The Saturday before I left prison, an officer pulled me aside and shared a little sentiment. He told me he expects to see 99 percent of the prisoners who get released back again. I told him I think that number is a little high. He paused for a second and then simply said, “Nope, it’s ...
While in prison, I told myself it’s going to be nice to get a fresh start. A fresh start would be nice, but that’s not quite what I get.You see, I made a pretty big mess of my life. I think I had almost forgotten about that mess. I forgot a lot of things, including my e-mail and Facebook ...
As a newly released prisoner, I was required to go to the local adult probation and parole office and “check-in” with my PO (Parole Officer). Once there, my PO went over the conditions of my parole agreement.I will be required to check in when my parole officer orders it, get a mental ...
My cell door slid open at about 4 a.m. on Jan. 2. It would be almost 8 more hours before I would be a free man, but after almost four years, that was nothing — the moment had finally arrived.I said goodbye to my cellie, and he wished me luck. It was a different experience to say goodbye ...
If you could take a break from life would you be interested? How many of us could use some time without responsibilities, time to be selfish and work on improving oneself? I’m not sure people would sign up to go to prison to accomplish this, with all the negative aspects involved, especially ...
I’m enjoying the last little bit of my time. Being able to work out for an hour in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon is coming to an end. My release is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2018; however, there’s no guarantee I leave that day. Most prisoners get out when they are ...
As I get ready to leave this place, I feel for the people who are stuck here.Well, some of them.I don’t feel so bad for those who are unrepentant. There are plenty of prisoners who are doomed to spend their lives in here because of the sum of their sentence. Others have made coming in and out ...
“Another day, another dollar.”That saying is literal with regards to the workday for many prisoners. When I head back to my housing unit after a day at work, it feels like I am heading home. When I first came to prison my cell felt like a jail cell — empty. But over time I’ve ...
“Short-timing” is a state of being in which prisoners get close to leaving and their mind starts transitioning to the outside world. I think it’s fair to say I’m starting to experience this. As I get closer to leaving prison, I’m allowing myself to think about all the things I miss ...
When I first got to prison, the inmates didn’t look anything like what I thought a prisoner population should.I didn’t expect to see so many seniors, but when I thought about it, advanced age wasn’t surprising. I expected to see the tattoos and a bit of diversity, but these prisoners ...
