Jail News and Reviews

Drug War Profiteers Offer To Buy ALL State Owned Prisons In 48 States

2012-02-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

Florida Senate rebukes governor’s plan to sell off state prisons | The Raw Story

2012-02-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

Florida Senate rebukes governor’s plan to sell off state prisons | The Raw Story

Honduras: 375 Minimum-Security Prisoners Die in Prison Farm Fire | Common Dreams

2012-02-15T11:07:00.002-08:00

Honduras: 375 Minimum-Security Prisoners Die in Prison Farm Fire | Common Dreams

Today in Honduras 375 mothers are weeping for their sons who were burned to death. Take a moment to send them support and strength.

Private prison company offers to buy 48 states’ prisons | The Raw Story

2012-02-14T15:12:00.001-08:00

Private prison company offers to buy 48 states’ prisons | The Raw Story

Did you know that when private prison companies buy prisons from the state they base it on the number of prisoners? They are actually buying the prisoners. They look for the prisons with the youngest and healthiest prisoners so that they do not have to spend much for health care. More prisoners die at privately owned prisons than state owned ones.

When you think about the fact that these private companies are actually buying people and keeping them in cages it kind of puts a new slant on slavery.

8 MONTHS!!!!

2012-02-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

So I have been looking forward and counting the days that I could write this post. Eight months and counting.

I really did not expect the time to go so darn sloooowwwww! I can imagine if it is going this slow for me it is crawling for Micah.

We spent most of Jan. and part of Feb. not being able to make phone calls. I sure missed hearing his voice and talking to him. Now he has leveled up and gets his full day of visits on Sat and Sun and unlimited phone calls. Cool!

Micah did receive a surprise visitor last Saturday. I had warned him to expect someone on Sat. so he was waiting. I know how painful it is for him to wait for his visits so I really encouraged his visitor to be on time. I just forgot to tell her he was at Eagle Point and not Barchey.

She had to go through all the bells and whistles to get into Barchey only to be told he had been moved many moons ago to Eagle Point. So she was about an hour late. When she asked him if he had given up on her he said that yes he was in fact freaking out.

Micah has a new job working in the kitchen. He starts work around four in the morning and works until the afternoon. I wish he was learning a valuable skill like they brag about their jobs creating, but learning to slop mess really does not count as a valuable job skill.

Now if they taught bar tending classes or construction jobs, since that seems to be all an ex con can get, they might be a little more on target.

Nile Bowie: The Economics of Incarceration

2012-02-06T14:40:00.001-08:00

Nile Bowie: The Economics of Incarceration: Written by Nile Bowie James Nachtwey / VII For anyone paying attention, there is no shortage of issues that fundamentally challenge...

Wow big business at it's finest, buying and selling people! First buy them, then put them to work for next to nothing and walla you have a huge money maker ha?

Micah has a job interview next week. For, drum roll please, a call center job. The worst part? He will be getting paid the same as my son-in-law who works for a call center in Costa Rica!

Yeah, hell yes they are bringing jobs back to the states!

9 Months

2012-01-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

I feel like a pregnant mom! In nine months from today my baby boy will be a free man after 4 years and three months in prison.

Wow talk about excited!!!

Micah has asked me to thank all of you that have purchased his awesome book. He feels honored that so many people have shown so much support for him.

We have been enjoying talking unlimited. Also since Micah has "leveled up" he has unlimited visit time on Sat and Sun as well as unlimited phone time. It is so nice to be able to re-connect with him and prepare for the big day.

Happy 21!!!

2011-10-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Waiting, waiting, waiting for Micah's birthday call. I wish it was his last b-day in prison, but next year it will be celebrated the week before he gets out.

As a mother celebrating the birth of a child it is always a mixed emotional bag. When that child happens to be growing into a man in prison the emotional bag gets a bit more emo.

I just try not to focus on the last three birthdays and try to think about how much fun it will be to make up for all those missed birthday parties.

The good thing is his grandma got to get out to visit him over the weekend. No one that has never had a loved one incarcerated nor been locked up themself can imagine the lift that comes with the visits. They are looked forward and much appreciated, especially if the visitor has quarters :)

Happy Birthday to Micah and next week will begin the countdown for the last year, thank God!

Countdown

2011-09-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

In one week we will all be celebrating Micah's big 21!!!!

He cannot believe as well as us that he has spent the last four birthdays incarcerated. But the great awesome amazing news is this will be his very last birthday in prison!!!!!

If you are feeling the love you can go to www.amazingmail.com and send the boy a birthday card. It is as easy as one two three and he would love to be overwhelmed by birthday cards.

His birthday is October 4.

A Minute of Fun

2011-08-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Now that we are back home and settled in I can actually write about our experiences visiting. When you are in the middle of some things it is just too hard to write about them without adding a bunch of emotion or something!

We got to visit Micah for about 12 hours every weekend for four weekends. It was glorious to see him, and feel him and talk to him. I was so amazed at how we just fell right into family roles as soon as we were together. One of the worries when Micah went to prison so young was that he would grow up too soon.

Well no worries about that one! I am very happy to report he is still the same joky jokster and big teddy bear Micah! From throwing a fit while we played Trouble to chasing his little sister around the visitor yard to being able to finish off $30.00 worth of vending machine junk food he was 100% himself.

He is open to visits now, you can all cut loose. He has eight hours one day on the weekends and four hours on one other day. It is so great to see him and enjoy his sense of humor for awhile. Sure makes you grateful for your life however awful it may seem at the moment. There is nothing like visiting an inmate to put your problems in perspective.

When we went on the last day to visit I planned to take a few pictures of the prison to post here. By the time I tore myself away from him, knowing I would not see him for another 13 months and hating that place more than anything in the world I told hubby, "put that camera away, I don't ever want to see this place again in my life".

In a short 13 months Micah will be saying the same thing!

Excellent Article

2011-08-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

In talking with a visitor and Micah this past weekend I was made aware that I had not shared the following link. This is an article Micah has written telling just a little about his experience. Hopefully it will convince others to make good choices.

Next week I will be posting pictures and stories about our experiences visiting Micah. Our last visit will be Saturday morning :(. It has been awesome to visit with him every weekend and get to know our son again. The best part is we still love him a ton and think he is awesome!

Enjoy this article.

http://www.askthejudge.info/lessons-from-a-teen-prison-inmate/10424/

New Address Earned

2011-08-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

Sorry I did not post immediately after our weekend visit with Micah, too many emotions to deal with.

It was the best feeling in the world to have my baby boy grab me up in his humonous arms and give me the biggest hug ever! He is guapo as always and looking so healthy and ready to get out.

A few notes for those planning to visit. The first and most important thing is to call and make sure you are on his visitor list. We were sure everything was good on this point and thank goodness I called a couple of days before to double check. Sure enough baby was not on his list. That all translated to many phone calls and visits from him to his councilor to get a "special" visit for baby to come for the next three weekends.

The next note is you cannot wear anything sleeveless to visit. My blouse was not really a tank top or thin strap but it was sleeveless enough that I ended up wearing a really hot sweatshirt of hubby's that was thank goodness in the car for the entire eight hour visit. That meant when we went outside so he could smoke the cigars his dad brought him and it was 104 I was extremely hot!

Next note is do not wear an underwire bra! If you beep you will not be allowed to pass and you cannot just go out and take off the bra, you must keep on your undergarments at all times? Not sure if they would check on this one or not but I would surely not want to risk it.

And the $30.00 worth of quarters for the vending machine, yes he used every last one of them. It was actually a bit gross but he managed to eat so much grossness I actually felt a little sick just watching him :)

You can note the new address to the right. He is now in Eagle Point rather than Barchey, thank God. He is also working for Rio Salada college as the clerk there at Eagle Point. He actually earned his way to Eagle Point with good boy points and it is the best place for him. You must have less than five years on your sentence and they are all preparing to leave, so they are super chill.

It is so exciting to think that next year when we come to visit we will be taking Micah home!

Countdown Time

2011-07-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

One more week and counting the days, hours and minutes until I can hug "Baby Boy" in person, in the flesh!

