News FeedPresident Obama… Answer This
This is fantastic! Check out: http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/990 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F34p0YiSp8g&feature=player_embedded What it’s about: 1. Alienation of people: We are creating refugees amongst our own people. Inmates come back not feeling like they are part of their own community; not knowing “we the people” means them too. 2. Break up of families: unreasonable prison policies and a culture of […]
Eliminate Prison Camps to Cut Domestic Spending
President Obama ought to call for the elimination of prison camps to cut unnecessary domestic spending. This type of expenditure should not continue, as prison camps do not contribute to making society safer. Indeed, prison administrators have classified all prisoners in prison camps as minimum-security offenders and require those men to serve time on their […]
Reform the Pardon Process
President Obama ought to order the Department of Justice to reform the pardon process. Access to a Presidential pardon could be an effective tool in motivating prisoners to commit to prison adjustments that would help them emerge as successful, law-abiding citizens. For pardons to serve as a force for good, however, the President must order […]
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 […]
Action on Michael’s Petition for Commutation
Michael had some interesting/exciting news yesterday. He learned that someone from the US Pardon Attorney’s office called administrators at Taft Camp with a request for his most recent progress report. 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 […]
Senator Jim Webb Brings a Voice to Prison Reform
Please support this effort by contacting your Congressional representatives! Tell them to support Sentator Webb and embrace prison reform. Find your representatives here: http://www.vote-smart.org. 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 […]
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 […]
President Obama and Prison Reform
I feel confident that President Obama will take significant steps forward with regard to prison reform. I know that our country faces significant challenges going forward. American citizens are rightfully concerned about the economic crisis that has brought high unemployment. They want to see reduced costs and expanded coverage for health care. They want reforms […]
Prison Reform Like Foreign Policy Reform
As a prisoner in the midst of my 22nd year in continuous confinement, I have had a first-hand look at this system. I’ve served virtually my entire adult life within prison boundaries of every security level. This perspective has given me unique opportunities and experiences from which I have learned. They convince me that prisons […]
Era of Transparency Should Abolish Administration Obstacles to Prisoner Writings.
President Obama issued an order indicating that “every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known.” As a federal prisoner who writes about the reasons our country needs prison reform, I was encouraged to learn […]
Redemption in Prison has Meaning Under Obama Administration
We must pass through a few more weeks before a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will swear President Obama into office. Yet reports I have read in various newspapers indicate he is moving quickly to fill the void of wisdom in leadership for our country. As a long-term prisoner, I am particularly interested in […]
Consider Prisoner Voices in Deliberations on Prison Reform
President-elect Obama spoke about reforms he intended to bring to America’s health care system. He said that in working to improve the system, as President he would bring all parties to the round table for discussion. Mr. Obama wants input from doctors, nurses, patients, administrators, and others who can suggest steps the Congress and our […]
President Bush Will Pardon Turkey before Humans: A Pardon Primer
I am about to pass my 22nd consecutive Thanksgiving holiday as a federal prisoner. President Bush, I am sure, will take yet another opportunity to pardon a turkey. If history repeats itself, President Bush will not show such compassion to the more than 200,000 people serving time within the federal prison system. This President has […]
We need President Obama to appoint a new Director in the Bureau of Prisons
The President appoints Director of the Bureau of Prisons. The Director presides over an agency that employs more than 25,000 people and incarcerates more than 200,000 people. The Director sets the policy for the Bureau of Prisons. All employees of the BOP carry out the Director’s mission, and the prisoners must live within the rules […]
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 […]
