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 Europe. When I read the editorial, I wondered what difference a “European” type sentence would have made in my life.
Judge Jack Tanner sentenced me to serve 45 years, but I expect that I’ll spend only 26 years in prison because of good time credits on my sentence. Had I received a sentence in Europe, Justice Kennedy suggested, I would have only served between three and four years.
I began serving my sentence in 1987, when I was 23. By the time I finished my fourth year on prison, I had nearly completed my undergraduate degree. Had I been released then, I could have begun a career, contributed to society in productive ways, and started a family. Instead, according to the cost of incarceration figures cited in the editorial, taxpayers have spent more than $700,000 (thus far) to keep me locked inside prison boundaries. The good news for taxpayers is that they will only have to spend another $113,750 to imprison me for the remaining three and a half years I’m scheduled to serve.
I’ve been working hard to prepare for release since the day my imprisonment began. A funny thing happened along the way. Instead of holding my breath, waiting for relief, I became comfortably numb. Imprisonment no longer has a hold on me. I’ve learned to live inside these boundaries and to find peace within the countless limitations and restrictions. Release could come as scheduled, in August of 2013, or it could come before. Frankly, I don’t care. Prison has become an indelible part of my life and I’m prepared to serve as long as it takes.
What I don’t comprehend is why taxpayers tolerate such excessive and costly terms of imprisonment. Justice Kennedy said that correctional officers’ unions sponsor legislation that leads to long prison terms, but why do taxpayers stand for the costs? During these tough economic times, when budgets for health care, education, and social programs face drastic cuts, why do taxpayers tolerate billions of dollars (and the wasted human lives) that prison systems across extract?
Sponsors of the Criminal Justice page at Change.org invite readers to take action in supporting prison reform and sentencing policies in the federal system. My prison term is nearly complete, but on behalf of more than two million prisoners serving sentences that are far too long, I urge readers to sign on to this effort.
Whatever happens, I’ll keep exercising and preparing for wherever this journey takes me. This morning I ran seven miles and followed the run with 500 pushups. It was an abbreviated workout because today was a visiting day with my wife—we’re both committed to making the most of what we have.
[consecutive running log: 3,860 miles over the past 436 days]
[pushups in 2010: 18,000]
Sunday, 21 February 2010
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