Write A Prisoner Blog

My most recent blog entry can be found on The Prison Arts Coalition's website: WriteAPrisoner.com: You Can't Imprison Talent - The Prison Arts Coalition I was invited to write a guest blog. Hope you enjoy!

Dear Friends,

We had some downed trees, downed power lines and cable, a missing fence, and a leak in our storage room. In short, we are definitely in the lucky group of those affected by Hurricane Irma. We apologize for all of the delays. We are all back to work tomorrow and will be getting caught up. Sorry for our absence. As always, thank you for your support!

America is obsessed with "tough on inmate" policies. Elected and appointed officials seem to usually come down on the side of austere conditions and treatment for the incarcerated when given a choice. Politicians often speak from their bully pulpits about how inmates don't need better conditions and don't need more rights. The media routinely use the worst inmate possible to put a face on any issue. After all, it's about selling stories these days, not telling them. Indeed, even Charles Manson has become the face of cellphones in prison because he has been caught with one.

Allowing easier contact methods behind prison walls isn't being "soft on crime" or "rewarding bad behavior." It is directly reducing the number of people we will pay to incarcerate each year. This is no longer just the sentiment shared throughout the human rights world; it's a proven fact based on decades of research. In fact, one of the most comprehensive studies on the matter was done by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.