Prison Professors With Michael Santos

Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term by Michael Santos Chapter eight, part two. Months 103-127     While planning for law school I continue to build a strong network of support. To overcome the resistance and bias I expect to encounter, I put together a package that I call my portfolio. It describes my crime, expresses remorse, and articulates the steps I’ve taken over the past decade to atone. The portfolio includes copies of my university degrees and endorsement letters from the distinguished academics who support me. I’m certain that a wide support network will open more options upon my release and I send the portfolios to people who might sponsor my efforts. My strategy is simple. I’ll continue what I began before I was sentenced, when I wrote to Stuart Eskenazi, the journalist who covered my trial for readers of the Tacoma News Tribune. In my letter to him, I expressed my intentions to live usefully in prison and redeem myself by preparing for a law-abiding life upon release. The new portfol

Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term, with Michael Santos.  Chapter 8: 1996-1998 Months 103-127 As I cross through another holiday season and into January 1996, I look through a few birthday cards I received from my family.  It’s hard to accept that I’m turning 32 in prison, but I’m not a stranger to these milestones passing.  Not anymore. For years I’ve been climbing toward 1997, hoping that the end of my first decade would mean something special to me.  Now I’m closing in on that milestone, but it no longer seems significant. One year feels the same as the next and I don’t yet foresee any break from the monotony. I rely upon clearly defined goals to stay the course. By studying, writing, and working to earn credentials, I’ve hoped to define myself as something more than a prisoner.  The effort, I believed, would help reclaim my humanity from this so-called system of corrections.  Now I’m not so sure.  It is a system that strikes hard, like a wrecking ball, further dehumanizing me with every pas

I’m continuing to read from my book Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term. This is the third installment of chapter 7, covering months 93 through 95 of my confinement, in 1995. *  *  *  *  *  *  *   Other prisoners have told me that the bus ride to FCI Fairton only takes a few hours, and I’m determined not to waste this opportunity to enjoy our American landscape.  Still in a state of euphoria over news of my transfer, I don’t nap as we drive the two-lane highway that feels far too narrow for this bus. Other than a few days in Manhattan, I’ve never been in the Northeast. The road signs that announce the Delaware River, Philadelphia, The Ben Franklin Bridge, and The George Washington Bridge remind me of American history. The irony of the moment isn’t lost on me. I’m in the birthplace of our nation, close to the Liberty Bell, the places where early American leaders signed The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence, guaranteeing freedom for all, and I’m in chains. My only essential need at

I’m continuing to read from my book Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term. This is the second installment of chapter 7, covering months 93 through 95 of my confinement, in 1995. *  *  *  *  *  *  * In search of the associate warden, I walk to the chow hall during the noon meal and I see Nuss standing in line, looking like the Grim Reaper. Knowing that he can influence my transfer to low-security, I approach him. “I spent the weekend reading through the Custody and Classification manual,” I tell him. “According to the formula in the policy statement, I calculate that I should be in a low-, not a medium-security prison. When my case manager comes in I’ll see what he thinks. If I’ve got a low-security rating, would you support my transfer?” “Don’t you have 45 years?” “Yes. But I’ve done eight years without any problems or disciplinary infractions.” “But you led a criminal organization.” His knowledge of my case makes me wonder what he has against me. “I don’t have a history of violence or weapons, an

I’m continuing to read from my book Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term. This is the first installment of chapter 7, covering months 93 through 95 of my confinement, in 1995.   Hofstra awards my master’s degree in May of 1995 and I begin working my way toward a doctorate at the University of Connecticut. The textbooks on penology could cure insomnia, but the clear path to a Ph.D. motivates me, keeping me cocooned in my room except for my early morning exercise. I think about the authors sometimes, wondering what inspired them to study and write about prisons. For them, I know, a lengthy sentence didn’t provide the impetus. I don’t have any idea what compels someone to build a career around the walled concrete and steel compounds that now hold more than two million people in the U.S. I have eighteen more years to serve and at times I feel disconnected, as if I’m living behind a glass wall, where I can see but not participate in the broader society. I’m isolated, though my projects bring meaning i

Get strategies to prepare for a better experience (and earlier release) from prison: https://prisonprofessors.com/app-defendants-strategies/  

Learn how to prepare after a sentencing hearing with the following article:   https://prisonprofessors.com/app-defendants-post-sentencing/

According to H.P. Lovecraft, an American writer, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” People going into a government investigation or facing criminal charges know what I’m discussing.   I’m Michael Santos, founder of Prison Professors. We launched our nonprofit to offer resources for justice-impacted people who want to help themselves. Getting help starts with understanding. If people don’t understand the process, they lack clarity on different mitigation strategies they may engineer.   https://prisonprofessors.com/app-defendants-presentencing/

Section 15 of Prison: My 8,344th Day shows how reflecting on progress each day helps us to stay on track to prepare for success after release from prison. This strategy empowered me through 26 years, and others can use the same strategy.   https://prisonprofessors.com/section-15-my-8344th-day/

For prison reform, we need to apprise leaders of how and why the reforms will lead to safer communities. In Section 14 of Prison: My 8,344th Day, I show the steps I took while crossing through 26 years in prison.   https://prisonprofessors.com/section-14-my-8344th-day/

While serving 26 years in prison, I studied the law to learn more about how society evolved. In Section 13 of Prison, My 8,344th Day, I show readers how reading case law helped me through a typical day during the 23rd year of my term.   https://prisonprofessors.com/section-13-my-8344th-day/

While serving a typical day during my 23rd year in prison, I reflected on the relationship publishing had on my preparations for success. In section 12 of Prison! My 8,344th Day, I offer guidance that other people in jail and prison may use to prepare.   https://prisonprofessors.com/section-12-my-8344th-day/

Our team at Prison Professors welcomes you to our App.   My name is Michael Santos. As a co-founder of Prison Professors, I feel a connection and a personal responsibility to our subscribers.    Our team at Prison Professors publishes free content to help all justice-impacted people.   We consider the following people to be justice-impacted:   Exposed to government investigations, Charged with a crime, Going through judicial proceedings, Going through probation or prison, Released from prison, Working with people that face criminal charges, People that work in jails, prisons, or probation departments, Interest in how mass incarceration influences our nation.   Those who want more detailed information should visit www.PrisonProfessors.com or connect with a member of our team.   Our App strives to provide information in an easy-to-find format that will help justice-impacted people.   Subscribe to our App for updates we publish. It’s free!   Click the following link for free digital books by Prison Professors:

Section 11 of Prison: My 8,344th Day offers the origins of the Straight-A Guide, a strategy that people living in struggle can use to prepare for lives of meaning and relevance.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-11/

In Prison: My 8,344th Day—Section 10, I show how mentoring others in jail or prison can help us restore a sense of strength and dignity. When we help others, we simultaneously help ourselves.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-10/

In Prison: My 8,344th Day—Section9, I offer examples on planning. With daily plans, we strengthen ourselves through prison.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-9/

To succeed through the challenges of a lengthy prison term, we must put priorities in place. We may endure inconveniences today in order to put ourselves on the pathway for higher levels of success later.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-8/

While reading Prison: My 8,344th Day—Section 7, I am reminded of the import lessons that Abraham Maslow taught me. Solve little problems.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-7/

While in prison, we make decisions every day that influence our prospects for inner peace or despair. In Section 6 of Prison! My 8,344th Day, I discuss the thoughts that carry me through morning exercise.   https://prisonprofessors.com/8344th-day-section-6/

The harder we work, the luckier we become. Section 5 of Prison! My 8,344th Day shows a strategy to build strength through the adversity of imprisonment.