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.
The Accomplishment I’m Most Proud Of by Rejujio Palacio
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." "Here" was where I found...
Proud of the Man I’ve Become by Brandon Marsh
Eighteen years ago, I was sentenced to 32 years in prison for a crime committed at the age of 15. It has been a long, difficult road at times, but I haven't allowed the circumstances of my life to defeat me. I may not have gotten everything right, but I can say...
Three Poems by Paul Carter
Thoughts From A Man Sentenced As A Boy To Die In Prison 26 Years Later Covid in prison is a death sentence religion makes no difference nor does repentance they simply don’t care The masks we wear are cloth and made by prison factory workers which have been proved...
One Day at a Time by Madge Matthews
While sentenced to life after being wrongfully convicted, all I can think of is getting out of prison. This thought consumes me. I have spent 10 years writing letters, asking for legal help with my case, to no avail. It’s hard to prove your innocence! I cried...
Juvenile Freedom by Dre’Maris Jackson
I want to introduce the public and the uninformed to the man known today as Dre’maris Jackson. As a young kid growing up on the eastside of Detroit, Michigan, I fancied after the older/negative guys around my neighborhood, wanting the flashy things in life. So who...
Understanding Incarceration by Romallis Colvin
Greetings! By the time this letter reaches you, I truly pray that you and your family are in the best of health, mentally as well as physically. I am writing to you on this day because I just read in a Michigan paper an article that touched on a subject that has...
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...
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...
More Than a Number by Terrance Taylor
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...
Restorative Justice Now! by Michael McGaughty
While I have had paroles in the past, I did little to honor the privilege of maintaining them. I came into the prison system at the age of nineteen. I am now seventy three. I have only managed to stay out of prison for just three years since June of 1967. To date,...
The Heart of Forgiveness is Hard by Daniel Teribery
I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had made just one small decision to alter my path away from the destruction and pain that I was going to cause. These words played over and over like a worn-out tape in my mind. For so many years it felt...
Lost and Found by Raymond L. Carr Jr.
My name Is Raymond L. Carr Jr., and I am an author of several books. It is my hope that we may start a working relationship. Let me start by sharing a little about myself. At one point in my life, I was a totally different person. I had been traumatized many times...