Micah is in the yard (happy dance time for all).

Good Times

2011-07-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well as good as they can be in prison I would say good times. Just got a call from Micah. After one month in the hole he has finally landed in the yard! Just in time for a personal visit for the first time in over three years. Now the whole airfare and taking time off really pays off and I am so excited to see Baby Boy!

What A Sorry State

2011-07-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Prisoners Have Nothing to Gain By Eating

by David Swanson / July 18th, 2011

Prisoners risking death by refusing food in the Pelican Bay supermax, and those hunger striking in solidarity in prisons around California are a judgment of our sickness. “The degree of civilization in a society,” said Dostoyevsky, “can be judged by entering its prisons.”

Civilization is something we no longer seem to aspire to. The United States locks up more people and a greater percentage of its people than anyone else. We lock them in training centers for anger and violence. We subject them to rape, assault, humiliation, and isolation. We throw the innocent in with the guilty, the young with the old, the nonviolent with the violent, the hopeful with those who’ve lost all interest in life.

And we routinely subject large numbers of prisoners to the torture of near-total isolation. We lock human beings in little boxes for 22 or 23 hours per day. When it’s done to an accused whistleblower like Bradley Manning, we protest. But what about when it’s done to thousands of people, many of them baselessly accused of being members of gangs? Where is the outrage?

We should be refusing to eat. We should be shutting down our government with nonviolent action. We should be risking the lives we have. Instead the burden has fallen to those who have little or no lives to risk. The prisoners themselves are taking action and gaining power from behind bars.

Look at the prisoners’ demands. They want an end to group punishment of individual rules violations. That seems like a basic requirement of justice. Bombing a nation because some terrorists spent time there may make sense to our politicians, but it is horribly unjust to the people living and dying under the bombs. Stopping and searching people who look like they might be immigrants may make sense to those whose hatred of immigrants is distorting their thinking, but it is outrageously unjust from the perspective of the innocent people repeatedly harassed. Punishing everyone in a prison for something one person did make sense if the goal is cruelty. But will the innocent prisoners thus abused eventually emerge from prison believing they’ve been given fair treatment by a justice system with which they should comply? Or will they be released thirsting for vengeance? Or thirst for vengeance while never being released? And will we be able to keep what we have done to them secret from ourselves? Will we not continue to grow more ill?

They want an end to the use of completely unreliable criteria for labeling a prisoner a gang member and on that basis subjecting them to the torture of isolation. Should a tattoo or the word of someone offered decent food in exchange for a name really be the test of whether a human being should be placed at risk of severe mental damage? Should anything? Would we stand for another nation treating people this way? Don’t tell me it’s necessary and responsible. It would cost a lot less money to offer children decent schools and food and guidance than it does to imprison men. This is a luxury. It’s a sick indulgence of a wealthy country. We can afford to engage in massive sadistic cruelty. But that shouldn’t mean that we have to do it.

They want compliance with the recommendations found in the latest study our government produced to make itself feel better despite ignoring it. They want an end to the long-term solitary confinement that takes people’s minds away. They are risking death by starvation to end death by deprivation of human contact. We could risk a lot less to do it for them.

They want adequate food provided to all prisoners and an end to the practice of depriving some and feeding others as a tool for manipulating people like wild beasts. They want basic decency, including the ability to make one phone call per week. They want standards of health and humanity that do not even begin to approach those we are required by international treaty to provide to prisoners of war. For that matter, they want to cease being treated in a manner that would get you locked up with them if you treated a dog or a cat that way.

All the prisoners are asking of us is that we spread the word. But, in fact, they are not asking this of us. They are offering it to us. They are leading us where we need to go, and doing it from behind bars. We would need to go to this place even if we had no prisons. We are allowing our government to destroy the physical environment. Our children will have no more reason to eat than these prisoners do, if we fail to act. We are allowing our government to murder on a massive scale through what it calls the “Defense” Department, a name as skillfully chosen as that of a “Corrections” Department. We need to do some real defending and correcting. Some of us have plans for October. The least among us are showing us how right now.

David Swanson is an anti-war activist. Read other articles by David.

This article was posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 8:00am and is filed under Prisons.

Letters Rock

2011-07-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

At this time and point LETTERS ROCK! I got to talk to Micah today and he was in a much better mood than last week. he said the weather had cooled off somewhat because the humidity had dropped.

I cannot even imagine only being able to talk to one person a week, and only for fifteen minutes. I cannot wait until next week, we get to see Micah!

He is begging for letters, without t.v., music, or other people there is not much to keep him entertained.

So if you are a little bored with summer and all, go to "amazing mail" and send him a post card, I can guarantee you he will love it!

Three Weeks in the Hole/Three Years in Hell

2011-07-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Micah has been in the hole for three weeks now. We were planning a trip to visit him, but it looks like we will be visiting him through glass once again. What a bummer!

He was taken into protective detention three weeks ago. It would not be so bad if it weren't over 90 degrees in his cell. The walls are so hot he has to sleep on the concrete floor. He is allowed out once a week to call us for 15 minutes and one half hour a day to walk around the cube.

I don't know how long he will be here, could be the next 15 months. In that case he could sure use lots of uplifting letters of encouragement and love. He is more discouraged than I have ever seen him in the last three years.

Three years ago today Micah was incarcerated. I know he is counting the days, hours and minutes until this hell is over for him.

We were on the phone all day with Warden, Deputy Warden as well as councelor. Our one request, please try to make him a little more comfortable. It is inhumane to keep a person in that kind of heat in any situation.

I don't know how many are following the happenings in Calif. at Pelican Bay prison. That is a solitary prison. There are inmates, people there that have been in solitary over 25 years! What kind of people are we that we could allow that kind of torture to go on among us? How can we stand silent while people are being held in cages with no human contact?

I remember when my kids were young they would do volunteer hours at the pound and no kill shelter. They would go to "walk the dogs and socialize the cats".

Graduation

2011-06-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is a call out to anyone that is on Micah's visitor list and would like to see him graduate tomorrow. He will be having his cap and gown GED graduation at 10:00 if you would have time and means to get there.

Also we just found out that he has received another, that makes three, scholarship through Rio Salada community college. Way to go and man that is one smart cookie!!!!

Six Month Mark

2011-06-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Another six month mark on the horizon. Micah has been in Lewis almost six months and is looking forward to bumping up a level. I guess in gamer words, "leveling up" would be the term. That means more visiting time, more phone time and the best part a cell instead of communal living.

Now the game to see if it really happens. Our experience has been things don't happen quite like they are supposed to in prison.

Micah starts his school work officially on Monday and it will be fun to watch him progress through that. He is taking one class that is the same as two of his brothers, they will all be enrolled at the same time, that makes us feel pretty close to him right now.

He did say on the phone that he appreciates all the letters and support, you may not think it helps but it really does.

College Student

2011-05-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

Micah received his books from Rio Salada last week and is ready to get started on his classes. He got the scholarship from Rio for two classes, just because he is so darn smart! He is figuring that he will be able to complete his associates degree by the time he gets out in one year and five months.

He had a great visit this weekend and wants to thank everyone who takes the time to visit and write to him. As I have mentioned the time goes by so much faster and he feels so much better when he has lots of contact with the real world.

The prison world is just that- a prison world, and sometimes it is easy to forget there is a real world out there. A world where you can stay up until you want to go to sleep, where you can eat when you are ready to eat and a world where you can eat whatever you want to eat.

It is kind of like when you are really sick and you cannot remember what it feels like to feel good.

And the more we talk to him and remind him of all the good out here the more he looks forward and prepares for his life outside of the prison walls!

Still Here

2011-05-21T07:04:00.001-07:00

Talking to Micah this morning and it was early. I can't believe that guy gets up at 5:30 in the morning to talk to his old mama. It is so nice to talk to him everyday and just gets my day going in the right direction.

In June he will move to level 2. That means more phone time. He will also go to B. That means moving across the street into a cell instead of dorm living.

