124: Earning Freedom (6.1) with Michael Santos
Podcast 124: Earning Freedom with Michael Santos
Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term
\xa0
I\u2019m reading from chapter six of Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term, by Michael Santos. In this reading, we\u2019re covering chapter Six: 1992-1995
Months 62-84
\xa0
It\u2019s Thanksgiving, 1992, just before my sixth holiday season in prison. Despite the forbidden affair I\u2019ve been carrying on with Sarah for the past six months, today she tells me that she needs to move on with her life. She understands the risks associated with our trysts and she\u2019s come to the conclusion that the stress would be too much to bear for another 21 years.
I\u2019ve hardened emotionally, as I\u2019m now familiar with the concept of loss. I\u2019ve been expecting this moment, anticipating her good-bye since our first kiss.\xa0 Grateful that it has lasted this long, I\u2019m prepared to move forward.
*******
\u201cWhat\u2019s up? Did she finally dump you?\u201d Windward asks, sensing my despondency when I return to the cell and drop to my rack without undressing.
\u201cI told you she\u2019s my lawyer. That\u2019s it.\u201d
\u201cAnd I told my judge that I thought it was flour I was bringin\u2019 in. What\u2019s that got to do with anythin\u2019?\u201d
\u201cCan\u2019t you just be quiet?\u201d
\u201cLeast you can do is tell me how it went down. No sense keep denyin\u2019 it. Ain\u2019t no hot young lawyer gonna keep visitin\u2019 a man in the joint \u2019less somethin\u2019s going on. \u2018Sides that, I smell her all over ya.\u201d
\u201cShe was trying to help with my case. That\u2019s it. Enough, just drop it.\u201d
Lying on my rack, ignoring Windward\u2019s irritating interrogation, I silently acknowledge that I knew Sarah would eventually disappear from my life. She was a wonderful, delicious respite from my all-male world, but now she\u2019s gone and despondency starts to settle in like a dense fog. Thoughts of women, family, and the normal life from which I\u2019m separated rush in, squeezing me. I have to refocus, to push thoughts of Sarah out of my mind and block all hope of finding a woman to carry this burden with me. I\u2019m going to focus on completing five years at a time, alone. I\u2019ve got to reach 1997.
*******
The people have elected William Jefferson Clinton the 42nd president of the United States. I closely followed the political coverage throughout the year. Julie even purchased a subscription to the Washington Post for me to keep abreast of politics. Now, on a sunny day in January 1993, I\u2019m overwhelmed by my emotions, tears filling my eyes, as I watch Justice Rehnquist swear our new president into office.
\u201cWhy do you care so much who the president is when you can\u2019t even vote?\u201d
In my sister\u2019s world the president doesn\u2019t play much part in day-to-day life and she doesn\u2019t grasp why I\u2019m optimistic with this switch from Bush to Clinton. As a federal prisoner, I live under the restrictions of the Bureau of Prisons, an agency that needs major reform. I\u2019m hoping that President Clinton or his attorney general will appoint a new director of this agency. I\u2019m certain the change will bring more empathy, as the president\u2019s younger brother, Roger, served a federal prison sentence for nonviolent cocaine trafficking. Reform and liberalization of prison could well come under Clinton\u2019s leadership.
In preparation of a research report I\u2019m working on for Hofstra I read about various progressive prison systems that President Clinton may consider. In Scandinavian countries citizens from local communities participate in panels designed to oversee and facilitate positive adjustments for offenders. Prisoners meet with \u201combudsmen panels\u201d at the beginning of their terms and together they work to establish clearly defined, individualized programs that prisoners may follow to reconcile with society and earn their freedom through merit. No similar program exists in our justice system, though under Clinton there\u2019s hope for change.\xa0 Hope has been a mantra of Clinton\u2019s throughout the campaign, and if he wants to restore it for people in prison, he\u2019ll need a different kind of system.
Instead of a system that encourages offenders to embrace societal values, studies combined with my experiences convince me that our system has a dramatically different mission with dramatically different outcomes.\xa0 It began to deteriorate in 1973, after Robert Martinson, a criminologist, published \u201cNothing Works.\u201d It was an influential study suggesting that regardless of what programs administrators initiated, people in prison were incapable of reform. Then Professor James Q. Wilson, a mentor of Dr. DiIulio\u2019s, published his widely quoted book, Thinking About Crime. In that book, Professor Wilson suggested that society ought to limit the functions of prisons to two goals: isolate and punish.\xa0 I\u2019d like to see a different approach, and under President Clinton\u2019s leadership, I\u2019m hopeful for meaningful reforms.
