A guy with a parole in his pocket gets caught with spud juice. (Happens more often than you would think.) His “friends” tried to talk him into closing his brewery, but he told them that he needed to stack up coffee bags since he was going to Detroit Reentry Center (DRC) for a residential substance abuse program and he needed to be able to buy heroin while he was there. His friend’s comment was I guess he didn’t really want to go home.
Tag: Crime and Punishment
Educated Guess
I worked as a tutor in the GED program for nearly 5 years, under three different teachers at two different prisons. There isn’t much that was more rewarding then when one of my students would point me out to his family in the visiting room and say, “That man is helping me get my GED.” And there wasn’t much that was more frustrating than seeing a student who could get his GED fail to apply himself and leave prison with nothing to show for his time.
Nothing New Under the Sun
King Solomon famously stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “there was nothing new under the sun.” Three thousand years ago man’s folly was already tending to repeat itself. Patterns of behavior and the propensity to do evil were well documented back then. Man’s inhumanity to man is the same old sad tale repeated over and over, unfortunately it is not limited to those who choose to do evil.
Breaking and Entering
No one in prison likes a thief. They target those they perceive as weak or look for targets of opportunity. When lockers are open there are always eyes watching to see what you’ve got. Being inattentive even for a few seconds can cost you. Not padlocking your locker or footlocker even for a brief time and leaving it unattended will provide an opening for theft.
House Arrest
Being on parole is not freedom. Too many guys coming out of prison think that having received a parole that they have earned their freedom, that their sentence is complete. But that is not the case. While on parole you are still under the control of the MDOC. Parole is prison without the razor wire.
50 Things I Learned in Prison
1. Toothpaste is a better glue than Elmer’s. 2. Raman noodles can be the base ingredient in a gourmet meal. 3. RAP music is Really Awful Poetry. 4. Sometimes you have to pay extra just to get the basic free service. 5. You can’t trust authority. If you see their lips moving you know their lying. 6. You can educate ignorance, but you can’t fix stupid.
Two Sides of a Coin
Think of a coin. The image that is stamped on the head and tail is just a thin facade on the surface. Forever bound together yet separated by the vast bulk of the material. Likewise, victims of crime and those accused of committing crime have one thing in common, both take issue with the criminal justice system.
You Might Be A Prisoner If:
An homage to Jeff Foxworthy: 1. You try to buy things with Raman Noodles. 2. You call out in a restaurant “Cookie for a burger!” 3. You send a written request to your doctor for an appointment.
Everything Is Backwards In Prison
We lock our closets but we can’t lock the bathroom door. In fact, in many prisons there isn’t a bathroom door.
The best food you get to eat is vending machine food in the visiting room or gas station food from the commissary. The chow hall food is practically inedible.
Freedom
Freedom was not granted by the oppressors, rather it was taken by force by the oppressed. Unfortunately, not everyone in the country can celebrate freedom today. Millions of men and women are incarcerated in jails and prisons all across the country.