He is still teaching a few hours a day and working out lots. He is waiting impatiently for things to get going with his schooling through Rio Salada college. I think he is going to do awesome and he is excited to get things going so he will be ready to join his brothers for University when he finishes.

The weather is heating up on Phoenix and he mentioned today that his visits will be increased in June. If anyone would like to visit and they are on his list just leave a message and I will get you there to visit. It really helps the weekend go faster as they only have two meals a day on the weekends, call breakfast and lunch brunch. Good ole' boys that own the prisons in Phoenix trying to cut corners how ever they can ha?

Six Months Later

2011-05-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! Got to talk to Micah tonight. It has been six months since I have gotten to speak with him and it was glorious. It was just so good to hear his voice and that he was indeed doing o.k. and looking very forward to being able to talk regularly.

He was in ok spirits. He got two scholarships and will be taking two courses from Rio Salada. He is also teaching the GED prep classes still for 20 hrs. a week and loving that job.

It sounded like he was still working out lots and I will get to talk to him again tonight. I will have a lot more posts now that we can communicate. Just to let you all know he has had somme mail confiscated so if he did not write back that may be why.

Also his visitor list is now approved, little glitch on that one that we got fixed. I believe is you are on his approved visitor list you can google "securit" the phone service they use at the prison. There you set up an account so he will be able to call you.

I can't even describe how wrong they are about Friday the 13th :)

Mr Smart

2011-03-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

I always knew Micah was pretty darn smart. Now it is a proven fact evidently. While he was in Alhambra he took an equivalency test and aced it. Now he got a job teaching the GED prep classes for the other inmates trying to pass it. The funniest part is he has not even taken it yet, just helping them study for it and scheduled to take it on the 23rd. No doubt he will ace that test all over the place.

The funny part is three guys got mad at them because they have been trying to get this job for years and he just jumped right in there. The really cool news is he gets, are you ready for this? 15 cents an hour! Boo yeah!

To his credit he did say he would try not to get too flashy and rub the super high income in my face :)

grrrrrr

2011-03-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

That is the angry mother growl! I just called the prison today to see why I have not been approved on Micah's visitor list yet. The guy that seriously sounds short of a few brain cells tells me that they did not even submit my application until March 2nd.

I asked him why it was not submitted until then considering the fact I turned it in online a month before that. He said "duh, uh, because we had to wait until we got the list from Micah".

Keep in mind he was in the process of being shipped all over Arizona at the time, so how in the heck was he supposed to submit his list to them? I think that he submitted a list when he was in Florence and they did not file it. Therefore he had to turn in another list when he got to Lewis.

I am convinced that not one of the people I have talked to at that prison complex could run anything. It is just freakin amazing to me that they are responsible for other people. People they obviously don't give a flip about.

I tried to explain to the nice rather not all checked out guy on the other end of the phone that we were traveling from out of country and really needed to know if we were going to be approved before we purchased tickets.

"Duh, well it never takes the whole two months but I can't really make any guarantees to you uh".

Time to just breath and know that it will be cleared and work out well when we get there so that we can visit Micah.

Long Awaited News

2011-02-22T13:27:00.001-08:00

Just as I was about at the end of my wits I finally received a wonderful phone call. Thanks to Micah's cellies father for calling us to update us!
Micah is doing well and just waiting for his visitors list to be approved and then he should be calling. He said in the next couple of days Yipee!
It has been so long since Dec. 1 that I have seen or talked to him and I am very anxious to hear how he is doing there.
Now just for the pacing and waiting!

Last Move

2011-02-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

Micah is at home, as much as he can be that is for the next 18 months. I found out today that he has been transferred as of the 31st of Jan. to Lewis. He now has an address that will be his for the duration of his stay with the state.
Any mail you may have sent him will still get to him, they forward it.
New Address:
ASPC-Lewis
Barchey Unit
Micah Neumann #259241
P.O. Box 3200
Buckeye AZ. 85236

Good News

2011-01-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to speak with Micah's councilor as well as his lawyer. It looks like Micah is getting settled in at Florence and things are going much better for him. At the moment he is waiting for his permanent status and where exactly he will be housed for the next year and a half.

We are already looking forward to our visit with him this year and planning on when to visit the states. It is difficult to time our visit when we really do not want to visit Phoenix in the heat of summer but have classes until then.

Micah will be letting people know if they are on his visitor list so that you can go online and fill out the application. Keep in mind that it takes at least two months for it to be cleared so it is best to fill it out early rather than later.

I would love to be able to speak with him but again that has to wait until we are approved on his visitor list. In fact they won't even give any information over the phone if you are not approved on the visitor list. It is very important to me to keep updated on Micah and if anyone hears anything good we would love to hear it.

Micah wanted to thank all of you who have purchased books as well as helped out with money on his books, it is much appreciated.

To put money on his books you have to send a cashiers check or money order to the address on the side bar. The money order or cashiers check has to be made out to
The dept.of corrections for the account of Micah Neumann #259241

Again thanks to all for the continued love, prayers, thoughts and support, we are on the downhill slope now.

Sick, Sad and Pissed Off

2011-01-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

When you find out that your child will be living somewhere new you do your research and find out all you can about the place they will be living. In fact when my daughter and her family were moving to Costa Rica I did so much research I decided to move us here as well.

When I found out Micah was in Florence prison I decided to research and find out all I could about the place.

I already knew a few things about the place. My step dad worked there for a couple of years about 31 years ago. Just knowing that makes the place somewhat suspect for sure. Also know my son-in-law was in the immigration holding center there for four months before they shipped him back to Hondurus. I drove my daughter down a couple of weekends to visit him before he left.

As you can see I already hated the place before I even started researching it. Now for the icing on the cake. Florence is one of Arizona'a many private prisons. Yes that is right really rich jerks own prisons. Now I don't know about you but that kind of smells of something that happened a long time ago that we actually abolished, called slavery.

The owner of Florence is CCA. They have a very distinguished board of rich old guys who have nothing better to make money off of than human slavery. In fact they even sell the things the prisoners make in the slave shops. Do the prisoners get the money? Hell no!

In fact the private prisons receive so much money per prisoner from the government. That is not all though. You want to know another big money maker for the state? Well the phone service has to pay a percentage of what they charge the inmates to call their families. The state makes money off these calls to the families. Many of the inmates cannot even afford to call family because of the charges as I have mentioned before.

I ask myself how can these men sleep at night? How can they look in the mirror and stand what they see there? I know if they knew my son like I do they would not be able to stand themselves one minute more. They would not like the fact that the private prisons are more dangerous, and the prisoners are actually more poorly cared for than the governement prisons.

Of course that is giving them the benefit of the doubt that they still have some spark of humanity left, which apparently they do not!

Address

2011-01-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

We have an address!!! We have an address!!! And you can even mail stuff!!!

Micah Neumann
ADC #259241
Florence Central
P.O. Box 8200
UNN: Central
Florence AZ. 85132

Florence

2011-01-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

Florence, are you friggin kidding me, Florence? Could he be any further away from friends and family? That really bums me out as I was really hoping for Bukeye, I just have to know that God knows what is best for Micah right now, and Florence it is.

You can write him there, I will include a good address tomorrow I hope. I just found him on prisoner search tonight. He has lost weight and is down to 150. I would not have recognized him right off he is so thin. Also he shaved his head so that did not help.

He looks so grown up and that was the part that made me cry when this whole nightmare began. Knowing that my teenager would grow up in prison. Well he grew up before he got to prison in County Jail. Not a whole lot better for sure.

Now I have filled out the paperwork and should be able to talk to him on the phone in the next few weeks, woot woo !

The Book is Here

2011-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

For those of you sitting on the edge of your seats all these months, breath abated, you can finally rest well. The book is here and ready for you to purchase, kick back and read.

The only catch is you better hurry because the next book is in the process of getting out there.

I have a feeling that Micah will be moved into his next "home" soon. Somehow I seem to have the gut feeling, or maybe the mom feeling when things are happening to him. I have been feeling that and sure hope that it is soon.

If anyone else has any information please share it with us and I will surely keep you all posted as soon as we hear some news.

