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Writing from Prison

These essays were sent to the Real Cost of Prisons Project by men who are incarcerated. Additional essays and other writing will be added.

We encourage you to contact the writer directly if you like their work and/or want to use his/her work. If no contact information is available, please contact lois@realcostofprisons.org

To submit political and analytical writing, please send to The Real Cost of Prisons Project. There is no payment available for posting writings.

For more information, contact lois@realcostofprisons.org or mail to:

Real Cost of Prisons Project
5 Warfield Place
Northampton, MA 01060

If friends, family and others have access to a computer, please send writing as a Word document or an email.

Bro. Ismail Abdul Hakim Akbar, #728085, B2219 U- Mayo Correctional Institution, 8784 U.S. Hwy 27 West, Mayo, FL 32066
Black-on-Black Crime, 3/18/10
Have Time Really Changed?
Everybody Your Color Isn't Your Kind

James M. Anderson, #1205943, 2605 State Street, Salem, OR 97310
A Prisoner's Stance
Fear and Chains

Mis-Mission Statement, author unknown.

Joseph Aragon, G08220, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212
California S.H.U.s (5/2010)
My Existence (11/09)
Two poems:: "Forest of Stone" and "Can you feel my pain?"
Long Quiet Mornings (PDF)
My Space in This Place, May 2009
Two poems:, "Gnashing of Teeth" and "Society is Dying," April 2009
Five poems: "Big Money Deals," "Solitary Confinement," "I Am Validated," "Concrete and Steal," and "Twisted Minds"
Five more poems
Three poems, January 2009

Jacob Barrett, #557456, P.O. Box 97, McAlester, OK 74502
Inmates Families (PDF), April 2009
Letter to the Editor of The (Bend, OR) Bulletin concerning the nature of pardons
A Murderer Gave You Your Rights
Christ and Death
The War on Drugs
A Need for Higher Learning

Mr. Clair L. Beazer, C.S.P. #49801, P.O. box 777, Canon City, CO 81215-0777
Lockdowns and Monsters
It Is Another Sad Day in the C.D.O.C.
Running Joke
Video Visitation

"Prisoner Suicides: The Danger of Manufacturing Hopelessness" by Ed Bowser

"Justice Works! When its principles are not compromised", A Letter to the Governor by Michael Braae, 270679 W.C.C. AT 105 IMU P.O. Box 900 Shelton, WA 98584

Keith Burley, #EC-0000, Box 9999, LaBelle, PA 15450-0990, writes, "Please publish this writing of mine on your website and include my name and address beneath, encouraging fellow writers, poets and anyone interested in prison reform to contact me."
The Beast!
A Prelude to Madness: An Analysis of Incarceration and the Mentally Ill
The Hole (poem)

Kimberly Carter, 815679, Washington Correction Center for Women, 9601 Bujacich Road NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98332
The Theory from England
Kimberly Carter has requested we add the following paragraph to her essay:

Surrounded by controversy is a horrifying law that is with us in virtually every U.S.jurisdiction. The law has been criticized, maligned, and denigrated by lawyers, law students and even judges because it is not consistent with the rest of criminal law or the U.S. Constitution, yet it continues. This law is called the felony murder law.

Edwin Castro, #95A6664, Green Haven Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 4000, Stormville, NY 12582-0010
In the Shadow of the Thirteenth Amendment
Get Free, Stay Free

Jerome Coffey, AS-1558, 175 Progress Drive, Waynesburg, PA 15370
Various letters and documents, 7/09
• 7-2-09 Letter concerning the drain of taxes from Philadelphia to supporting prisons in rural PA.
• Article on $13.5 M from stimulus package for policing in Philadelphia
• 7-13-09 letter: legislation driven by ALEC and the cost of prisons to communities in PA
• Memo to SCI Greene on mental and emotional tortore to Jerome Coffey in RHU for 8 years.
Chart of Distribution of Juvenile LIfers in SCIs in PA, 7/09

The Prison Industrial Complex: Specter of Colonialism by Michael Contreraz, C-45857 D4-104L, P.O. Box 5242, Corcoran, CA 93232

Al Cunningham, San Quentin Prison, P.O. Box E-22600, San Quentin, CA 94964
Life and Death, 6/2008
Freedom for a Day, 2/2005
The Economy of Prisons
Underneath My Bed---A Monster Waits
Al Cunningham is on death row.

