Americans want to believe that sending people to prison for drug-related crimes are the best option for keeping the streets clean. However, sending people to prison for drug-related crimes doesn’t make the country safer. According to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, there were less than 5,000 people serving federal prison time for drug-related … Read more
This week I read on SF Bay Review that California State and local prison have been forced to limit their use of solitary confinement units, or SHU. This is thanks to a settlement reached in the Ashker vs Brown federal class action suit. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of prisoners held in Pelican Bay … Read more
For a while, I was having wrist and shoulder problems while typing. It felt as if I was squeezing my shoulders and my chest just to type on a traditional keyboard. The problems were so bad, I had to stop blogging on a regular basis. However, blogging and writing are my passions. Plus, my dream … Read more
As many people know, I’ve been working minimum wage jobs for most of my life. I’ve also been working with Sacramento ACT, along with other organizations, in the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In order to fairly pay workers for their time and effort, the minimum wage should be increased … Read more
On May 19, 2015, I had the honor to speak at the Live Free Public Forum which was put on by Sacramento ACT at the South Sacramento Christian Center. This community forum was created to get state and local officials to commit to helping our communities and to reduce mass incarceration and gang violence. The … Read more
I frequently read, watch and listen to things that pertain to inmates, former felons and jails. I recently watched a video about a man pleading guilty to killing his cellmate. The man’s name is Steven Sandison. He was assigned a new cellmate and it happened to be a guy who molested children. Child molesters immediately … Read more
Prison stories are often filled with memories of inmates being victimized by the staff, the overall system or even other inmates. It’s hard to protect yourself from this type of harassment while you are under someone else’s authority. While trying to protect yourself you run the risk of bringing harsher or unnecessary punishment to … Read more
Aaliyah was a more than a great artist that was on top of the world. It seemed as though the whole world loved her, but unfortunately, she was killed in a plane crash in her prime. It has taken some years for her life to be written and portrayed as a movie. When it finally … Read more
I’ve been thinking about what would make prison camp more productive for the inmates. I thought carefully about all of my experiences when I was in prison at Herlong Prison Camp and when I stay at the Oakland Halfway House. If these suggestions are possible, it would better prepare inmates for society and make their … Read more
Serving your community is great way to give back and impact your local area. I’m always looking to help out when I can and volunteering is such a rewarding experience. This past March, I was able to volunteer to help families with insurance policies. The event was hosted by Greater Sacramento Urban League and various … Read more
One of the most important details when looking for a job is the amount of money being offered for the position. As inmates, one of the privileges lost is job hunting by salary. In fact at Herlong Prison Camp, the amount of money given to a working inmate is just about the same given to … Read more
You can hear it and you can also feel it, but how often do you ignore it? It’s the sometimes peacefully quiet, sometimes boldly obnoxious voice on the inside of you. It’s the voice that you second guess or brush off, but it’s the voice that when you follow it, affords you opportunities beyond your … Read more
If you’re in the corporate world or even just the professional world, you understand ceilings. There are ceilings in talent, position, promotion and much more. Most ceilings are glass and you never see it until you hit it, but what if you create your own ceiling? Did you find that it wasn’t glass and you … Read more
One of the most famous saying for anyone going to prison is, ‘Don’t drop the soap’. Most people think that the showers in jail are large community showers where CO’s and other inmates intimately watch over you. However, I found that to be untrue at Herlong Federal Prison Camp. I admit, I was surprised when … Read more
As men and women play this game called love, each side has to go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong with their last date. They second guess themselves and then they somehow come up with the conclusion that it wasn’t them, it was all the other person’s fault. For example, … Read more
I guess I should be used to being the in the minority. I should probably already know what to say and what not to say. I’ve been in this situation since I was a child. I still remember being in those classrooms surrounded by 25 white kids with only 2 or 3 kids from other … Read more