Comments, Messages, and Letters of Support

Hi carole, just want to tell you that I admire you so much I love the website and all the story.
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Hello Michael and Carole, All our best to both of you from Canada. I skimmed over some of your journal notes, they are very touching. I am saddened that the judge gave you such a harsh sentence Michael, this was your first wrongdoing. Geez! It doesn’t take much to make a wrong turn in life does it? Know, you are thought of and wishing this outcome well.
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Hi Mike I just finished your book titled Inside, you did a fresh job. I had a hard time putting it down. What a story. I think the term you are serving is harsh not that u didn’t deserve some time but geez a bit much. Your story is good and I get from the book you’re a good guy who made a bad choice when u were young. I too made bad choices in my youth and paid my own price. But life is good now on my end. There is no doubt in my mind you have a bright future ahead.
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Hi Michael. I found your site by chance, and I think it’s fascinating. I recently worked with a group of reporters at UC Berkeley on a project about incarceration in California. Have a look if you have a moment. http://berkeley.news21.com/behindbars/ Also, they did a story on the desegregation of the prison system in California, and the three-strikes law. Part of the program is to also get published in regional mainstream media publications. So far, they’ve published in several outlets: http://berkeley.news21.com/behindbars/stories/ Just thought I would share this with you. Best to you.
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I loved all the articles. I also think that providing respect and allowing one to maintain as much dignity as humanly possible in a prison has a tremendous effect on an individual’s self esteem. When they have the self esteem, people are more apt to look at things in a more positive way, and become more eager to learn and grow.
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Hello I am a criminal Justice student at Heald college. We are at the moment discussing you in our class and all that you have achieved in prison. I was wondering if there would be any advise or anything you could share with us on your progress and all that you have done in prison, my teacher is one that wants us to study your achievements and all that you have done. please contact me at my email and I would love to discuss somethings that may be interesting to collect for my class.
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After studying criminology for many years and receiving my degree; my goal was to enter into the justice system in a way that would better serve those who live within its structured world. It did not take long to understand that my education meant very little and it certainly did not prepare me for what our society has done to those they consider “those other people”. Although I dealt with mostly youthful offenders; this system does not seem to differ much from what I read from Mr. Santos’s book. The extreme conditions that the system creates, most of us would not put our pets in. The lack of empathy is appalling. I thoroughly enjoyed your book, “Life Behind Bars”; it is just a glimpse of what we put our fellow man through. Your book left me with a longing of hope for better understanding of those who have to weave through that life. I hope this finds you well and free.
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I have been reading your articles and your story and find it most inspiring. My daughter’s boyfriend has just been sentenced to 2 years and is awaiting his placement. I have been sharing your stories with him and it helping get him through a very difficult time…thank you for all that you are doing.
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Hello, The Poetic Justice Project features a 15-member cast of formerly incarcerated writers, artists, musicians and actors to produce bold, original theatre that examines crime, punishment and redemption. Funded by the Williams James Association, National Endowment for the Arts and LEF Foundation, the show will go on the road for a prison town tour in Central Valley of California in August. Performances feature a Q&A session in which the actors engage with the audience on topics of prison life, recidivism, pain and redemption. I am hoping you will be interested and promote the tour on your blog. For more information, please see the website at www.poeticjusticeproject.org. Thanks for your consideration.
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You are inspiration. Thank you for sharing your gift with others, despite the obstacles. Your blog lets me know that there are others out there who have loved ones in prison, and helps me feel as if I am not alone. It is a complex issue that I often feel I cannot be truthful with others about because of the stigma attached to those who are incarcerated.
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Dear Michael, “Prison alone are not the solution to crime” and “the absurd number of people serving multiple decades for non-violent offenses is a valid reason for legislation to reconsider mandatory-minimum sentencing law to create early release values for people who demonstrate their commitment to earning freedom.” Those two statements stood out to me as I read your book, “About Prison.” The reason why is I believe like you, that prisons are at a bursting point with overcrowding. Your book is used in one of my classes and I am about to do a project on prison overcrowding. Some of your statements are reference points that I will be using in my presentation. I want to say that I thought your book was well written and gave me a lot of insight into corrections.
