This morning I began writing a story about an interesting man I interviewed. He’s well-educated (MBA and CPA), and for the past several years has worked as a chief financial officer for a billion dollar company. But some bad decisions he made with regard to personal expense accounts resulted in his two year prison sentence. [...]
One of the high-level administrators of Taft camp was touring the housing unit today. Since the decision makers of this prison spend most of their time at the adjacent institution (where administrative offices are) I don’t see or interact with them too frequently. Today I approached the man and asked him whether Taft Camp would [...]
While researching cases in the law library this morning, a newspaper article from last month caught my eye. On 29 January 2010, Gary Fields published an article in The Wall Street Journal reporting that “Corporations facing criminal prosecution could face reduced penalties if they meet standards for tackling white-collar crime at their companies, under changes [...]
On February 16, 2010, the New York Times published an editorial in response to a speech Justice Anthony Kennedy gave on prisons. Justice Kennedy addressed the Pepperdine University School of Law, telling those in his audience that defendants in the United States serve sentences that are eight times longer than sentences imposed on defendants in [...]
Last night, around 11:00 p.m., I woke up sweating. My hair was wet and my t-shirt felt damp. I stepped down from my rack to change my shirt and noticed that my throat didn’t hurt as much as it had for the past few days. My sinuses were nearly clear, and my headache was nearly [...]
Yesterday I wrote about feeling sick in prison, and I’m disappointed to write that my body still feels weak, my sinuses are still clogged, my head, chest, and throat hurt, and I’m coughing without rest. I didn’t step down from my rack until after five this morning. At six I went outside to exercise slowly, [...]
Prison isn’t a good place to feel sick. I suppose that a “good place” to feel sick doesn’t exist, but prison rules aggravate illness because access to potential remedies is severely limited. I’ve been blessed with good health throughout my term. Yet, like all prisoners, I’m surrounded by hundreds of others in close quarters, and [...]
Read Michael’s daily journal entry here: http://prisonnewsblog.com/2010/02/why-prisons-will-always-be-full/ Print PDF
The room where I spend most of my time is bare. It has a concrete floor, concrete block walls, two windows that look out onto the center lawn of Taft prison camp. Every morning, just before 3:00, I sit at a round, Formica-topped table. I’m alone until I go outside to exercise at 6:00. I love the [...]
I began my work today at 2:21 a.m. I gathered my writing gear and left my cubicle to walk toward the room where I write. When I passed one of the cubicles on my left, I noticed that it was empty. An acquaintance with whom I’d been friendly was assigned to the cubicle, so seeing it [...]
