journal entries
Being a prison reform blogger is frustrating. The frustration lies in not being able to take readers into a prison environment with mere words. Most people can visualize a baseball stadium, the inside of a movie theater, or a crowded airport; they’ve experienced those environments. Those exposures create a mental database of impressions retrievable by a written or verbal cue.… Read the rest
I was incarcerated for two years from October 2003 to November 2005. Following is a review of my October 12, 2013, journal entry:
I returned to CIM, a California prison in Chino—this time as a visitor. My buddy Marcus, whom I met at Ironwood State Prison, has been my pen pal since I left in November 2005.… Read the rest
I kept a journal in prison. Writing made me feel safe. I captured parts of days that interested me, humored me, or frightened me. The entries about fear reflected my feeling out of control when I expected a negative event. At times I witnessed the wheels of authority edge toward a potential race riot on the yard.… Read the rest