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I am amazed and impressed by Michael’s website! He has done amazing things behind bars! He is very lucky to have a wife to come home to. Few would after 24 years.
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I recently stumbled upon your website while researching several websites as I prepare for the next 63 months of my life in prison. I’m sure this sentence seems miniscule to what Mr. Santos has had to endure over the years. The whole reason for this email is to say thank you for your inspiration. I wanted to personally say thank you for giving me an insight into your world – it has and will continue to inspire me during my journey. If I can spend the next several years with the same drive and motivation you have, I hope to make a difference in the lives of people I come in contact with. Be Well! Stay Strong! God Bless!
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I have been reading your book, About Prison, for my Corrections class. Although it’s optional, I have learned much more from your book than my actual class. I am only 18 and a freshman in college. Almost all my family member have gone to jail because of drugs, and your book has really taught me things I couldn’t find out on my own. Thank you!
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Hi Michael, Im a 25 y/o musician from Australia and I just finished reading your book ‘Inside’. My fiancee bought it for me as I am always watching shows like Americas Hardest Prisons and I love a good true crime book, so she thought this would be right up my ally. She was right. For someone like myself who never ever wants to see or hear a cell door shut behind me, I have always wondered to myself how one would survive in a case like that. Your book, was both very well written and intriguing to read, and I just wanted to thank you for that. I really hope you keep your site updated when you are released in 2013. You already are a success story but Im sure Im not alone in wanting to know how you go once outside. Thanks once again mate!
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Hi Mr. Santos, Just a note to give you some support and solidarity. Keep up your spirits. The system has to change.
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I like what you write, I like the attitude you have and I hope you’ll be very successful once you rejoin this very crazy world. Good luck and God Bless your journey.
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Hey Mike, I have read your book, and then I became interested in your story. It is not often that an individual chooses to work toward turning an extreme negative into a positive like you have done. I myself have been fairly law abiding, though I did receive two back to back driving under the influence charges at the age of 20, and was forced to spend 4 months in a county jail in Sarasota Florida, which is a very disgusting jail. I felt that I had learned something about how terribly the system was run, but it wasn’t until I read your book that I realized that I had only just scratched the surface of the “correctional system” in this country. I can not imagine having been put through what you have been forced to do due to your poor decisions as a young man, I mean, that could have been me! You were just a young man, and it is terrible to see how primitive our justice system appears to be when it comes to dealing with young and first time offenders. You are a very interesting and enlightened person, and i would love to hear more stories of what you went through.
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Mr. Santos, I have been reading through your website. I am quite impressed with your site, you as a person, and your continuing contributions to society.
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Dear Mr. Santos, I just finished reading your biography and your resume. I congratulate you on your college degrees and on your diligence in becoming an upstanding member of society and maintaining a moral code. You appear to be a person of high intelligence. You have created and helped form a number of associations that will be of help to young people who are unaware of the pitfalls of their path. May God bless and keep you and your wife.
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I am constantly amazed at Michael’s positive outlook and how well he has adjusted to prison. I know how hard it was and probably still is for your family, Michael. But, your success while in prison must bring them some comfort. If I could will it, you would have been out of prison long ago, but our prison system seems to be devoid of logic; there also seems to be no one to reason with.
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I think you’re a hero. You not only made some incredible lemonade when you had a truck load of lemons dumped in your lap, you shared that with others. The magnitude of adversity you had to overcome makes climbing Mount Everest seem like a walk up an ant hill! I salute you!
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Hi Michael, I just finished reading your book, Inside, and found it to be a fascinating, and frightening, account of what is going on inside of our prisons these days. The issue of gangs, organized along racial lines, is a major fact of prison life. But I was wondering what about the Asians that are encarcerated? Do the Vietnamese street gangs have a similar, shadow structure in jail? Do they align, or conflict, with the blacks, whites or latins? What happens to the Asians who have no gang affiliation to protect them? Are Asians more prevalent in the white collar prisons vs. the penitentiaries? Any comments or observations that you might have about the population, standing and behavior of Asians in prisons would be much appreciated. Thanks.
