I recently received a letter from a man who questioned my commitment to transparency. He believes that I shouldn’t write so much about the importance of transparency because my readers don’t expect prisoners to lead transparent lives. I don’t agree with his advice.

Living a transparent life is a virtue, I think, and I rank it among my highest values. It is the reason that I am so careful about documenting everything I think, say, and do. I intend to leave prison one day and to begin a career that will bring fulfillment while simultaneously contributing to the improvement of our society. Preparing for such aspirations requires daily commitment—it is what distinguishes my adjustment from others who serve lengthy prison terms. By writing about it every day I hope to dispel misperceptions that many people in society have about prison.

I’m aware of the high recidivism rates that plague our nation’s prison system. According to a Senate bill for a panel to study the American prison system, Senator Jim Webb estimates that more than six of every 10 people who proceed through America’s prison system return to confinement upon release. It seems that the longer America exposes offenders to “corrections,” the less likely that individual becomes to function in society.

By living transparently I show the discipline with which I transcend the obstacles wrought by confinement. The more I write about the steps I take to prepare, the more contribution I make to the national dialogue on the need for prison reform. Further, I strive to inspire others in prison who live without hope. They need role models that show how an individual can create meaning in life despite multiple decades in confinement—it doesn’t materialize by accident, but comes through deliberate choices, discipline, and commitment. As Winston Churchill once said, to succeed means to encounter failure after failure without losing enthusiasm. Prisoners who embrace such mottos can triumph.

Confining nonviolent offenders for multiple decades is wasteful, expensive, and stupid. Prisoners who adjust with a 100 percent commitment to succeed upon release can further the argument for prison reform. I live transparently, documenting my every day through this online journal, with hopes of changing attitudes about America’s disgraceful prison system.

Ran 10 miles / 5,490 miles in 615 days

500 pushups / 90,200 pushups in 2010

Thursday, 19 August 2010

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