Category: Voices

Prison Monopoly My name is Nolan Jackson, and I’ve been in prison for 13 years. I am an inmate of the Illinois Department of Corrections  and I’m tired of paying, which means my family is paying, extremely high outrageous prices for items that would normally be much cheaper outside of prison. We must pay $300 for…

There is a community of men and women who have been incarcerated for 10 years or more, collectively serving hundreds even thousands of years, who are forgotten.  Within this incarcerated population, there is a mixture of individuals from different socio-economic and racial backgrounds who have been labeled as violent and unfit for society.  Once convicted,…

‘Dead-Time’ July 17, 2016 On November 10, 1998 my world was transformed when I was charged with first degree murder.  In my opinion I was over charged, but whether I ‘m guilty or innocent isn’t the topic.  I’ve been incarcerated since the age of nineteen. The first 29 months was in county jail  on a school wing, and that time was…

Dear State Representative Ford: First I would like to thank you for standing up and putting a stop to solitary confinement.  Everything you have said about solitary is true; it breaks you down mind, body and soul.  One has to have an exceptionally strong mind to survive solitary confinement with their sanity intact, but ultimately…

May peace find you as you read this letter.  For almost 30 years, I have been a prisoner in the Illinois prison system  Most of my time was spent in the Maximum security prisons IE: Stateville, Pontiac and Menard.  Currently, I am in a level 2 (medium) security prison and I am the Founder of…

On Sunday, May 8th, 2016, the Chicago Sun-Times featured an opinion piece written by Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.  The article is entitled “Two Men with 80 Arrests Tell the Story.”  It featured two men who both had extensive criminal histories which culminated in a combined total of 80 arrests.  Apparently these men encountered one…

Ironically, starting in February the National Black History Month, IDOC began issuing a stern warning against 3-way phone calls.  At the beginning of a call a warning states that any attempted 3rd party connection will result in a disciplinary action against the prisoner, and a “Global” restriction for the person the prisoner calls. It is…

Illinois’ prison system is stacked to its rim.  There are currently close to 50,000 prisoners under lock and key, and there are thousands more under some form of supervised release.  Admittedly, a lot of this is justified and necessary, but there is a significant amount of this that is- as we say- doing way too…

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM -GUN ENHANCEMENT LAW- To all concerned: My name is Torry Carroll and I’ m an inmate at Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Illinois.  I’m a first time offender who’s been convicted of attempted first degree murder and sentenced to a term of 28 years at 85%.  I continue to seek relief from…

6 February 2016   Dear Prisoners.Exchange. com: My name is Eddie Lee ( K 56430) and I’ve been incarcerated since 1995.  Early on in my incarceration I realized IDOC provides very little services to inmates who want to make a change in their lives for the better.  However, I made a conscious decision to rehabilitate myself and take advantage…