Prison Reform

Apr 17

“I was studying landscape architecture at Penn State and dealing drugs on the side. At the age of twenty, I got arrested with a quarter pound of mushrooms and a pound of marijuana. I assumed my life was over at that point. I didn’t think I could bounce back from a felony charge so I pretty much gave up on everything. I started doing cocaine and heroin while I waited on my sentencing, and I’ve been an addict ever since. I’ve spent a total of fifteen years in prison for various drug charges. My last arrest was for producing Fentanyl. It’s extremely difficult to make—it’s stronger than heroin and a much more complicated molecule than meth. I only know of one other person on the east coast who figured out how to make it. There were so many laws in place to keep people from getting the materials. I had no resources and no connections but I studied organic chemistry and found a way. When I finally got caught, all they wanted to know was how I did it. That’s the problem with my addiction. I’m smart enough to get around anything. So there’s never been anything to stop me but myself.”

“I actually escaped once. I was picked up for possession of heroin and taken to the police station. They handcuffed my hands and feet, shackled me to the wall, and left me in the interrogation room with a can of soda. I ripped up the soda can until I had a thin strip of aluminum, and I wedged it into the teeth of the handcuffs so I could override the locking mechanism and pull them apart. Then I dragged the shackles for two miles to a friend’s house and borrowed a bobby pin to pick the locks on my hands and feet. I honestly didn’t think the police would care that much. It was just a bag of heroin. I thought they’d check my mom’s house and give up. Instead they sent out dogs and helicopters. My picture was all over the news. They caught me after a few hours. They weren’t very happy. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Extremely stupid, I know. But not easy.”

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“I’ve been teaching the GED course for 21 years. I’ve helped over 300 students get their certificates.”

“I met Donald when I was twenty-six. He pursued me relentlessly.”

“I’m sixty-two now. I have three more years. I sold heroin. A lot of it.”

“I knew a person who worked for an insurance company. I’d give her some money and then she’d give me all the information I needed to open fake credit lines.”

“I was convicted of distributing a large amount of crack cocaine.”

“I was in college when I started. I was going to school and working at a print shop.”

“I’ve organized a lot of programs in prison. One of the classes I started is called Creative Parenting.”

“My dad couldn’t handle me. My mother was an alcoholic so he raised us on his own.”

“I was a good student. I did football, karate, basketball, all sorts of activities.”

“I got caught up in a little something. I’ve got twenty days left.”

“I’ve got a daughter out there. I’ve been gone for 23 years now. It’s really hurt her.”

“I thought it was a bomb at first. It pushed the building, so I was thrown against the wall.”

“I was alone with four kids. My mother was sick.”

“My father died when I was six. He drowned on a fishing trip.”

“I was working at a nightclub in Honduras, making $4 a night, and some guy tells me that I can make $6,000 in twelve days just by working on a boat.”

“My childhood ended early. I was sexually abused by two family members until the age of eleven.”

“He’s a beautiful person. He always tells me: ‘We’ve got to find a way to win by losing.’”

“My mom was a single mom and there were nine of us. All of the kids worked in the fields.”

“This is my fifth time in prison. Every crime I’ve committed has come from my addiction.”

“I was studying landscape architecture at Penn State and dealing drugs on the side.”

Adam Parks https://apollocreativeco.com

Prison Reform

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