incarceration
Incarceration, rehabilitation, recidivism: The reality of prison life and what it's like to be an inmate locked up behind bars.
The Cake Was a Lie…
Well… looks like this is it. The day of my death has arrived at last. I’ve been on death row for so many years, I’ve lost count at this point. I’ve forgotten what my crime was, if I even had one to begin with. I sat alone in that cold, empty stone cell for what seemed like days. They had put us into the hardest prison to break out of. All the walls were lined with steel an inch thick in the already thick cement walls. All of the other inmates were screaming suddenly, yelling and throwing slurs left and right. I sat numbingly staring at the wall, waiting for my time to finally come. There was a loud metal click as the lock to my cage was unhinged. The door creaked open loudly as the guard came to collect me. My head lolled over to look at them. “It’s time.” I walked over with a hunch, grudgingly swaying as they clicked the handcuffs on my wrists. Way too tight for any sort of comfort. Walking slowly down the hall with my head down, there were many inmates screaming. Saying that I didn’t deserve the death sentence, that they were too harsh with my punishment. There were others that just watched me with a grin, glad to see me go at last. I had made a lot of friends in here before my trial, but I guess I made some enemies too. Away from all the inmates, as their screams and shouts became distant, everything became darker. You could smell the stench of death that emanated through the air. Toxic chemicals, burned flesh, and other odors you wouldn’t even want to identify.
By Dani Lucille4 years ago in Criminal
Every Moment Counts
525,600 minutes 525,000 moments so dear 525,600 minutes How do you measure? Measure a year? This song plays in my head each morning, as I scratch another day off on the wall. Only for me, it’s been 4,207,680 minutes. That’s right eight years. Eight years in the same cell, and only three days to go. Well, 4,000 minutes to be exact!
By Nicoleta Marangou4 years ago in Criminal
Inside a lion's cage
Do not judge me for being too aggressive. Do not hate the fact that my behavior reveals the undeniable truth about all humans. that beneath this civilized appearance lies an apex predator, a beast that has never found peace, and probably never will. So, they run from this truth calling it a lie. condemning those who spread this message. Incarcerating those who demonstrate this truth by word and deed. at lease inside a lion knows where he stands. because outside are people who like to pretend
By Deon Hudson4 years ago in Criminal
My Journey Down the Rabbit Hole
This is my story and the events that led me to collide with this historically huge case. All these events detail are facts in the public domain. The only personal information is my own. And that is in the public domain, by way of my blog on this case, ConjuringJustice.com. I am telling the path that led me to who I am today. I always referred to this part of my life is the "lost time", or "a past life". But when I became aware of what I wanted my life to represent, even at nearly 40, I used my experience in that "past life" to help someone whom I did not care for particularly. He was not a favorite person of mine. He was part of the time I did not wish to ever revisit, but we all have a past. I learned through this portion of my journey, that all these times, events, are just simple stones in the mosaic of life. We may not see what the design will be, but each piece is integral to your life's journey. Even those things, we are ashamed of or regret, can be made into an incredible design that becomes the legacy we have carefully crafted of our life events. It represents growth. It cannot be overlooked that things we have gone through, could help others understand how to navigate these same issues we already conquered. Follow me through the my short-lived walk on the wild side. Maybe you can envision why I am on this path.
By Jimmie Lee Staley5 years ago in Criminal
Not Quite Nellie
I had never been so nervous making dinner before. Two weeks I had planned what I was going to say: writing drafts, compiling charts, and asking literally everyone I knew to make sure what I was going to say was fair. I was very well prepared, but my hands couldn't stop shaking all the same.
By Guenneth Speldrong5 years ago in Criminal
The Psychotropication of the American Prisoner
How much time is too much? In the late 80s the U.S. Congress created a law recognizing crack cocaine, a derivative of powder cocaine, to carry a federal sentence 100 times the weight of its powder cocaine derivative. The Controlled Substances Act established a minimum mandatory sentence of five years for a first-time trafficking offense involving over five grams of crack, as opposed to 500 grams of powder cocaine. In other words, it enacted a criminal liability scheme that $125 of street value crack cocaine, is the moral and criminal equivalent of $12,500 of street value powder cocaine. A low bar entry of $125 to run afoul of federal law is targeting consumers, whereas a $12,500 price tag is targeting dealers. This criminal liability scheme created racial disparity in sentencing, as it was known at the time of its enactment, African Americans were the consumers of crack, while White Americans were the consumers of powder. The law imposed the same ratio for larger amounts: a minimum sentence of 10 years for amounts of crack over 50 grams ($12,500), versus 5 kilograms of cocaine ($125,000).
By Darealprisonart5 years ago in Criminal
The sisterhood of evil
I consider Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer two of the evilest serial killers in our lifetime. There have been countless books, movies, and documentaries written about these two monsters. Whenever we think about serial killers, we usually exclude women. Other than Aileen Wuornos, there aren’t too many high-profile female serial killers.
By Marc Hoover5 years ago in Criminal
Experience the Exodus REAL Team
The silence was deafening. Over one hundred men, and a dozen staff members, yielded their complete attention to a single speaker. No yawning. No outbursts. No disrespect at all. The powerful message rested not so much in the individual stories they shared, but rather in the emotional attachment they projected in an effort to etch the experience on to the hearts and minds of these men.
By Dan McGinnis5 years ago in Criminal
How Free Are We?
Most of us living in the United States truly believe that we're free to create the lives and relationships that we want. We also believe that our judicial system is fair and only punishes those who need to be brought to justice. We are convinced that if a person is intelligent, works hard, and is driven to succeed they can achieve financial success regardless of the color of their skin , sex, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, ethnic background, etc. We believe that human rights violations only occur outside of the United States and that our elected officials are working hard to root out corruption and pass laws that benefit all Americans. We view drug addiction as a moral shortcoming that mostly affects people of color. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, and national origin it appeared that people of color were finally going to be able to enjoy the same freedoms as their white counterparts. This, however, turned to be an illusion. How so? In 1971 Nixon declared a war on drugs. The drug laws under the Nixon administration were actually designed to incarcerate people of color in order to disenfranchise them and create a huge wealth gap between people of color and white Americans. Millions of men of color who were incarcerated lead to the creation of single parent households. Families of color were broken apart leaving millions of black and brown children without fathers.
By George V Araiza5 years ago in Criminal
