My Crime: Brad Simpson
The reason this moment is different than normal: I have a warrant (that’s normal), I’m driving without any ID on me (that’s normal), and I have 10,000 ecstasy pills in the trunk of my car (that’s new!).
What’s Prison Really Like?
I officially retired November 30th, 2007 at the ripe old age of 24, and it’s great! I am now part of a government-sponsored adult day care and assisted living center. We have the best health care plan in the United States. [...]
Who Guards the Guards? (with a surprise ending…)
Sergeant McKay* was passing out the food trays, sliding the trays through the slot in our metal doors. Every convict on the confinement tier knew you just don't ask Sergeant McKay to pass your food tray to someone else for you. Everyone knew that except Ray "Noodles."
Prison Guards Gas Inmates in Attempted Murder
These 3 ranking officers emptied 2 small cans of chemical agents and used 4 big cans emptying at least 2 of them – all within a 5 minute period. No medical personnel was on scene during this use of force nor was the portable camera (handheld video camera) focused into the cell recording the actions of the offenders that required such an excessive use of force.”
What Can Be Done With A Prisoner Like Maurice Smith?
From the first day I stepped foot in a jail cell, I immediately got a good taste of what it's liked to be housed around the mentally ill. These prisoners are nothing like your average prisoner, starting with how they [...]
Do You Want To Know Why There’s Violence in Prisons?
Yes, I know what you see in movies. Yes, I know what you see on television. Yes, some of it’s true. Racial tensions are always sparking, sometimes turning into a bloody conflagration that sweeps through the prison burning anyone in [...]
A Prisoner’s Top 10 Ways To Improve Prison
1. Start looking at results. When prisoners are released and are successful and do not come back, see what is the same amongst them. Do not just write it as a statistic and stare at it. Act on it. Utilize the [...]
What Happens When You Scream for Help in Prison?
If you woke in the middle of the night and heard your neighbor being robbed, you could hear that he was about to be stabbed, and anticipated that he would soon be screaming... would you put in earplugs and roll [...]
Five DIY Tips for Preparing for Reentry
One day I finally said to myself – “you killed someone” – a young man’s life is gone. And I wondered how my mother would feel if it had been me who had been killed. I began thinking about my victim’s mother.
Racism in Prison Goes Both Ways
Like many other communities, prison is largely self-segregated. Considering the psychodynamics within, this is not unexpected. One of the biggest surprises of prison life, however, is that so many on the inside are neither the racists they claim for themselves nor [...]
I Am A Killer Season 2 — I Survived Death Row
Once upon a time I was a Death Row inmate, Level 3. What that means is I was the residue at the bottom of the barrel. There is absolutely nothing below that in the world we call PRISON except one [...]
Getting Out of Prison is Overrated
I’m a repeat offender. This is my 4th time in penitentiary. I’m the “poster child” for getting out of prison. First time I was 17 years old. I did four years. My 2nd time I was 22 and I did 3 years. Third time I was 25 and I did 9 years. Now I’m 37 and I’m serving a 30-year sentence.
We Smoked K-2. I Barely Survived, He Didn’t.
I died that night. Twice. Later, I was told that when I arrived at the medical department I did not have a heartbeat and I had stopped breathing. I was clinically dead. But the medical staff at the Coffield Unit did not give up on me.
Cerebral Palsy in Prison
"Hey, did you see that kid in the wheelchair today?" "No." I say. "When did he get here?" "I think he just rode in yesterday or today," said Greg. "He break his leg or something?" "No, he's, like, seriously in a [...]
A Prisoner’s Three Tips for Beating Boredom
When you're in the hole (solitary confinement), there's only three things that can alleviate loneliness and boredom: jacking off, taking a shit and pacing back and forth.
I Got Solitary for Refusing To Be A Prison Snitch for the Prosecutor
To my disbelief, he told me that he needed my assistance in testifying against persons I didn’t even know. Shock must have registered on my face because the suited man quickly identified himself as the lead prosecutor in the case. He told me that the government was prepared to offer me significant time-off for my help.