As a long-term prisoner, I sometimes smile when I hear others discussing their theories on penology. This morning I sat in the law library typing responses to a lengthy letter for the lawyers who are working with me. The law library is in a room adjacent to the leisure library and if I ever want to laugh, I can sit in one of the cushioned chairs, pretend that I need to focus on my work, and eavesdrop on the conversations of the dim bulbs around me.
In Taft Camp, we have many well-educated prisoners who hold advanced degrees and who led distinguished careers prior to their confinement, but there are also prisoners who are uneducated, and who should leave the dispensing of advice. As I sat typing the letter to my lawyers, Dan sat beside me. He likes to identify himself as a banker, though I’ve never known bankers who tattoo crudely drawn daggers on their forearms. Dan has a beard, and he walks with a hunch. He has a habit of bobbing his head from side to side, and when he dispenses advice, as he likes to do, he sometimes closes his eyes, as if he has to search through the massive banks of information in his mind.
Today, Dan was advising another prisoner on filing a civil suit against a case manager. According to Dan, the case manager was violating the prisoner’s rights by requiring him to attend GED classes. Dan’s advice was not only absurd on the grounds that the prisoner didn’t have standing to file a lawsuit, but if the prisoner can’t pass the GED, chances are that he lacks the intellect to engage in complex litigation as well. Dan should have been advising the other prisoner that the GED class was a good place for him to further his education. Prisoners like Dan bring trouble.
My strategy for avoiding trouble is to spend as much time alone as possible, and I’m always working toward goals that I clearly identify. Today I began at 1:48 this morning. I edited chapter five, then ran 10 miles. In the afternoon, I typed my long letter for the legal team. I’m ready for bed at 4:30 in the afternoon, and I expect to be asleep before 5:00. My running tally is now 2,553 miles over the past 287 days.
Friday, 25 September 2009
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