It’s not a secret that plenty of crime goes on inside of prison walls. Some inmates are able to run criminal enterprises from their cell and smuggle drugs and cell phones, while others may have inappropriate relationships with officers, resulting in pregnancy. As a former inmate in a women’s prison, I can only speak to […]
Continue readingFor the past five decades, America has fallen in love with the idea of mass incarceration. The prison population in this country has skyrocketed since the beginning of the drug war, and one of the main reasons the numbers have gone down recently is because of COVID-19. We lock up a greater share of our […]
Continue readingThis week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was scheduled to execute the first federal inmate in over 17 years, but a federal judge postponed it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just three days ahead of convicted killer Daniel Lewis Lee’s execution, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson from the Southern District of Indiana sided with the family of […]
Continue readingWhen you are sentenced to prison after being convicted of a crime, you will be in a corrections environment for at least one year. Prisons house inmates who commit felonies, and those types of crimes can have a sentence ranging from one year to life without the possibility of parole. This means that when you […]
Continue readingOne of my favorite episodes of The Office is titled, “The Convict,” and it features Michael Scott (Steve Carell) finding out that a new employee at Dunder Mifflin has a criminal record. The funny thing is that I watched the episode well before I actually went to prison, and I watched it again after I […]
Continue readingI know it might seem like the beginning of summer isn’t the right time to be talking about Christmas, but I disagree. In my world, there is never a bad time to talk about the holiday. And, considering how difficult the first part of 2020 has been, I can only imagine how grateful we will […]
Continue readingIt’s no secret that criminal justice reform and the role of the police in our society have become hotly-debated political topics in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. As a criminal justice reform activist, I am excited that American citizens are having this discussion. One of the arguments I have heard regularly from those who […]
Continue readingWhen I was in prison, there was nothing that brought me more joy than a visit from a loved one. I looked forward to every visit with crazy anticipation, and when the moment finally arrived, those four hours flew by way too fast. Most prisons have visiting hours on the weekends, but the number, length, […]
Continue readingFor the past couple of months, prisons all over the country have shut down their visiting rooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, this is a safety precaution, but the damage this decision does to an inmate’s health and well-being can’t be understated. Visits are crucial for a prison inmate, and they are encouraged by […]
Continue readingAfter the arrest of George Floyd led to his death at the knees of an officer in the Minneapolis Police Department, protests have broken out all over the globe. But, as everyone knows, many of these peaceful protests have been hijacked by violent looters, and that has resulted in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) […]
Continue reading