People hate us. It sounds melodramatic, but it is true nonetheless. We’re hated by each other, by people on the outside, and by people working on the inside. By ‘us,’ I mean incarcerated persons. Offenders, inmates, convicts, prisoners. And there are people who make...
Rick Fisk
Father, Son, Brother, Musician, Software Developer, Founder, Executive Director, Wrongly Imprisoned, Paroled, Seeker of Redemption, Finder of Forgiveness. I found my faith in prison and my purpose. I want to help set the captives free, those on the inside and the outside.
Review of The Great Bridge by David McCullough
David McCullough's The Great Bridge is an extraordinary book. It tells the tale of how the Brooklyn Bridge was conceived and built. As is the case with other McCullough works, it is superbly crafted and reads as well as any great work of fiction. The main focus of the...
Review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel
Station Eleven is one of those books that is so well-conceived and executed that you are sad when there's no more to read. After reading so many post-apocalyptic novels, many which barely bother to explain what caused society's collapse, I expected another contrived...
Review of David McCullough’s 1776
The Imperfect Hero: 1776 - A Review All men are flawed and make mistakes. Character is that quality in a man that transcends his flaws and propels him to success. In reading David McCullough's 1776, one will become intimate with George Washington's flaws and...
Letters From Prison: Hope is a Scarce Commodity
An excerpt of a letter from Rick in February of 2014, when he was still in county jail, and about six months before he was moved to prison. He writes about his idea to start Adopt an Inmate. I feel as though I am the most well-taken-care-of inmate in Del Valle. Having...
Review of Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings
Empires leave indelible marks on their conquests. Decades after they leave, voluntarily or not, their influence is still felt. Take Jamaica, for instance.Its natural resources and people had been plundered by the British for centuries. Even after slavery was finally...
Rick’s Review of Martin Lockett’s Palpable Irony
We introduced you to our friend Martin Lockett in a previous blog post. We are thrilled to say that Martin will be a regular contributor both here and in our quarterly newsletter. Do yourself a favor and get this book! —♦— Good people make mistakes. Martin Lockett is...
Review of Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
What's Mercy, Anyway? Reading a book about the work of someone who has dedicated his life to freeing the innocent is inspiring. When you’re reading that book behind bars, it also evokes melancholy and wishful thinking. No matter where you are when you crack the cover...
When The State Kills
Both proponents and detractors of the death penalty skip the question of authority. Due to history and practice, it is assumed that governments must possess the power to murder. Yet, no explicit power to murder is listed in our state or federal constitutions, a prerequisite to its legitimate use. Nor could it be, no matter how hard potential despots might wish it so.
The Facade of Justice
It was a beautiful, warm, spring day in 1973. A few puffy white clouds dotted the otherwise blue sky over Tucson as my Dad guided our car to Old Tucson, the site of many a Hollywood-produced western. It was here that I had learned about facades. The false-fronted...