Download or read book Prison From The Inside Out One Man s Journey From A Life Sentence to Freedom written by William Mecca Elmore and published by . This book was released on 2021-02 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prison From The Inside Out is both a book and an act of trust: A black man from New Jersey and a white woman decide they have something to tell the world about incarceration, self-esteem, personal growth, survival, and the power of trust.
Download or read book Getting Life written by Michael Morton and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A devastating and infuriating book, more astonishing than any legal thriller by John Grisham” (The New York Times) about a young father who spent twenty-five years in prison for a crime he did not commit…and his eventual exoneration and return to life as a free man. On August 13, 1986, just one day after his thirty-second birthday, Michael Morton went to work at his usual time. By the end of the day, his wife Christine had been savagely bludgeoned to death in the couple’s bed—and the Williamson County Sherriff’s office in Texas wasted no time in pinning her murder on Michael, despite an absolute lack of physical evidence. Michael was swiftly sentenced to life in prison for a crime he had not committed. He mourned his wife from a prison cell. He lost all contact with their son. Life, as he knew it, was over. Drawing on his recollections, court transcripts, and more than 1,000 pages of personal journals he wrote in prison, Michael recounts the hidden police reports about an unidentified van parked near his house that were never pursued; the bandana with the killer’s DNA on it, that was never introduced in court; the call from a neighboring county reporting the attempted use of his wife’s credit card, which was never followed up on; and ultimately, how he battled his way through the darkness to become a free man once again. “Even for readers who may feel practically jaded about stories of injustice in Texas—even those who followed this case closely in the press—could do themselves a favor by picking up Michael Morton’s new memoir…It is extremely well-written [and] insightful” (The Austin Chronicle). Getting Life is an extraordinary story of unfathomable tragedy, grave injustice, and the strength and courage it takes to find forgiveness.
Download or read book The Sun Does Shine written by Anthony Ray Hinton and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2018-03-27 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit"--
Download or read book Earning Freedom written by Michael G Santos and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Santos helps audiences understand how to overcome the struggle of a lengthy prison term. Readers get to experience the mindset of a 23-year-old young man that goes into prison at the start of America's War on Drugs. They see how decisions that Santos made at different stages in the journey opened opportunities for a life of growth, fulfillment, and meaning. Santos tells the story in three sections: Veni, Vidi, Vici. In the first section of the book, we see the challenges of the arrest, the reflections while in jail, the criminal trial, and the imposition of a 45-year prison term. In the second section of the book, we learn how Santos opened opportunities to grow. By writing letters to universities, he found his way into a college program. After earning an undergraduate degree, he pursued a master's degree. After earning a master's degree, he began work toward a doctorate degree. When authorities blocked his pathway to complete his formal education, Santos shifted his energy to publishing and creating business opportunities from inside of prison boundaries. In the final section, we learn how Santos relied upon critical-thinking skills to position himself for a successful journey inside. He nurtured a relationship with Carole and married her inside of a prison visiting room. Then, he began building businesses that would allow him to return to society strong, with his dignity intact. Through Earning Freedom! readers learn how to overcome struggles and challenges. At any time, we can recalibrate, we can begin working toward a better life. Santos served 9,135 days in prison, and another 365 days in a halfway house before concluding 26 years as a federal prisoner. Through his various websites, he continues to document how the decisions he made in prison put him on a pathway to succeed upon release. Contact Michael Santos PrisonProfessors.com 32565 Golden Lantern Street Box B-1026 Dana Point, CA 92692
Download or read book Real Prison Real Freedom written by Rosser McDonald and published by Elm Hill. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prisons, an integral part of society, generally are not familiar to most people. Length of sentence and treatment by others in the prisons vary widely. The immediate “Man-in-charge” of each prison unit is the warden, who has some flexibility within TDCJ guidelines. Warden Dr. Keith Price gained a reputation for turning around some chaotic prison units. He knows from experience that at best, prisons are very difficult places for people, whether they are behind the bars or in front of them. “People that wind up in prison, inmates, generally are society’s rejects,” Price said. “They’ve been unable to do the things other people do to make life a success, whether it’s because of an abusive parent, addiction to some substance, stupidity, being unable to read or write, they’ve been failures and have chosen alternate means, that is crime.” Price also knows officers have a challenging life, “The correctional officer, has to deal with people so maladjusted that society says they can’t live amongst them anymore. It’s conflict day after day, hour after hour and it really takes a toll, from broken marriages to financial problems to substance abuse. It’s continual.” The Texas Prison System was named “one of the best” in the country by a leading penology expert. However, shortly after that, a Federal Judge took control of the entire Texas Department of Corrections for “unconstitutional treatment” of inmates. TDC denied and resisted many of the reforms the judge ordered. The result was chaos. Too few guards, rampant gangs, gang wars and overcrowding were the norm for several years. The court kept control 20 years and finally the prison system adapted to the new (and constitutional) ways of operating. At the same time Texas prison population doubled, and more than doubled, again. During that time, 19-year-old Rickie Smith began a 10-year sentence in TDC on a drug charge. He joined the gang wars, in the Aryan Brotherhood and then made his own personal war with prison officers. He could have been released in a few short years, but, in 3 separate trials juries added 3 ninety-nine-year sentences for him to serve. Trial transcripts have many references in testimonies to how dangerous Rickie Smith is--even calling him “the most violent inmate” in TDC. REAL PRISON / REAL FREEDOM is a biography of Rickie Smith and how his life intersects with the woes of the prison system and with Warden Keith Price. Naturally, he wanted out, knowing that realistically it will never happen. Officials told him he’ll never get out. Then came the impossible that shocked everyone, especially Rickie.
