Mark Roseman
Shame and resilience play critical roles in managing adult trauma. I found this to be true during my two years in the California prison system. Prison traumatizes. Shame is defined as “a self-conscious emotion . . . [that] informs you of an internal state of inadequacy, unworthiness, dishonor, or regret.” Shame can devour any positive self-esteem remaining in a person after a journey through our criminal justice system.… Read the rest
I’m a sucker for smart second-chance programs. Having been a prisoner for two years, I know how the thought of returning to the streets is both exciting and frightening. Jobs and housing can be difficult to find. The stigma is defeating. Prisons rarely teach skills that stoke self-pride. Regaining life’s luster that was dulled by prison is a challenge.… Read the rest
A Hobson’s choice can be “free choice” that enables and foments discrimination. The choice is to take something, or not, with no real alternative; there is no real choice. I recently experienced this dirty form of discrimination while applying for an apartment lease—it was a Hobson’s choice experience. I was disqualified from making an application because of my criminal record.… Read the rest
Legal jargon associated with former president Obama’s final humane acts toward federal prisoners is an interesting study. Let’s look at the lexicon and meanings of legal words in the context of possible prisoners’ benefits.
On January 17, 2017, then president Obama gave 273 federal inmates a second chance. Neil Eggleston, counsel to the former president, announced commutations and pardons, stating, “With today’s 209 grants of commutation, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,385 individuals—the most grants of commutation issued by any President in this nation’s history.”… Read the rest
I did short time. By the prison calendar, a person serving less than five years is a short timer. My years in prison also put me in the but-for-a-minute (of time) category. “Hey Roseman, man, you’re only here but for a minute.”
Inmates who have done or are doing from six to ten years are in the category of a piece of time.… Read the rest
I ended my previous blog, Et Tu Tattoo, with questions that caused us to look at prison tattooing in different ways.
- Tattooing is forbidden in California prisons (and other systems), so why are prison tattoos so prevalent?
- What does a tattoo artist need to set up shop inside a prison?
Sometimes a smart prison reform program comes to the surface. Intelligent reforms stoke intuitively good ideas. Case in point: several state prison systems have prison trained dog programs for inmates. I recently learned about such programs from Laura, a friend who benefited directly from a prison trained dog program in Colorado.… Read the rest
This is a pop quiz; your grade doesn’t count. The questions are not particularly a test of knowledge. Instead my intent is to raise compelling prison-reform and criminal-justice issues.
The subject matter for this blog comes from Matthew Shaer’s article “Exoneration,” which appears in the January/February 2017 edition of Smithsonian magazine (pages 80– 87).… Read the rest
This blog post focuses on the work of photographer Steven Burton, whose photographs capture the results of digitally removing ink from heavily tattooed skin. I find the photos compelling. If you’re like me, your eyes will dart back and forth between the pictures.
Prison tattoos (tats or ink) are complicated works of art.… Read the rest
Prison officials are paranoid. They must be—real danger comes with the job. Walk through a haunted house on Halloween and you expect something to jump out and scare the crap out of you. Prison staff—guards, medical staff, administrators, and contracted laborers—work in an environment that can become hostile in a blink, any time, any day.… Read the rest