Yesterday I finished writing a first draft of a manuscript that describes a typical day for me in prison at this stage of my confinement. I’m glad to have memorialized how I spend my time in here. Carole will coordinate typing (thank you, Tristan and Jonathan!) and editing, which may require several rewrites. My hopes [...]
I read an article in yesterday’s USA Today (6/28/10 page A1) about cell phones in prison. According to the article, authorities find the use of cell phones in prison a real threat to security. I’ve been in prison camps where cell phones were common. They’re a contraband item, and if guards caught a prisoner with [...]
Michael has several new articles posted on the Criminal Justice blog at Change.org! http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog?author_id=190 Print PDF
During the past week I’ve read and heard much about General Stanley McChrystal. What stood out to me were the descriptions of his discipline with regard to his daily regimen. I don’t know how much—if any—was hyperbole, but I read that he subsisted on one small meal each day, that he never slept longer than [...]
Today I accomplished a goal: I logged more than 5,000 miles of running without taking a day off. It’s been a continuous string of 562 days, and I feel strong. According to the running log I keep, as of today I’ve finished 5,007 miles. When others ask me how I’ve run 5,000 miles without taking [...]
Posted by Carole Santos Honestly, I didn’t know anything about prison before I reconnected with Michael. However, when I pledged my heart to him and joined my life to his in February of 2002, real prison suddenly had an every day presence in my life and I felt a responsibility to learn about it. I was eager and willing [...]
Beginning a few months ago, I started writing articles for a newsletter that we now publish each month in Taft Camp. I spent today writing a profile that described the adjustment pattern of Shawn Sykes. The profile will appear in the July issue of our newsletter, but to give readers an idea of how a [...]
Today is my seventh wedding anniversary and I had to celebrate it quietly without the love of my life. I don’t expect that I will be home for our next anniversary, but a sliver of hope exists for us both that I will be home for our ninth anniversary. I don’t have any doubt that [...]
I read a newspaper article about the famous American writer John Updike’s personal papers. I read several of his books, including the Rabbit series that chronicled one American family’s life, and numerous short stories he wrote. Someday I would like to visit the library at Harvard where I can read more about his thoughts while [...]
I spoke with a staff member who works in middle-management at Taft Camp, and I didn’t understand his complaints about being unhappy with his career. He told me that he was tired of his job and that he didn’t like working here. That sort of apathy doesn’t make sense to me when I hear it [...]