Download or read book Becoming Ms Burton written by Susan Burton and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2018 National Council on Crime & Delinquency’s Media for a Just Society Awards Winner of the 2017 Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice “Valuable . . . [like Michelle] Alexander's The New Jim Crow.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “Susan Burton is a national treasure . . . her life story is testimony to the human capacity for resilience and recovery . . . [Becoming Ms. Burton is] a stunning memoir.” —Nicholas Kristof, in The New York Times Winner of the prestigious NAACP Image Award, a uniquely American story of trauma, incarceration, and "the breathtaking resilience of the human spirit" (Michelle Alexander) Widely hailed as a stunning memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton is the remarkable life story of the renowned activist Susan Burton. In this "stirring and moving tour-de-force" (John Legend), Susan Burton movingly recounts her own journey through the criminal justice system and her transformation into a life of advocacy. After a childhood of immense pain, poverty, and abuse in Los Angeles, the tragic loss of her son led her into addiction, which in turn led to arrests and incarceration. During the War on Drugs, Burton was arrested and would cycle in and out of prison for more than fifteen years. When, by chance, she finally received treatment, her political awakening began and she became a powerful advocate for "a more humane justice system guided by compassion and dignity" (Booklist, starred review). Her award-winning organization, A New Way of Life, has transformed the lives of more than one thousand formerly incarcerated women and is an international model for a less punitive and more effective approach to rehabilitation and reentry. Winner of an NAACP Image Award and named a "Best Book of 2017" by the Chicago Public Library, here is an unforgettable book about "the breathtaking resilience of the human spirit" (Michelle Alexander).
Download or read book A Life Inside written by Erwin James and published by Atlantic Books (UK). This book was released on 2003 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid 1980s Erwin James was sentenced to life imprisonment. Over recent years, he has written powerfully about prison life for the Guardian. James writes candidly about learning the who, what, why and when of the prison world.
Download or read book Blood Done Sign My Name written by Timothy B. Tyson and published by Crown. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The “riveting”* true story of the fiery summer of 1970, which would forever transform the town of Oxford, North Carolina—a classic portrait of the fight for civil rights in the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird *Chicago Tribune On May 11, 1970, Henry Marrow, a twenty-three-year-old black veteran, walked into a crossroads store owned by Robert Teel and came out running. Teel and two of his sons chased and beat Marrow, then killed him in public as he pleaded for his life. Like many small Southern towns, Oxford had barely been touched by the civil rights movement. But in the wake of the killing, young African Americans took to the streets. While lawyers battled in the courthouse, the Klan raged in the shadows and black Vietnam veterans torched the town’s tobacco warehouses. Tyson’s father, the pastor of Oxford’s all-white Methodist church, urged the town to come to terms with its bloody racial history. In the end, however, the Tyson family was forced to move away. Tim Tyson’s gripping narrative brings gritty blues truth and soaring gospel vision to a shocking episode of our history. FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD “If you want to read only one book to understand the uniquely American struggle for racial equality and the swirls of emotion around it, this is it.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Blood Done Sign My Name is a most important book and one of the most powerful meditations on race in America that I have ever read.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer “Pulses with vital paradox . . . It’s a detached dissertation, a damning dark-night-of-the-white-soul, and a ripping yarn, all united by Tyson’s powerful voice, a brainy, booming Bubba profundo.”—Entertainment Weekly “Engaging and frequently stunning.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
Download or read book I Broke Out Of Prison written by Raittia Rogers and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you have a father, mother, sister, brother, grandmother, auntie or any close relative or friend incarcerated in any form of secure lockdown, one of your first thoughts is probably, "when will I get to see them again free?" Now just imagine, if your loved one physically ends up imprisoned (or have even escaped the system) but they have been locked up spiritually their entire life? In this book, I will share my powerful testimony that will demonstrate the power of God that set me free both physically and spiritually.
Download or read book A Question of Freedom written by Dwayne Betts and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-08-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique prison narrative that testifies to the power of books to transform a young man's life At the age of sixteen, R. Dwayne Betts-a good student from a lower- middle-class family-carjacked a man with a friend. He had never held a gun before, but within a matter of minutes he had committed six felonies. In Virginia, carjacking is a "certifiable" offense, meaning that Betts would be treated as an adult under state law. A bright young kid, he served his nine-year sentence as part of the adult population in some of the worst prisons in the state. A Question of Freedom chronicles Betts's years in prison, reflecting back on his crime and looking ahead to how his experiences and the books he discovered while incarcerated would define him. Utterly alone, Betts confronts profound questions about violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. Confined by cinder-block walls and barbed wire, he discovers the power of language through books, poetry, and his own pen. Above all, A Question of Freedom is about a quest for identity-one that guarantees Betts's survival in a hostile environment and that incorporates an understanding of how his own past led to the moment of his crime.