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Hi! I was just writing to say that I’m reading a book written by Michael. My boss is an instructor and uses his book as her text book for her class. Once I got to reading it, I decided to research Michael and was amazed to find that he was still locked up. Thanks for the website and the daily journals. Thanks for all that you do!
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Michael, You have a great gift to add value and inspire others. Thank you for having the courage to live your dream. I enjoyed meeting you during my visit to Taft. Continue to develop your skills as a powerful speaker and author.
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Thank you for your efforts in prison reform. My brother is in MDC Brooklyn as we speak. He was originally in Virginia serving 15 months for perjury. He was released to a halfway house 2 months ago. He had earned good time that was going to see him out in April. He had to find a job while in the halfway house. A family member offered him a job that he gladly accepted. Two months into the job he was pulled back to the halfway house because there is a stipulation that says you can’t work for family. They revoked his good time and added time to his sentence because he worked for family. They sent him to a high security prison until they could decide where they were going to send him. He was there for a month. Phone calls from him cost us a fortune because the phone company knows they have you by the short hairs. $600 in the last 2 months for these calls. I know he was in prison for a reason but his punishment certainly isn’t fitting his crime. I am glad someone is doing something about this. I already wrote to President Obama before i discovered your site. Again Thank You.
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The reality is that most of America is the product of some sort of system, and it is very difficult to change a system you are a product of. No matter where you are no one can change for you anyways, as you said that change comes from within. It is wonderful to hear such strength in your words and to see another supportive family. Stay strong!
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Michael- Thanks for your comments on 7 Habits of H.E. Prisoners. I am a volunteer at a pre-release program in Alabama where I teach 7 Habits with permission from FranklinCovey. Can you offer insight as to how I would approach DOC on incorporating 7 Habits on a larger scale as a funded program? Would you advise DOC staff and inmates take the training? Have you shared any innovations peculiar to prison environment with FranklinCovey? Do you think this is a “special” slant deserving of its own presentation, or do you think it should be taught just as in business? I’d love to hear your opinions on this. God Bless
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hi michael im reading “inside” now on page 97. its good. you’re a good writer.ive never been to jail.im a truck driver so i read a lot of stuff in my down time.gotta get back to reading it.its pretty action packed.
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My children and I just returned from seeing their father this past weekend, the first contact visit he was allowed since his imprisonment. Reading your blog, and book, helped prepare me for the experience, and I want to say thank you for that. You are a strong man, Michael. You have survived, and I dare say, thrived, despite the odds. Thank you again for all you do. It does help, it does make a difference.
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Hi Michael, I came to Taft about the same you did. I’ve been reading your journal since I was released from Taft in 2009. I just want to say hello and wish you the best. You are doing a wonderful job sharing your experience with outside world. God bless you.
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I enjoyed your book greatly. Prison is a place that nobody wants to end up.
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Hi Michael! I hope this letter finds you as I am sure you are inundated with fan mail, and letters of support. I want to tell you that your book has touched me personally and that I intend to pass it on to a friend of mine who is serving time in San Diego County jail right now. Thank you so much Michael Santos, you have written one of the most important books of our time.
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Hello Mike (and Carole). I hope this note finds you both doing well. It has been several years since my last E-contact with Carole (was trying to get a college paper to Mike). I was one of many students at CSULB that wrote Mike as part of a correction systems class. Your 9/28 post about the prison system is spot on! It’s unfortunate that the impetus behind any reform movement is hidden from public sight (i.e. wasted money, overly bureaucratic, etc.). I personally believe that the prison unions have much to do with keeping the status quo and therefore it will be nearly impossible to change the current paradigm. If you’re serious about changing the prison system, you need some heavy political juice behind you. Keep your head down and stay out of trouble in there. Hope you get your email up and running soon.
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Hello..thanks for your words…and advice and experiences. They have helped me prepare for my prison term. Lots of positive support is felt from you.
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Hello Michael: Your credentials and vision are most impressive, as is your website.
