by Martin Lockett | Apr 1, 2016 | book review, Inmate Contributors
Fascinating. Riveting. Provocative. The list of superlatives to describe this book could go on for pages. Johanson – the famed archeologist who discovered the 3.2 million-year-old hominid (human ancestry) fossil – has written a book for the ages with this one. This book chronicles his expeditions into the ancient sites of Eastern Africa for the discovery of hominid bones in a vivid and relatable way. He speaks candidly about his discouragement and discontentment with findings (and the lack thereof) and allows his readers to feel as though they are right alongside him as he traverses these historic sites where he luckily “stumbles” across the most important fossils to mankind to date.
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by Melissa Bee | Mar 31, 2016 | From the Inside, From the Staff
We received this handmade afghan from our friend Charles Farrar, an innocent man serving a 145-to-life sentence, based on lies told by the allegedĀ victim (his step-daughter), who has since recanted her story (over thirteen years ago). See the full story here.
Charles has been in the Sterling Correctional Facility in Colorado since April 1st, 2002. Tomorrow marks the beginning of his fourteenth year in prison.
You can sign aĀ petition to grant Charles a new trial here.
Justice For Charles Farrar Website
Write to Charles:
Charles Farrar 113856 S-C-F
Unit 1-C
PO Box 6000
Sterling, CO 80751
by Martin Lockett | Mar 30, 2016 | Inmate Contributors
This past Friday (also known as Good Friday) I volunteered to work in the visiting room. I’d been asked–along with several others–to man the table set up with freshly brewed coffee, assorted flavors of creamer, sugar, tea, instant cocoa, and all the utensils needed to prepare the drinks. Visitors–along with their inmate loved ones–were able to stop by the table and help themselves to what we had to offer.
Kids giggled as they walked up to the table because sitting behind it they witnessed two muscle-bound inmates ironically wearing harmless yellow bunny ears atop their heads. Yes, I wore the silly ears! But I reasoned that this was the lesser of two evils since another one of us had to dress up in a full white bunny suit–head and all! But he did it and the kids loved it!
The big bunny made his way around the visiting room (led by me because apparently the suit didn’t have eye openings), handing out Easter baskets full of goodies–ranging from chocolate bunnies to marshmallow bunnies to Nestle Crunch eggs–to the many children that were there to visit their father, uncles, and brothers. One little girl, who couldn’t have been more than a year old, clung to her daddy (an inmate) as she couldn’t decide whether to be terrified of the bunny or ecstatic that he was so close to her. She shrilled one second and laughed uncontrollably the next as the bunny entertained her. Indeed, this was the highlight of my time in the visiting room that day. This little girl was simply enjoying her interaction with a giant bunny with human qualities, completely oblivious to the environment she was in or the people it housed. All that mattered to her for those few precious minutes was my friend in his bunny costume. It was refreshing, innocent, and human–things I don’t get the privilege to encounter everyday.
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by Rick Fisk | Mar 27, 2016 | book review, Inmate Contributors
The Imperfect Hero: 1776 – A Review
Ā 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,Ā one will become intimate with George Washington’s flaws and mistakes, flaws which might have been glossed over by historians more inclined to fuel legend than deeper understanding. Yet, because McCullough reveals so much of Washington’s error, the accomplishments and character of America’s first Commander in Chief are all the more astonishing than any legend.
Through priceless, archived correspondence of English and American soldiers, historians, reporters, and civilians (Washington, John Hancock, Abigail Adams and others too numerous to list here), McCullough weaves a complex tale, rich in detail, reading like a novel too good to lay aside.
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by Melissa Bee | Mar 26, 2016 | From the Inside
These are the postcards inmates in Arizona are forced to use.
by Melissa Bee | Mar 25, 2016 | From the Staff
We are moved beyond words to open our PO Box and see these gifts of cards and stamps.Ā A very heartfelt thank-you to the angels that send them.
Send donations to:
Adopt an Inmate
PO Box 1543
Veneta, OR 97487
by Inmate Contributor | Mar 24, 2016 | Inmate Contributors, Larry in Pennsylvania, Poetry From Prison
Submitted by Larry,Ā an inmate on Death Row in Pennsylvania fighting for his exoneration.
by Melissa Bee | Mar 23, 2016 | From the Inside
Pencil sketch from a photo (~1973), by inmate Robert Davis in TDCJ
by Inmate Contributor | Mar 18, 2016 | Inmate Contributors, Larry in Pennsylvania, Poetry From Prison
This is our first post from Larry, an inmate on Death Row in Pennsylvania fighting for his exoneration. Watch forĀ more of his work here on our blog.
The Woman
Her mysterious strength within
carries an aura
of sea water
whispers not dreams.
Upon her face
are two glowing candies
illuminating a romantic vision
and her hands
harness a shower
of twinkling stars.
She smiles
like the crescent
and her thoughts travel
like the scent
of botanical gardens.
First a princess
then a queen
but always an angel.
Her beauty
is the nest
of our eggs.
The counter part
of life …
The Woman.
by Melissa Bee | Mar 14, 2016 | From the Inside
We’re working to match up veterans (or active duty) on the outside, with veterans on the inside. This comes from Zion, a veteran serving time in a California prison.
I am a US Navy veteran and would like to see a program specifically geared towards ex-servicemen that would place us in a separate environment from mainline incorrigibles that would focus on rehabilitation, avoiding prison mentalities and re-entry preparation. Service people have a Ā life-long fraternity, an unbreakable bond that aids in encouragement to change. Many county jail programs are now offered for vets. I think it would really go a very long way in helping those of us in the state penitentiary.
Most of the programs in my prison are inmate-run, thus the quality is generally nil. Programs facilitated by free-staff and experts from the outside provide much better curriculum and offer greater hope.
College programs at the Bachelor’s or Graduate level would be of greatest help in making this time productive. Not every inmate fits into a “vocational training” category. Higher education would increase my chance of staying out of prison, guaranteed!
Lastly, but of incredible importance would be the ending of forced segregation in state prisons. Housing white inmates only with other whites, blacks only with blacks, etc., is a terrible holdover from bygone days that only serves to make divisions deeper, prison more dangerous, and re-adjustment to the real world that much more difficult. It effectively stifles the social development of every inmate subjected to it. INTEGRATEĀ NOW!
