G. Gordon Liddy Talks Prison with Justin Paperny

Justin Paperny was a guest on G. Gordon Liddy’s national radio show on July 27, 2010 discussing his prison experience at Taft, his book (Lessons From Prison), and being mentored by Michael Santos. Click here to listen

Lessons From Prison

Date Read: January 6, 2010 Book Title: Lessons From Prison Book Author: Justin M. Paperny Book Publisher: APS (2009) Non Fiction/ 200 pages  Lessons From Prison was the first book I read in 2010 Why I read Lessons From Prison:  Justin Paperny, the author of Lessons From Prison, was confined with me at Taft Camp [...]

Twenty-Three Thanksgivings in Prison

Today begins my 23rd consecutive Thanksgiving holiday as a federal prisoner. I’ve now passed as many Thanksgiving holidays in prison as I passed as a free citizen. Prison has numbed me–I no longer experience the excitement and joy of holiday celebrations, though I know the season represents a time of significance for citizens of the [...]

Convicted Stockbroker Describes Ethical Lessons

I met Justin Paperny in federal prison. He self-surrendered to the minimum-security camp in the late spring of 2008, and we became friends. Justin was sentenced to serve an 18-month term for a conviction redacted to securities fraud. His was not a background that would have suggested he would encounter trouble with the criminal justice [...]

Seventy-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role I want to lead in society upon my release. As a prisoner confined in Taft Camp, I’ve come into contact with many people who lacked the privileges that I took for granted while growing up. Although I never would have thought of their struggles before, since sharing [...]

Seventy-seven Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

Many years ago, when I was a sophomore at USC, I played in an important baseball game. We were the top-ranked team in the nation and I was scheduled to start at third base. The game was against the Korean national team and it was being held at Dodger stadium. My family was there to [...]

Seventy-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

This afternoon I will lead a class seminar for thirty other prisoners at Taft Camp. The class is called the Entrepreneurial Compass, and it is usually led by my friend Michael Santos, who writes for PrisonNewsBlog. We both have been amazed at the number of business professionals who have been targeted for prosecution by the [...]

Eighty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

TheSecond Chance Act of 2007was signed into law about one year ago. One of the provisions of that legislation was that it expanded the authority of prison administrators to release offenders to community confinement centers a lot earlier than was previously authorized. As a consequence of that legislation, I will report to the halfway house [...]

Eighty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

As a prisoner, I feel humbled in ways that I never expected. Sometimes, those feelings are more profound than at others. It is surprisingly easy to adjust to the daily living patterns inside the Taft minimum-security camp, and the ten months I’ve served have passed well. Yet sometimes I feel shaken with the reality that [...]

Eighty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

Today I woke with a wonderful feeling, as if I’ve really made a contribution to society. These good feelings come from an opportunity I had yesterday to contribute to courses on corporate ethics that Professor Kelly Pope was leading at DePaul University in Chicago. I had come into contact with Kelly through my friend Walt [...]

Eighty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

My release date continues to approach at a rapid pace. I like it. Other prisoners I’ve met have expressed deep anxieties about returning to society. They all wanted freedom, of course, but they left trouble behind when they began serving their sentences. During the months, years, or decades that they spent inside prison boundaries, they [...]

Ninety Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp

Yesterday afternoon my counselor called me into her office. The counselors in Taft Prison Camp have the responsibility of assigning job details, approving visiting and telephone lists, and overseeing the sanitation levels of the housing units. When called, I wondered which issue she wanted to speak with me about. As I walked to her office, [...]

Ninety One Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

As I was running the track at Taft Camp this morning, I thought about the real value I derived from these past ten months I’ve served. I never would have thought that my time as a prisoner would evolve into something I would value. Surprisingly, that is the frame of mind I’m in now, as [...]

Ninety Two Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

I had an awkward encounter in the bathroom of my housing unit at Taft Camp. It was early on a weekend morning, a time when many of the other prisoners were still asleep. I was washing my face when Mark walked in. Mark was another prisoner with whom I had been friendly in the past. [...]

Ninety Three Days Until Release From Taft Prison Camp

Through my readings I learned something about the history of America’s prison system. The entire concept of imprisonment began with a religious sect, the Quakers of Pennsylvania. Prior to my own incarceration, when I thought of Quakers, the only image that came to mind was the round tube of oats with the picture of the [...]