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Just finished reading your book “Inside” as my Just Faith Group is now studying prison reform. I hope the Centering Prayer ministry is having a positive effect on those in prison. As a result of this book, I plan to pray for someone who is incarcerated through the “Circle of Love” ministry. Thank you for enlightening me with this fascinating and provocative book!
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I came across your site when looking for Judge Mathis prison reform program. Although I have never been an inmate I have worked in jail and prison as a CASAT and supervisor of CASAT helping rehabilitate and prepare inmates for release. Now with that said I no longer want to refer to those incarcerated as inmates but as those on the inside,etc. While working on the inside I had to remind the men that they are human beings not bricks in the wall, although “Inmate” is a term given to you, YOU must not let that word define YOU, You must know that You are much more than one confined, you are gifted,thinkers, doers,fathers,husbands and sons. I commend YOU on your positive changes and accomplishments.
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Good luck to you, your wife and family. I accidentally stumbled onto your story on the internet and read it out of curiosity. When we’re young and our frontal lobes aren’t fully developed, we make choices without full consideration of the consequences. This is why auto insurance rates for 23 year olds are astronomical. Your sentence seems extreme and I agree you’ve worked hard to prove yourself worthy of another chance. I really hope you get one. I admire your positivity. Again, good luck to you and your family!
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Even though I was required to read your book About Prison for my Institutional Corrections class at Umass Lowell, I thouroughly enjoyed it. Just wanted to let you know I respect you for everything you have accomplished and wish you luck with everything in the future. Thanks for the insight.
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Dear Michael and Carole, I stumbled across your site in the course of unrelated research and I wanted – with nothing more pertinent to say – to tell you both what an extraordinary project this is and what an amazing asset and resource for the broader community. I am an Australian lawyer, and my passion is for juvenile justice, so I’m understandably interested and outraged by penal issues. Even so, I commend your clear, compassionate and relatively polemic-free approach – it seems to me that you have found one way of broadening this discussion and moving past the reactionary responses and demonizing that seems typical of any discussion around prisons. Thank you for your ongoing labour and commitment to the website.
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My family has been following your articles for over 2 years now. My greatest hope is that Sen Webb’s bill will create massive changes in this chaotic injustice system. Can you please pound the drum for the need for retroactive necessity. I don’t think many people are aware that if that is not included in the change, the ones currently incarcerated will no benefit by the changes. God be with all of us and thank you for your strength and dedication to helping others.
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Bless you, I hope you get your freedom.
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I am writing this to thank you both for sharing your courageous and inspirational story. The determination and strength of character both of you have shown is heartening to those who might be facing similar circumstances. I initially found your blog through Justin Paperny’s blog. Both of you have been very stabilizing to me during what I am sure you know is a very difficult time, and I am also looking forward to ordering and reading some of your books.
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Michael, I am an Army Major who finished reading your book while deployed for a year in Afghanistan. I enjoyed reading your book, and gained many insights from it. You made me reevaluate my complaining about doing another year deployed (I realize the vast differences in our situations), and certainly made me apply myself in self improvement, thanks.
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Hi Michael, I recently discovered your blog, and I have become a frequent reader. Thanks again for the great content.
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Thank you so much for all the wonderful information you have provided. My husband has just been sentenced to 45 months at Taft. Could you please tell me about the visiting hours?
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Nice page. I have it bookmarked and will scour your site in the weeks ahead. So far this is the best site I have seen to answer my questions as a concerned parent. I hope for the best but plan or the worst, never knew a father could feel so helpless or devastated.
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Hi….A friend of mine is currently being detained. My thoughts are constantly with him and was so happy to discover your book, "Inside: Life Behind Bars in America". I am almost finished this book and was so encouraged to hear of your plan to prepare yourself for when you are released. I just wanted to tell you that your book was a great help to me!!!!
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As a first time offender, facing 2 years in federal prison, I want to say your website is a comfort to me. I have read so much, and found your website from prisontalk.com. I admire your courage and attitude and hope that I learn something from it prior to my sentencing.