Changing Reform by Leonard Donald, W80257, MCI Cedar Junction, DDU, P.O. Box 100, South Walpole, MA 02071

The Catastrophic Failure of Corrections by John Feroli, Old Colony Prison, Bridgewater, MA

CSI Discovers Where the Money Went by Richard Geffken, V01102 C2103L, Mayo CI, 8784 West U.S. 27, Mayo, FL 32066.

Ana Lucia Gelabert; see also her Comix from Inside
U.S. Federal Judges Appointments (2008) [table]
The Military Industrial Complex and the Prison Industrial Complex Go Hand in Hand
At Last Revealed: Governor Palin's Program
Prisons and the State
Some Facts You Should Know About Texas Prisons (PDF), February 2008
Position Statement by the 4th of July Anti-Fascist Movement (2008)
Cost Benefits of Releasing Excess Prisoners in U.S.A and Texas (PDF) 2008
Voting Records on Criminal Justice Issues based on CUREs Review of the 109th Congress (PDF), compiled by Ana Lucia Gelabert, March 2008.

Luis Gonzalez, CDCR #T-67569, Corcoran State Prison 3C-2-219, P.O. Box 3471, Corcoran CA 93212-3471
Appeal to the Public, 8/09
Letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 8/09
Forward by Luis Gonzalez and Jose Felix, both whom are incarcerated in Corcoran, CA. Luis was asked for a comment to be included in the book edition of the Real Cost of Prisons Comix. This is what they wrote.

Kristopher J. Govea, F17942, P.O. Bos 3471, Corcoran, CA 93212-3471
California's Crisis
Enemy of the State

David Hinman, #0025374, Anamosa State Penitentiary, Post Office Box 10, Anamosa, Iowa 52205-0010
The Right to Vote (PDF), 6/22/09
Anamosa State Penitentiary (PDF), 5/18/09
The Right to Vote for Convicted Felons
Looking at Interchange Fellowship Program (IFI) From a Different View, 12/03
See also: December 03, 2007: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Public Funding Of Evangelical Prison Program In Iowa
Also see Whittling Away the Time, an article about a wood carving of Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Andrew Housworth, 787 Frank Street, Leavenworth, KS 66048
My Brothers My Keeper
One Nation Behind Bars
Only in America

Letter from F. DeAndre Howard, February, 2007. Contact the author at Reg. #07757-089, Federal Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 5000, Pekin, IL 61555-5000

Kurtis R. Jeter, 959775, Lawtey Correctional Institution, 7819 N.W. 228th Street, Raiford, FL 32026
The Injustice of the Plea Bargain

Kenneth Keel
Prison Diet Poses Health Dangers
Challenging "Three Strikes" Under Human Rights Treaty

"Anatomy of a Prison Riot" by R.M., November 2006

"Waiting to Die - The American Prison Experience" by R. M., November 2006

"Comprehensive Incarcerated Person Reform, Rehabilitation and Reentry Act" and Letter. Please feel free to contact the author with your thoughts and comments: Sheldon N. Messer 00A3204, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, 354 Hunter Street, Ossining, New York 10562

Bro. Khalfani Malik Khaldun (Leonard McQuay), #874304, P.O. Box 1111 A-706 SCU, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, P.O. Box 1111, Carlisle, IN 47838
Amerikkkan Imprisonment 2010: From forced control management to cruel and unusual punishment
Revolutionary by Action: advocating constitutional consciousness inside an Indiana control unit"

Timothy J. Muise
Compassionate Release Legislation Long Over-Due In Massachusetts, December 2009

Terry Olney, 60345, P.O. Box 11099, Omaha, NE 68111-0099
Throw Them in Prison and Make Everything Right
Where Do They Come From?

Michael Owens, J25599, High Desert State Prison C8-108, P.O. Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96127
Michael has a web page at Voices for Inmates, and can be contacted via the e-mail form there.
The Problem Worse Than Crime: Notes On Juvenile Justice and Pyrrhic Victory (PDF, 2009)
Quote by Angela Davis sent by Michael Owens:
Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens at a zoo-obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.

Mark C. Palmer, 21986-4F1, 2521 Circle Drive, Jamestown, ND 58501
North Dakota Is Supposedly The Safest State in the Nation: Why is the Prison Population Growing?
We Have Rights!