Peace and pura vida!

Messages

2011-01-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Someone very cool sent me a message today! She finally heard from Baby Boy and evidently as of Christmas he was still in "processing". I believe they send them there to make them really appreciate prison, can't really think of any other reason to stick people there for weeks at a time.

Micah said that they have to take turns getting up because there is not enough room for all of them to get up at the same time. Friggin ridiculous.

He did say that he was still singing and working out and could not wait to finally get out of there. They actually make dice out of toilet paper and dominoes out of milk cartons, gimme a break at least give them something to do to occupy their brains.

At least I can hope that he will be gone from there soon, keep ya posted.

Book At Last

2011-01-03T06:22:00.001-08:00

Coffee With Apollo: Poetry and Prose
Authored by Micah Neumann
List Price: $12.58
5" x 8" (12.7 x 20.32 cm)
Black & White on White paper
108 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1456356149 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1456356143
BISAC: Poetry / General
While incarcerated in the Coconino County Jail Micah developed a love of reading. Soon he developed a love of writing and began this his first work. Coffee With Apollo is a compilation of poetry and prose written during Micah's first two years in jail.

New Years Revolution

2011-01-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

"You say you want a Revolution"
One thing I would sure like to see changed it the way the judicial system in the U.S. handles their stupid visitor lists and phone calls.

It has been over a month since I have been able to talk to Micah and I am getting pretty angry at a system that does this to these guys. Do you know there are some, actually many prisoners that are never able to talk to family and friends on the phone?

You have to make at least a $50.00 payment to their "phone servers" before you can even receive a call. Apparently in prison you even have to be on their visitor list for them to be able to call you.

Needless to say we have not even received our papers to fill out yet and it will be six to eight weeks once we get it turned in! At this rate Micah will be out before we can even go visit him, frustration.

On a good note Monday his book will hit the stands! That is right I will have it available for purchase here on his site as well as on the bookstore site. We are very excited because it turned out really awesome.

I will keep everyone posted on an address as soon as we receive one, and thanks for the continued support and well wishes, and Happy New Years to all.

No Call Christmas

2010-12-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

A little hole in my heart this Christmas day. I did not get to talk to "baby boy". I have not gotten to talk to him for weeks, and I am very impatient to talk to him. It will be a few more weeks as he gets settled in and gets his visitors list o.k,d. At least we will have lots to talk about.

I have had a editor look over and edit his book, as soon as I receive it it will be posted to this sight and available for order. That will be a great Christmas gift for him.

On The Move

2010-12-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

This was year of the Tiger and I told Micah that meant movement and that he would be moving this year.

About an hour ago I was feeling that Micah was on the move. I called Coconino County and sure enough they said he was no longer there. About half an hour later I got a call from a friend saying that sure enough Micah has left Coconino County and will be in processing for the next few weeks.

I am so happy for him to finally get out of Coconino County. I am so happy as only a mother can be that he will have a much better Christmas than he has had the past two. That makes my Christmas and I will sleep better knowing that he will be having a tad more freedom than he has had the past 21/2 years.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!

Letters Again

2010-12-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

It looks like we will be writing letters again. At least we will be once we finally have an address to send them to. So far no word on Micah getting transferred. I am so hoping that he can land in the yard before Christmas.

We are all working on a letter with Christmas greetings to send to him as soon as we hear he has shipped out and has an address.

In the meantime I am just missing talking to him and looking forward to the arrival of his book this week. He is very impatient for his book to hit the stands, but I have to double check the finished version and then it will be available for purchase.

Maybe in time for a Christmas purchase!

Minimum Sentence

2010-12-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here you can read all the news about the hearing yesterday. Micah has received the minimum sentence, 5 years. He is over half way done and is very thankful for everyone who made it possible for him to receive this minimum sentence.

Micah did an awesome job of conveying his sorrow and remorse and all the feelings he has experienced about this whole tragedy.

Micah wishes to convey his thanks and love to all the "supposed family and friends" that attended yesterday. It was awesome to feel the love and I will be posting his new address here soon we hope.

Peace and Blessings to all.

Wonderful Wednesday

2010-11-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

Micah asked me to pass along his gratitude this Thanksgiving. He is thankful for all of you who have hung by him through the past two and a half years of hell in Coconino County Jail. You all are awesome, especially those of you who were able to write letters, they hit the spot!

We look forward to seeing whoever can make it to the big day on Wednesday. It will be a great day to move on in this journey from hell that Micah has been on.

Again thanks for the letters and see you all Wednesday.

New Measurements

2010-11-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

I have new measurements of the hulk, aka Micah. He told me today that he was 34 in the waist, 48 chest, and 141/2 in his biceps. Dang, dang that dude is huge, and getting bigger. He has been getting some running in and feeling great.

I also wanted to let any of you know who emailed Christine letters that she only got one. Evidently she had a spam blocker on or something so please resend!!!

Thanks and look forward to seeing all in 10 days.

Pura Vida!

Countdown

2010-11-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Only two and a half more weeks to hearing day! Yippee! That means if you are thinking that maybe you would like to write a letter of support for Micah go for it! You don't have to be his best buddy, heck you don't even have to know him that well. You just have to have known him up to two and a half years ago when he got incarcerated and know that he is still being a great kid and going to continue being a great kid after they finally let him out of the cage.

There that is all we need, and we do need a few more. So like I said if you have been thinking about it and not had the time to get around to it, just take the leap doggin it and get er done!

Come On

2010-11-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Micah's lawyer has received a few letters. She would sure like to receive a few more. It is interesting that when Micah first went to jail I got so many letters of support. Now I wish I would have saved them for now! Don't be shy just send those letters and show your support for Micah.

No one will see your letter except the lawyer and the judge. It is simply a way to show the judge that Micah has a support system that will still be there once he gets out. The judge wants to see that we will all be there to give moral support and help him get going in his life again once he is out.

Also just a note for those of you waiting the Coffee With Apollo book will be coming out in hard copy in the next week. Our artist is working on the cover so that it will truly be a work created by Micah. If you are waiting I promise we are working on it and will have it available for purchase soon!

Thanks again for all the awesome letters and please write on if you have not!

It Is Time

2010-10-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

It is time to "nut up or shut up". That would be my favorite line from Zombie Land by the way :)
Anyway it is time to speak up. The call has been put out by Micah's lawyer. We need letters for Micah.

We need all of you, and anyone else you may know that knew Micah before he went to jail, and has followed him to this day.

The letters need to say how well you see Micah doing in jail and all the great strides he has made toward rehab. For those who have purchased his book you could throw that in for sure.

If any of you can help Micah out in this please write to my email and I will send you the lawyers email where you can send your letter. You don't even have to mail it, just a simple email. She wants 20 letters and will pick the best ones to be read during Micah's sentencing hearing on Dec.1.

This is very important and the more sincere letters we can get the better it will look for Micah.

On another note Hamilton was sentenced today to 27 years.

December 1st.

2010-10-13T17:39:00.001-07:00

I can't wait until December first! I get to get up and tell the world what an amazing, wonderful, smart, handsome, and very cool person Micah Neumann is!

I love nothing more than to brag about my children and Micah is no exception. Did I ever mention he was reading very well by the age of 4?

News Flash Date Change

2010-10-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

The date for Micah's sentencing hearing has been changed. It was continued until December 1st at 2:00. We will keep you posted and invite one and all to plan on attending. He would love the support and love!

Sentencing

2010-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Finally a sentencing date! Finally gonna get out of Coconino County! As one guard said, "It's about G%$ D$%# time!" She ain't kidding! We're just not real sure who is going to be partying more, Coconino county jail or Micah?

November 16th. After two and a half years in county, justice at a crawl.

They Say It's Your Birthday......

2010-10-04T20:58:00.001-07:00

I think holidays are the hardest days to cope when you have a loved one in jail. I miss Micah so much on holidays, especially his birthday when we should all be together celebrating.

If Micah was here we would all be eating cheese cake, hanging out and shooting the breeze. Micah said that if he has learned anything in jail it is how to shoot the bull.

