148. Earning Freedom (15.2), by Michael Santos
Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term, by Michael Santos
Chapter 15.1
Podcast 148 / 25 minutes
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Forming nonprofit, Carole becoming a registered nurse, meeting Greg Reyes, starting to write Undefeated.
Epilogue: 2009-2012 Months 260-300\xa0
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\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 It\u2019s May 20, 2009 and my friend Justin Paperny is being released from prison today.\xa0 We work well together and I\u2019ll miss his companionship. For the past several months Justin has been joining me in a quiet room where I write each morning.\xa0 One early morning session began with an idea for launching a nonprofit organization.\xa0 Undertaking such a task would assist us in raising financial resources that we could rely upon to create products for the purpose of reducing recidivism.
Our reasoning is simple, just an assessment of the facts. High-recidivism rates challenge our society in numerous ways, influencing the lives of citizens who don\u2019t grasp how America\u2019s commitment to mass incarceration influences their everyday lives.\xa0 Whereas taxpayers want safer communities, better schools, and better health care, those who represent the prison machine want bigger budgets.\xa0 That mindset of locking people up and throwing away the key leads to more overtime, more jobs for prison guards, and more expenditures on barbed wire fences, but it doesn\u2019t lead to safer communities.\xa0 Rather, it diverts resources that society could use to build better schools, better hospitals, and offer more social services.
People who serve time struggle to emerge with the types of values, skills, and resources that translate into success upon release.\xa0 Statistics illustrate the problem.\xa0 More than one out of every two people who serve time face continuing challenges from the criminal justice system after their release.\xa0 That rate of failure leads to enormous costs for taxpayers, depleting public resources that would be better spent on education, health care, or other social services.\xa0 I\u2019m convinced that by working together, Justin and I can help reduce costs of recidivism and contribute to safer communities. Doing so will require financial teamwork and money for obvious reasons: neither Justin nor I can work for free.\xa0 We have to earn a living, and the nonprofit could raise resources for the purposes of paying us for services we can offer.
While Justin served time with me here in Taft it wasn\u2019t possible to advance the idea of launching a nonprofit.\xa0 After all, forming a nonprofit organization isn\u2019t easy, especially when the principals are incarcerated.
\xa0 One lesson I learned over the decades is that all worthwhile goals begin with vision, but achieving them requires persistence and commitment.\xa0 With Justin\u2019s release, we can work together to advance this idea of launching a nonprofit.\xa0 He will do his part from outside fences, and I\u2019ll do my part from in here.\xa0 Although I understand that we may face many challenges along the way, I\u2019m confident that we have a unified vision with regard to what we\u2019re trying to create, and we both will drive forward with persistence and commitment.\xa0 This work will further my goal of living a life of relevance while I serve what I expect to be my final three years.
Research we\u2019ve done to inquire on what it takes to form a nonprofit organization has given us an understanding of how to proceed.\xa0 First of all, we must persuade the Internal Revenue Service that we can provide a benefit to people in society.\xa0 If we succeed in that endeavor, the IRS will authorize the organization to raise money from philanthropic organizations, corporations, and individuals who support charitable giving.\xa0 Raising financial resources in this dismal economic climate will prove challenging, especially when the people striving to raise the money have felony convictions.\xa0 But without valid credentials from the IRS, we may not be able to raise money at all.
I understand that some may question why we need to raise financial resources.\xa0 We need money because we\u2019re working to build a sustainable operation, one that can help transform troubled lives.\xa0 Our target market will include at-risk youth and incarcerated individuals, people who cannot pay for the products we\u2019ll create and distribute. I will undertake the responsibility of showing taxpayers the reasons why it\u2019s in their best interest to support our cause.
If we receive authorization from the IRS, we\u2019ll work together to transform at-risk lives, empowering them to live as contributing citizens.\xa0 I\u2019m glad Justin joined me in formulating this plan of action.\xa0 Now we must execute the plan.
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The fall of 2009 passes easily for me here in the Taft federal prison camp.\xa0 I\u2019ve now served more than 22 years of my sentence.\xa0 Although I don\u2019t know precisely when I\u2019ll walk out, I\u2019m feeling strong, expecting that release will come within the next three years.\xa0 I\u2019m truly in the end game, and I\u2019m fully aware of my responsibilities to have a plan in place for my return to society.