Either way, I\u2019m on my own, knowing that I must succeed in spite of external forces.\xa0 The concepts of isolation, deterrence, and punishment don\u2019t concern me. I\u2019m making daily progress by staying physically fit and putting in long hours of study toward my master\u2019s degree. Regardless of whether President Clinton appoints enlightened leadership to change the system or not, I\u2019ll continue to learn and grow. Neither the system of punishment nor anything else will block me from achieving the goals that I set.
Despite the rigid, punishment-based policies espoused by theorists like Martinson and DiIulio and endorsed by the BOP\u2013policies that thwart my struggle to emerge as a capable and contributing citizen\u2013I\u2019m heartened to learn of leaders who embrace what I consider an enlightened system of justice. Some come from surprising places, like the United States Supreme Court.
In a 1985 commencement speech entitled \u201cFactories With Fences,\u201d Former Chief Justice Warren Burger called for the graduating students from Pace University to reform America\u2019s growing prison system. Instead of perpetuating a system that simply isolates and punishes, Justice Burger urged changes within the system that would encourage prisoners to work toward \u201cearning and learning their way to freedom.\u201d
Although eight years have passed since Justice Burger delivered his speech, the Bureau of Prisons has done little to implement his vision. I don\u2019t see any way to earn freedom. Through my work and achievements I want to become an example and a catalyst for change. I may not advance my release date, but I will contribute, and I will lead a life of relevance. I will show by example that self-discipline and education can lead a prisoner to emerge as a contributing citizen, and I will urge reforms that encourage others to do the same.
*******
I\u2019m inspired by what I\u2019ve learned from The Future of Imprisonment, a book Dr. Norval Morris published in the 1970s. Dr. Morris wrote that prisons in an enlightened society should enable prisoners to rise to their highest levels of competence.\xa0 His thoughts resonate with me so I write him. Thinking that he\u2019s still a law professor at Harvard, I send my letter of introduction to Cambridge. I want him to know that his work has touched my life, and I ask for his guidance going forward.
Several months pass before I receive his response. Administrators at Harvard forwarded my letter, as Dr. Morris moved to become the Julius Kreeger Professor of Law at The University of Chicago. He responded graciously to my letter, offering to advise me with my studies at Hofstra and throughout the remainder of my term. \u201cI may be of particular help to you at times,\u201d he writes, \u201cas I\u2019ve known every director of the Bureau of Prisons, and the past three directors are close friends of mine. Count on my support if you run into any obstacles with your pursuit of education.\u201d
Dr. Morris\u2019s support boosts my spirits. To have distinguished academics like Professors McPherson, DiIulio, and Morris as mentors means that I\u2019ll have guidance from the same professionals who offer expert opinions to legislators and to the highest levels of prison administrators. The professors will have an interest in preparing me for release; I can trust in them to advocate for me if I need help.
Through our letters and phone calls, Dr. Morris and I become friends. He encourages me to call him Norval and introduces me to other leading American penologists. I begin to correspond with professors from across the United States, including scholars such as Leo Carroll, Todd Clear, Francis Cullen, Timothy Flanagan, Tara Gray, and Marilyn McShane. They all support my efforts and invite me to contribute to their work. As a prisoner who studies prisons from the inside and shares what he knows with the world of academia, I\u2019m evidently unique. Dr. George Cole, an author and Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Connecticut, pledges his support.\xa0 We begin to build a close friendship.
Liberation seeps incrementally into my psyche with each of these relationships. I\u2019m less susceptible to the hopelessness that pervades the lives around me. The woman I loved left me and I serve a sentence that is still measured in decades, but I\u2019ve created a sense of meaning and I feel as though I\u2019m making progress, which is the key to growth.
*******
Bruce and I have completed our collaboration on \u201cTranscending the Wall\u201d about the importance of education in transforming prisoners\u2019 lives. He generously gives me credit as the first author but it is Bruce who coordinates publication in the scholarly, peer-reviewed Journal of Criminal Justice Education. As I told Bruce during our summer visit in 1993, our publication serves a pragmatic purpose.
\u201cI need to start thinking about transferring from this penitentiary,\u201d I tell him during one of our visits.
\u201cAre you feeling threatened?\u201d he asks, on alert.
