Upon Carole’s return home from our abbreviated visit yesterday, a search of her e-mail revealed a message from Joan Petersilia. Dr. Petersilia is a distinguished reserach professor whose work I frequently relied upon while I was studying toward my masters degree at Hofstra. At the time, she was publishing frequently on the costs associated with [...]
With Fridays being visiting days at Taft Prison Camp, I had a lot to look forward to when I woke this morning. I hadn’t seen Carole in two weeks, and since we used too many of our phone minutes earlier in the month, we’ve been having to cut our telephone conversations short as well. I looked [...]
I have many reasons for waking early each day to write about prison adjustments. One reason includes my hope that I can help other prisoners understand their own power to make decisions that will prepare them to lead fulfilling lives. I speak with many men who struggle with their confinement. Through classes I teach, my [...]
While talking with my wife over the telephone today, I learned that the editors of change.org published an introductory article I wrote. I feel grateful for this opportunity to build upon my network of support. These efforts to reach out and connect with society, I am convinced, will help me overcome the challenges I expect [...]
Many of the men with whom I serve time at Taft Camp seem like children on the days leading up to Christmas. They are giddy with anticipation for the prison reform legislation that they feel certain is about to pass. The talk focuses on bills the Congress is about to introduce that will provide more [...]
This afternoon I taught a class on values and goals. The class was my sixth in a series of eight to ten two-hour classes I lead regularly at Taft Camp. We generally meet on Monday afternoons, and I have between 20 and 30 participants for each cycle. Through the values and goals session, I try [...]
Over the decades I’ve served in prison, I’ve read hundreds of books on leadership. Those books have helped me prepare for the many challenges I expect to face upon release. They have also helped me endure the struggles of living apart from my family and community. One type of leadership perplexes me, however. I do [...]
Today I spoke with a prisoner who I once considered a violent gang leader. Twenty years ago, we were both locked inside the walls of a high-security United States Penitentiary. We were both in our early 20s, and we both had long sentences to serve. He went by the name Boogie. At the time that [...]
This morning I felt heavy with sadness when I woke. After all of the days, weeks, months, and years I have served, I am totally adjusted to prison. If I set my mind to focus exclusively on my writing, exercise, and reading, I easily could coast through the remaining three to four years that I’m [...]
Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud related charges today. The white-collar criminal had admitted to federal officers that he was the mastermind to a Ponzi scheme that swindled $50 billion from investors over the past several decades. Despite the magnitude of the crime, the justice system had allowed Madoff to enjoy the [...]
