After serving 25 years, my friend Michael who I met in Arizona prison, was recently released. He is the author of the amazing and compelling shit-slinger series of blog entries. A former software-engineering undergraduate, Michael was sentenced to 25 years because his friend was shot dead during a burglary of a store they were both committing. Here's his blog about his release:
Why Is One of the Finest Minds of our Generation Cleaning Toilets? The Shocking Answers Below!
Why Is One of the Finest Minds of our Generation Cleaning Toilets? The Shocking Answers Below!
Re-Entry: Life After Prison
Installment
1
By
Michael
Aka
The Polish Avenger
The
journey from free life into prison is one of great culture shock; the
transition back out is equally disorienting.
To many ex-convicts, it is too much to handle, particularly when the
reality sets in of just how difficult it can be to get a foothold back in
society.
Hurdles
abound:
(1)
one cannot work without a Social Security card that takes two weeks to
obtain.
(2)
From there, one must get either a State ID or Driver’s License in order to cash
checks or open a bank account; at least two more
weeks.
(3)
Then, to sign up for government assistance and medical care, you have to get a
copy of your birth certificate; minimum
of $17.75 and at least two more weeks.
So that’s six weeks a person would have to
somehow support themselves on the $100 that DOC garnishes from your account
while you are inside.
Not an easy proposition…
Thankfully my own experience has been far
wide of the norm. My family has been
exceptionally supportive, and I was hired into a volunteer position three days
after release. So I personally am doing
fine, but for the average fellow who has to stay in a halfway house and work
under the table, the frustration could (and has) easily drive them back into
crime just to get some money for daily needs.
So as to why I am currently scrubbing
toilets at the local church - it’s my job, and I enjoy it. J
Shaun Attwood
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