Prison Professors With Michael Santos

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