The Mystery of Texas Parole By Mike Powers Texas has historically frowned on games of chance. Our providential position as a leading state in conservative and Christian values cannot easily abide wagering, gambling and ill-gotten gain from outcomes left to Lady Luck. That said, it baffles me why state officials who would take umbrage […]
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Retaliation By David Van Houten In the eleven years I’ve been in prison, I’ve seen a lot of things – good things, bad things, happy things, sad things, odd things, and funny things. But nothing fit all of these categories like what happened one day at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas. One afternoon,
A Zoo Within a Zoo By Mike Powers One of the fascinating things about this prison experience of mine are animals which are formally or informally kept by the prisoners. All sorts of wildlife and domesticated animals can be found in and around the prison, and these “lifers” bring many of us prisoners a
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The Principle By Jay Goodman As I sit back and take notice of the thinking habits of my fellow prisoners and realize why they are so easily manipulated. Most of the inmates that are in here serving time have it in their minds that they have to believe or act in a certain way.
A Change Of Plans By Jay Goodman Almost everyone in today’s society has developed a system of some sort to direct them in a useful daily routine. Most individuals will go as far as planning ahead weeks to months at a time. Every morning as Americans wake up and follow their routines, it gives
Ruiz’s Achilles Heel By Jay Goodman As much as I admire and appreciate the amazing things that David Ruiz accomplished for Texas inmates, the settlement that was eventually agreed to by both the class-action litigants and the old Texas Department of Corrections had a weakness that ultimately caused it to fail as an agent
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Free Darlie By Mike Powers If you’ve spent any time in jail at all and have any social skills whatsoever, it’s likely that you have heard it all. Moreover, there’s an old prison adage that is remarkably true, even if quite cynical, “Believe nothing that you hear and half of what you see.” This
Real Talk By Mike Powers There’s an expression we use in here, prison slang, that means,”What you just said is the absolute truth.” The phrase is “real talk”. Perhaps you’ll remember the other expression I’ve told you about before, “Believe nothing you here, and only half of what you see.” If you put these
Trifles By Mike Powers Chinese water torture. Just the sound of it send shivers down the spine, and this exquisite torture is actually of a very simple nature mechanically speaking. It consists of a single drop of water falling onto the same exact spot on the body over and over again. It doesn’t sound
The Quota System By Jay Goodman Now that I’ve taken my readers all the way through the 2000s showing the corruption and abuses in the Texas prison system, I want to turn our attention to how the Puppetmasters always seem to come up with new forms of punishment. I’d also like to show you
