To Challenge Your Thinking

I recently was pleased to visit with Michael at the prison that is currently his address.  It had been 13 months since my last visit….very overdue.  Up until this past year I was able to see him about every six months.  Due to a change in jobs I could not make my normal mid-winter visit and thus the long interval.  Regular readers of JJ know me as The MOM. 

Yes, I have read every post on the blog.  Some have been extremely hard for me to read, some make me laugh, some make me cry and others have made me shudder.

Prison is not rehabilitation, but rather punishment.  There are lots of differing philosophies in that regard, but I won’t bore you with them.  I wanted to bring an interesting topic to the forefront as it is something Michael and I discussed at length during one of our recent visits.  That topic is drug addiction.

Readers know that Michael was an addict for several years.  Yes, he was raised in a strict and religious home.  If I can digress for a moment….rules without relationship brings rebellion.  (That was free!!)  At about the age of 17 he had an experience that shattered his world as he knew it.  I remember the day he came home, got in his car and drove to Florida.  For the next dozen years he buried himself in drugs.  I lived far enough away to not know all the “in’s and out’s” of what was going on….but I knew things were not right.

During that period of time he made many poor choices and many wrong decisions.  The consequence of his actions, while under the control of drugs, is prison.  His underlying problem was drug addiction. 

Now he is free of those addictions.

Our recent conversation went something like this.  “Son, people would say to you that it is easy to say you are free from drugs when you are behind bars.  The real test will be when you get out…will you be able to stay clean?”  That sounds like a reasonable question.  We both laughed.  Why?  Because drugs are as available in prison as they are outside….they probably just cost more.

I remember when I had those same thoughts.  Then I did some research.  You can check it out on the World Wide Web or have a conversation with someone who has done prison time.  Drugs ARE readily available in prison. 

Michael’s being drug free is his choice, not imposed on him by his incarceration.  He makes that choice everyday…sometimes multiple times a day.  If you thought about it….the temptation to “bury how you feel and self-medicate” might be even greater when you are in prison than on the street.  Hundreds and thousands of men and women, the majority of them are healthy, with absolutely nothing to do.  And if they don’t have a good support network on the outside….all they have for peers are other convicted felons. 

They cannot shower, go to the toilet, play games, watch TV, work out, or even work….unless and until someone gives them permission.  They are not supposed to lie on their bunks and sleep during the day.  Yet they have nothing to do for the most part.  Some might have jobs, but not many.  That is ripe ground for abusing substances, especially if you went to prison already addicted.  Yes, his choice to be free from addictions is his choice and not due to a lack of opportunity.

Excerpts from article published…..

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 from The Washington Times

In many large state prison systems, a mix of inmate ingenuity, complicit visitors and corrupt staff has kept the level of inmate drug abuse constant over the past decade despite concerted efforts to reduce it.  A recent boom in cell-phone smuggling has complicated matters, with inmates sometimes using phones to arrange drug deliveries.

Florida has implemented anti-contraband strategies that its legislative watchdog office says match or exceed those in other states, including drug-detecting dog teams, metal detector searches of staff and visitors at all prisons, and even random pat-down searches of staff, rarely done in other states.

Yet, despite these efforts, 1,132 random drug tests of inmates in 2008-2009 were positive---the same positive rate of 1.6 percent as 10 years earlier.  Even more striking, officers seized 2,832 grams of marijuana and 92 grams of cocaine at the prisons during the year, by far the highest figures of the past decade.

“People are always trying to smuggle drugs in,” said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.  “Our ultimate goal is to get rid of it, but I’d be a fool to tell you that will ever be realized.”

....Conclusion of excerpts from article published.

Judicious Jailbird has been an opportunity for Michael to get rehabilitated in a system that is not designed to provide those opportunities.  He has taken the time to write about his sins, shortcomings and addictions.  And, I must admit, a lot of foolishness as well!!  He spends hours every day writing and drawing.  Believe me, he could choose to waste those hours, or again….to make poor choices.  Instead, he writes and draws.

He has reconnected with old friends….

One of them is publishing this blog and sending Michael’s art out to be enjoyed by thousands of others via magazines and articles.  None of which provide monetary gain….but a sense of value and accomplishment…and perhaps giving Michael a sense of purpose right now when he feels no purpose.  Some hope in a hopeless environment.  And better yet…hope for his future when he gets out!

Other old friends write….

to reminisce about being children together.  A chance for Michael to remember those good days and draw strength from them.  To help my son know that he does have to do his time….but he is not forgotten.

Others who write....

share about their own loved one who is struggling with addictions.  That gives my son the chance to pray and reach out to another with compassion…..because he has been there himself

And he has made new friends…..

Norm, an amazing man.  A father to his own sons and a veteran of Viet Nam.  Norm recently lost his own mother and father, yet still took the time to write my son.  (Hey Norm…..your letter was the first one he got after he was sent to solitary confinement.  You can’t imagine how special it was to him.  But, I’m sure he will be writing to tell you himself.)  Michael and Norm never knew each other on the streets but Michael considers Norm his friend.  This man has taken the time to “put into” my son.  Norm has shown Michael that there are people who will not judge him just as a convicted felon, but will give him a chance. 

Those who comment on the blog….

You will never know the joy that your comments brings to the author of these stories…JJ himself.  He feels that he knows each one of you and is always eager to know what you have said.  He asks about you by name….or at least what you call yourselves!

All of this has happened because of Judicious Jailbird.  It started with Michael’s sister from Alaska posting some letters, ranting’s and heartfelt stories from her big brother behind bars.  Now it has become a project.  A project that hopes to reach out to many others to inspire change.  And, a project that is giving hope to Michael and letting him become rehabilitated while he does his time. 

So…thank you for continuing to read.  Thank you for being a part of this journey that Michael’s family is on with him as he does his time. 

And when someone tries to tell you it is easy for an addict to “stay clean” when he is behind bars…..LAUGH AND TELL THEM THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!

The MOM