Bruce read about the violence at USP Atlanta in a New York Times article that cited it as one of the nation\u2019s most dangerous high security prisons. He\u2019s always concerned about my safety.
\u201cMy schedule keeps me away from trouble, but gang activity is more intense every day. It\u2019s violent, bloodshed every week. I think it\u2019s time to request a transfer.\u201d
\u201cSo what\u2019s stopping you?\u201d
\u201cI need more information. The thing is, when a prisoner asks for a transfer there\u2019s no telling where the BOP will send him. It\u2019s like playing roulette. I need to transfer to the most education-friendly prison possible.\u201d
\u201cCan Norval help you?\u201d
\u201cHe can help, and he said he would. The problem is that I don\u2019t know where to go. If I ask for a transfer the BOP will probably send me closer to Seattle, but being closer to home isn\u2019t as important as the preparations I need to make for when I get out.\u201d
\u201cWhat do we need to do?\u201d I always love Bruce\u2019s steadfast support, and I especially appreciate his use of the \u201cwe,\u201d meaning he\u2019s always on board to help.
\u201cI need to find the best prison for educational programming, but not according to what staff members say. I need inside information from actual prisoners who serve time in the institutions.\u201d
Bruce doesn\u2019t understand why the prisoners\u2019 perspective is so valuable to me when I actively avoid close interactions with the penitentiary population.
I try to explain. \u201cIf someone were to inquire about educational opportunities here at USP Atlanta, the staff would discuss the basic programs. They would say that teachers, classrooms, and even college programs are available. But I\u2019m the only prisoner out of 2,500 who\u2019s earned a degree here, and there\u2019s a reason for that. It\u2019s because, despite what staff members say, the atmosphere in here is oppressive and the policies in practice discourage us from pursuing an education.\u201d
\u201cYes, but you\u2019ve gotten around the obstacles here. What makes you think that you won\u2019t get around them wherever you go?\u201d
\u201cThe reason I make progress here is because I have support from Ms. Stephens, Mr. Chandler, and a few others. They let me create a schedule that allows me to avoid problems and gives me access to computers; they intervene when policies or staff members try to block me. When I get to the next prison I\u2019m just another prisoner, and I\u2019ll be facing obstacles there like everyone else, including from BOP staff members that may resent me for striving to become something more. Those kinds of staff members throw up insurmountable barriers. I see them every day here, but this penitentiary has become as familiar to me as the back of my hand and I know how to get around in here. I need details and the up-to-date truth from prisoners about what goes on in other prisons. With that information I can decide where to request a transfer.\u201d
Our conversation evolves into a plan. Bruce writes a letter of introduction to Sylvia McCollum, the Director of Education for the entire Bureau of Prisons. He lists his credentials as a retired professor of education from Chicago and explains that for the past several years he has been mentoring me. He includes a copy of the article we co-authored, offering to travel to Washington to meet with Ms. McCollum and discuss contributions he might make to the Bureau of Prisons as a volunteer.
Had I written to Sylvia McCollum directly, it\u2019s unlikely that my letter would\u2019ve reached her, or that I would\u2019ve received a response. With Bruce as my emissary, on the other hand, I knew that I would have a better chance of receiving the data I was looking to find.
Bruce visited Ms. McCollum at her office in DC, at the Bureau of Prisons headquarters.\xa0 She welcomed his offer to mentor other prisoners and even congratulated me through Bruce on the progress I\u2019ve made.\xa0 When he told her that he wanted to help others, Ms. McCollum encouraged him.\xa0 She gave him clearance to visit any federal prison he wanted and instructed those who presided over education departments to accommodate him by arranging private meetings with the prisoners who were most active in education programs.
\u201cI\u2019m ready to begin my journey,\u201d Bruce tells me over the phone after describing his successful meeting with Ms. McCollum. \u201cWhere should I go?\u201d
*******
The research work pays off.\xa0 With Bruce and Norval\u2019s assistance, I successfully coordinate my transfer after learning that the best prison for education is FCI McKean. It\u2019s wonderful news when guards inform me that I\u2019m being transferred out of the United States Penitentiary and that I\u2019m on my way to McKean.
\u201cSantos. 16377-004.\u201d I respond to the guard who processes me in for transfer as he calls me forward.
He shakes my wrists to ensure the handcuffs are secure and then yanks on the chain around my waist.
\u201cWhadda we got goin\u2019 on down here?\u201d The guard pulls my pant legs out from between my skin and the steel bracelets locked around my ankles.
