Category: The Beat Without

-Keith Erickson, Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, CA My Father John Erickson passed away on January 28th, three days before his 73rd birthday. Despite his absence, the memories of my father and childhood fishing trips, have kept my mind and heart afloat. Having spent most of my life incarcerated, I’ll be the first to admit that I’d lost my way in the world. I failed at maintaining the values that he tried so hard to instill in me, and I pushed him away at times the harder he would love me.  The last conversation we had before Cancer stole

-Jason “Jay”, San Quentin State Prison, CA A powerful person I had met is Bill. He comes in with a bunch of guys to play basketball here in SQ, giving back, treating us as equal, as men, showing us that there are people that do care.  If I was a school teacher, I would be a PE teacher. I would teach at a college. I would be mixed with both strict and lenient — just to motivate, push, guide, but also to be a support system.  To me, compliments are just a sign of appreciation and respect. The things I

-Dortell Williams, Correctional Facility, Lancaster, CA They say you only get out what you put in. I hear of guys “marrying up,” meaning that they marry someone better than themselves. But the strategy fails and they get divorced. Kinda explains why the divorce rate is so high.  Then there are the guys and girls who hang out with people smarter and sharper than they are. Why? Because they are sharper and smarter than they are. Eventually, that plays out, too. Who wants to hang out with dummies all the time?  So what works best in a relationship? I’ll tell you:

-Wendy Fong, CCWF in Chowchilla, CA Being a grown up is hard. It doesn’t mean turning eighteen. You know you are a grown up when you can take responsibility for your actions and choices. It is caring about more than just yourself.  Being a grown up means making choices to do the right thing when you know you could get away with not caring. Being a grown up is making sure you are being a good role model and speaking the truth. I believe I am a grown up. I think my transition to becoming a grown up happened when

-Frederick Mason, Correctional Facility, AZ Program Statement 540.100, under Purpose and Scope for Inmate Telephone Regulation states, in part: “Telephone privileges are a supplemental means of maintaining community and family ties that will contribute to an inmate’s personal development,” and “Maintaining pro-social/legal contact with family and community ties is a valuable tool in the overall correctional process.” I take this to mean that in some regards, the use of telephone calls is vital to the wellbeing of every inmate here, because it gives us a connection to the outside world. Whether we are calling our parents, our spouses, our church

-Scott D Culp, Correctional Facility in Chino, CA The labor-intensive aspect of the current war between Ukraine and Russia has the latter scrambling for able-bodied men. Taxing from the lowest hanging fruits of a dictatorship, Russian prisoners were openly pressed for conscription into the paramilitary “Wagner Group.”  I can certainly empathize with a convict seeking absolution from sins, especially clothed in the austerity of the State. Ours is a cryptic world where the foreshadow of a war involving our fraternal dis-order of brothers has us questioning our worth in society. Because of the economic costs of a regular army, the

-Efren Bullard, Ironwood State prison in Blythe, CA “We continued daily to take personal inventory of ourselves, and whenever wrong, have the courage to honestly admit it.”  This step is very serious because a lot of us believe that we never took personal inventory of ourselves, meaning our wrongs. I used to take personal inventory all the time. The difference is this:  Every time I harmed someone I used to sit in the hole and think about how I could’ve hurt the individual even worse then he was already harmed. I would say to myself, “If I would’ve held him

-Jay, San Quentin State Prison, CA To the youth and others, I hope this inspires you to never give up, to not lose faith. I know it’s hard. Even though you may feel lost and helpless, it will be alright.  You are stronger than you think. You are special and priceless. Do not give up hope. Where there is darkness there is light. Even when you feel and think you’re alone, you’re not. The struggles, trials and tribulations will only make you stronger and wiser. Never submit to the hardships. Do not lose faith.

-Raymond White Jr, Corcoran State Prison in Corcoran, CA I would want to be remembered for many thingsAt the end of life’s chapterBut time of future partly divides usFor now, and when I pass away manyYears that my eyes have yet to perceiveI would just love to imagine the beauty through life’s mysteryWhere the signature move of Michael Jackson’sMoonwalk will gracefully slide like iceAcross the moon’s landscapeOutside in space where the sparklingStars burn silent, I want to hearHis song “Human Nature” plays inSpiritual tune, his astounding voice tellingMe, Why? Why? And then I say byReply, Michael, it’s just “Human Nature”Melodies

-Eliazar Guerra, San Quentin State Prison, CA Before the streets came between my father and I, we were as close as a father and son could be. As I started running the streets, I began to take my father for granted. I stopped appreciating all the things he wanted for me to have.  He wasn’t perfect, but he was there. He attended any ballgame that he could. He loved me. I lost sight of that because the drugs, parties, sports, and bad habits blinded me. He once told me that he wouldn’t be here one day, and that I would