A message to today’s neglected young people — By Rob Barton “There is no higher priority than the safety of our residents and those who work in and visit D.C.,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in a recent statement, after a congressman was carjacked by a teenager in the District. “We are using every tool available to reduce crime.” So far this…

These students came into my life at just the right time — By Robert Barton I just had the most transformative experience, and it could not have come at a better time. It’s been said that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. And this time, I knew it was for a reason: I needed it! …

Yes, there are prison staff who care — just not enough My name is Carlos Marcell Jackson. I was incarcerated when I was 21 years old for aiding and abetting a murder. I’m now 39; I’ve been in federal prison 18 years. A staff member in one of the prisons…

In prison, purpose is sometimes found in the most adverse of moments — By Antonio Oesby I gave myself the name Emotional Poet because it reflects my prolific, God-given ability to articulate the unspoken words of my soul. Prior to my incarceration, I had no interest in poetry, perhaps because I didn’t really understand the concept or how it could factor into my…

Understaffing is at a critical level, but all the media seem to care about is the impact on staff — By Rob Barton There is a saying among the guys in my prison these days that goes, “The only consistency here is inconsistency.” This is a huge problem for people who are incarcerated, since everything we do is usually dictated by a schedule. When this schedule is regularly broken, and…

No wonder infectious diseases are rampant in prison — it’s a culture of neglect and depravity — By Omar Rimmer A recent Department of Justice inspector general report says the 123 federal prisons in the United States need roughly $2 billion worth of “maintenance” and most are “aging and deteriorating.” “We’re seeing crumbling prisons,” says DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. “We’re seeing buildings that we go into…

An advocate on the outside talks frankly with her counterpart inside federal prison — More Than Our Crimes co-founders Pam Bailey and Rob Barton (who is currently incarcerated at a federal high-security prison in Florida) recently had a wide-ranging conversation about why so many prisoners fight among themselves, but don’t do what it takes to hold the prison administration to account. We thought our…

This particular officer is known among the prison population as someone who regularly degrades inmates in physically humiliating ways — By G. Gonzalez Sexual abuse in federal prison isn’t’ limited to women. My story is an illustration: I was at USP Lompoc in California in March of last year when the compound officer subjected me to a strip search that was both unprofessional and humiliating–so much so that I believe…

With concern about crime spiking, a familiar pattern emerges — In a Feb. 16 speech, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell justified his opposition to the District of Columbia’s proposed overhaul of its antiquated criminal code by saying, “When the soft-on-crime local government has become too incompetent, when members of Congress can’t go about their daily lives without being attacked, when families…