Prison Reform

“I’ve got a daughter out there. I’ve been gone for 23 years now. It’s really hurt her. My sister told me that after graduation, when everyone else was taking photos with their family, my daughter just broke down and cried. When she visits, she tells me that she feels too guilty to start a family because I won’t be there to see it. But she’s been very successful despite me. She’s a stylist. She’s doing so well. I can’t do much in here to support her, but I try my best. I’ve ordered all the fashion magazines: Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, Bazaar. She’s too busy to read them all, so I look through them and try to find something that might help her. I set aside anything that she might be able to use for an Instagram post. She posts pictures of me on there, but only on ‘Throwback Thursday.’ She’s not ashamed of me, but she just doesn’t want anyone to see this khaki uniform. She hates it.”
More from this series
“I’ve been teaching the GED course for 21 years. I’ve helped over 300 students get their certificates.”
“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’ve organized a lot of programs in prison. One of the classes I started is called Creative Parenting.”
“I thought it was a bomb at first. It pushed the building, so I was thrown against the wall.”
“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.”