I thought he was already pretty good at it, but he has gotten better I guess. We surely look forward to the day that we can spend his birthday with him.

Birthday Wishes

2010-09-30T18:40:00.001-07:00

One of my sons had a great idea! Everyone buy an e-book! That would be the best gift anyone could give to Micah, and would be a heck of a boost to him at this time. He is feeling a little forgotten as his birthday draws closer. If you can't buy a book a birthday card would be awesome. He is one crazy kid and well worth your effort.

Sentencing Soon?

2010-09-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

It is getting closer! We are a few weeks away from a sentencing hearing for Micah and boy is he excited. Surely it is not too soon to start praying for that minimum sentence.

I talked to Micah tonight and he was in very good spirits. He has been in a bit of a funk as his birthday draws nearer and it is hard to think about spending his third birthday in a row in Coconino County Jail.

He will no longer be a teenager come October 4! That is so hard to believe.

Article

2010-09-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

I found this article very well written and actually still appropriate to this day, though written very long ago.

The text is from my copy of Emma Goldman's Anarchism and Other Essays. Second Revised Edition. New York & London: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1911. pp. 115-132.
PRISONS: A SOCIAL CRIME AND FAILURE

IN 1849 Feodor Dostoyevsky wrote on the wall of his prison cell the following story of The Priest and the Devil:

"'Hello, you little fat father!' the devil said to the priest. 'What made you lie so to those poor, misled people? What tortures of hell did you depict? Don't you know they are already suffering the tortures of hell in their earthly lives? Don't you know that you and the authorities of the State are my representatives on earth? It is you that make them suffer the pains of hell with which you threaten them. Don't you know this? Well, then, come with me!'

"The devil grabbed the priest by the collar, lifted him high in the air, and carried him to a factory, to an iron foundry. He saw the workmen there running and hurrying to and fro, and toiling in the scorching heat. Very soon the thick, heavy air and the heat are too much for the priest. With tears in his eyes, he pleads with the devil: 'Let me go! Let me leave this hell!'

"'Oh, my dear friend, I must show you many more places.' The devil gets hold of him again and drags him off to a farm. There he sees workmen threshing the grain. The dust and heat are insufferable. The overseer carries a knout, and unmercifully beats anyone who falls to the ground overcome by hard toil or hunger.

"Next the priest is taken to the huts where these same workers live with their families--dirty, cold, smoky, ill-smelling holes. The devil grins. He points out the poverty and hardships which are at home here.

"'Well, isn't this enough?' he asks. And it seems as if even he, the devil, pities the people. The pious servant of God can hardly bear it. With uplifted hands he begs: 'Let me go away from here. Yes, yes! This is hell on earth!'

"'Well, then, you see. And you still promise them another hell. You torment them, torture them to death mentally when they are already all but dead physically! Come on! I will show you one more hell--one more, the very worst.'

"He took him to a prison and showed him a dungeon, with its foul air and the many human forms, robbed of all health and energy, lying on the floor, covered with vermin that were devouring their poor, naked, emaciated bodies.

"'Take off your silken clothes,' said the devil to the priest, 'put on your ankles heavy chains such as these unfortunates wear; lie down on the cold and filthy floor--and then talk to them about a hell that still awaits them!'

"'No, no!' answered the priest, 'I cannot think of anything more dreadful than this. I entreat you, let me go away from here!'

"'Yes, this is hell. There can be no worse hell than this. Did you not know it? Did you not know that these men and women whom you are frightening with the picture of a hell hereafter--did you not know that they are in hell right here, before they die?"

This was written fifty years ago in dark Russia, on the wall of one of the most horrible prisons. Yet who can deny that the same applies with equal force to the present time, even to American prisons?

With all our boasted reforms, our great social changes, and our far-reaching discoveries, human beings continue to be sent to the worst of hells, wherein they are outraged, degraded, and tortured, that society may be "protected" from the phantoms of its own making.

Prison, a social protection? What monstrous mind ever conceived such an idea? Just as well say that health can be promoted by a widespread contagion.

After eighteen months of horror in an English prison, Oscar Wilde gave to the world his great masterpiece, The Ballad of Reading Goal:

The vilest deeds, like poison weeds,
Bloom well in prison air;
It is only what is good in Man
That wastes and withers there.
Pale Anguish keeps the heavy gate,
And the Warder is Despair.

Society goes on perpetuating this poisonous air, not realizing that out of it can come naught but the most poisonous results.

We are spending at the present $3,500,000 per day, $1,000,095,000 per year, to maintain prison institutions, and that in a democratic country,--a sum almost as large as the combined output of wheat, valued at $750,000,000, and the output of coal, valued at $350,000,000. Professor Bushnell of Washington, D.C., estimates the cost of prisons at $6,000,000,000 annually, and Dr. G. Frank Lydston, an eminent American writer on crime, gives $5,000,000,000 annually as a reasonable figure. Such unheard-of expenditure for the purpose of maintaining vast armies of human beings caged up like wild beasts! 1

Yet crimes are on the increase. Thus we learn that in America there are four and a half times as many crimes to every million population today as there were twenty years ago.

The most horrible aspect is that our national crime is murder, not robbery, embezzlement, or rape, as in the South. London is five times as large as Chicago, yet there are one hundred and eighteen murders annually in the latter city, while only twenty in London. Nor is Chicago the leading city in crime, since it is only seventh on the list, which is headed by four Southern cities, and San Francisco and Los Angeles. In view of such a terrible condition of affairs, it seems ridiculous to prate of the protection society derives from its prisons.

The average mind is slow in grasping a truth, but when the most thoroughly organized, centralized institution, maintained at an excessive national expense, has proven a complete social failure, the dullest must begin to question its right to exist. The time is past when we can be content with our social fabric merely because it is "ordained by divine right," or by the majesty of the law.

The widespread prison investigations, agitation, and education during the last few years are conclusive proof that men are learning to dig deep into the very bottom of society, down to the causes of the terrible discrepancy between social and individual life.

Why, then, are prisons a social crime and a failure? To answer this vital question it behooves us to seek the nature and cause of crimes, the methods employed in coping with them, and the effects these methods produce in ridding society of the curse and horror of crimes.

First, as to the nature of crime:

Havelock Ellis divides crime into four phases, the political, the passional, the insane, and the occasional. He says that the political criminal is the victim of an attempt of a more or less despotic government to preserve its own stability. He is not necessarily guilty of an unsocial offense; he simply tries to overturn a certain political order which may itself be anti-social. This truth is recognized all over the world, except in America where the foolish notion still prevails that in a Democracy there is no place for political criminals. Yet John Brown was a political criminal; so were the Chicago Anarchists; so is every striker. Consequently, says Havelock Ellis, the political criminal of our time or place may be the hero, martyr, saint of another age. Lombroso calls the political criminal the true precursor of the progressive movement of humanity.

"The criminal by passion is usually a man of wholesome birth and honest life, who under the stress of some great, unmerited wrong has wrought justice for himself."2

Mr. Hugh C. Weir, in The Menace of the Police, cites the case of Jim Flaherty, a criminal by passion, who, instead of being saved by society, is turned into a drunkard and a recidivist, with a ruined and poverty-stricken family as the result.

A more pathetic type is Archie, the victim in Brand Whitlock's novel, The Turn of the Balance, the greatest American exposé of crime in the making. Archie, even more than Flaherty, was driven to crime and death by the cruel inhumanity of his surroundings, and by the unscrupulous hounding of the machinery of the law. Archie and Flaherty are but the types of many thousands, demonstrating how the legal aspects of crime, and the methods of dealing with it, help to create the disease which is undermining our entire social life.

"The insane criminal really can no more be considered a criminal than a child, since he is mentally in the same condition as an infant or an animal." 3

The law already recognizes that, but only in rare cases of a very flagrant nature, or when the culprit's wealth permits the luxury of criminal insanity. It has become quite fashionable to be the victim of paranoia. But on the whole the "sovereignty of justice" still continues to punish criminally insane with the whole severity of its power. Thus Mr. Ellis quotes from Dr. Richter's statistics showing that in Germany one hundred and six madmen, out of one hundred and forty-four criminally insane, were condemned to severe punishment.

