In late March, Michael submitted an updated petition for commutation of sentence to the US Pardon Attorney. His petition has been on file since 2003, but this is the first action he is aware of since filing it six years ago.

Now we know that someone in the US Pardon Attorney’s office is looking at Michael’s petition. As Michael’s wife, it’s hard not to feel hopeful at this development. I want him to come home. For more than 21 years, Michael has consistently produced extraordinary achievements from prison.  He has earned his freedom in every way it is possible to measure such an accomplishment.  

President Obama could find no better candidate who is deserving of a Presidential commutation. Michael lives as an extraordinary example of leadership and hope and accomplishment despite the adversity and obstacles erected by the prison system. Michael deserves to have his petition granted. 

With this newest development, if you support Michael’s efforts to earn his freedom, please contact the US Pardon Attorney’s office by letter or by email and voice your support for Michael’s immediate release. Letters advocating a Presidential commutation for Michael should be directed to the President of the United States and mailed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney.

Letters must reference Michael’s full name (Michael G. Santos) and registration number (16377-004). The following example can be used as a guide for beginning a letter.

Date:

Re: Inmate Michael G. Santos #16377-004

Petition for Commutation of Sentence

Dear President Obama:

(body of letter follows)

Phone: (202) 616-6070

E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General, may be sent to AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Thank you for your support!

The post Action on Michael’s Petition for Commutation appeared first on Prison News Blog.

America has too many people languishing in prisons for too many years, causing social and financial consequences that are destructive and wasteful.

 ****** Read Senator Webb’s Message to American Citizens****** 

http://webb.senate.gov/email/criminaljusticereform.html

The National Criminal Justice Act of 2009 that I introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2009 will create a blue-ribbon commission to look at every aspect of our criminal justice system with an eye toward reshaping the process from top to bottom. I believe that it is time to bring together the best minds in America to confer, report, and make concrete recommendations about how we can reform the process.

Why We Urgently Need this Legislation:

    * With 5% of the world’s population, our country now houses 25% of the world’s reported prisoners.

    * Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1200% since 1980.

    * Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals.

    * Approximately 1 million gang members reside in the U.S., many of them foreign-based; and Mexican cartels operate in 230+ communities across the country.

Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society. 

America’s criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. Its irregularities and inequities cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness. Our failure to address this problem has caused the nation’s prisons to burst their seams with massive overcrowding, even as our neighborhoods have become more dangerous. We are wasting billions of dollars and diminishing millions of lives.

We need to fix the system. Doing so will require a major nationwide recalculation of who goes to prison and for how long and of how we address the long-term consequences of incarceration. 

The post Senator Jim Webb Brings a Voice to Prison Reform appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I first heard of Barack Obama in 2004, when my wife, Carole, sent me a transcript of the speech the young Senator delivered at the Democratic National Convention. As I read of him calling for a more inclusive America, I felt inspired and expressed my wish at that time that a voice like his could lead our country.

Then I read his books. Both revealed a thoughtful, intelligent man. Those on the right side of the political spectrum tried to disparage Obama as being irresponsibly liberal. Yet with courage, character, and conviction, Senator Obama did not run from the liberal label. He embraced the principles of liberalism, and I admired him for his unshakable confidence in the promise of humanity.

Rather than practicing the politics of divisiveness, of us-versus-them, Senator Obama personified leadership. He validated the notion that people could transcend circumstance and reach their highest potential. As a long-term federal prisoner, I watched Senator Obama’s ascent to the national and then global political scene with unbridled optimism.

After Senator Obama won the Iowa Primary last January, I became a true believer in his potential to win the Presidency. Over subsequent months, I watched every newscast and read every article that described his progress. The more I learned about him and his positions, the more I admired his strength, his judgment, his leadership. Every week, my wife and I grew more hopeful of his election.

The President of the United States wields the power for our country. Carole and I know the decisions President Obama makes will have a profound influence on our prison family. We married in a prison visiting room many years ago. Despite proclamations on the importance of family, community, and compassion, the policies of the Bush administration have perpetuated failure inside our nation’s prison system. High recidivism rates validate this observation. Carole and I stand confident that the liberal mandate voters have given President Obama will lead to changes that bring certain improvements to our family.

Americans rightly concern themselves with important national issues such as energy dependence, health care, economic policy, and foreign policy. Yet after more than 21 years of my continuous imprisonment, Carole and I have a deep, vested interest in both prison reform and sentence reform. President Obama and the newly elected Congressional leadership give us an optimism of such magnitude that few others can appreciate.

Within the next 5 months, President Obama will appoint leaders who reflect the new administration’s vision. Among those leaders will be a new Pardon Attorney, and a new Director of the Bureau of Prisons. I expect those new leaders to purge the present policies that extinguish hope, policies that have thwarted my growth since 1987.