Carole is working as a licensed vocational nurse in Los Angeles and studying microbiology in preparation to resume nursing school in January.\xa0 Nichole, her daughter, is beginning studies at Washington State University, on her way to beginning a career in nursing as well.\xa0 As far as I\u2019m concerned, our family has triumphed over prison.\xa0 Whereas the design of this system seems uniquely structured to lead individuals and families into perpetuating cycles of failure, the strategic, disciplined plan by which we\u2019ve lived has brought us many blessings and strengthened us.\xa0 Continuous progress keeps my spirit strong.
Justin\u2019s attorney has assured him that the nonprofit paperwork is in order, and we expect to receive authorization from the IRS to operate The Michael G. Santos Foundation by the end of this year.\xa0 Three people have accepted Justin\u2019s invitation to serve as board members of the nonprofit, and although I don\u2019t know those board members, their oversight provides me with a real job: working to write proposals in search of funding.
Although Justin has identified many potential philanthropic organizations, and I\u2019m writing grant requests to each of them, The California Wellness Foundation impresses me as being the most promising.\xa0 It has a multi-billion dollar endowment that is reserved for programs that enhance public safety.
Julio Marcial serves as Justin\u2019s contact at The California Wellness Foundation.\xa0 We\u2019ve learned that Julio has a real passion for helping at-risk youth.\xa0 He knows that many of them grow up without resources or support systems in place, and few understand what steps they must take to leave the gangs and negative influences behind.
As executive director of the Michael G. Santos Foundation, Justin told Julio about my journey.\xa0 He made a strong case that we could create a program to show others how to embrace the same types of strategic, deliberate paths that empowered me to tune out the noise of external influences and prepare for success. Julio wants to see more.
Despite the boldness of the request, I\u2019m writing a proposal that shows why The California Wellness Foundation should fund The Michael G. Santos Foundation with a $150,000 grant. In this economic environment, resources are scarce and we face a huge challenge because many established nonprofit organizations will compete for the same limited funds.\xa0 Still, despite my imprisonment and Justin\u2019s recent release from imprisonment, I\u2019m confident we can craft a winning plan.
As someone who has spent more than half of his life in prison, I have strong opinions on why so many people struggle to adjust upon release.\xa0 From my perspective, although the system is very good at warehousing human beings, the system fails in preparing offenders for law-abiding, contributing lives.\xa0 Instead of encouraging offenders to work toward developing values, skills, and resources that will assist them upon release, it extinguishes hope and strives to suppress the human spirit.\xa0 I\u2019m asking the California Wellness Foundation to provide funding so that Justin\u2019s foundation can craft a self-directed program that shows others how to transform their lives regardless of external influences or the noise of imprisonment.\xa0 We can make a difference, but doing so will require us to confront headwinds from a system with a strong self-interest in perpetuating failure.
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I pass through Christmas of 2009, my 23rd holiday season in prison, and into January of 2010, another new year.\xa0 I\u2019m still counting, not quite sure how many days of prison I have ahead of me, but I know that I have 8,180 days of imprisonment behind me.\xa0 At this stage, prison doesn\u2019t bother me in the least.\xa0 I feel focused and driven, eager to seize every opportunity that comes my way.
Carole has begun studies that will last throughout the year and conclude with her board-certified credentials as a registered nurse.\xa0 It\u2019s a big step for our family, but one that will provide Carole with a more fulfilling career, one that brings her more respect from her peers, colleagues, and community.\xa0 I\u2019m so happy for her, so proud of her, and so grateful that I\u2019ve had income opportunities to support her through the journey.\xa0 She is my center and I look forward to encouraging her through this year.
It isn\u2019t easy to live as the wife of a prisoner.\xa0 For Carole, the challenge was particularly difficult because she came into my life when I had more than 15 years of prison behind me and more than a decade to go.\xa0 Despite others always questioning her judgment, over the past seven years we\u2019ve worked alongside each other, confronting repeated transfers and interferences from prison administrators to build a life of our own.\xa0 Things are much better now, and they promise to improve as we cross through year 2010.
