From the Prison Diary of Malachi Ephraim
When I realized that today is Father’s Day, I then thought of my dad who died of lung cancer in 2005. When I was told of my father’s passing… More
The Glass House
Loud-ass motherfucker was sitting on the upper tier watching the game. It was on the Sports T.V. (the Black T.V.), which with the General Viewing (White) T.V. and the… More
Species of a Lesser God
Indelibly etched in the canyons of memory I can remember being herded onto the Grey Gooses as these prison transportation buses are commonly referred to throughout the California Penal… More
Fighting the Ninja
Prison showers can be scary places. I’m not talking about those old “B” movie scenes where the big hairy guy with a handmade blade shanks the hapless prisoner for… More
Nowhere but Barstow and Prison
My mom and dad tried fifteen times to have a girl baby, but ended up with fifteen boys. We lived in a back house, just off Crooks Street, close… More
Escape from a Maximum Security Jail
Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the world. Their maximum security unit, Highpower, is reserved for the most dangerous, notorious and high risk inmates. Highpowers are… More
Frontline Reflections of a Drug War Journalist
My mouth is dry. I’ve been breathing open-mouthed, out of control. Once the rush of adrenaline subsides, my pulse will return to normal and my mouth will moisten again.A… More
“What Happened to the Baby?”
When I was a child, I was often taken to meetings of my Uncle Simon’s society, the League for a Unified Humanity. These meetings, my mother admitted, were not… More
Public Lives/Private Lives
American EyesEvery day as a child I looked at a yellow box of American cereal while I enjoyed my breakfast at an American kitchen table at my home, in… More