to community investment that David feels so saddened by the human waste laid out by America’s prison system.

In the United States, David contributes to his community by expanding educational opportunities to groom leadership.  To improve society, he recognizes the importance of educating young people, and as a successful businessman, he has reached a stage in his life where he derives a quiet, internal satisfaction in helping other people reach their highest potential.  It is because of his experience in community investment that David so clearly sees the value that could come from reforming America’s prison system.  David told me of an effort he led in Israel to resolve a similar problem. 

While vacationing with his wife in Jerusalem, David felt troubled by the growing numbers of at-risk adolescents he saw wandering the streets.  Some were homeless; many were abusing drugs, leading shiftless, directionless lives.  Wanting to change such conditions, David coordinated a meeting with contacts he had in the military.  They military did not have a program in place to help change the lives of young people.  David couldn’t stand the thought of so many wasted lives, and so agreed to fund a pilot program that would take 30 boys off the streets of Jerusalem and, through military training, set them on a path to responsibility.  Today, the program has been instrumental in helping more than 3,000 people mature into fully functioning and contributing citizens.  America’s prison system could use that same type of community investment. 

David acknowledged that people from business and leadership communities were unaware of the growing problems with America’s prison system.  Until he experienced it himself, he wouldn’t have believed that non-violent people served such lengthy terms.  Such a system could only lead to ruin and the waste of human lives.  Most people he has met who have been incarcerated for long periods walk differently; talk differently and behave in ways that will lessen the chances of their finding meaningful employment upon release. When people leave prison with less of a chance to function in society than when they began serving their sentences, the need for reform becomes compelling.

Both David and Tuvia will return to their communities soon.  They will bring a new perspective with them, as they have now seen and experienced the inside of America’s prison system.  A positive lesson, David said, was that his time in Taft Camp will help him appreciate some of the basic gifts of life.  He will never take for granted the value of a quiet meal at home with his wife, or the many other blessings he and his family enjoy.  To remind him of his time in Taft, David said that he would hang his dusty sneakers in his office, and when he looked at them he said he would remember the very different challenges he had to overcome in prison.

It has been a privilege for me to meet and learn from both David and Tuvia.  I am hopeful our meeting will begin a long friendship, as Carole and I could use their help and guidance with the efforts we make to bring reform to America’s prison system.

The post Community Leaders in Taft Camp appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Readers with a spouse in prison understand the challenge of sustaining a marriage through imprisonment. Nurturing love over time does not happen by accident under any circumstances, but when imprisonment separates the couple, each partner must invest time, energy, and creativity to keep the romance alive. Carole’s total devotion to our family enriches my life in ways that negate the pains of imprisonment. She fulfills me, and she brings a love that liberates and inspires me to work toward becoming a better man. Carole is my reason for wanting freedom.

Other prisoners sometimes ask how I keep my marriage alive and growing while I serve a lengthy prison term. I give all the credit to Carole, as she carries the burdens of my imprisonment without complaint, helping me to focus on the reality that each day brings us closer to that magical moment when we will begin living together. I recognize that my imprisonment is much harder on her than it is on me. She lives in the world, without companionship or support, yet she works hard to help prepare for my release, and wakes early each Friday to relieve all of my problems with the freshness of her kiss. Carole has not committed a crime, but because of her love, she serves this sentence with me.

I don’t know how many months or years still separate me from living with Carole, but even though I’ve been incarcerated, her love has made these past years we’ve shared together the best of my life. With an eagerness and enthusiasm, I look forward to exceeding all of Carole’s expectations as her husband. I give her all that I have, all that I am, and all that I will become. Her love is worth it, and I look forward to marrying her again when I walk out from these prison boundaries.

The post Our Sixth Anniversary in Prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.

 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 candidate deserving of a Presidential commutation.  Michael lives as an extraordinary example of leadership, of hope, and of accomplishment despite the adversity and obstacles erected by the prison system. Michael deserves to have his petition granted. He is well prepared to lead a law-abiding, contributing life as a taxpaying citizen.

Michael has been imprisoned since 1987. During the past 21-plus years of his confinement, he has built an extraordinary record of accomplishments that is unmatched by any other prison inmate. He educated himself, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees. He is a respected contributor to academia, and a published author of six books describing prisons, the people they hold, and strategies for growing through confinement. Michael writes about the need for those who are in prison to accept responsibility, to make amends with society, and to earn their freedom by preparing for a contributing, law-abiding life upon re-entry to society.

