Some readers may wonder whether a man in prison can still lead a meaningful life. Keeping a busy schedule helps me. I’m always working to complete the next project, and I measure my progress every day. Measuring progress is one of the reasons I write this daily prison journal. The discipline of writing forces me [...]
Today was a visiting day for me at Taft Camp, so I woke with enthusiasm at 1:44 am. I wanted to read through the edits I’ve made to the first two chapters of the manuscript. Next week, I expect that Carole will submit my proposal along with three sample chapters to my agent. While he [...]
I’ve heard that some staff members at Taft Camp object to these efforts I make to build a broad network of support in society. I don’t know why. This system goes by the name “corrections,” so logic suggests that all people who devote careers to corrections would encourage individuals who work hard to build and [...]
During the 22 years I’ve been confined, I’ve never heard a U.S. Attorney General say that America’s dependence on incarceration is economically unsustainable. Yet that was what Attorney General Eric Holder told the nation’s lawyers at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association. Mr. Holder isn’t the first high profile government leader to call [...]
An acquaintance of mine, here at Taft Camp, asked me the significance of keeping this prison journal. He thought prison was something a prisoner should try to forget about, not memorialize by writing about the drudgery each day. For me, keeping a journal represents a willful act, I told him. It is part of this [...]
Carole and I expect my release will come in no more than three years. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has a schedule that shows my release from prison will come in August of 2013, but I become eligible for release on parole a bit sooner, and for halfway house placement sooner still. Once I’m out [...]
This morning at 1:40 am I resumed work on chapter six of my manuscript for Earning Freedom. I wrote through page 262. Then I went outside to exercise, running 10 miles and boosting my tally to 2,062 miles over the past 233 days. In the afternoon, I wrote more, advancing chapter six to page 265. [...]
Last week I wrote about Molly and Goldie, two friendly dogs that had adopted the Taft Prison Camp as home. I enjoyed seeing these dogs, as did all the other prisoners. The men fed the dogs, played with them, gave them attention and affection. Unfortunately, someone with decision-making powers decided the dogs had to go. [...]
