As I wrote in the early morning hours, I paused to look through a large window. This morning, as I was writing, I saw two men carrying plastic bags that were stuffed with their personal belongings. It was before four in the morning, so the compound of Taft’s prison camp was closed. The men were walking from the housing unit to the control center. They were about to be released from prison.
The men were walking away from me, and the darkness blocked me from seeing who they were. I didn’t know how much time they had served, what was waiting for them upon release, or how they had prepared themselves for the challenges ahead. All that mattered was that their time in prison had come to an end. They were about to begin the next phase of their journey.
Every man in prison dreamed of the release date. Since prisoners didn’t have an objective mechanism through which they could work to advance the date, they fed on rumors of imminent change. I’ve been swimming through various rumors for longer than 21 years. Since President Obama was elected to the White House, along with a more liberal congress, those rumors felt ubiquitous.
After teaching a class that I regularly led on Monday afternoon, two prisoners asked whether I had heard the latest news. As a consequence of my writing about prison, and the partnership I have with my wife, other prisoners frequently approach me in search of hope. They need something to cling to as they pass through one prison day to the next. The only news of which I was aware, however, was that Senator Jim Webb had announced that he would begin panel discussions on prison reform in the spring.
The prisoner insisted that something new was brewing. He told me that a staff member had indicated the Bureau of Prisons was making changes According to what the staff member supposedly said, by March 16, the BOP would post a memorandum indicating that changes would result in the release of thousands. Then other prisoners began talking about new legislation that would offer more good time. I was skeptical. I felt certain that prison reform measures would come with our new leadership, but with pressing issues like the economy, health care, energy, and two wars, I did not expect to see those changes until the latter portion of 2009.
What I did know was that just as the two men I saw walking toward their prison exit this morning, a time would come when every prisoner at Taft Camp would return to society. Perhaps more important than the release date was ensuring that when freedom from prison came, we would have the skills, values, and discipline to ensure that we never returned. That was the counsel I regularly gave. We had to prepare, prepare, prepare.
I began my preparations this morning at 3:30. I wrote several blogs, a letter to Professor Jana Schrenkler at Saint Mary’s University with contributions to her ethics class, and a love letter to my beloved wife. I ran 10 miles, lifting my tally to 732 miles in 80 days. I taught a class and I read.
Monday, 2 March 2009
PDF 