President Obama’s team will shed empty platitudes about a kinder, gentler, more compassionate America. Instead, my readings on Obama convince me that both administrative and legislative improvements will come. They will replace the barriers that block progress, instead providing a bridge to lead those of us striving to reconcile with society back into the mainstream of American life.

A Pardon Attorney under Obama will not reserve petitions for clemency for friends of the President, like “Scooter” Libby and Mark Rich. Rather, I expect the new Pardon Attorney will review applications for clemency with earnest. Individuals who have worked for years to atone for their bad decision and redeem themselves through contributions will receive appropriate consideration for relief.

With a new Director in the Bureau of Prisons, we need new policies that encourage more prisoners to earn their way to freedom through merit. We need new programs that help offenders bridge their ties to society. Those programs will replace the Bush-type policies that obliterate all hope for redemption. Opportunities to earn furloughs, work release, and home confinement will replace administrative barriers to personal growth.

Rather than a focus on preserving the sanctity of the prison industrial complex, President Obama will appoint leadership that strives to prepare offenders for successful re-entry to society. We will see an end to limitations on telephone and visitation access. New leadership will rely upon the promise of incentives instead of the threat of further punishment to shape human behavior. Those are American values.

Besides the administrative changes that President Obama will bring, Congressional leadership ought to introduce sentence reforms that encourage offenders to work toward earning freedom. By mid-2009, I expect to see legislation that reintroduces parole and expands opportunities for offenders to earn freedom.

For more than 21 years, I have worked to build a record that would demonstrate my commitment to live as a contributing citizen. With President Obama’s election, and the newly elected Congress, I am more hopeful than ever. This election freed me to believe that I am more than a prisoner. I feel like an American, and I am eager to join my wife, Carole, in the real world.

The post President Obama election and newly elected Congress give real hope for prison reform appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I empathize with the more than 2.4 million people who serve time in American prisons. Ever since my term began, I have worked to prepare myself so that I could become an effective spokesperson to bring about meaningful prison reform. As prisons currently operate, I am convinced that they miss opportunities to help offenders prepare for better lives. Instead of “correcting,” our nation’s prisons only warehouse human beings. That approach, according to my experience, has no place in an enlightened society.

Prison has been all that I have known since 1987. I was 23-years-old when I began serving my term and I am almost 45-years-old now. If laws remain the same, I expect that I will serve more than four more years before release will come. After more than a quarter century of being locked in prisons of every security level, many would think that I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with prisons after my release. Yet I expect that prison will always be a part of my life.

It is not only the lower classes who struggle through prisons. Those who serve time for white collar crimes, also, suffer from the loss of hope. Prisons separate individuals from family and community for years or decades at a time. Those in prison can benefit from positive role models who have endured the experience. After having served time in prisons in every security level, I feel confident that I can present positive messages to all people who are locked in prison. My experiences qualify me to deliver messages with credibility, and I hope that I can build a career that will help others achieve their highest potential.

Without question, prison has been the experience that has influenced my thoughts. Despite knowing that I would serve many decades inside, I knew that my adjustment inside prison would determine the life I could lead upon release. By focusing on educating myself and contributing to society, I could live with hope. That focus has enabled me to build a career as an author, to marry and build a family with an extraordinarily beautiful and talented woman, and to communicate with thousands of people through my Web site. The preparations I have made will keep me working with prisoners for the rest of my life. I hope to inspire others to grow in positive ways.

The post Prison as Part of my Future 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.

Why did you decide to read this book?

My wife, Carole, sent me Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth. I chose to read the book for that reason. Carole and I have an unusual relationship in that I have been incarcerated for the entire duration of our marriage. We have never lived in the same house, or slept in the same bed, despite that we’ve been married for five years. Because of those complications, I deem it essential to build upon our intimacy through creative ways. One way is by writing to each other frequently, discussing our plans and constantly evaluating our progress. Yet another way is by reading books simultaneously and discussing them. Such projects give us the privilege of learning more about the other thinks.

Another project on which we worked together was Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life. I especially welcome the opportunity to explore spiritual teachings with Carole. As a prison couple, we must abide by all of the rules of the institution, which means that we have severe limitations on how much time we can spend on the telephone, and how much time we are allowed to visit. Reading a spiritual book together and participating in this opportunity to respond to the same questions allows us to know each other’s thoughts better, and the book spawns further discussions that bring the promise of more intimacy. Those are the reasons I decided to read this book: I wanted to build upon my spiritual awareness, and I welcomed the opportunity to work through a project that will bring me closer to my wife.

Are there specific areas of your life that you think will benefit from the lessons of A New Earth? How can you incorporate the book’s teachings in your life today?

