On prison, freedom, and redemption.
The first thing one notices is the chair. Comprised entirely of straight lines with minimal upholstery, it’s a chair designed for utility rather than comfort. On the seat is a device like a small heating pad on which I’m asked to sit and, in the polygrapher’s words, "take it easy," though neither of us believes…
In 2011 the author was sentenced to twelve years in federal prison for downloading child pornography. He was released in 2021 and now resides in Texas. For more than a decade he has written extensively about his experiences as a defendant, prisoner, and as an ex-felon and registered sex offender reentering society.
Clark smiled broadly, which was unusual for Clark. Prone to anxiety and depression, he often sat through our weekly sex offender treatment sessions wearing an exhausted, dour expression, as though his life were coming to an end and he’d sooner sleep through the last dreadful bits. But today he smiled—it was a rather handsome smile—and…
A flicker in the bottom corner of my eye, too quick to identify but slow enough to determine speed and direction. It’s source: the dried goods shelf where oyster and hoisin sauce cans are stacked in rows; it’s destination: the small, irregular hole at the baseboard behind the stove. Unperturbed, I continued sliding blocks of…
My neighbor died the day I moved into my apartment. This I learned from another neighbor, Dillan, who lives three doors down. She’d went by Charlie, he said, and added that she’d been very old, nearly ninety, and in poor health. She’d had a cat. This I learned not from Dillan but surmised myself from…
The ten of us stand in a circle, hands joined. Brother Marcus, the shepherd of our nightly prayer circle, asks if anyone has a praise report he’d like to share with the group. Javier, a relative newcomer, thanks God for banishing his wife’s car troubles. Brother Travis thanks God for allowing him to see another…
"On my first day of being released from prison, I will stop at Popeye’s and get me some chicken. "Today I spent the afternoon grading practice GED essays. The topic was "Things I’ll do on the first day of my release." Mothers are among the first people inmates vow to visit. I miss my mother…
Saturday nights are Nacho Night: Heat one twelve-ounce packet of Bushy Creek Chili under hot tap water—the 190 as they say in prison. To that, add a drop of soy sauce, a packet of Ramen seasoning (chicken flavor), a handful of Uncle Ben’s Instant Rice, a small scoop of Fresh Start dehydrated beans with chorizo…