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To the critics who say that you have done these things in order to seek early release, my response is pretty simple… who cares. The bottom line is that you have lived an exemplary life since being incarcerated and that prison system should account for that regardless of the motivation. Aside from all of that, the fact of the matter is that I personally think you have paid your dues to society in the years you have been in prison already. I think spending nearly 20 years in prison for your crime at a young age is way more than sufficient and arguably you should have been released some time ago. Instead, you are facing prison until age 49. I cannot imagine that you have spent your entire adult life in prison for something you did at such a young age and that you have to pay for that for your entire life. Frankly, that seems unfair to me. and continue your zest for life to the fullest and good things will happen. I personally hope that good things happen for you in the future and that, with the grace of God, someone sees fit to do the right thing and let you live your life on the outside.
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Hi Michael, I found your website looking for info on overcrowding and early release in the Taft Prison. Your words are very inspiring and I ended up reading a years worth of the letters in your daily Journal.You are a true inspiration! I wish you all the best in your relationship as well as in all your dreams for your future.
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Thank you for your frank book on life inside prisons. I am a stay at home mom right now, but I am an ex-English/Spanish teacher who enjoys reading memoirs. I hope the best for you and know you will be a happy, successful person upon your release. I hope you get OUT as soon as possible! Our country needs you…and I hope you look into teaching. Students of all ages need you, too.
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After I got out of jail two years ago, I discovered your blog and have been greatly inspired by it. My five months, I know, is nothing compared to the time you are serving. I wish you all the best, Michael, will continue to read your inspirational writing and will look forward to hearing of your release.
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Dear Sir, I am currently studying Human Relations (it combines Sociology, Psychology and Criminology). My theory is that not only do we not prepare people to function in the “outside” but we also set them up for failure. Your book was fantastic. After taking my Criminal Behavior Psychology class, your book has provided a better understanding for some of the theories that we had learned. Thank you!
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g’day mate. just letting you know i finished your book in 3 days!! Very interesting and very well written. As a rugby player & electrician in Sydney, Australia, stories of inmates, gaol(jail) fights & your inner strength up against the jail authorities, is a total world away from down here! totally amazing read, something so different from my usual book style (James Patterson novels or sporting autobiographies). i loved the book and will be lending it to all my mates asap. All the best with your final years and your pending release.
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Michael – I do not know you, but know of you. With Calif. in so much debt and considering releasing prisoners to save money, is it possible that you and others like you will be the ones released early? Is there anyone to contact to help make that happen? I am a very conservative person, but even I think that your sentence should have been completed long before now.
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Hello there. I enjoy reading your blog. I recently came across two rather eye-opening articles from TIME Magazine’s Europe edition. One is on the Norwegian penal system and how they have a totally different approach to criminality than the US. The second is a photo-essay from Norway’s newest prison, which has a two-story conjugal house where inmates can host their families over night, a professional recording studio, etc. Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2000920,00.html Photo-essay: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1989083,00.html Keep up the good work!
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Thank you for your writings. I read your Facebook page every time something is posted. I understand the commitment you have with your wife and your future goals. I pray everyday that the Justice System in USA will some how charge back to when and how the Constitution was written. People do not care any more and it gets harder everyday. Thank you for your writings and may God Bless you and your wife.
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I would not have been sufficiently inspired to start the Institute for People with Criminal Records had I not found and read your work a while back.
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I am a 35 year old, second year law student at Indiana University. The reason that I am writing is this: I am currently enrolled in the evening division and am taking a class called “Law and Literature.” I have read both your books “About Prison” and “Inside.” That was all that the library had on hand, but I will make the recommendation to purchase the others. Your works are both accessible and forthright. Most of what we study does not seem accessible or particularly relevant or valid or authentic, but both of your works have stood out as strong representations of what is real. I wanted to take some time to write you and say thank you, that you are making a difference, and I hope to get your work “About Prison” added to the “Law and Literature” curriculum.
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Thank you, Michael and Carole for your candid views on your incarceration and your kindness to the experience. I will continue to follow you.
