With now having been incarcerated for forty-six years, I think I know something of what it is to live in prison and what it is to survive and thrive in this environment...
Having made it through two infamous prisons, Attica and Clinton, and then moving on to Sullivan Correctional Facility, where I spent twenty-eight years, and having now been where I am today, there are many stories to tell. And many insights, too. For me, prison has been a learning experience.
I have now spent years living with men who, like myself, have made wrong turns and bad choices in life. Some have been swallowed up by addictions. Others by poverty. While still others drifted into gangs, where they surrendered their lives by choosing to live as criminals. And over the years many a "gangbanger" confessed to me privately, even some with tears, that they regret all of it.
Through the years I have met men from every conceivable background. Rich and poor. The well-educated to the uneducated. Those with genuine mental health issues, and those who are just plain evil and who live with no remorse.
Yes, I have done time with alleged mobsters to men who were once members of law enforcement. While others, like myself, once served in the military. And others who had been homeless at the time they committed their crime. In reality, crime, like death, is no respecter of persons. Those who now occupy space in one of America's prisons come from every conceivable background.
Prison, with its mix of men and women from many different backgrounds, cultures, and religions, is every sociologist's dream. It's a community that by its uniqueness holds much interest for those who've made a science out of studying people.
D.B.
I have now spent years living with men who, like myself, have made wrong turns and bad choices in life. Some have been swallowed up by addictions. Others by poverty. While still others drifted into gangs, where they surrendered their lives by choosing to live as criminals. And over the years many a "gangbanger" confessed to me privately, even some with tears, that they regret all of it.
Through the years I have met men from every conceivable background. Rich and poor. The well-educated to the uneducated. Those with genuine mental health issues, and those who are just plain evil and who live with no remorse.
Yes, I have done time with alleged mobsters to men who were once members of law enforcement. While others, like myself, once served in the military. And others who had been homeless at the time they committed their crime. In reality, crime, like death, is no respecter of persons. Those who now occupy space in one of America's prisons come from every conceivable background.
Prison, with its mix of men and women from many different backgrounds, cultures, and religions, is every sociologist's dream. It's a community that by its uniqueness holds much interest for those who've made a science out of studying people.
D.B.
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