Chapter 1
Introduction—
Before I talk about my relationship with the Criminal Justice System, there are a few things I should say: I’m a fortunate guy. I’ve lived through three horrible wrecks, any of which could’ve been the end. I’ve lived through two stretches in prison, maybe not unscathed, but at least scathed very little. I’ve been married to a couple of wonderful women. I’ve survived failed relationships, divorces, and losing a wife to cancer. I have terrific stepsons and a sweet and beautiful daughter. My friends and family have always been there for me. I am loved and I love.
I’m nice enough—well educated, friendly, social minded. But, it seems from the evidence at hand, I am a person who attracts flashlights being shined in his eyes and has a propensity for silver bracelets being less a fashion statement than they are a requirement for being hauled into the police station du jour.
To be clear, I never expected to be this old—I’m 61. I have a history of reckless behavior. I participated in the abrupt societal changes of the 1960s along with millions of other kids and was guilty of every infraction I got charged with—but, as a youth, with my drug and alcohol use and never planning out my life beyond the day, I thought I’d be lucky to make it to age 35, but I didn’t really care.
I have remorse about my relatively minor theft, which provided me my first trip to the joint. I have no remorse about my drug use, which ultimately led to my second time in prison.
I still think I’m invincible. Not that I won’t die, but if I die today or tomorrow or forty years from now, I’ll die happy.
This book is partly an indictment of the prison system and, indeed, the entire justice system. It addresses why we are all a misstep away from becoming part of the growth industry of prison, which threatens to undermine the fabric of society unless we get the concept of punishment under control. Simply put, too many people are being sent to prison.
I’m not saying that a couple of guys from the Illuminati came up with this masterful plan to get people to join the military or disenfranchise millions of voters, I’m just saying that rich folks have options that poor folks don’t have. And that is partly a result of the less affluent being arrested and convicted more often—and when the choice of prison (with all that follows a person through life) or military service (with all the benefits that come with that if you don’t get killed in the line of duty) is presented, well, it just might be that joining up will seem pretty sweet. The military needs enlistees and options appear to potential recruits. Some people get arrested and pay their way out. Those who can’t afford a walk may fill the ranks of the Armed Services by cutting a deal to serve the country rather than serve a sentence. And those who end up with a felony conviction may not ever be able to vote.
I do think that Nurture, or, more accurately, the lack of it, plays a much bigger role in charting a path to prison than anything else. Nature might have a hand in it, of course, because the circumstances of genetics and social standing and race put each person in a situation that is unique to them. But if one gets all the TLC and education and opportunities that the upper class is offered, then they will be less likely to end up with a criminal record.
I’m an anomaly. I had the tender loving care and middle class upbringing and the smarts and the second chances, but still I fucked up enough to send me up the river twice. I study human behavior anecdotally and I have done my research for this book mostly on a personal level, but facts back me up.
It’s interesting that the cost to incarcerate a person for a year exceeds the cost to provide higher education for a person for a year. And it’s easy to overlook the fact that tickets and fines and forfeiture of property are free running revenue streams for law enforcement and government – another incentive for the skyrocketing number of arrests.
And this is partly a self-help book – it is possible to survive incarceration without becoming a hardened criminal.
Remember this: Beware the society in which incarceration rates rise while crime rates fall.