Michael is a different man today than he was in 1987. His commitment to values, to discipline, and his efforts to grow into the best human being possible motivate and inspire those around him as well as those who study his work. With determination and discipline, his commitment to contribute to society-despite two decades of confinement in prison-is evident in everything he thinks, everything he says, and everything he does. Michael receives hundreds of letters and electronic messages from university students, leaders in business, leaders in society, academic scholars, citizens of America, and citizens of the world that are written in support of his efforts to earn his release from prison.

Michael is now 45-years old. He embodies the concept of rehabilitation in tangible ,extraordinary, and incomparable ways. He is no longer a reckless twenty-two-year old. In me, he has a loving, supportive wife. His family has remained by his side throughout his imprisonment, and the expansive network of academic, professional, and community support he continues to attract during his confinement includes solid offers for employment upon his release. We all will be there to assist him upon his release.

What benefit to society and to taxpayers is achieved by Michael’s continued confinement? Please grant my husband a Presidential commutation so that he may come home now.

Yours truly,

Carole Santos

The post An Open Letter to President Obama from a Prison Wife appeared first on Prison News Blog.

As the Pew Report shows, 1 in 31 Americans serve under the authority of the criminal justice system. Prisons are not changing these people for the better. Congress has reported on the high recidivism rates that make this clear. We need prison reform to change these dismal results.

By blocking prisoners from nurturing strong family ties, policies in the prison condition the perpetuating cycles of failure. Rather than restricting access to telephone, visiting, and e-mail, administrators ought to encourage prisoners to nurture family ties. Society pays the price with high recidivism rates when administrators hinder prisoners from connecting with family and positive role models.

Prison administrators could encourage more offenders to reform and work toward law-abiding lives if they offered mechanisms through which prisoners could earn gradual increases in freedom. Such mechanisms have not existed in prisons where I have been held. All that has mattered has been the number of calendar pages that turned and the avoidance of disciplinary infractions. Such policies do not encourage money. This is the fundamental flaw that keeps both recidivism rates and prison operating costs high. Prison reforms that offer incentives can persuade more prisoners to adjust in positive ways.

The post Prisons Do Not Inspire Growth appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Congress has shown that prisons cost taxpayers nearly $60 billion each year to operate. The Pew Report shows that 1 in every 31 people in America is under the correctional system’s supervision. Academics have shown that prisoners who worked to educate themselves were the least likely to recidivate. Yet more expenditures have gone to erecting prison boundaries than have gone to preparing offenders for law abiding lives upon release.

One improvement President Obama could make would be to order the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to abide by the recommendations of Congress as published in The Second Chance Act. That Act suggested that administrators implement programs to help prisoners nurture family ties. Family ties represent the surest way to prepare offenders for success upon release. The Director should immediately lift restrictions that block prisoners from being able to nurture ties with family through the telephone, visits, and e-mail.

President Obama should also use the power of his office to influence legislation that would encourage prisoners to work toward earning freedom through merit. Congress ought to provide an objective path for offenders to follow that would allow them to reconcile with society. Those who built records that demonstrated they could function in society as law-abiding citizens, and redeemed themselves through merit, should find graduated increases in freedom.

Finally, I would suggest that President Obama order the Pardon Attorney to evaluate all prisoner petitions who seek executive clemency. Those prisoners who have earned freedom ought not be barred from access to acts of compassion, as Justice Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court urged.

Our country has been wrong in measuring justice through the turning of calendar pages. A better measurement for our enlightened society would be to measure justice by an individual’s efforts toward reconciling with society. Alex Gomez was a criminal justice student who inspired these thoughts through questions he asked me.

The post President Obama’s Prison Reform Advisor appeared first on Prison News Blog.

The U.S. Congress made specific findings in The Second Chance Act. One of those findings was that prison administrators fail to make effective use of the family structure to prepare offenders for re-entry. The obstacles that prison culture erects to block family and community ties play a significant role in influencing high recidivism rates.

Jon-Daniel, a bright criminal justice student, asked how society could implement reforms that would strengthen family ties. It would be simple. Administrators could simply provide prisoners with more access to speak with family members over the telephone. The 300-minutes per month BOP phone policy limits prisoners to speaking on the phone for an average of less than 10 minutes per day.

