Prison Reform

“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’d create fake drivers licenses and then go into stores and open up lines of credit. You can buy about $10,000 worth of stuff at a time, and then sell it for 70% of face value. I’d also rent cars under their name, change the VIN number, and then sell them with fake titles. You can print a fake title on nice parchment, add a watermark, and nobody looks too close. Then even after I destroyed their credit, I could still use their information. I could print up some fake checks with their name on it and cash them at banks. My checks had magnetic ink and everything. I learned it all on the Internet. I tried to stay emotionally detached. I never learned too much about the people. They were just names to me. Nothing personal. Plus all of them were government employees. So why should I feel guilty? Does the government feel guilty about slavery?”
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.”