The occasional criminal "represents by far the largest class of our prison population, hence is the greatest menace to social well-being." What is the cause that compels a vast army of the human family to take to crime, to prefer the hideous life within prison walls to the life outside? Certainly that cause must be an iron master, who leaves its victims no avenue of escape, for the most depraved human being loves liberty.

This terrific force is conditioned in our cruel social and economic arrangement. I do not mean to deny the biologic, physiologic, or psychologic factors in creating crime; but there is hardly an advanced criminologist who will not concede that the social and economic influences are the most relentless, the most poisonous germs of crime. Granted even that there are innate criminal tendencies, it is none the less true that these tendencies find rich nutrition in our social environment.

There is close relation, says Havelock Ellis, between crimes against the person and the price of alcohol, between crimes against property and the price of wheat. He quotes Quetelet and Lacassagne, the former looking upon society as the preparer of crime, and the criminals as instruments that execute them. The latter find that "the social environment is the cultivation medium of criminality; that the criminal is the microbe, an element which only becomes important when it finds the medium which causes it to ferment; every society has the criminals it deserves."4

The most "prosperous" industrial period makes it impossible for the worker to earn enough to keep up health and vigor. And as prosperity is, at best, an imaginary condition, thousands of people are constantly added to the host of the unemployed. From East to West, from South to North, this vast army tramps in search of work or food, and all they find is the workhouse or the slums. Those who have a spark of self-respect left, prefer open defiance, prefer crime to the emaciated, degraded position of poverty.

Edward Carpenter estimates that five-sixths of indictable crimes consist in some violation of property rights; but that is too low a figure. A thorough investigation would prove that nine crimes out of ten could be traced, directly or indirectly, to our economic and social iniquities, to our system of remorseless exploitation and robbery. There is no criminal so stupid but recognizes this terrible fact, though he may not be able to account for it.

A collection of criminal philosophy, which Havelock Ellis, Lombroso, and other eminent men have compiled, shows that the criminal feels only too keenly that it is society that drives him to crime. A Milanese thief said to Lombroso: "I do not rob, I merely take from the rich their superfluities; besides, do not advocates and merchants rob?" A murderer wrote: "Knowing that three-fourths of the social virtues are cowardly vices, I thought an open assault on a rich man would be less ignoble than the cautious combination of fraud." Another wrote: "I am imprisoned for stealing a half dozen eggs. Ministers who rob millions are honored. Poor Italy!" An educated convict said to Mr. Davitt: "The laws of society are framed for the purpose of securing the wealth of the world to power and calculation, thereby depriving the larger portion of mankind of its rights and chances. Why should they punish me for taking by somewhat similar means from those who have taken more than they had a right to?" The same man added: "Religion robs the soul of its independence; patriotism is the stupid worship of the world for which the well-being and the peace of the inhabitants were sacrificed by those who profit by it, while the laws of the land, in restraining natural desires, were waging war on the manifest spirit of the law of our beings. Compared with this," he concluded, "thieving is an honorable pursuit." 5

Verily, there is greater truth in this philosophy than in all the law-and-moral books of society.

The economic, political, moral, and physical factors being the microbes of crime, how does society meet the situation?

The methods of coping with crime have no doubt undergone several changes, but mainly in a theoretic sense. In practice, society has retained the primitive motive in dealing with the offender; that is, revenge. It has also adopted the theologic idea; namely, punishment; while the legal and "civilized" methods consist of deterrence or terror, and reform. We shall presently see that all four modes have failed utterly, and that we are today no nearer a solution than in the dark ages.

The natural impulse of the primitive man to strike back, to avenge a wrong, is out of date. Instead, the civilized man, stripped of courage and daring, has delegated to an organized machinery the duty of avenging his wrongs, in the foolish belief that the State is justified in doing what he no longer has the manhood or consistency to do. The "majesty of the law" is a reasoning thing; it would not stoop to primitive instincts. Its mission is of a "higher" nature. True, it is still steeped in the theologic muddle, which proclaims punishment as a means of purification, or the vicarious atonement of sin. But legally and socially the statute exercises punishment, not merely as an infliction of pain upon the offender, but also for its terrifying effect upon others.

What is the real basis of punishment, however? The notion of a free will, the idea that man is at all times a free agent for good or evil; if he chooses the latter, he must be made to pay the price. Although this theory has long been exploded, and thrown upon the dustheap, it continues to be applied daily by the entire machinery of government, turning it into the most cruel and brutal tormentor of human life. The only reason for its continuance is the still more cruel notion that the greater the terror punishment spreads, the more certain its preventative effect.

Society is using the most drastic methods in dealing with the social offender. Why do they not deter? Although in America a man is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, the instruments of law, the police, carry on a reign of terror, making indiscriminate arrests, beating, clubbing, bullying people, using the barbarous method of the "third degree," subjecting their unfortunate victims to the foul air of the station house, and the still fouler language of its guardians. Yet crimes are rapidly multiplying, and society is paying the price. On the other hand, it is an open secret that when the unfortunate citizen has been given the full "mercy" of the law, and for the sake of safety is hidden in the worst of hells, his real Calvary begins. Robbed of his rights as a human being, degraded to a mere automaton without will or feeling, dependent entirely upon the mercy of brutal keepers, he daily goes through a process of dehumanization, compared with which savage revenge was mere child's play.

There is not a single penal institution or reformatory in the United States where men are not tortured "to be made good," by means of the black-jack, the club, the strait-jacket, the water-cure, the "humming bird" (an electrical contrivance run along the human body), the solitary, the bull-ring, and starvation diet. In these institutions his will is broken, his soul degraded, his spirit subdued by the deadly monotony and routine of prison life. In Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and in the South, these horrors have become so flagrant as to reach the outside world, while in most other prisons the same Christian methods still prevail. But prison walls rarely allow the agonized shrieks of the victims to escape--prison walls are thick, they dull the sound. Society might with greater immunity abolish all prisons at once, than to hope for protection from these twentieth-century chambers of horrors.

Year after year the gates of prison hells return to the world an emaciated, deformed, will-less, ship-wrecked crew of humanity, with the Cain mark on their foreheads, their hopes crushed, all their natural inclinations thwarted. With nothing but hunger and inhumanity to greet them, these victims soon sink back into crime as the only possibility of existence. It is not at all an unusual thing to find men and women who have spent half their lives--nay, almost their entire existence--in prison. I know a woman on Blackwell's Island, who had been in and out thirty-eight times; and through a friend I learn that a young boy of seventeen, whom he had nursed and cared for in the Pittsburg penitentiary, had never known the meaning of liberty. From the reformatory to the penitentiary had been the path of this boy's life, until, broken in body, he died a victim of social revenge. These personal experiences are substantiated by extensive data giving overwhelming proof of the utter futility of prisons as a means of deterrence or reform.

Well-meaning persons are now working for a new departure in the prison question,--reclamation, to restore once more to the prisoner the possibility of becoming a human being. Commendable as this is, I fear it is impossible to hope for good results from pouring good wine into a musty bottle. Nothing short of a complete reconstruction of society will deliver mankind from the cancer of crime. Still, if the dull edge of our social conscience would be sharpened, the penal institutions might be given a new coat of varnish. But the first step to be taken is the renovation of the social consciousness, which is in a rather dilapidated condition. It is sadly in need to be awakened to the fact that crime is a question of degree, that we all have the rudiments of crime in us, more or less, according to our mental, physical, and social environment; and that the individual criminal is merely a reflex of the tendencies of the aggregate.

With the social consciousness wakened, the average individual may learn to refuse the "honor" of being the bloodhound of the law. He may cease to persecute, despise, and mistrust the social offender, and give him a chance to live and breathe among his fellows. Institutions are, of course, harder to reach. They are cold, impenetrable, and cruel; still, with the social consciousness quickened, it might be possible to free the prison victims from the brutality of prison officials, guards, and keepers. Public opinion is a powerful weapon; keepers of human prey, even, are afraid of it. They may be taught a little humanity, especially if they realize that their jobs depend upon it.

