Tag: inmates

60 Days In on A&E: A “real” reality show about incarceration?

Posted on March 11, 2016March 12, 2016 by Texas Magnum

Today I heard about this new show coming up and it looks kinda interesting. It’s on A&E and it’s seven individuals who volunteer to actually go to a county jail for two months. This is what A&E says about it: “Sheriff Jamey Noel has devised an unprecedented program to root out crime and corruption in the Clark County Jail. His plan is to send seven civilian volunteers into jail as undercover inmates. The participants all have unique motivations for joining the program, and have been given cover stories, training on the rules of inmate culture, and instructions on how to

Christmas in prison – a time for reflection

Posted on December 23, 2014April 8, 2015 by Texas Magnum

The holidays can be some of the toughest time for prison inmates and their families and loved ones. An inmate can feel incredibly alone and sad being in prison during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Years. It’s a time we associate with family and the reality of being locked up can hit hard. It’s a time when mothers and fathers cry for their sons and daughters, and wives and husbands yearn for the touch of their mate. As a former inmate, I can tell you there were bright spots to the holidays. For one, the inmates tend to have

Johnny Cash and His Work for Prison Reform

Posted on January 24, 2013January 24, 2013 by Texas Magnum

Here is a great piece about Johnny Cash and his work for prisoners and prison reform from BBC. Take note of the additional links and info about prison included in the right hand side bar of the article.

Is that light at the end of the tunnel?

Posted on November 9, 2011November 13, 2011 by Texas Magnum

I am tired. Tired of being here, tired of the classes I am in, tired of the work I do and mostly REALLY tired of this dorm I live in. I am tired of the loud mouths and the bad attitudes. I am tired of the CO’s and tired of the other inmates. I am tired of writing letters to family because there really isn’t any news to talk about with them anymore. I am tired of drinking coffee that tastes like rusty nails. I am tired of having to strip down for every little thing and I am tired

We’re All Doing Time

Posted on September 15, 2011September 16, 2011 by Texas Magnum

Update from Inside: Life here continues to be busy for me, work is trucking along, and so is the rehab program. The days are going by fast overall. Over all I am in very good spirits. I got a book called “We’re All Doing Time” by Bo Lozoff. It’s a spiritual book, not a religious book, but it pulls from all the major world religions. It quotes the Bible, Buddhist teachings, Hindu, Native American, and more. It talks about Christ and Mother Theresa and Gandhi. It is REALLY, REALLY good. The author Bo Lozoff puts in words just what my

Change is good – catching chain is not good

Posted on August 4, 2011August 6, 2011 by Texas Magnum

Well I now can say what is my least-favorite part of prison life. Catching chain for transport to another unit – God, seriously, it sucks. I left my old unit on Friday night and got here on Wednesday. In that time I stopped over at three different units. One is well known for being one of the oldest and worse units in the state of Texas. As you can imagine, that is a bold statement considering the size of Texas and the conditions of many of the TDCJ prison units. But, from my short stay there, I would say it

What do I have to be thankful for?

Posted on November 24, 2010November 24, 2010 by Texas Magnum

I am sitting here thinking about Thanksgiving which is this coming week and how much that was always aÂ day that I have always enjoyed being with family. I will be missing all of it this year, butÂ the past couple of years it seems that half of the time when it was a holiday or something I was in rehab somewhere anyway. I am mailing this tomorrow, but no matter what day it gets there, if it gets there before, I want it to get posted the night before Thanksgiving, because I know that is the time when I will probably