Dianne-Frazee Walker The sentencing amelioration organization, Injustice Anywhere, has created a petition for Bill Ferguson to free his son, Ryan Ferguson. Prior to 2001, Ryan Ferguson had a clean criminal record, but after a jury trial in 2005, Ferguson was convicted of a murder he claims he did not commit. Ferguson was charged with murdering
By Andrew Chen
As an inmate tutor at a federal prison, I get one of three responses when I answer another inmate’s inquiry as to where I work. In order of increasing frequency these are: first, a shrug and a nod — a somewhat reluctant acknowledgement that being a tutor is probably a commendable thing to be doing; second, a “Why would you want to do that? I would not have the patience to attempt to teach a bunch of half-wits who don’t want to learn anyway”; or, third, by far the most common response, “For real? I really need some help with my math and essay writing.”
So why did I choose to become an inmate tutor, and was it a good decision? The answer is one that requires some context. It took me three years to move through the U.S. judicial system from arrest to arrival at my designated federal prison facility; three years of being confined to a succession of wholly indoor, steel and concrete cell blocks with perhaps a hundred other anxious federal inmates and a couple of televisions for company; three years during which there was no opportunity to do any meaningful work, or to participate in any educational or vocational courses.
It’s fair to say that I’m not a typical inmate. I’m a workaholic with two doctorate degrees, and an almost compulsive drive to always be doing something meaningful. Watching TV and playing cards all day really didn’t cut the mustard for me. Thankfully, I was able to find enough suitable books through the prison book carts and from friends outside, to study literature and history, two subjects I had never really had the time for since leaving school. Still, it felt like a rather self-absorbed pursuit, and I yearned to do something that would allow me to make more meaningful contributions to my newfound community, the federal prison community.
Jack Donson is the President of My Federal Prison Consultants, and the current Director of Programs and Case Management Services for FedCURE (a national sentencing reform coalition). He is a former Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Case Manager. During his 23-year career within the FBOP, he received several national awards including an award for Excellence in
Richard Zaranek is the President of Executive Prison Consultants, a nationally known consulting firm that prepares criminal defendants for incarceration. Mr. Zaranek himself served time in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for a financial crime related to his former position as a public administrator. Now, he and his firm advise and educate soon-to-be inmates in
Times change. People change. Everything changes, really, and sometimes you just have to acknowledge that fact and move on. I was reminded of these facts recently when listening to a friend tell me about a federal prisoner who was seeking treatment for Gender Identity Disorder, or trans-sexualism as it has been called. The doctor that
By Kyle Barnhill
Certainly the prison education issue should be framed in the context of a battle for public opinion. Obviously politicians who influence and ultimately control prison-education policy are elected by the people: John Q. Public. So it makes sense that public sentiment regarding this issue must shift before meaningful change and progress may be made. And ironically, this can only occur one way: public education. Not public education in the sense of tax-funded education, but that of educating the public outside the classroom. Public persuasion. In essence, altering at least a small portion of their worldview. This isn’t an easy task. But it is possible.
And the premise of those who advocate educating inmates can be summed up in one metaphorical principle: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Research, studies, and hard numbers corroborate this claim when considering recidivism. There’s no denying it. Education reduces recidivism and is vastly less expensive than incarceration.
Only the public doesn’t know it.
By Sal Rodriguez A court-appointed consultant, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Patterson, has reported that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has failed to effectively combat the large and escalating problem of suicides in the California prison system. According to reporting by KPCC, Patterson despondently asserted that his making any additional recommendations would be “a further
In a recent post, I presented the list of new Adult Continuing Education (ACE) course offerings at FCI Petersburg, a medium security federal prison in Petersburg, Virginia. These courses included GED Math, GED Writing, Marketing, Automobile Sales, and Bookkeeping. While the FCI Petersburg Education Department staff should be commended for allowing the ACE program to
The vast majority of inmates within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will eventually find themselves the focus of a disciplinary proceeding. This is because BOP disciplinary policy includes everything from the seemingly inconsequential to the criminal. In fact, federal inmates are known to receive incident reports for actions that they weren’t even aware were
Inmates incarcerated within the Federal Bureau of Prisons simply need to remain silent when talking to prison personnel. I know this is a basic concept from an attorney’s perspective, but it is often forgotten by incarcerated clients. As such, attorneys, and other defense specialists, should make a point of reminding their incarcerated clients of this