When I first arrived to Texas over a month ago, I wondered how long it would take for mail and newspaper subscriptions to arrive. After a few weeks, my first piece of mail arrived containing the most adorable letters from my nieces accompanied by their recent school photos (Thank you,...
Week 135: The Dawn of a New Era
I'll refrain from boring you on the details of the newest update with credits being earned by incarcerated adults. I would like to highlight some incredible turn of events. Last week I covered the ongoing saga between BOP leadership and staff in the prisons. The BOP director issued yet another...
Month 31: Just an Internal Political Pawn
"You're no longer eligible to participate in RDAP," the staff psychologist declared. Immediately, several thoughts began racing along with many questions. She continued, "You no longer have enough time to complete the program." While she stated the obvious, I wish this epiphany would've enlightened the staff before I was transferred...
Week 133: The World Is Flats
I've been in Texarkana for three weeks, and it's been a cultural change from my experience at Morgantown. While the campus is pretty much a large field with a few sheds offering little activity, the inmates and officers are extremely laid back. Don't get me wrong, it's still a prison...
Week 132: For Immediate Release…
What an exciting week for continued prison reform! Earlier in April, I proposed the question on how to reform the reform since the implementation of the First Step Act (FSA) had been a distant reality and the forgotten Second Chance Act (SCA). These two prison reform laws have been substantially...
Week 131: A Grateful Memorial Day Weekend
Anxiously waiting for my property to arrive from Morgantown, my name appeared on the announcement board, which is referred to as a "Call-Out." This daily list contains the entire schedule kept in military time for each department within the camp, like "Gaughan R& d 0730." My call-out meant that it...
Month 30: Heehaw – Another Prison
After precisely 30 months of incarceration, Texarkana welcomed me to another chapter in my prison saga. Having left Oklahoma City after 3 very long, grueling weeks, I laid afoot in the prison camp, my newest temporary-home. What the heck is a "Texarkana"? I semi-mistakenly thought it was a tri-regional name...
Week 129: On The Road Again
A New Pope! Another Mother's Day! Israeli-American freed from Hamas! This week certainly was eventful for the history books and a fitting start to the pre-summer season. While I haven't been outside to enjoy the weather in over three weeks, I am excited to be a piece of cargo destined...
Week 128: Oklahoma Is the Place To Be
I have been in FTC Oklahoma City for two weeks waiting for transfer to SPC Texarkana. While some inmates are transferred within hours, some have to wait days, weeks, or even months to arrive to their final destination. Here's what happened in the last week after I wrote a brief...
Week 127: Review of FTC Oklahoma City
**Warning: L O N G postFederal Transit Center Oklahoma City is the national hub for federally incarcerated adults to transfer between prisons. Before providing my review of this facility, I'd like to begin with the Receiving & discharge (R& d) process. I am in this logistics debacle on what is...