Bam

Last week I spoke with Bam, a prisoner and former gang member serving time at Taft Camp. Bam’s been incarcerated for six years, though his initial prison adjustment led to problems with prison officials and transfers to higher security prisons. Bam has listened to a number of my presentations at Taft Camp–I often speak to groups of […]

Senator Webb Moves Forward On National Panel for Prison Reform

The article below brings very exciting news! It’s what we’ve been waiting for… President Obama is positively endorsing Senator Jim Webb’s efforts to reform the current state of the prison system. Please write, call, fax, email… any way you can think of to contact the individuals identified in the message below and voice your support. Ask […]

Incentives Would Improve Prison Culture

The U.S. Congress published findings that show how much prisons cost taxpayers to operate. They swallow more than $59 billion each year. According to the Pew Report, those funds are diverted from social programs like education, health care, and unemployment assistance. What taxpayers may find especially troubling is that despite the massive expenditures, recidivism rates […]

How To Reduce Violence in Prison

Prisons become violent atmospheres as hope is diminished. When administrators implement policies that decimate an individual’s opportunities to distinguish himself in positive ways, the prisoner feels as if reasons do not exist to even attempt to reform. Instead, he focuses on improving his life within the chaotic boundaries of the penitentiary. Those efforts frequently lead […]

How To Stop the Flow of Drugs Into Prison

Administrators in high-security prisons use a variety of security measures designed to stop the flow of contraband into prisons. Despite their efforts, drugs remain a problem in prison. Drugs enter institutions through visiting rooms, through the mail, and through corrupt staff members. The smuggling of drugs into prisons is particularly problematic in secure prisons. Ironically, […]

Reflecting on the Long Prison Sentence I Serve

I made the bad decision to sell cocaine when I was in my early 20s. That decision led me into criminal charges, indictments, convictions, and a 45-year prison sentence. Despite having no history of violence or prior imprisonment, my sentencing judge and the U.S. prosecutors wanted me to serve a significant portion of my life […]

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 […]

What Prisoners Miss Most

Prisoners miss what they cannot have. Those who serve time in supermax prisons, like the ADX in Florence, Colorado, live in sterile cells. They are deprived of nearly all human contact. Their mattress is thrown on a concrete slab. They can hardly move beyond the small space allotted to them. They cannot use the telephone […]

Effective Prison Reform: Restore Hope

Prisons operate with 70 percent recidivism rates for a simple reason. They extinguish hope. Instead of encouraging prisoners to develop values, skills, and resources that will help them live contributory lives, prison policies and the infrastructure of the prison system crushes the spirit and humanity of every man serving time. Overcoming the pervasive negativity requires […]

High-security Prisons Create Vicious Cycles

Since 2003, I have been confined in minimum-security prison camps. I share living space with many offenders who serve time for white collar crimes. In this environment, most of the prisoners behave well. They are educated and focus on preparing for the lives they want to lead upon release. In higher security prisons, where I […]

How hope keeps drugs out of prisons

Over the past 21-plus years, I have served time in prisons of every security level. While I was locked inside the walls of a high security penitentiary, I saw significant problems with drugs. The problems were not much less in medium-security prisons, or in low-security prisons. Ironically, when administrators transferred me to minimum-security camps, in […]