Reading A New Earth will help improve my relationships and communications with others. I appreciated the lessons on what the author called our pain bodies. By understanding the connection between pain bodies and the ego, I will have more skills to recognize breakdowns in communications. In a later chapter, he suggested that we pause when our own pain bodies are activated. He also suggested that the first step toward overcoming insanity is to recognize the insanity. That same lesson can apply to our communications, as by recognizing the drive or motivation behind hurtful words helps us to give them the value they are due. We can disregard hurtful words when they are expressions of the pain body to further the ego. That lesson of understanding others is going to help my communications and interactions with others.

I can incorporate the book’s teachings into my life today in many ways. As a long-term prisoner, I’m also a teacher of others in my environment. I have taken extensive notes from the book, and I will use those notes to help spread the author’s message of peace, enlightenment, and the importance of expanding our consciousness to others around me. This work will enrich my life, my community, and contribute to this new earth we all must work together in building.

Think about the question on P.5: “Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones… transparent to the light of consciousness?”

A) What makes you feel more alive and open, less dense, less bogged down by heavy thoughts and feelings?

I feel most alive and open when I am working in the moment, when I am not consumed with the rigidity of my life. During those moments when my mind drifts to the 20-plus years I’ve served in prison, to the five more years I’m expected to serve, and to all of the limitations my predicament imposes upon me, that is when I feel the most bogged down with heavy thoughts and feelings. To free myself I need to let go. I become less dense, more open, when I realize the blessings of my life.

For me, the key to staying calm throughout this adversity is to focus on empowering opportunities that I can enjoy now. I find fulfillment in my writings not because of what they may bring to me or prepare me for at some point in my future. Rather, I feel as if these efforts to communicate with others are bringing meaning to my life. The thoughts that go into each sentence have a life of their own. I know that through them, I am contributing to the thoughts of others, of people I have yet to even meet. I can find peace and comfort in the act, and hope comes with it for a broader reach, or more expansive connection with others.

When I am exercising, communicating with my wife, reading or writing, I feel as if I am totally in the moment. That means I can lose the oppression that has been a part of my life since 1987. The key to feeling stronger, and I believe in willing more opportunity into our lives, is finding gratitude in the blessings we have received.

B) Could this be the beginnings of what A New Earth is pointing toward?

Yes, I think the author’s message is that we should open our minds to possibilities of what we can become rather than accepting the concrete structures that others have poured. We need to be realistic about where we are in life, but we cannot dismiss optimism, enthusiasm, and passion for what we can become. As human beings expand their levels of consciousness and tolerance, we will give life to this new earth and realize more fully our connection with God and all of God’s creations.

Spend some time in the presence of something you consider beautiful-a flower, a gem, a piece of artwork. As you look at the object, try to see it without naming it mentally. When we appreciate beauty in this manner, a window opens into the formless and into a state of gratitude. See if you can experience that. Write your experiences here:

Every day I walk out of the concrete and steel building in which I am confined. After descending the stairs, I walk along a white concrete pathway that cuts across a lush green lawn. I come to a dirt running track and take my first steps on what is usually a ten-mile run. As I’m running, I completely lose sight and perception of where I am. During those moments I am not in prison at all. Instead, I am in the midst of God’s abundance and all of the blessings that God has bestowed upon me. I feel as if I am free during those exercise periods, as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be. That is the state of gratitude that carries me through every day, week, month, year, and decade of separation from those I love. Because I can see and feel so much beauty around me, I always feel a sense of empowerment, as if more will soon come my way and the way of those around me.

Do you consider yourself a religious person? What about a spiritual person? Is there a difference between the two?

I do not consider myself a religious person because I do not abide by the rituals or hold all the beliefs of organized religion. I find it inconceivable that God would not listen to a prayer because a person isn’t facing the “right” direction, because he hasn’t eaten the “right” food, or because he hasn’t work the right clothing. Similarly, I cannot believe that our all-loving God would condemn a person to a lifetime of damnation and torture. That seems preposterous to my understanding of love and forgiveness; frankly, it sounds much more like something that would have come from the cult of the Republican Party. Because I believe in a much more inclusive and tolerant love, my faith is much more “spiritual” than religious.

As a person who strives to build upon his spiritual awareness, I find many of the Eastern teachings more consistent with the faith inside of me. Culturally I feel Christian, and I find myself praying to both Jesus and God without distinction. Yet theologically, I know that my beliefs are not consistent with the teachings of Christianity. I am convinced that God invites and encourages many pathways to providence. Because I reject the concept of Hell and damnation, I cannot say that I buy into the religious doctrines of my youth. At the same time, I pray many times every day and feel God working within me. That makes me spiritual and eager to grow closer to God. The difference between religion and spirituality, to me, is that as a spiritual person, an individual is not limited to all of the rigid rules and dogmas and cults that organized religions dictate. The spiritual person strives to understand the oneness with God and rejects the judgmental approach of religions.