Julio Marcial has told Justin that he intends to recommend a $150,000 grant for The Michael G. Santos Foundation.\xa0 The premise is quite simple.\xa0 Through the proposal I wrote, we argued that the system does not invest resources in preparing individuals for success upon release.\xa0 It\u2019s stated focus is to preserve security of the institution, and it doesn\u2019t offer reentry programs until it\u2019s too late, frequently only weeks or months before the scheduled release date.\xa0 By that time, the prisoner is lost, without resources or a support network to assist his reentry.
With funding, I suggested that I could write a program that would encourage prisoners and at-risk youth to pursue a self-directed path.\xa0 I would do so by writing a series of books and workbooks that would show the precise steps I took to educate myself, contribute to society, and build a support network that would assist my transition upon release.\xa0 It was what I said I would do very early on in my term, during that uncomfortable transition between my conviction and sentencing, during that time that I fell under the tutelage of Socrates.
Recipients of the literature and coursework that I intend to write will see that they have the power within to change their lives.\xa0 My job is to inspire hope, and together with Justin\u2019s work, we\u2019ve persuaded Julio to recommend that The California Wellness Foundation fund the vision.\xa0 That funding provides resources to pay for my work, enough to ensure that I\u2019ll have an easier transition upon my release.\xa0 If all goes well, I\u2019ll have $40,000 in savings to meet all of my financial expenses associated with my reentry, and another $40,000 in savings that I can draw upon to carry me through my first year of liberty.\xa0 Through my work, I\u2019ll show other prisoners how to empower themselves in the same measurable ways.
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It\u2019s Saturday morning, September 11, 2010, and as I\u2019m returning from an early morning run, I approach a new face as I return to the housing unit from the track.\xa0 More than 500 people serve time inside these boundaries, and although I don\u2019t communicate or interact with many on a personal level, I recognize the men around me.\xa0 This new guy and I don\u2019t exchange words, but the way he nods at me in acknowledgement communicates volumes.\xa0 That simple gesture is enough to let me know that he leads, that he\u2019s capable of whatever he sets his mind to do, and that he is someone from whom I can learn.
We\u2019re assigned to the same housing unit.\xa0 I look forward to introducing myself and I seize the opportunity a few hours later when I see him outside on the track.\xa0 He\u2019s taller than I am, with silver hair and olive skin.\xa0 I guess that we\u2019re about the same age, but I suspect we\u2019ve had very different experiences.\xa0 I know this world and I can help him understand it, but I sense that he\u2019s from a different world that I\u2019d like to learn more about.
\u201cGood morning,\u201d I walk towards him.\xa0 \u201cCare to join me for a few laps around the track?\u201d
He agrees and we begin circling the dirt oval that surrounds ball fields and tennis courts.
\u201cBelieve me,\u201d I tell him, \u201cit gets easier than it feels right now.\u201d
He looks at me, as if trying to figure out what I\u2019m after.
\u201cMy name is Michael Santos.\xa0 I\u2019ve been here for a while and can help you understand what you\u2019re up against if you\u2019re interested in a guide.\u201d
\u201cThanks,\u201d he says.\xa0 \u201cI know a little about you because my family has been reading your website.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s good to hear.\xa0 I\u2019ve been writing for the web for more than a decade but I\u2019ve never actually seen a real webpage.\xa0 I look forward to using the Internet for the first time, but that will have to wait for a couple more years at least.\u201d
\u201cHow do you publish your stuff online from in here?\u201d
\u201cI write everything by hand and send it to my wife.\xa0 She coordinates everything for me, typing it and then posting the content on my website.\xa0 The work gets me through the time and helps build awareness about this wretched system we\u2019re in.\xa0 How long are you going to be with us?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019ve got 18 months.\u201d
\u201cWell take a breath.\xa0 You won\u2019t serve that long.\xa0 You\u2019ll receive some good-time credits that will reduce the term by about three months, taking it down to about 15 months.\xa0 Depending on your personal circumstances, you may serve the final months of your term in a halfway house or home confinement.\u201d
\u201cHow do I arrange that?\u201d
\u201cYou\u2019ll go through some administrative processing over the next couple of weeks.\xa0 Don\u2019t push these people, the staff I mean.\xa0 Just let it evolve.\xa0 There isn\u2019t much of anything you can do to influence events in here.\xa0 But if you let things take their course, and you don\u2019t bother the staff with too many requests, you\u2019ll probably be living in a halfway house a year from now.\xa0 The secret to serving that time is to make progress every day that you\u2019re here, to work toward something that will improve your life some.\u201d
He snarls.\xa0 \u201cLike what?\xa0 What can a guy do from inside this hellhole?\u201d
I laugh.\xa0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that bad.\xa0 Where\u2019re you from?\u201d
\u201cSilicon Valley.\u201d
\u201cWhat\u2019re you, a banker or a broker?\u201d From his diction and mannerisms, I know that he\u2019s in here for a white-collar crime, but I don\u2019t know what type of work he did.\xa0 He doesn\u2019t strike me as engineer.