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It was quite by accident that I fell onto your website. I am involved as a volunteer in a program called Books Beyond, a small number of volunteers meet periodically with inmates at the Adult Correctional Institution in Rhode Island. The inmate chooses three books to read aloud to their child(ren). I record the readings, burn them to a CD and then mail the CD and new book to the child(ren). So far, I have worked with several inmates. I find that the ones I have met are committed to their children and, most obviously, as they read aloud, just as if their child were sitting on their lap. I admire both of you for your strength, your courage and compassion. Bless you!
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I just finished reading your book “Inside”. I don’t know how you do it. At least you are doing good for yourself in there and you want to get out. I bet you can’t wait for the day that you get to walk out that door and never come back.
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I just read Inside: Life Behind Bars in America and thought it was very well written. I am looking forward to reading all of your other books. Good luck to you and your family and I wish you a speedy release date. I hope you continue to write after your release.
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I read your book and found it very insightful – it has transported me into the correctional system of the US through your description and experience. Thank you for sharing your experience via written text and bringing me over beyond the wall. I wish you the best in your return to the outside.
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Michael, First I applaud you for what you have done, rather than succumb to your environment, you made the decision to become a better person. Being from South Central Los Angeles, I know what gangs, drugs and the lack of education do to a community. I have seen too many young men without even a basic education turn to what they felt was their only ticket for survival: crime. I am writing a paper for my English Comp class entitled: Recidivism: Education is the key to decreasing the rate of return to America’s prison system. Could you give me your thoughts on why you think the political machine as well as the public are so opposed to even basic GED education? After reading some of your blog entries, I value your opinion on this issue. Thank you.
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I read the article on Call for Prison Reform. As a voter I always thought I was doing the right thing, harsher penalties, until I was right in the middle of the war. I am ashamed I never researched more during my life of voting. You are truly an inspiration. You have much to be proud of.
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Thank you for your inspirational work Michael. God Bless
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I just wanted to say hello to Michael and tell him I hope things are going well these days for him.
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The spirit with which you have sustained yourself and grown as a man matches the approach to the vocation of business that you are preparing for and your desire to enter a truly free market place. Whether you know it or not, you have a profound knowledge of freedom by way of its denial in most your adult life. You and your wife and family will remain in my thoughts and prayers. You have taught me more than you will ever know. Thanks.
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Thanks for your efforts to promote sane prison reform.
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I just recently purchased your book INSIDE. I was shocked at what I read. I passed it on to my brother and plan on passing it on to others. I’m glad that you have found a way to pass your time in a more constructive matter. I hope and pray that people open their eyes to what you are trying to say, I know as a TAX PAYER I did. Well I wish you and your wife the best and I will keep both of you in my prayers.
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You are an inspiration! Please don’t overlook mothers of prisoners as a group that can be helpful in prison reform. Don’t know if there is a specific organization…but there should be! My motto for this idea is: ‘give us back our prisoners.’ For they are all our sons, brothers, fathers, uncles, daughters,sisters and mothers. That’s a fundamental societal shift of consciousness so in the meantime we can still make many, many positive and constructive improvements if the will of the people is there. Your mission will bring that awareness. I am so pleased now to be able to read your works and wish you every success. Stay strong and pure, you have a strong and holy name!
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my son is at pleasant valley state prison in california. he was sentenced to 12 years for drugs. He would like to get a college degree. he is a high school graduate and passed the state licensing exam for nursing. how do I go about sending him information on what schools offer these programs to prisoners through the mail?
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I’m happy that you have family support and a life to look forward to when you leave. That is so important, and so many men and women do not have that. I am glad that you have been able to make a life for yourself that gives you hope for the future, and I wish you the greatest happiness in the future to come.
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Dear Mr. Santos: Your writings and your purpose in life are admirable, as is your humility, dedication, and self-discipline. I hope that you appeal to President Obama for clemency. You deserve it.
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Dear Michael, What a powerful website you have. You must be very proud. Reading about a man who turned his life around when the odds were stocked against you is inspiring to anyone, not just someone in prison. Wish you much success in your life. Thank you for making a difference and contributing to society in such a compelling way.
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