As Jon-Daniel observed in his comment, prison makes it difficult to nurture marital bonds. I am a long-term prisoner, and as such I must invest myself totally in my relationship with Carole. She serves this prison term along with me, and struggles every day as a consequence of the oppressive prison rules that block family ties.

To overcome the challenges of confinement, I must make every effort possible to nurture and sustain my marriage to Carole. That means I must reserve all of my telephone and visiting privileges for her. As a consequence of forcing me to prioritize how I will use my minimal access to family ties, prison policies cause me to sacrifice my relationships with extended family members. This absurdity contributes to high recidivism rates and higher prison operating costs. Prisoners who have strong family ties are more likely to adjust in positive ways. Those who lack strong family ties are more susceptible to the negative influences of the prison. They join gangs and engage in disruption.

 Administrators could implement prison reforms that would offer prisoners access to more privileges and mechanisms that would help them strengthen family ties. They could offer privileges as incentives, making the privileges conditional upon positive adjustment patterns. For example, by educating himself, working, and avoiding disciplinary infractions, a prisoner ought to earn more access to family. Administrators could dispense telephone access, visiting privileges, even e-mail to prisoners who demonstrate a commitment to redemption. Those changes would bring many advantages, including:

*lower recidivism rates

*lower incidences of gang corruption

*lower prison operating costs

*safer communities

*stronger family ties

Incentives would improve America’s prison system.

The post Utilize the Family Structure to Prepare Offenders for Re-entry appeared first on Prison News Blog.

As a long-term prisoner, I value my relationship with my wife, Carole, more than life itself. She has been serving this sentence alongside me for many years, and I could not imagine a more loving partner. I long for her kisses, for her loving letters, for her every breath.

That said, I know that other long-term prisoners sometimes find it easier to shut off the outside world. For them, connections to those on the outside remind them of all they are missing. In my article entitled Facing Long-term Incarceration, I wrote about the perceptions I had much earlier in my sentence. Other prisoners could benefit from finding the same hope that guided my decisions. When prisoners give up on the world, they doom themselves to difficult adjustments. If the reader who emailed her question has the same strength and commitment as does my wife, then she should continue supporting her love with letters and visit again when he expresses the need. Loving a man in prison is not easy, as family members suffer much more than those of inside who can adjust.

The post Maintaining Loving Relationships While in Prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.

While I was beginning my term inside of a jail cell, contemplating the decades my sentence would require me to serve in prison, I thought about steps I could take to redeem the bad decisions of my youth. Despite my having served more than 21 years in prisons of every security level, I have never engaged in an act of violence or rebellion. It has not been a fear of being taken to the Special Housing Unit that has kept me focused on goals. My discipline has come from a solid commitment to reconciling with society and preparing for the obstacles that I expect to face upon release.

Other prisoners struggle to see how their behavior in prison relates to the life they will lead once the sentence ends. The prison system itself supports an infrastructure that decimates hope. Whereas there are numerous prohibited acts an inmate may commit to raise his security level, extend his release date, and expose him to more onerous prison conditions, he has no path to distinguish himself in a positive way. An inmate who strives to educate himself, build a strong network of support, contribute to society, and create resources that will help him succeed upon release will not receive any recognition within the prison system. That individual will face interference from prison administrators who prefer to warehouse prisoners that waste their time watching television and playing table games.

By engaging in criminal acts, I had humiliated my parents and sisters. They stood beside me throughout my criminal proceedings. Yet when I saw the sadness and anxiety my imprisonment had caused them, I felt this deep desire to prove myself worthy of the support they had extended. Somehow, I felt that I had to make things right.

Naturally, I wanted to advance my release date.

The one factor I could control, however, was preparing a contributing citizen. The goal of educating myself was clearly defined. The effort I invested would determine whether I succeeded or failed. Prison administrators would not recognize my efforts, but I felt certain that academic credentials would enhance my standing with taxpayers and bring my family members pride. Those values added meaning to my life. They provided the motivation I needed to avoid the toxic influences of the penitentiary.

The post Why I Don’t Succumb to Prison Influences appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I keep track of my daily progress by recording my activities in a weekly planner. When this year began, I knew that we would have several events to help the time pass faster. This being an election year, my daily entries show that I’ve been following the primary elections closely. I subscribe to several news magazines to keep me current with political events, and most evenings I watch the national television news or listen to reports on NPR. This year there has been so much to follow.