\u201cI was the CEO of a technology company.\u201d
\u201cWhich one?\u201d
\u201cBrocade Communications.\u201d
I stop on the track and look at him.\xa0 \u201cYou\u2019re Greg Reyes.\u201d
He stares back at me and I see his brow wrinkle, a cross between curiosity and ferocity, guarded, as if he doesn\u2019t know what to make of my intentions.
\u201cI don\u2019t mean to be intrusive, dude,\u201d I say, \u201cbut I\u2019ve admired your courage and strength for many years.\xa0 I read the Wall Street Journal\u2019s coverage of your case.\xa0 When it reported on your conviction, I told my wife about you and that I hoped to meet you, to learn from you.\xa0 In fact, in some twisted way, I feel as if I willed you here.\xa0 As the years passed and you didn\u2019t show up, I assumed that you must\u2019ve won on appeal.\u201d
Greg relaxes with my explanation of why I\u2019m familiar with his background.\xa0 Not only did I read the Forbes profile of him being one of America\u2019s youngest billionaires, but I also watched his stewardship of Brocade, taking it public and steering it to a peak market valuation that once exceeded $20 billion.
\u201cI did win on appeal,\u201d he tells me. \u201cThe appeals court reversed my conviction because the prosecution lied repeatedly through my first trial.\xa0 But the government tried me a second time.\xa0 Prosecutors told new lies that brought a second conviction.\xa0 I\u2019m on appeal for that case as well.\xa0 Rather than wait it out, I turned myself in because I didn\u2019t want to live with the horror of this prison sentence hanging over my head.\u201d
The national business news reports on Greg\u2019s case frequently.\xa0 Although more than 200 CEOs in Silicon Valley authorized the practice of backdating stock options for rank-and-file employees, no one authorized those practices with any criminal intent or with a goal of self-enrichment.\xa0 There isn\u2019t another CEO in America who serves time for the offense, and Greg expresses considerable anger at having his name dragged through the mud because of these accusations.
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you use this time to write your story,\u201d I suggest.\xa0 \u201cSet the record straight, explaining in your own words exactly what happened.\xa0 If you don\u2019t do it, the only record out there is going to be the government allegations.\u201d
\u201cWriting isn\u2019t my strong suit.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019ll help you,\u201d I urge him on.\xa0 \u201cThis is an important project.\xa0 You have to tell your story.\xa0 If you can talk about it, I can help you write it in your own words.\xa0 It would be a great project, carrying both of us through the next year.\u201d
I see him churning over the idea.\xa0 \u201cHow would you see the project unfolding?\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s simple.\xa0 I\u2019ll ask you questions.\xa0 Some of the questions may seem foolish and irrelevant, but I\u2019ll ask because I want to understand as much as you\u2019ll share.\xa0 We\u2019ll talk each day for several hours.\xa0 Early each morning, I\u2019ll write out notes of what I learned.\xa0 After you\u2019ve told me everything, I\u2019ll outline the story, try to put some structure around it.\xa0 If I can tell it back to you, then we\u2019ll move forward with a more formal, chapter-by-chapter interview.\xa0 I\u2019ll write a chapter, then read it to you.\xa0 If you approve it, we\u2019ll move on to the next one and repeat the sequence until we\u2019ve told the entire story.\u201d
He reaches over and shakes my hand.\xa0 \u201cLet\u2019s do it.\u201d
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