“Humanity is now faced with a stark choice: Evolve or die… If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up recreating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction” (p. 21-22).

A) Are you aware of this dysfunction?

This is the ocean of dysfunction in which I’ve been trying to swim since my imprisonment began. During my term of imprisonment I’ve read of so many world developments. I’ve read of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the start of both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I’ve read about the fall of the former Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. In our own country, I’ve seen terrorists, both foreign and domestic, conspire to tear us apart. Recently I’ve read that more than 1 in 100 Americans are incarcerated and that the rate is more than 1 in 9 for blacks. We as a people have a dysfunctional infatuation with force, with hard power. Because of our intolerance, we see the structures of the human mind unchanged, and we recreate the same struggle, the same evils, and the same unhappiness.

B) Where is it most apparent in your own life and in the world?

As a prisoner, the love for hard power and control and rigidity is a part of my daily life. Administrators do not question whether it is right to keep a nonviolent, contributing person incarcerated for bad decisions he made more than 20 years ago; they say that justice requires more than five more years to pass. The concept seems absurd and ridiculous to me, a continuing thread of the rigid and dysfunctional practices of our so-called enlightened, kinder, and gentler land of second chances. It is in my everyday life that this dysfunction is most apparent.

In the world, I see it most apparent in the sphere of politics. Although our leaders are supposed to be advancing these thoughts and leading us to new and better lives, the leaders in power concern themselves with preserving the status quo. They thrive on perpetuating a system that brings about the same dysfunction.

C) Do you think humanity is ready for a transformation of consciousness?

Yes, I certainly feel as if we are in a time of transformation. I am especially optimistic with the hope that comes from the possibility of a Barack Obama Presidency. His leadership is inspiring our citizens to question the dysfunction that has become endemic to our society. As of this writing, he has not secured the nomination of the Democratic Party, much less won the White House. Nevertheless, the hope that he has inspirited is promising and I am confident that it shows humanity is growing more receptive to the possibility for this transformation of consciousness.

The post A New Earth – Chapter One: The Flowering of Human Consciousness appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Since I aspire to build a career in communications, preferably as a speaker, consultant, and writer, I must look for every opening to practice my craft. I spend several hours every day writing on my ongoing projects, and I devote time each week to helping other prisoners figure out strategies to use their time wisely. Speaking opportunities come less frequently, yet I’ve been successful in finding forums that allow me to write, practice, and deliver presentations in front of live–albeit captive–audiences.

This past week I wrote a speech that I called On Leadership. Some may find it presumptuous that a man who has been incarcerated since 1987 would have anything to offer on the subject of leadership. That was part of the challenge. This being a camp that holds many well-educated, white-collar offenders, with several former CEOs among us, I knew that some in my audience would question my qualifications to speak on such a topic. Many hours of preparation, however, imbued me with confidence. I felt a real sense of enthusiasm as I spread the lessons I have learned from my study of leadership.

I opened the speech with a disclaimer. Although I have not held formal positions of leadership, I explained, the study of leadership has helped me navigate my way through more than 20 years of confinement. By committing to the principles of leadership I have captained my own ship through the storms of adversity. Despite prolonged imprisonment, I have educated myself; I have earned an income and paid taxes; I have built a network of support; and most importantly, I have nurtured a thriving marriage. The study of leadership has propelled me to success in my environment. I felt a charge of energy as I related the ways that applying leadership principles could help those in my audience reach their fullest potential inside the boundaries of Taft Camp and beyond.

I structured the 40-minute speech in three sections. After discussing the importance of applying leadership principles to our own lives, I summarized what I had learned from three books I recently read on the subject. The first book was What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Then I discussed Launching a Leadership Revolution. Finally, I presented some salient points from Leadership Therapy: Inside The Mind of Microsoft. Following the book summaries, I brought the message home by showing how those in my audience could profit from those lessons today, in practical ways. Specifically, I suggested five areas in which they could grow, including:

1. intellectual development
2. physical well being
3. financial stability
4. emotional balance
5. spiritual awareness

Following the prepared portion of the presentation, I invited those in the audience to question me. In so doing, I opened an opportunity to practice quick thinking with extemporaneous responses. Those are the types of experiences that allow me to achieve multiple goals. By preparing, practicing, and delivering speeches, I am able to share information with those in this community; I am able to develop communication skills further; and I am able to prepare in meaningful ways for the career I want to lead upon release.

Living in prison is not so different from confronting other adversities. We can overcome limitations or complications by being very realistic about where we are. At the same time, we must live with optimism and enthusiasm with where we are going. We must believe, believe, believe. Then we must create our own opportunities to success.

The post Speech On Leadership appeared first on Prison News Blog.