As a long-term prisoner, I am especially hopeful that Barack Obama wins the White House. After the first three months of the year, his candidacy is the strongest, despite recent controversy over remarks from his former pastor. With Obama, I am convinced that America would end Bush’s war in Iraq, bring health care to all Americans, enjoy a better economy, and perhaps most important on a personal level, move toward real and meaningful prison reform.

Besides the legislation that an Obama Presidency may inspire, I’m pleased to see that the 2008 Congress has passed The Second Chance Act of 2007. According to a press release from the Bill’s sponsor, Representative Danny Davis, President Bush will sign this Bill into law at a signing ceremony on April 9, 2008. To me, this historic legislation bodes well for the possibility of programs that will enable those of us in confinement to build stronger ties to family and community. I have written an article and a speech that describes why the Second Chance Act encourages me. Readers who are interested may review those writings.

This quarter has given me several speaking opportunities as well. In mid-February I was able to travel to Bakersfield with our outreach program to speak with at-risk adolescents about the perils of criminal lifestyles. Besides that outing, I enjoyed the privilege of making presentations to audiences here at Taft Camp. In one speech, I spoke about the development of leadership skills and in another I described the Second Chance Act from a historical perspective. Speaking before large groups opens opportunities to build upon skills that will help my transition to society. I value those opportunities and devote scores of hours to preparation. For my speech on leadership I pulled information from several books that I recently read, and for my speech on the Second Chance Act I took detailed notes from many sources. After writing each speech, I practiced my delivery, devoting many hours in an effort to come across in a lucid, polished manner. Regardless of what career I pursue upon release, I am convinced that the development of effective communication skills will prove a valuable resource.

To that end, and as I outlined in my goals at the beginning of this year, I devote a significant amount of time to reading and writing each day. In the first quarter I read 12 books, each of which had a direct influence on my preparations for release. I’ve written a brief report on each book I read, and for some of those books I recorded detailed notes that will advance my writing projects.

I also spent hundreds of hours writing a new manuscript. Previously I wrote about that book with a working title 25 Years to the Door. I have written three versions of an opening sequence for that memoir. Each version had at least 15,000 words, but none satisfied me. I chucked them all. This memoir will be an important component of my release plan. Since I will not submit the manuscript for publication until I am much closer to release, I intend to continue working on the manuscript with hopes of creating a compelling memoir. I have changed the title, though, to The 45-Year Gift.

My exercise has been progressing in accordance with the schedule I set. In early March, I attempted to add evening tennis games to my routine. On my second night of playing, however, I snapped the muscle in my right calf. That injury has been plaguing me since. The pain put an immediate suspension to tennis. Worse than the loss of tennis games, it stopped my ability to run on the track. The pain is too severe. Fortunately, I’ve been able to exercise by running on the elliptical machine and exercise with the stair climber; as long as there is no heavy impact, I’m able to keep up with my goal of logging more than 40 miles each week, and more than seven hours of weekly exercise. My weight remains constant between 173 and 176 pounds.

In light of the Second Chance Act, I expect release to a halfway house no later than August of 2012. Release could possibly come as early as 2011, depending on a decision from the parole board. If Obama wins the Presidency, I anticipate prison reform could result in my release as soon as 2010. Because of these developments, my wife and I have had to make adjustments to our plans for my release.

Carole graduates from nursing school in May. Our original plans had been for her to continue advancing her professional credentials, however, as a consequence of my anticipated earlier release, Carole and I have decided that we should change those plans. Rather than continuing with another year of schooling, Carole will sit for the board exams to provide her with nationally recognized nursing credentials, followed by relocation to Kern County. That way, she can begin working and contributing to a savings plan that will help my transition to society. Her relocation will ease her commute for weekly visits as well.

I am immensely proud of both Carole and our daughter Nichole. Together we have set a plan in place, and this June Nichole will graduate one year ahead of schedule from high school while Carole brings more stability to our family with her nursing degree. We’re all enthusiastic about the opportunities we will open through the remainder of 2008 and beyond. The hefty monetary fine I received at sentencing in 1988 expired during the month of March, so Carole and I are free to make progress toward our financial security. Life is really moving forward in meaningful ways as I finish these final years in confinement.

Although I expect legislative changes that could advance my release date, the bottom line is that I have nearly 21 years of imprisonment behind me. I am moving closer to home, and I feel better than ever. The support I receive from so many is a blessing, and for that I am grateful.

The post First Quarter Report, Taft Prison Camp 2008 appeared first on Prison News Blog.