My first cellmate in one of Michigan's adult prisons was an axe murderer. More specifically, he was a serial killer who killed multiple people with an axe on one Halloween night. I didn't know his background when they moved me into [...]
Welcome to Zombie Land. Those are the words that rattle around inside my skull every time I step away from my cell during this Coronavirus meltdown. Here in the Great State of Michigan, some might argue that our Governor was a [...]
The situation, simply put: for families of the incarcerated, life is brutal. Sad. Devastating to family structure and closeness. Difficult financially. Painful. Wrenching, forcing families to drive six hours on Sundays to visit with no gas money. Getting rejected for a [...]
Every time I watch the news footage of that cop murdering Mr. George Floyd, I cringe. And not only because it resulted in Mr. Floyd's death, but because -- for the last twenty-five years -- I've been ruled over by evil [...]
"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 [...]
Throughout my 23 years of incarceration, many people have had a positive influence on my life, but none more so than the courageous volunteers who selflessly pour into American prisons each and every day, whether it be for religious purposes, substance [...]
There are two main emotions every convict locked away in America is forced to cope with during his incarceration: Anger, and Loneliness. Anger at the situation we've somehow brought crashing down upon ourselves, and anger at a system that refuses to [...]
There is a distinctive "ting" when metal snaps: a sharp, high-pitched note reverberates through the air long after the metal stops vibrating. “Shit,” I grumbled under my breath. The small piece of metal had broken in my hand, not cutting [...]
Sometimes, after my roommate has gone to sleep (or has left the room, or when no one is looking), I grab my pillow and hold it tightly, pressing my face against it. I fall asleep with my arm wrapped around it, [...]
A few years back, some asshole came up with the idea to hold a pedophile footrace around the track here at our facility. (Pedophiles are at the bottom of the food chain in prison; hated by all, guards and convicts alike.) Originally, [...]
"Whaaamp ... whaaamp ... whaaamp ..." boomed the loudspeaker mounted outside my cell door. Above me, thick, oily smoke roiled, clouding my cell. The kind of smoke all the "survival" shows claim is necessary for a successful signal fire; a [...]
My first visitor in prison was my dad. Looking back at the picture I have from that day, I realize that I must have smelled just awful. It was my second day in at Thumb Correctional Facility's Youthful Side, Michigan's prison [...]
We might have been crazy, and they certainly said that about us, though they said that about all the youth. Every child who came to prison was at least regularly seen by the psychiatrists, which really is a good thing. If [...]
By Jerry Metcalf The other day, while walking down the hallway here in my prison housing unit, I noticed something odd lying on the floor. I stooped to examine it, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out [...]
When the prison I've grown up in partnered with a local animal shelter and a service-canine organization to start a dog rehabilitation and training program, it had been nearly 4,000 days since I had last seen a dog in person, last [...]