\xa0\u201cI didn\u2019t get any socks, sir. The chains were digging into my shins.\u201d
\u201cGonna have to live with it. Security first.\u201d He tightens the cuffs to ensure I don\u2019t pull the pant legs through again. Then he clears me.
I once read a novel by Wilbur Smith describing the horrific experiences of people who were locked in chains after slave traders captured them.\xa0 The slaves were forced to walk across rough terrain to the ships stealing them from Africa. The descriptions sickened me when I read the novel and I\u2019m reminded of them as I shuffle my way onto the bus. The steel rings once again cut into my skin, but by shortening my steps I lessen the pain.
My stomach churns despite three earlier trips to the bathroom. My body hasn\u2019t moved faster than my legs could carry it since 1988, the last time I was in a vehicle. Now, in the spring of 1994, I\u2019m sitting on an uncomfortable seat in the prison bus that is about to transport me out of USP Atlanta. Diesel fumes from the engines make me nauseous and beads of sweat form on my forehead
It\u2019s been seven years since my arrest. I\u2019m now 30-years-old, certainly a different man, though still a prisoner with a long, steep climb into more darkness.
I smile as I settle into the black vinyl seat, recalling how I engineered this transfer. With Norval\u2019s help the administrative obstacles to the transfer were insignificant. Bruce visited five prisons and spoke with several prisoners in each. Clearly, the news about the Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania, known as FCI McKean, suggested that it would be my best choice. The prisoners at McKean refer to it as \u201cDream McKean,\u201d with a progressive warden, Dennis Luther, who wholeheartedly supports educational programs.
Ordinarily the documented address of release residence in my case file would\u2019ve prohibited my transfer to McKean. The BOP confined me in the Southeast region because of my arrest in South Florida, but my release address is Seattle.
\u201cI can submit a transfer for you to FCI McKean,\u201d my case manager told me when I asked, \u201cbut I know the Region isn\u2019t going to approve it. You don\u2019t have a release address for that part of the country, and I know you\u2019ll either be sent to a prison in the West or another prison here in the Southeast.\u201d
\u201cI don\u2019t care about being close to home. I\u2019ve got too much time left to serve and McKean\u2019s the best spot to finish my education.\u201d I persisted with the request, knowing she wanted to help.
\u201cLook, I support you and I\u2019m going to submit you for McKean. I\u2019m just telling you what\u2019s going to happen. Once I send the file to the regional office it\u2019s out of my hands, and no one in that office knows anything about you.\u201d
My case manager, Ms. Forbes, had attended my graduation in 1992 and helped me make arrangements with the mailroom to receive the books I needed from the Hofstra library. She supported my efforts but was honest in telling me what she thought would happen once she put forth my file for transfer. I existed only as a number in the system, and I understood that all consideration from staff at USP Atlanta would end with my transfer request.
After that conversation with my case manager I called Norval and explained the advantages that FCI McKean offered along with the challenges I would have in transferring. Norval said he knew the regional director and promised to call him on my behalf. That was two days ago.
When the bus engine begins to roar, I feel ready to leave. I\u2019ve lived through six holiday seasons amidst prisoners serving multiple life sentences in the penitentiary. Transitioning to a medium-security prison means encountering less volatility and more optimism, I hope.
As I wait for the bus to roll along, my thoughts, curiously, turn to my eventual release. I submitted a petition for clemency about six months ago.\xa0 It wasn\u2019t my intention to submit the petition until 1997, when I would\u2019ve completed my first decade.\xa0 But after discussing my plan with Norval, he convinced me on the merits of submitting the petition at once.
\xa0\u201cThese efforts take time and work,\u201d Norval explained, \u201cand clemency is extremely rare, especially in this political climate. I don\u2019t see any advantage in waiting until 1997. You\u2019ve earned one university degree and you\u2019re well on your way to earning a second. Draft a petition now and send it to me for review. I think you should get the process started.\u201d
With Norval\u2019s letter of support, I proudly sent my petition to the U.S. pardon attorney in Washington. That was more than six months ago. Whenever I\u2019ve made an inquiry on the progress, I received form letters that say my petition is under review. I have no idea what will happen, if anything. I can\u2019t grasp the concept of 19 more years in prison. But I\u2019m transferring from a high-security penitentiary to a medium-security FCI now, and I\u2019m excited about the change of scenery, even if I\u2019m still immersed in a population of more than 1,500 felons.
\xa0