Change / Growth, Family, Memories
My name is Robert Bates. I was born in Detroit, Michigan into a family of seven sisters and two brothers. My father died one month before my birth. Mother was from the deep south with no education. Having been a domestic abuse survivor, she did her very best working...
Change / Growth, Freedom Dreams, Life in Prison
My name is James B. Liptrot, Prison number 144170 Dreams are real...
Life in Prison, Mental Health, Solutions
My most important accomplishment was the most difficult and was one that had to be made before I could accomplish much of anything. Stating the problem simply: it was the need to change my state of mind–to get from “here” to “there.” ...
Change / Growth, Family, Freedom Dreams
I came to prison with the mindset that I was never going home. And so, I lost myself in the prison system. If you ask me if I was ready to go home after 2 or 3 years, I would have said yeah. But deep down, I was not! It took me 8 years to change and become a man. My...
Change / Growth, Freedom Dreams, Memories
Countless times I have sat back and listened to the testimonials told by my fellow prisoners. Stories of how drugs, alcohol, and in general living a street life led to their imprisonment. In the midst of many of these stories the individual would say how they were...