Thursday, October 23, 2014 Brian’s final question for me follows: How difficult was it for you to educate yourself within prison walls? Do you feel the prison system offered sufficient help? I am fortunate. Early during my term, prior to a judge sentencing me to a 45-year sentence, prayers led me to a philosophy book. […]

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Brian, a high school student from New York, asked my perspective on the Rockefeller Drug Laws of 1973. For those who don’t know, the Rockefeller Drug Laws required judges to impose lengthy sentences on offenders who were convicted of non-violent drug crimes. From my recollection, those sentences require a minimum of […]

Tuesday, October 21, 2014 Yesterday I wrote about the high school student from New York who asked me to respond to questions regarding prison reform. He is completing a paper that will help his fellow students and other readers understand more about the greatest social injustice of our time: Mass Incarceration. I’m happy to help. […]

Monday, October 20, 2014 A high school student contacted me with a request for information about prison. He is doing a school project, hoping to bring awareness to the great social injustice of mass incarceration. I will respond to his four questions in blogs over the next four days. Brian’s first question follows: What key […]

Sunday, October 19, 2014   Christian Denmon is an attorney from Tampa with the firm of Denmon and Denmon. He reached out to me today to share an extraordinary infographic that illustrates the ugliness of our nation’s wrongheaded commitment to mass incarceration. I’m proud to feature it on my website. On October 29, I’ll lecture […]

Saturday, October 18, 2014   Today I enjoyed a pleasant dinner with my mother. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the first time the two of us when out for dinner together alone since I’ve moved here. Usually we’ve dined with Carole and my grandmother, or if Carole was working, with my grandmother. When I walked […]

Friday, October 17, 2014   Today I took a lesson on online marketing with a company called Infusionsoft. It’s an interesting company that makes automated email campaigns easier to manage. I won’t say that I mastered the system because I haven’t. But I can certainly see how powerful this service will be for me when […]

Thursday, October 16, 2014 When I looked at the calendar today, I realized that 12 years ago, I waited for Carole to come visit me for the first time in a federal prison. I was confined in Fort Dix, New Jersey back then. I had served longer than 15 years, but I still had a […]

Wednesday, October 15, 2014 Today I went to speak at a juvenile detention center in San Dimas, about 50 miles inland from where I live in Orange County, California. I spoke with a group of teachers at the Camp Rocky detention center a few weeks ago, and today I returned to speak with the young […]

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 The market continued to fall today. Oh well. I’ve always known that roller coasters go up and roller coasters go down. The only way you get hurt on a roller coaster is when you jump off. So I made my decision to stay in the market today and ride out the […]