Welcome to the Washington State Department of Corrections and one officer's journey to navigate his way through the system while trying to balance his personal life. There are many different colorful people from upper administrators all the way down to offenders. In the following pages you will find danger, humor, and at times stupidity. This book will paint a picture of what it is like to walk the tiers filled with some of the worst human beings that the state of Washington has to offer. It will include over one hundred different situations that have been faced and it will include the facts about the murder of a fellow Officer, a warrior sister never forgotten. If you have ever wondered what really happens in prison, this book is for you. Sit back and enjoy the picture that is being painted by Officer Giovani.

Welcome to the Washington State Department of Corrections and one officer's journey to navigate his way through the system while trying to balance his personal life. There are many different colorful people from upper administrators all the way down to offenders. In the following pages you will find danger, humor, and at times stupidity. This book will paint a picture of what it is like to walk the tiers filled with some of the worst human beings that the state of Washington has to offer. It wi

An enraging, necessary look at the private prison system, and a convincing clarion call for prison reform.” —NPR.org New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018 * One of President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2018 * Winner of the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize * Winner of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism * Winner of the 2019 RFK Book and Journalism Award * A New York Times Notable Book A ground-breaking and brave inside reckoning with the nexus of prison and profit in America: in one Louisiana prison and over the course of our country's history. In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for $9 an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. An award-winning investigative journalist, he used his real name; there was no meaningful background check. Four months later, his employment came to an abrupt end. But he had seen enough, and in short order he wrote an exposé about his experiences that won a National Magazine Award and became the most-read feature in the history of the magazine Mother Jones. Still, there was much more that he needed to say. In American Prison, Bauer weaves a much deeper reckoning with his experiences together with a thoroughly researched history of for-profit prisons in America from their origins in the decades before the Civil War. For, as he soon realized, we can't understand the cruelty of our current system and its place in the larger story of mass incarceration without understanding where it came from. Private prisons became entrenched in the South as part of a systemic effort to keep the African-American labor force in place in the aftermath of slavery, and the echoes of these shameful origins are with us still. The private prison system is deliberately unaccountable to public scrutiny. Private prisons are not incentivized to tend to the health of their inmates, or to feed them well, or to attract and retain a highly-trained prison staff. Though Bauer befriends some of his colleagues and sympathizes with their plight, the chronic dysfunction of their lives only adds to the prison's sense of chaos. To his horror, Bauer finds himself becoming crueler and more aggressive the longer he works in the prison, and he is far from alone. A blistering indictment of the private prison system, and the powerful forces that drive it, American Prison is a necessary human document about the true face of justice in America.

The final volume of Jeffrey Archer's prison diaries covers the period of his transfer from Wayland to his eventual release on parole in July 2003.

“I don't think the general public has the slightest clue as to what goes on in these prisons. This book is a terrific starting point for anyone hoping to understand corrections. I love the humor and stories in the book. Over 25 years in law enforcement and this is the most realistic book about prison I have ever read.” Paul G., retired Correctional Officer.Prison Guard Talk is the fictionalized memoir of Dusty Beach, a former correctional officer, sergeant, and lieutenant in the Department of Corrections. The book follows the fictional character Josiah Wilson, a correctional officer at a fictionalized prison. All instances herein is inspired from real life, and while dramatized, still contain information necessary to those interested in the Department of Corrections.If you are seriously considering taking the exam to become a correctional officer or are otherwise interested in joining the Department of Corrections, this book is a must. The chapters are geared to educate and inform you while simultaneously preparing you for the examination and oral interview. It is a powerful combination punch of learning and reinforcement. You will not find this type of material and information in this format anywhere else. The book includes a question and answer oral interview section. This is what one Department of Corrections cadet said, "I interviewed for the correctional officer position—most of the questions were out of your book and spot on, but it was your insight or should I say the fictional character and insight of Josiah Wilson that saved the day…thanks!” Don't step foot into a prison until you read this book—this is insight you won't find anywhere else. Through a fictionalized memoir of life as a corrections officer, understand the thinking of the Department of Corrections and prison politics. The joint can make you laugh and cry—experience the unique humor and flavor found at some of the toughest prisons in America. Peppered with insights and knowledge of the duties of a correctional officer, Prison Guard Talk includes the tips and tricks you need to know to pass the correctional officer exam—including interview questions right from the playbook.Dusty Beach takes you on a journey down the rabbit hole into the soul of prison life, through a matrix of a world seldom seen, much less understood by people.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “extraordinary, unforgettable” (Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow) memoir of redemption and second chances amidst America’s mass incarceration epidemic, from a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle-class neighborhood on Detroit’s east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honor roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a doctor—but at age eleven, his parents’ marriage began to unravel, and beatings from his mother worsened, which sent him on a downward spiral. He ran away from home, turned to drug dealing to survive, and ended up in prison for murder at the age of nineteen, full of anger and despair. Writing My Wrongs is the story of what came next. During his nineteen-year incarceration, seven of which were spent in solitary confinement, Senghor discovered literature, meditation, self-examination, and the kindness of others—tools he used to confront the demons of his past, forgive the people who hurt him, and begin atoning for the wrongs he had committed. Upon his release at age thirty-eight, Senghor became an activist and mentor to young men and women facing circumstances like his. His work in the community and the courage to share his story led him to fellowships at the MIT Media Lab and the Kellogg Foundation and invitations to speak at events like TED and the Aspen Ideas Festival. In equal turns, Writing My Wrongs is a page-turning portrait of life in the shadow of poverty, violence, and fear; an unforgettable story of redemption; and a compelling witness to our country’s need for rethinking its approach to crime, prison, and the men and women sent there.

