Category: The Beat Without

by Brother Vernon Smith Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away, that they were meant to be there to serve some sort of purpose and teach you a lesson. They help you figure out who you are, or who you want to become. You never know just who these people may be, but when you lock eyes with them, you know in that moment, that they will affect your life in some profound way.  Sometimes things happen to you and at that time, they may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that

by Joseph “Big Bro” Weathington Dear Edward Jr. (Pesto),  Hey baby bro, it’s been a while since you passed away. A lot has changed since your death, but missing you is the one thing that hasn’t. I love you bro, and I miss you just as much.  I’m writing you because I want to apologize. I’m sorry that I failed you. I wasn’t the big brother to you that I should have been. I didn’t guide you in the right direction. I led you left, when I should have been the big brother that showed you something different, given you

by John Vasquez Many people believe anger is a bad thing, but it can actually be your friend. Anger is a natural human emotion just like fear, happiness or sadness. Everyone gets angry from time to time. Why? Because we’re human.  Unfortunately, people often think anger is bad because they mistakenly believe that anger and aggression are the same things, but they’re not. Anger is a feeling. Aggression is a behavior. Aggression is just one way to express anger. Hitting, assaulting or cussing someone out is an act of aggression. Anger is the feeling behind it. Anger is a powerful

by Keith Erickson I often think of myself as this sturdy ancient oak tree that has been tucked away in the stilled quietness of the forest. I may have many scars, yet I’ve come to truly believe that each one of them has been a part of the necessary afflictions for which I have had to overcome in order that I may have become what I am today, which is a much better man than I could have ever become without these scars. Each and every one of my scars, like that of the markings of this oak tree, is

by David A. Prado I am writing to you and reaching out to you all with an open heart. As well, hoping that you all listen with an open mind. Just to throw this out there, I am in no way trying to lecture to you. You all solely have the power to make your own decisions. My unhidden reason, why I am reaching out to you, is to share my own life story with you all, in hopes that it helps make an impact on your personality, to at least question the path that you are on currently. Before

by Antone Presley  My name is Antone Presley. I am a 25-year-old convicted felon for attempted murder. I’ve been incarcerated for three years now and time is moving extremely fast.  In early October, 2015 I committed a truculent act, trying to bring harm to a rival gang. Two weeks prior to my senseless crime, one of my friends was shot and killed at the age of sixteen. He was shot twelve times, in the face, which is an overkill.  When I got the call, about ten minutes after his death, all I could think about is revenge. I wanted the

by Ricky Sevier I take great joy and pleasure writing to The Beat Within as I flashback to the early 2000’s San Mateo County Hillcrest Juvenile Hall 21 Tower Road, before the new one was built. I was just starting to write and The Beat Within motivated me, reading poems and stories from other youth and all the way in the back the last few pages were always from people incarcerated in the state pen (adult system), telling powerful and  thoughtful stories and poems on another level.  Now, I find myself in Lancaster California State Prison. A friend of mine

Ten years in prison. I was housed at Pelican Bay State Prison (in Crescent City, CA). The institution was on lockdown. I was called to see the Chaplin on Monday, June 9, 2008. The Chaplin told me that my baby brother, Edward was shot and killed. I felt as if a lightning bolt struck my body as I fell after hearing this news. I called my baby sister, Tasha and listened to her describe the circumstances of our brother’s death. My eyes watered because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I went back to my cell, told my cellie what I just found out and when we come off this lockdown, I’m out of here. I called out to the tower officer and asked if I could call my family. Him knowing the situation, allowed me to use the phone. After talking to my mother and other siblings. I asked the tower officer if I could go on the concrete yard to be alone for a while. He did so.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). The word ‘Education’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Educere,’ which means: “to rear, to lead forth.”

In other words, it is something used to move and propel one forward. With this in mind, one might ask his or her self the question: What is it that leads me forward today? What drives me to think, act, and respond the way I do?

As a young kid growing up on the streets of East San Jose, I never really asked myself this question, nor did I take education seriously. Honestly, as long as I was good at being a criminal, who needed education? I could make hundreds of dollars a week living a life of crime, and I didn’t need a degree for that. So, looking back, being a thug is what motivated me. That’s what propelled me.

I murdered him. I stabbed him fifty-one times in his sleep, and now his name likely evokes in people close to him funny, warm and wonderful memories of a man they still love. And then it evokes pain because they remember, they realize suddenly after a happy thought and a smile that he was brutally taken from them for no real reason. Their guts wrench hard. They are saddened. They are angered. They remember that they are lonely and hurting without the treasured piece of their lives that I so callously took from them – their son, their brother, their friend, Carlos. “It wasn’t his time!” they yell furiously all at God and at me and at nobody… But only nobody hears them.

Obviously, I cannot return that precious heart-piece to them. I cannot bring Carlos back – no matter that I wish more desperately every day that I could. In fact, there is nothing I can ever do to make up for this horrible wrong I committed, I know, or for all the harm I’ve caused. Not with my own blood. Not with a lifetime in prison. For there is no justice for murder. So there is definitely no way for me to justify my actions. Though I have spent many years behind these walls trying do that exactly.