Download or read book This Is Ear Hustle written by Nigel Poor and published by Crown. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “profound, sometimes hilarious, often heartbreaking” (The New York Times) view of prison life, as told by currently and formerly incarcerated people, from the co-creators and co-hosts of the Peabody- and Pulitzer-nominated podcast Ear Hustle “A must-read for fans of the legendary podcast and all those who seek to understand crime, punishment, and mass incarceration in America.”—Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows . . . and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for “eavesdropping.” It was the first podcast created and produced entirely within prison and would go on to be heard millions of times worldwide, garner Peabody and Pulitzer award nominations, and help earn Earlonne his freedom when his sentence was commuted in 2018. In This Is Ear Hustle, Nigel and Earlonne share their own stories of how they came to San Quentin, how they created their phenomenally popular podcast amid extreme limitations, and what has kept them collaborating season after season. They present new stories, all with the same insight, balance, and rapport that distinguish the podcast. In an era when more than two million people are incarcerated across the United States—a number that grows by 600,000 annually—Nigel and Earlonne explore the full and often surprising realities of prison life. With characteristic candor and humor, their moving portrayals include unexpected moments of self-discovery, unlikely alliances, inspirational resilience, and ingenious work-arounds. One personal narrative at a time, framed by Nigel’s and Earlonne’s distinct perspectives, This Is Ear Hustle reveals the complexity of life for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people while illuminating the shared experiences of humanity that unite us all.
Download or read book Life Without Parole written by Victor Hassine and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1981 Victor Hassine was sentenced to prison for life without parole for a capital offense. This book is an insightful look at conditions of confinement and prison life in america today. Hassine powerfully conveys the changes in prison life which have come abut as a result of the use of drugs, prison overcrowding, and demographic changes in inmate populations. Topics covered include rape, prison gangs, prison violence, AIDS, homosexuality, and prison politics. The second edition features five new chapters that explore crucial topics expanding on the first edition, graphically documenting the extreme violence that is a part of everyday life in a men's maximum-high security prison. A new appendix offers details about the capital crime for which Hassine received a life-without-parole sentence. It also provides fascinating coverage of how the first edition was received by inmates and correctional officers --Cover.
Download or read book Blood on the Razor Wire written by Chad Marks and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-four-year-old Chad Marks was sentenced to forty years in the Federal Prison System for a non-violent drug crime. He was sent to one of the worst, if not the worst, prison in the United States where violence, beatings, stabbings, and death were just everyday business. This book takes you on that journey with him, as you read you can feel and experience the disappointment, hope, fear, and desperation of never knowing if today will be your last day.
Download or read book Sparrow in the Razor Wire Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence written by Quan Huynh and published by Lioncrest Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1999, Quan Huynh shot and killed another man in a gang-related incident in Hollywood, California. He received a prison sentence of fifteen years to life in a state that, at the time, did not parole prisoners with life sentences. Behind bars, Quan continued his downward spiral. This could have been the end of the story for Quan, as it is for many prisoners. But somewhere along the way, he discovered a new path-one that prompted him to commit to self-reflection, truth, and personal responsibility. Sparrow in the Razor Wire is Quan's story of transformation inside a place many see as the end of the road. In his book, he shares the journey of redemption and discovery that led to his ultimate freedom. He found that, no matter the prison, the key to unlocking the door is in each one of us.
Download or read book 15 to Life written by Anthony Papa and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One man's struggle with the War on Drugs.
Download or read book Blood on the Razor Wire written by Chad Marks and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-16 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-four-year-old Chad Marks was sentenced to forty years in the Federal Prison System for a non-violent drug crime. He was sent to one of the worst, if not the worst, prison in the United States where violence, beatings, stabbings, and death were just everyday business. This book takes you on that journey with him, as you read you can feel and experience the disappointment, hope, fear, and desperation of never knowing if today will be your last day.
Download or read book Escaping a Life Sentence written by Cornell W Bunting and published by . This book was released on 2020-06-17 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After escaping a prison sentence, Cornell Bunting finds himself in a complicated time, as he died for sixteen minutes. After death knocked at his door, Cornell finds himself in between worlds, trying to figure out what's real and what's not. The chaos brought him closer to God and his purpose. Thinking back on the situation, Cornell wondered what got him into his life-changing situations. After spending ten months in jail, facing 32 years to a life sentence, getting out of jail, and stressing on his role as a father of three boys, what caused him to die? How will he escape his life sentence of the mind after escaping a life sentence in prison? The drama unfolds as Cornell's memory goes on a quest to resolve his mental life sentence. God has given him a second chance at life to get on the path to his true destiny, understanding everything in this world is temporary. Escaping a life sentence of the mind starts with letting go of self and the temptations of the world.