But the most important step is to demand for the prisoner the right to work while in prison, with some monetary recompense that would enable him to lay aside a little for the day of his release, the beginning of a new life.

It is almost ridiculous to hope much from present society when we consider that workingmen, wage-slaves themselves, object to convict labor. I shall not go into the cruelty of this objection, but merely consider the impracticability of it. To begin with, the opposition so far raised by organized labor has been directed against windmills. Prisoners have always worked; only the State has been their exploiter, even as the individual employer has been the robber of organized labor. The States have either set the convicts to work for the government, or they have farmed convict labor to private individuals. Twenty-nine of the States pursue the latter plan. The Federal government and seventeen States have discarded it, as have the leading nations of Europe, since it leads to hideous overworking and abuse of prisoners, and to endless graft.

"Rhode Island, the State dominated by Aldrich, offers perhaps the worst example. Under a five-year contract, dated July 7th, 1906, and renewable for five years more at the option of private contractors, the labor of the inmates of the Rhode Island Penitentiary and the Providence County Jail is sold to the Reliance-Sterling Mfg. Co. at the rate of a trifle less than 25 cents a day per man. This Company is really a gigantic Prison Labor Trust, for it also leases the convict labor of Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, and South Dakota penitentiaries, and the reformatories of New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, eleven establishments in all.

"The enormity of the graft under the Rhode Island contract may be estimated from the fact that this same Company pays 62 1/2 cents a day in Nebraska for the convict's labor, and that Tennessee, for example, gets $1.10 a day for a convict's work from the Gray-Dudley Hardware Co.; Missouri gets 70 cents a day from the Star Overall Mfg. Co.; West Virginia 65 cents a day from the Kraft Mfg. Co., and Maryland 55 cents a day from Oppenheim, Oberndorf & Co., shirt manufacturers. The very difference in prices points to enormous graft. For example, the Reliance-Sterling Mfg. Co. manufactures shirts, the cost of free labor being not less than $1.20 per dozen, while it pays Rhode Island thirty cents a dozen. Furthermore, the State charges this Trust no rent for the use of its huge factory, charges nothing for power, heat, light, or even drainage, and exacts no taxes. What graft!"6

It is estimated that more than twelve million dollars' worth of workingmen's shirts and overalls is produced annually in this country by prison labor. It is a woman's industry, and the first reflection that arises is that an immense amount of free female labor is thus displaced. The second consideration is that male convicts, who should be learning trades that would give them some chance of being self-supporting after their release, are kept at this work at which they can not possibly make a dollar. This is the more serious when we consider that much of this labor is done in reformatories, which so loudly profess to be training their inmates to become useful citizens.

The third, and most important, consideration is that the enormous profits thus wrung from convict labor are a constant incentive to the contractors to exact from their unhappy victims tasks altogether beyond their strength, and to punish them cruelly when their work does not come up to the excessive demands made.

Another word on the condemnation of convicts to tasks at which they cannot hope to make a living after release. Indiana, for example, is a State that has made a great splurge over being in the front rank of modern penological improvements. Yet, according to the report rendered in 1908 by the training school of its "reformatory," 135 were engaged in the manufacture of chains, 207 in that of shirts, and 255 in the foundry--a total of 597 in three occupations. But at this so-called reformatory 59 occupations were represented by the inmates, 39 of which were connected with country pursuits. Indiana, like other States, professes to be training the inmates of her reformatory to occupations by which they will be able to make their living when released. She actually sets them to work making chains, shirts, and brooms, the latter for the benefit of the Louisville Fancy Grocery Co. Broom-making is a trade largely monopolized by the blind, shirt-making is done by women, and there is only one free chain-factory in the State, and at that a released convict can not hope to get employment. The whole thing is a cruel farce.

If, then, the States can be instrumental in robbing their helpless victims of such tremendous profits is it not high time for organized labor to stop its idle howl, and to insist on decent remuneration for the convict, even as labor organizations claim for themselves? In that way workingmen would kill the germ which makes of the prisoner an enemy to the interests of labor. I have said elsewhere that thousands of convicts, incompetent and without a trade, without means of subsistence, are yearly turned back into the social fold. These men and women must live, for even an ex-convict has needs. Prison life has made them anti-social beings, and the rigidly closed doors that meet them on their release are not likely to decrease their bitterness. The inevitable result is that they form a favorable nucleus out of which scabs, black-legs, detectives, and policemen are drawn, only too willing to do the master's bidding. Thus organized labor, by its foolish opposition to work in prison, defeats its own ends. It helps to create poisonous fumes that stifle every attempt for economic betterment. If the workingman wants to avoid these effects, he should insist on the right of the convict to work, he should meet him as a brother, take him into his organization, and with his aid turn against the system which grinds them both.

Last, but not least, is the growing realization of the barbarity and the inadequacy of the definite sentence. Those who believe in, and earnestly aim at, a change are fast coming to the conclusion that man must be given an opportunity to make good. And how is he to do it with ten, fifteen, or twenty years' imprisonment before him? The hope of liberty and of opportunity is the only incentive to life, especially the prisoner's life. Society has sinned so long against him--it ought at least to leave him that. I am not very sanguine that it will, or that any real change in that direction can take place until the conditions that breed both the prisoner and the jailer will be forever abolished.

Out of his mouth a red, red rose!
Out of his heart a white!
For who can say by what strange way
Christ brings his will to light,
Since the barren staff the pilgrim bore
Bloomed in the great Pope's sight.
FOOTNOTES:
1Crime and Criminals. W. C. Owen.
2The Criminal, Havelock Ellis.
3The Criminal.
4The Criminal.
5The Criminal.
6Quoted from the publications of the National Committee on Prison Labor.

Novel

2010-09-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

I finished the novel Micah wrote. It was sad, but so well written. I wish I could say I could not put it down, but since it was written the size of an ant I had to put it down. I did enjoy reading it other than that and think it will be a big hit. It was awesome.

As I told Micah a sad story, but very well told. Aren't so many stories that way?

Book Review

2010-09-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, finally got some words of review for Coffee With Apollo. One of the buyers loved it and commented that she saw one of you loyal followers in the poetry.

It is funny because everyone that reads them sees themselves in some of the writings. I think you would all be pleasantly surprised to find yourself mentioned, not by name of course, in this great book.

Go ahead, buy it and see if you can find "Waldo"!

Keep Those Orders Coming

2010-09-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Micah wanted me to send out a quick thank you to all of you who have purchased a copy of his e-book. He just has one question, which one is your favorite? Some of you are mentioned, not by name buy you will know who you are, and he is anxious to see what you think.

If you have feed back feel free to leave it here in a comment. Also I am working frantically to get his next book up and going. It is a story called "Costa Rica Maddness" and is looking quite good. That one will be available in paperback as well as e-book.

Again thanks and if you are still needing to order get em in and give Micah your feedback.

Inspiration

2010-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

I don't think I am being biased when I say that Micah inspires the heck out of me.

If I am having a bad day all I need to do is think about him and it can jump start my mood. He lives in a 8'x10' cell with someone that he never gets to get away from. He has to eat whatever is put before him. His idea of exercise is 1200 push-ups, 250 pull-ups, and 1,000 trips around the table.

When Micah calls me I choose my words carefully. If I decide to be a negative Nancy he will call me to the carpet faster than anyone's business. Don't you dare tell him that you are having a "bad day". He will set you straight really quickly.

As he said in one of his poems from his book "Coffee With Apollo", "I have been diagnosed with a bad case of optimism". That is so true.

When you go visit Micah he will have you doubled over laughing. It may be the latest blond joke he has heard, a funny story about his time in Coconino County, or maybe a stand-up about the latest book he is reading.

Last time we were visiting with him he started listing the books he had read as his Dad corrected his grammar on all the titles. These were all books he had never even heard of, just took the librarian's word on the fact they were good and read them.