Consider This By Brian J. Polley, P.O. Box 43, Norfolk, MA 02056-0043

Karter Kane Reed, 1 Administration Road, Bridgewater, MA 02324
Karter Kane Reed was sentenced to prison at age 16. He has been incarcerated for 18 years as of June 2010.
The Vision: A Conceptualization of an Effective Correctional System (And its Implementation)
The Cornerstone of Change (an essay about the role of Lifers in the prison system)

Milton L. Rice, MCIN, P.O. Box 43, Norfolk, MA 020056-0043
Unacceptable Collateral Damages

Abuse of Authority by Changa Asa Ramu, aka Paul J. Rogers, #BS-6500, P.O. Box 999, 1120 Pike Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652

Juan A. Roldan, MPS, 86-A-8348, Box 1245, Fishkill Correctional Facility, Beacon, NY 12508
Vicarious Living
A Letter of Apology
The Parole Enigma: New York State's Parole System in the 21st Century

Tiyo Attallah Salah El
A New Approach Towards Abolishing Prisons This paper was read by Mechthild Nagel on behalf of Tiyo Attallah Salah-El at the International Conference on Penal Aboliton in London, July 2008.
The Expanding Prison Planet
A Call for the Abolition of Prisons
A New Approach Towards Abolishing Prisons (2008)

A Privilege for the Privileged by Mr. Kemoria Bright Cloud Smith, #696218, Connally Unit, 899 F.M. 632, Kenedy, TX 78119-4516.

Private Prisons: a View from Inside by Davis Stephenson, #118218, NFCF, 1605 East Main St., Sayre, OK 73662

"Indemnification of Prison Guards"
By DJ Taylor, #179983 Northern Supermax, P.O. Box 665, Somers, CT 06071.

Jon Marc Taylor (503273), Crossroads Correctional Center, 1115 East Pence Road, Cameron, MO 64429
Pell Grants for Prisoners: Why Should We Care?, published in Straight Low magazine, V.9, N.2, 2008. "Louisiana's Official Prison Magazine." Jon Marc Taylor, PhD is the author of Prisoners' Guerrilla Handbook To Correspondence Programs in the United States and Canada-3rd Edition, 2009. Published by Prison Legal News. It can be ordered from them at http://www.prisonlegalnews.org. $49.95. 224 pages.

Troy T. Thomas, H-01001, A4-127-UP, Pelican Bay State Prison, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City, CA 95532
What Prison Psychologists Have Helped Me to Realize (PDF)
Is Racism a Mental Illness? (PDF)
American Prisons - A Convincing Case of Failure (PDF)

Kebby Warner, 259737, Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility, 3201 Bemis Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48197-0911
Review of The Real Cost of Prisons Comix
One Woman's Struggle

Safir Chuma Asafo, aka Robert William, BH8660, SCI Forest, 2 Woodland Drive, P.O. Box 307, Marienville, PA 16239-0037
PA D.O.C. In Disarray: A Failing System, 11/09

Mr. Kelly Lee Watts, 35401/5A-17, Potosi Correctional Center, 11593 State Highway O, Mineral Point, MO 63660
Trapped in the Belly of the Beast
Enter One Blackman, Too: Passing the Torch of Transition and Struggle

Sadot X. Williams, DQ3608, S.C.I. Greene, 175 Progress Drive, Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090
Camp Hill Asbestos Removal [PA DOC document]
Mental Health Neglect at S.C.I Greene
Pennsylvania Governor Stops All Parole
The Pennsylvania Department of Corruption
Control Units and Oppression, March 2008
The Madness Continues, May 2008

Letter from Michael Smokey Wilson, Lifers, Inc/End Violence Projects. Contact information: Michael Smokey Wilson, AF #2695, Box 246, Graterford, PA 19426-0246

If Not Now, Then When? by Derek Wright, W80355, P.O. Box 100, South Walpole, MA 02071

Robert "Boston" Woodard, B-88207, CCC, SF-74-10-L, P.O. Box 2400, Susanville, CA 96127-2400
For more nearly 15 years, Boston has been writing articles about a view from the inside and documenting the abuse by prison officials and guards. In 1996, he was thrown in the hole for four months because the warden did not like what he was writing. A pro-bono attorney who took his First Amendment case and fought it for three years before a judge ruled that case must come to trial and the state dropped the charge and paid him compensation.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/08/05/18614132.php


Writing at Other Web Sites

Poetry Behind the Walls
PBW is the only ongoing journal in the world that is dedicated to writings from youth that are incarcerated. PBW is a collaborative project between Save the Kids, Le Moyne College’s Center for Urban and Regional Applied Research, SUNY Cortland’s Criminology Department, the journal Social Advocacy and Systems Change, and Hillbrook Youth Detention Center.
http://savethekidsgroup.org/?page_id=664

CANCERFORNIA: A Letter to the Golden State
A Red Wolf can be contacted at: thelastanarchist@aol.com. The original letter was posted at http://www.cannabismag.com/index.php/health/133-cancerfornia-a-letter-to-the-golden-state. We corrected some formatting problems in the version below: http://realcostofprisons.org/writing/cancerfornia.pdf

