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Judgment Walk
My adolescent years are the most vivid of my memories. Maybe because they were the most intense and shaky of my life experiences. Back then nothing seemed normal.… More
Newspaper Owner and Journalist Shot Dead
Valério Nascimento, journalist and owner of Panorama Geral, was shot dead outside his home in Rio Claro, Rio de Janeiro state, on May 3, 2011. More
The Blessing of Jebidiah Goodytake
That damned Bernie! One night, without invitation or provocation, he just burst into my room and began tapping my pillow—thump thump thumpity thump—as if he were jabbering off some… More
Juvenile Adults
When it comes to our criminal justice system, policies are too often incoherent and irrational. One of the most glaring examples of this is also one of the least… More
Laying Roots
I wake from my sleep stiff and groggy. When I try to lift my head, it feels heavy, too heavy. My neck is sore. I lay flat on my… More
Apple Jelly
“Clem! Where you been hidin’? Ain’t seen you in a month o’ Sundays!” “Tell ya what Emmett, you buy me a Pabst an’ I’ll tell ya ’xactly where I been.… More
How to Survive in Prison
Find out your boyfriend got married. Spend as much time in the yard as possible. Learn to fit in. Become someone’s girlfriend. Stop thinking about the outside world. Join… More
That’s the Way It Is in Prison
Murf the Surf and I are walking in the rain past the steam plant heading back to the Southwest Unit. The chapel is off to our left, separated from… More
I Hear The Train Comin…
Although I’m sure the world outside these prison walls is likely to forget and ignore the human beings banished to these small plots of land, to be abandoned by… More
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