Stories
Prison is designed to disconnect people from the rest of society. As we listen to their stories, we begin to heal those connections.
Here you will encounter challenging and sometimes difficult language and ideas: Please take care as you explore. We share it all in the spirit of broadening our collective understanding and envisioning a different future.
Good Chance I’ll Die Inside by Roger Ruthruff
My name is Roger. I have been a prisoner in MDOC for more than 35 years. I was convicted of felony murder as an aider and abetter when I was 18 years old. I am just as responsible for taking human life as the person who landed the fatal blows. I planned a robbery...
Inside Prison by A’more D. Bass Bey
Hello, Can I tell you about my prison experience while serving a life sentence? There is a lot that people do not understand about those doing time. I have done a lot of time while fighting hard for well deserved freedom. I have changed so much while doing time. I...
Paintings by Theodora Moss
The Bible states “Your gift will place you in front of great Kings and Queens” Pov. 18:16 First, let me start with a brief history of myself. I've been incarcerated for 32 years and I’m an artist who can work with...
Redemption: A Quest For A Second Chance by Jason Hicks
I was roughly one of 70,000 fortunate children adopted throughout the United States in 1969 (A notable booming year according to Historical International adoption data). Adding to my good fortune was landing with a set of parents who were both exceptional and...
Finding My Way by Jason Badgley
There have been many layers to the transformational changes I’ve experienced since being incarcerated. In the beginning I was a broken person, emotionally devastated beyond words. The pain, emptiness, loss, and guilt I struggled with ran deeper than words can...
Painting A Picture of Regret by Darrell Sharpe
First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the picture I am about to share with you because of what it has done to me, and what it will likely do to you. I searched through my stack of pictures carefully to find one that would vividly illustrate to you the...
The Miraculous Season of Christmas by Dennis Vertin
In my hierarchy of favorite holidays, there is not even a close second. My all-time favorite holiday, more favorite than all the other holidays put together with a birthday thrown in on top, is Christmas. I am a true fan of the season. I love shopping for gifts. I...
I Am Ready, So I Fight by Joseph Wright
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....
Beyond the Destructive Mistake by Henry Harper
My name is Henry N. Harper Jr. I am a prisoner serving a parolable second-degree life sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). I’m a 71-year-old man who has been incarcerated in excess of 43 years. I’m writing this letter to shine some light on...
Harsh Reality by Keith Rappuhn
My name is Keith Rappuhn, and I have spent the last 48 years in a Michigan prison on a sentence of Life Without Parole for beating and stabbing a friend to death after a night of drinking and an argument. That was in 1973, when I was 22 years old. Shortly after...
So Long by Edward T. Walton
I’ve been incarcerated for so long. I spent three years in the juvenile system and was sentenced to two natural life sentences, eight months after my release from juvenile. At 36 years of age, I’ve spent about 21 years of my life incarcerated. However, that’s not...
You Live and You Learn by Joei Alexander Jordan
Greetings, My name is Joei Alexander Jordan, but many people know me by my stage name, "Joei Average." I was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 16, 1993. My mother struggled with drug abuse until I was 11, and my biological father was incarcerated for the majority...