Can we create a world in which the goal of punishment is not to cast out but to bring back? We Are All More Than Our Crimes We’re living our lives to the fullest, doing good things along the way, when bad choices and tragic circumstances make for a bad…

Subversive collages by Muhammad Abdul-Rahman — By Pam Bailey One of the More Than Our Crimes network members has begun gifting me with his very unique style of art, which immediately made physically manifest the wryly humorous and wickedly insightful personality that had begun to emerge from his messages on Corrlinks (the prison email system). His…

The motivation is unknown, but to Jesse it meant unexpected salvation — By Pam Bailey My report, “Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” is nearing completion. Look soon for a call to action. One of the institutions within the FBOP that generated the largest outpouring of stories from “residents” desperate for a platform is the medium-security FCI Hazelton in West…

‘I never thought my footprint would be washed away by rain’ By Bo’Arm I’ve seen so many things, that it’s hard for me to explain. So much pain, so much pain. I’ve experienced so much change, that it’s hard for me to explain. So much pain, so much pain. They…

And prisoners are a captive market — By Askia A. Afrika-Ber I am willing to bet that a large number of tax-paying American citizen — even most people who have incarcerated loved ones, family members or friends — have been misled into believing that federal prisoners are well fed, receiving an adequate amount of nutritious food, even…

Staying alive means being hypervigilant — Earlier this month, shocking news was reported by Florida newspapers, recounting how a person incarcerated at the federal medium-security Coleman prison had been indicted on first-degree premeditated murder charges for strangling his cellmate. Both individuals were being held in the prison’s SHU (“special housing unit” for those charged with disciplinary…

Prison controlled me for 15 years, but now I’m speaking out — Earlier this year, Leonard Schenk reached out to me through the federal email system, saying he had heard I was working on a report to document the systemic human rights violations within the Bureau of Prisons. He described rampant abuse and myriad types of retaliation. And then, out of the…

I feel like a slave in chains with no key. By Bo’Arm (so nicknamed because at the age of 11, he was shot in his right arm in a drive-by, causing it to heal deformed) Home is what I hunt in my dreams, but never find. It’s like the system is designed…

Apple pie, flags…and guns By Rob Barton When I was growing up the ‘hood of Southeast DC, having a gun seemed like a necessity. It made me feel cool, hip and empowered, yes. But it also made me feel safe. Feeling the barrel of the gun against my skin while…