This morning our TOAD group addressed a group of high school students from Taft High School. The 70 students were from the junior and senior class and did not appear to be troubled youth. What struck me was the number of students who had a family member or friend who served time in prison. Nearly [...]
I received a package of mail from my wife that included a book review on Inside that a history professor published. The professor’s review was generally favorable though he implied that I was too biased against prison guards and thought I wrote too much about prisoners having sex with prison guards. I appreciate reading these [...]
Many prisoners ask whether I’ll be faithful to my wife once my prison term ends. I don’t identify with the logic that leads them to ask me such questions. They assume that as a consequence of the decades I’ve served I would want to enjoy relationships with many women. When I respond that I will [...]
Both my case manager and my counselor have implied that prison has dehumanized me. They spoke more tactfully, and were polite, but I’ve thought about what they meant when they observed that I had suppressed my emotions for too long. As I was in the midst of my work today, I knew they were right. [...]
Two years ago today I was locked in the SHU at Lompoc. SHU stands for Special Housing Unit, though those in prison refer to the SHU as the hole. Administrators had locked me in the SHU because they suspected that I was using a word processor to type manuscripts. I had indeed used the word [...]
I’ve read many books that authors wrote on the subject of blogging, though I have to admit that I don’t know as much about keeping readers’ interest through a blog as I would like. I intend to learn. I face challenges because I do not have access to a computer or the internet, so I [...]
I’ve been reading from two books and a published paper on California’s prison system that Dr. Joan Petersilia wrote. She is a distinguihsed professor who publishes extensively on issues pertaining to crime and corrections. As I read these academic writings I remember my early years as a prisoner, and the reality of how much of [...]
At 3:30 this morning I resumed work on an article I began writing yesterday about a need for a new Director in the Bureau of Prisons. Although citizens may not feelt that bureaucratic role has much influence over their lives, I’m convinced that the policies set by the BOP Director have an influence on prison [...]
At 2:38 this morning I woke and hopped down from my rack in the Taft prison camp. A few minutes later I was in the quiet room where I write early each morning. I have come to really depend on the quiet time alone. If I am not awake before 3:00 in the moning, I [...]
At 3:00 this morning, as I waited for officers to walk by my cubicle for a morning census count, I listened to an NPR broadcast reporting on Pesident Obama’s mandate to cut hundreds of millions in wasteful spending from the U.S. budget. That report inspired me to write a few blogs on the need for [...]