4 Struggle Magazine
This magazine focuses the insights and experiences of U.S. political prisoners on major issues of the day. While a lot of the writing is by political prisoners, other activists, allies, revolutionaries and insightful outside voices are included. Views, thoughts, and analysis from the hearts and minds of North American Political Prisoners and friends.
http://www.4strugglemag.org

Keep Your Coins, We Want Change
K.L. was incarcerated in NY State for five years. He is currently attending college in New York City studying engineering and is going to minor in physiology. His goal is to start a non-profit to help people who were incarcerated transition back to society.
http://realcostofprisons.org/writing/KL_Keep_Your_Coins.pdf

Anthony Rayson Zine Collection
Accessible on DePaulUniversity Library Special Collections and Archives. This is a complete listing of South Chicago ABC Zine Distro, a distribution network to people in the "free world" and in prisons. Zines from prisoners around the country are included in the materials listed.
http://library.depaul.edu/Collections/spcaPDF/RaysonAnthonyFA.pdf

Michael Santos
Michael Santos is currently in his 22nd year of continuous confinement for a first-time, non-violent crime. He writes about the prison system, the people it holds, and strategies for navigating confinement successfully.
http://prisonnewsblog.com/

The Beat Within/A Weekly Publication of Writing and Art from Inside
http://thebeatwithin.org/news/

Jalil Muntaqim / Anthony Bottom
A selection of Jalil Muntaqim / Anthony Bottom's writings is available at the freejalil.com web site.
http://www.freejalil.com/writings.html

Correctional Capitalism in the "Land of the Free"
By Jens Soering. Prism Magazine, January-February 2008. Jens Soering is serving a life-sentence in Virginia. His most recent book is The Church of the Second Chance: A Faith-Based Approach to Prison Reform, to be released this spring by Lantern Books. His other books include The Convict Christ: What the Gospel Says About Criminal Justice (Orbis 2006), The Way of the Prisoner and An Expensive Way to Make Bad People Worse. To learn more about Jens Soering go to http://www.jenssoering.com

Inside Out: Voices from New Jersey State Prison
Poems, stories, memoirs, and commentaries by forty-three inmates. This is a 20-page sampler assembled by Kal Wagenheim, who for 5 years directed a creative writing workshop at the NJ State Prison in Trenton NJ. It is a small part of a 70,000 word book with inmates' poems, stories, essays. Some of the poems are also available online at http://www.jerseyworks.com/trentonstate.html.
http://realcostofprisons.org/materials/voices-trenton.doc

Voices.Con
The Voices.Con newsletter is published monthly by term-to-life prisoners in California focusing on issues of primary concern to those servicing a long-term incarceration. All material contained within Voices.Con has been provided exclusively by California's term-to-life prisoner population. The information has been designed to also be of potential benefit in other jurisdictions having term-to-life and long-term prisoners as well as citizens or family members.
http://voicesdotcon.org

James Bauhaus
A collection of writings by James Bauhaus, LCF 88367, 8607 SE Flowermound Road, Lawton, OK 73501.
http://www.jamesbauhaus.org

PEN Prison Writing Program
http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/152

Founded in 1971, the PEN Prison Writing Program believes in the restorative and rehabilitative power of writing, by providing hundreds of people who are incarcerated across the country with skilled writing teachers and audiences for their work. The program seeks to provide a place for prisoners to express themselves freely with paper and pen and to encourage the use of the written word as a legitimate form of power. The program sponsors an annual writing contest, publishes a free handbook for prisoners, provides one-on-one mentoring to inmates whose writing shows merit or promise, conducts workshops for former inmates, and seeks to get prisoners' work to the public through literary publications and readings. Prison Writing Program, PEN American Center 588 Broadway, Suite 303, New York, NY 10012 E-mail: pen@pen.org Telephone: (212) 334-1660.

A Prisoner's Perspective
Blog by Dortell Williams
http://www.dortellblogs.blogspot.com/

Dortell Williams is a prolific self-taught writer who has an interesting insight to share. Dortell will complete 18 years of continuous imprisonment (of a life sentence) this year. He has spent his time wisely, earning a correspondence paralegal certificate, as well as teaching himself Spanish, stock trading and many other useful subject. He is seeking a website to host his writings and an editor to help him compile hundreds of essays into a compelling book. He can be reached at H-45771/A2-103, P.O..Box 4430, Lancaster, CA 93539.

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