I Started Gang Banging in the 4th grade
I guess I never felt worthy of anything better, or I never even realized that I could be better. I had dreams and was always a smart kid
Paul on Death Row: I Was A Witness To Murder At Age 10
In the ghetto, there’s lots of improvisation. As young boys, we were very active and had loads of energy. We liked to play baseball, but lacked the equipment. No problem. For a bat, we used a broken broom handle. [...]
Dating An Inmate: It’s Not For Everyone
He tells her to leave when the D.A. offers fifteen years as the plea bargain. They're on a visit, at Riker's Island. You can’t take this, he tells her. It’ll hurt more when you leave later.
What Prisoners Think Of Trump
First, what prisoners think of Trump is that he's done the impossible, which is to take prisoners who would otherwise vehemently despise each other and unite them (albeit into one of two groups). Prisoners either love or hate him, without [...]
American Beauty: The Kristin Rossum Story
I produced an hour documentary on Kristin Rossum when I was a producer for CBS's 48 Hours. Here is a summary. Did Kristin get what she deserved? Kristin Rossum and Greg de Villers were newlyweds who seemed to have a wonderful [...]
From Death Row to Writing
I committed a crime that I’m still paying for and for that I was given the ultimate penalty: a trip to death row. I eventually made it off after 20 years and I felt that that alone was something worth sharing. [...]
Prison Gangs in New York: This Explains Everything
I got out of the Bloods. I realized that it is virtually impossible to consider someone your "brother" without the visceral love that comes with such, which is to say the prevailing emotion one feels in a prison gang is fear.
Aleksandr Kolpakov on Suicide Watch
My name is Aleksandr Kolpakov. I spent two and a half years at Mesa County Jail fighting my case before I was sent to Buena Vista. One day while I was there, I was jumped in the chow hall and got [...]
Sheldon Johnson in Sing Sing: Letter to My Younger Self
Dear Younger Self, If you only knew where you were headed and the degree of suffering you will endure, you'd stop the hands of time. But you don't, you can't. Your young mind cannot create such imagery.
An Underground Economy In Prison with Stamps As Currency
There's a prison underground economy. Capitalism is mimicked. There’s upper-class, middle-class and lower-class. Yes. There are prisoners with and there are prisoners without.
Solitary Sucks
One thing is for sure—once you're locked in—you're at the mercy of those with the squeaky boots, the clanking keys, and the ratcheting handcuffs. Even knowing their mighty shields don't make them more human than me, I still worship them. I leap to my feet and rush to the door at the sound of another human.
Everything’s a Pain in Prison, Even a Haircut
I spoke to my 19 year-old nephew, Cordell, for the first time today. I found myself emotionally torn between realizing that not only have I not been a part of his life, but that I have roughly 20 nieces and [...]
Tip #5: I Miss The Crooked Prison Guards
I miss obeying human beings. Knowing the cop who is having sex with your best friend will give you a donut when you are hungry and wipe the tears from your eyes when a family member passes away.
The Wacky World Of Watching the Elections In Prison
"Biden said he's sorry for all that crazy shit in his past," G, another African American friend of mine says with a shrug. "If we want people to believe we can change, don't we owe it to him to at least consider he may have changed too?"
Child Molesters Support Trump
A surprising number of white supporters are inside prison for rape, child-molestation, fraud, and embezzlement. In these and white-supremacist groups, he enjoys about a 95% approval rate.
A Hitman’s Hopes for Redemption
I don't think I will ever be able to understand what could make me do all the shit I did when I was younger. I'm mentally fucked up over my actions. The lady I killed in Wisconsin was a good hard working mother. Her name was Kim Smith and she worked for the county in Waukesha, Wisconsin.