Prison
In a continuing series, I want to provide readers with an inmates perspective of prison. These notes are from a white-collar inmate who recently reported to a federal prison camp and gives readers a realistic view of life behind bars.
"They served Tacos for dinner on Saturday night. Everyone said they didn't like them and they were eating food they bought in the commissary. I walked over to the dining hall by myself about 5pm. There still hasn't been a meal (other than breakfast) that I haven't liked. The tacos were also good. They had chopped meat and small onions, a red hot sauce,...
English: Concertina razor wire at a prison (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I've had the opportunity to work with a number of people who are preparing for a few years in federal prison. To provide some insights into the experience, I provide the following (redacted) letter I received from an inmate who recently reported to prison to begin a 6+ year sentence. I think it gives a candid view of how the first few days of federal prison camp feel.
"I know some of this is a little repetitive for some of you, and it's driving me crazy that I can't copy and paste on this email system (Corrlinks, the...
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Rod Blagojevich was never one to hold back from saying what was on his mind....and the FBI has the tapes to prove it. As Blago sets off for a Colorado prison to serve his 14 year prison sentence, he is expected to make a statement...."... just a word before I go." However, I recently spoke with an expert on what Blago can expect and it wasn't from a person who used to be in prison as an inmate. Instead, I spoke with former Federal Prison Case Manager Jack Donson who now provides consultations to those sentenced to federal prison.
A federal prison sentence of 168...
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Kentucky's Republican Senator Mitch McConnell intervened when he heard from several companies in his district that wanted to stop Federal Prison Industries (FPI) from taking jobs from proud citizens of Kentucky and giving them to prisoners. FPI is a wholly owned government corporations established by Congress in 1934 as a way to employ and provide job skills training to inmates. While it seemed like a good idea in 1934 when there were 13,000 federal prisoners, it is not such a good idea today when there are over 217,000 inmates. Now it seems that prisoners are taking...
"Dorm D-1, Release!" came the booming voice of a prison guard over the loud speaker. With that, 100 inmates were "released" from the confines of the prison dormitory "D-1". It was mid-morning on December 24th, Christmas Eve, in Edgefield, SC at the federal prison camp. It was a fast-paced walk down a small hill. Why people are in a hurry to do anything in prison is still a mystery to me, but it happens.
The warden had stationed himself near the center of the camp with a pile of holiday baskets (a plastic bags) that he would hand to each inmate along with a cold handshake. It was the...
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The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has experienced rapid growth over the past 20 years and now houses over 215,000 inmates in 117 facilities across the country. With more inmates, comes more employees, and it seems more problems with employees.
Last year, I wrote a piece in Forbes about Lori Sue Helmick who was a nurse at the federal prison in Hazelton, WV. Hazelton pled guilty to having sexual relations with an inmate at the prison. In addition to losing her job at the prison, she got to spend some time in prison and was sentenced to 5 months of incarceration. But...
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Former Illinois Governor, now convicted felon, Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison this month and was due to report to prison in mid-February. Blagojevich needed more time to get his family affairs in order and asked for, and received, a delay in reporting to prison in Littleton, CO....he's now showing up on March 15.
So why would a resident of Illinois want to go to prison in Littleton, CO....over 1,000 miles from home? Because the prison in Littleton has a Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which could cut over a year off of his sentence. ...
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What would you do? The U.S. government charges you with insider trading and immediately they make an offer for you to plead guilty, go on probation (no jail time) and you don't have to cooperate further with the investigation (no telling on your buddies). Sounds like a good deal, unless you don't think you've broken the law...so you turn it down and go to trial seeking full acquittal. This is not hypothetical, it is exactly with Michael Kimelman did when he decided to forego the plea deal offered to him and take his chances at a trial. However, the outcome was not...
Bill Clinton (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)
If you are a convicted felon and have faced lost opportunities because of that felony (lost job opportunities, inability to vote or own a gun, etc.) then you know how much of a benefit it would be to have that felony removed...forgiven...by the President of the United States. There is not a higher form of forgiveness under the law and a pardon by the president means new opportunities. But presidential pardons are few and far between.
There are high-profile cases like President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, who was in Switzerland at the time of...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Raj Rajaratnam (co-founder of Galleon Group) will leave life as a billionaire in Manhattan to begin serving an 11-year prison sentence today when he reports to federal prison in Ayer, MA.
First, there is no parole or probation for federal inmates but they do have the opportunity to earn "Good Time". Good Time is awarded to every inmate that obeys the rules of the prison during their stay. A maximum of 54 days per year can be earned and earning these days is not that difficult as long as you mind your own business, do not get in fights, and generally obey...