In STRAIGHT FISH: A CORRECTIONAL OFFICER'S STORY, Mike Knox captures the gruesome reality of life behind bars from the point of view of a rookie officer, a suburban kid who joins the force as both a lark and a challenge to himself, an idealistic route to personal betterment. Though he's looking for a career and a secure life for his young family, and maybe the chance to do some good, his eyes are soon opened to the hard truths of life inside a maximum-security prison, where the correctional officers are just as much a captive of the broken-down system as the inmates. "I learned the core of the inmate philosophy," says the unnamed narrator, who explains that a straight fish is slang for a brand new officer, a f**king idiot sh*t head. "The way the inmates looked at it was that they were criminals, and it was the job of the officers to stop them from committing crimes. The inmates were criminals, doing what they were born to do, and they were going to keep committing crimes. "I couldn't believe someone would live his life without taking responsibility for what he had done. I wasn't going to change their minds, and that was just the point. It was up to the inmates to change, because they were the ones who'd put themselves in prison. The only remorse the inmates ever showed was for getting caught." A journey to the deepest rungs of hell and back, STRAIGHT FISH: A CORRECTIONAL OFFICER'S STORY is the compelling fictional tale of one man's sense of duty gone horribly wrong.

The Journey from Prison to Community: Developing Identity, Meaning and Belonging with Men in the UK provides a practical guide for practitioners working with men to successfully make the transition between prison and the community. This transition presents significant challenges, especially for those who have served many years in prison; for those who have experienced multiple cycles of release/recall; for those whose personality traits make it harder for them to build relationships and cope with strong emotions; and for those whose lives have been characterised by trauma, chaos, crime and institutionalisation. Drawing on the authors' clinical expertise and the lived experiences of real service-users, alongside the latest research in the field, the book identifies key issues in transition and explores the impact of these issues. Crucially, it provides guidance, tools and support to professionals working with men in the UK to build a crime-free, socially integrated and meaningful life after incarceration, featuring real-life stories of those who have made the transition. This is an essential read for professionals working in a range of settings across prison and community environments, while the wide variety of professional experience represented in the book broadens its appeal to forensic and clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, probation officers, prison staff and those working in the third sector. It is also valuable resource for qualified professionals, those in training, support roles, and managers involved in planning strategy and service delivery.

From the beginning of the seventh to the end of the eighth grade Matt went from being an A student to flunking out. While repeating the eighth grade, he was the MVP in three sports and was stealing cars on weekends. One night in April, 1988, he and two friends went out to steal a car. One of the friends shot and killed the driver. Trying to avoid a mandatory 25 years in prison, Matt accepted a plea of 60 years because he hoped he could reduce time served from 30 years to 12. Most young males are victimized by the dominant inmates in prison. At DeSoto Correctional Institute he was the youngest male among 1,100 men. Unbeknownst to his parents, Matt thrived in prison. He made and sold wine and loansharked, among other things. With his profits he bank-rolled a gambling operation. At one point he was sending money home to his brother. He paid one inmate to iron his clothes and another one to make his bed. But in his 6th year of incarceration he hit a man with a pipe in the middle of the night. He was sent to Close Management or "Solitary," for 13 months. For the first time he had experienced guilt for something he had done. It was the beginning of a spiritual awakening. The details of the crime and of his life leading up to it, the details of Matt's "business interests" while in prison, a love affair with an attractive female guard, the details of the fight mentioned above and the providential way in which Matt got clemency from Governor Chiles four months before he died of a heart attack, is all part of a riveting story.

Michael Santos helps audiences understand how to overcome the struggle of a lengthy prison term. Readers get to experience the mindset of a 23-year-old young man that goes into prison at the start of America's War on Drugs. They see how decisions that Santos made at different stages in the journey opened opportunities for a life of growth, fulfillment, and meaning.Santos tells the story in three sections: Veni, Vidi, Vici.In the first section of the book, we see the challenges of the arrest, the reflections while in jail, the criminal trial, and the imposition of a 45-year prison term.In the second section of the book, we learn how Santos opened opportunities to grow. By writing letters to universities, he found his way into a college program. After earning an undergraduate degree, he pursued a master's degree. After earning a master's degree, he began work toward a doctorate degree. When authorities blocked his pathway to complete his formal education, Santos shifted his energy to publishing and creating business opportunities from inside of prison boundaries.In the final section, we learn how Santos relied upon critical-thinking skills to position himself for a successful journey inside. He nurtured a relationship with Carole and married her inside of a prison visiting room. Then, he began building businesses that would allow him to return to society strong, with his dignity intact.Through Earning Freedom! readers learn how to overcome struggles and challenges. At any time, we can recalibrate, we can begin working toward a better life. Santos served 9,135 days in prison, and another 365 days in a halfway house before concluding 26 years as a federal prisoner. Through his various websites, he continues to document how the decisions he made in prison put him on a pathway to succeed upon release.