Going to Prison for Life
It's hard to endure going to prison for life -- and hard to endure the first day in a new prison, whichever it may be, even for someone who has over eighteen years in. You don't know where anything is, no [...]
Who Killed My Cellmate?
I've always turned to literature as my means of escape, especially in the midst of painful situations and despair. So, it's only fitting that I would relate most with Virginia Woolf the night I'd find my cellmate lying dead on a [...]
Prison Dating: Does He Love Me?
That’s a good question. I’m probably not the best person to ask about prison dating — in twenty-one years, no one was convinced enough by my love to stick around—but I’ll try.
Life Without Parole = Death By Incarceration
A life sentence can be death by incarceration. When a person serving life without parole (LWOP/DBI) reforms and rehabilitates his/her life, they should be allowed, “The Right to Redemption”
A Teenager’s First Day in Prison
Courtesy: Jermon Clark Walking into Receiving and Discharging on my first day in prison, I felt what seemed to be a million butterflies bouncing off the inside of my stomach. Here I was, an 18-year-old first-time offender carrying [...]
Officer Down
An early scene in The Shawshank Redemption has the old-school convicts watching the new fish get off the bus and placing bets on which one will break first. Some guys, you can immediately tell, don’t belong here. They ain’t gonna make [...]
A 2-Year Old Boy Lights Up This Lifer’s Life
AN AMAZING SIDE NOTE about Leonard Scovens: Agnes Fury is the mother and grandmother of author Leonard Scoven's two victims. Years ago, she contacted Scovens in prison to find answers and closure. Amazingly, their relationship turned into a friendship after the [...]
Reinfections and Retaliation in A Michigan Prison
One day, in the beginning of December 2020, a number of convicts in my unit in a Michigan prison were infected/reinfected with COVID-19. Our unit guards then donned protective suits, gloves, and face shields
The Alternatives To Violence Project Changed Me Forever
Finally, the next class is here and I’m finally going to attend an Alternatives to Violence Project class. When we all entered the room for the class, all the volunteers from outside introduced themselves to us inmates.
Coping with Stress in Prison
Prison is sometimes quiet. But it is never still. Peace is not the same as silence, and even then, silence is rare. Noise is constant, finding "meaning" in your days is elusive, and coping with stress in prison proves difficult. Combining [...]
Getting Released From Prison — And Scared
2021 is my year for being released from prison and I'm scared, nervous and concerned. I try to keep this positive mindset that it'll all be okay, but will it?
Abuse By Prison Guards Is Covered Up
I have been housed in dozens of facilities in 10 different states, so I can assure you that abuse by prison guards continues to be a pervasive problem.
Why Solitary Confinement Is Torture
After spending over five years studying how prolonged periods of solitary confinement harm the brains, the only conclusion that I could come up with is that solitary confinement is torture. I’m not the only one who knows this.
The Day My Best Friend Was Killed
When I was 13 years old, my best friend was killed. Gator and me was always together. If you seen him, you seen me and visa versa.