Last week Micah asked his lawyer if she had read "War And Peace". She said no that she did not usually read 1,000 page books. He gently pointed out to her that it was actually 1,700 pages, and she should read it.

How many 19 year old's have written a book at all? Especially a book of poetry and prose? The real kicker? Two years ago the only book Micah had ever read were the Harry Potter books. When I received his rough draft for his book I was blown away. His spelling was perfect, and he used words I had never even heard of. Not that I have a huge vocabulary, but I have read quite a bit.

Now I am really re-thinking the whole unschooling idea. Even though he has had his share of problems, and had to live through hell the last two and a half years, he has risen above all that and is making the most of his life.

That is inspirational!

A Nibble of a Feast

2010-08-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

I got permission from Micah to share a part of one of the poems in his new book, "Coffee With Apollo". If you have not yet bought your e-book you are missing out. If you have bought your book let Micah know via comments what your favorite poem is, he is anxious to know.

DREAM CURTAINS
When the curtains start to close
That’s when big things happen.
You no longer show
What people came to see.
The fingers all stop tappin’
Time to forget about it
About time, about life,.....

YIPEE

2010-08-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

It is finished and here for your viewing pleasure! For only $10.00 you can get a copy of Micah's first book, "Coffee With Apollo". It is a collection of his best poetry over the first two years in jail, and I must say is very impressive.

To get your copy just click on the pay now button, pay the $10.00 and I will send you a pdf copy of the greatest poetry book in history.

Just so you know all proceeds of Micah's book will go to his coffe/college fund. In other words whatever he does not use for coffe over the next couple of years will be used to finance his start-up fees for college once he gets out. A worthy cause for sure.

Many of you have asked how you can help, and here is your chance. Make his day! After the week he has had he could use some moral support right now. And thanks to all who are hanging in there with prayers and support, it is felt.

Prayers

2010-08-25T13:24:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all whose prayers and thoughts are with Micah. He needs all he can get. Especially since someone brought him a sandwich and the guard on duty would not let him eat it! How stinkin rotten it that? Poor guy almost cried.

1000 Times Around the Table

2010-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Micah called me early this morning. He never calls in the morning as he knows we are in class. I was worried that something was wrong. Thank goodness nothing was wrong, he was just waiting for them to bring clean sheets and towels and thought he would check in.

He also said he had done 1,000 laps around the table and was really bored. Well I can't imagine that kind of bored, but it must be pretty bad. It was good to talk to him and tell him about the new show on T.V. about talent in prison. They said on the news article that they would only make it available to "petty criminals". I'm not really sure if that would be Micah's MO or not? At any rate will surely check into it for him.

In the meantime I have been working on getting his book written. It is very good so far and I have been enjoying reading it. My eyes don't enjoy the little bitty print, but the story is great. It is about Costa Rica, and I will leave the rest to share later.

Music Anyone?

2010-08-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Micah is writing some amazing lyrics now. He has kind of just progressed from the poetry to the song writing. I tell you they are turning out good. We are looking at having the poetry book available next week for you if you are interested in buying it as an E-book. Will keep you all posted.

Book Arrival

2010-08-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yippee the book has arrived. As soon as I get down to get a magnifying glass I can read it and commence to type up a rough draft.

With the book arrived the cover for the poetry book. Now that I have the cover I can complete his poetry book.

Coffee With Apollo is just a couple of weeks away!

Book Challenge

2010-07-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

Micah has challenged everyone to reading some books! He likes to have something to talk about when he gets to talk. Right now we are reading the John Steinbeck books. I ordered us a set from Amazon so that we can keep up with this really smart dude!

If anyone is interested I will give you a list of the books Micah has read and you can try and keep up with Mr.Smartie pants!

Like I said I can guarantee you a great visit when you go see him. Very invigorating and enlivening.

Wonderful Visits

2010-07-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

We all had such a great time visiting with him. A couple of the guards actually had hearts and let us stay a little longer. They were aware that we were visiting from out of the country and were great sports about it.

His little sister keeps bugging him about when they will have their big "date". He has promised her a date to California for ice=cream and a beach swim. So he has narrowed it down for her. He told her 900 days. In other words we will not hear the end of this date for 900 days, or until he gets out whichever comes first.

We are still working on his poetry book and it is moving slow. When you have to rely on snail mail to keep everything moving it is a slow process. He is doing lots of writing these days and getting very good at it. Better all the time.

Starting Sunday he will actually have visits again. We will not be hogging them.

Wow!

2010-07-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

Wow is all I can say about Mr. Guapo! It has been so cool and awesome and wonderful to see Micah two times in the past week. He is so freakin' huge that he is not going to fit into the little cubicle pretty soon here. Like I don't know how we are going to be able to visit him. He is so funny.

We had a fun visit today and he was in a pretty somber mood. After all the reading he has been doing he has gotten very good at expressing his feelings very eloquently. It is good for him and great for us to be able to talk.

Once again he was very thankful for all prayers and support he has received.

We have been very thankful for the well wishes and thoughts and prayers received for Micah. All our friends have been so supportive and wonderful.

A huge thanks for the people letting us stay with them on our extended visit, and sharing their homes with us, that is so cool and we truly appreciate their love and hospitality.

It has been a little uncomfortable for Micah's siblings to have to deal with some small minded people involved in the whole ordeal and they have passed wih flying colors. It is not easy for them and thank to all who help them talk through their feelings and deal with them. Friends and family are the best and we as well as Micah thank one and all!

Three Days!

2010-06-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

In three days we get to visit Micah for the first time in over a year. To say we are excited and thrilled would be a huge understatement. We are all very excited and full of mixed emotions. The girls hate seeing him in that ugly jail and they have a hard time visiting him there. He does his best to make it pleasant for them and stay up beat, he is awesome about that. Of course anyone that visits Micah knows that!

Micah regrets to inform his friends that he will be "unavailable" for visits for the next three weeks. We are hogging all of them. While in the States we should be able to get his book done and ready for purchase, will keep that posted.

In the meantime keep your writing skills keen and keep writing. He was a little down today because he had not received a visit or letter for two weeks. Bummer!

Part 3

2010-06-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

.....
Yet, I mold, I adapt, I become a person I'm not, only to survive in the jungle. And my mind changes with me, as it's convinced every day that only the strong survive it dedicates itself to pull my body to the top of the food chain, doing what I must to exert my dominance. To reveal to the grunts the alpha male, to make it through the days as best I can, and keep from going hungry,keep from being lonely, which and let's face it, can never be accomplished here, but I will inevitably stay lonely- and I sit and put this pencil to this paper and my ranting thoughts pour out upon these lines...

to be continued....

Continuation...

2010-06-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

....Only, as time moves forward and my freedom can be seen in the distance, time seems to be growing more and more difficult. As avid supporters die out, and I receive sporatic letters from names I'd nearly forgotten, images of the past and visages of the future are the life that keeps me sane. Talking to my dearest mother, the most supportive I know, for forty five minutes a week, keeps me aware that life outside these walls still exists. I only need to keep myself from falling into the waves of negativity that wash through the inmates day by day.

to be continued......

Sad Letter

2010-06-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Received this week from Micah:

"Man I'da gone crazy, nigga, done lost my mind if I wuz you! Twenty two GD months up in here!"

It was odd to have the drastic details of my life reiterated to me so bluntly. Many people coming and going, for domestic disputes or public intoxication, fail to recognize the actual circumstances of this hell they pass through-while they moan night after night about the thirty days they're doing in county.

But here it was, being placed directly in front of me, not intentionally, but, none the less it was there to ponder. Two years and this morning I lay holding my bladder because the restroom is the bedroom, therefore, somebody was sleeping in my restroom. Aimlessly angry, I began pondering every aspect of my dull life, soon realizing it was nearly identical to my last writing.

To be continued....

Stamps and Envelopes

2010-06-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN!!!! Sending me a letter asking me if I would like money for envelopes or stamps is pointless, considering I always need money for envelopes and stamps. I will be unable to write you back confirming my need for envelopes and stamps. And I would always love visits-Mr. Neumann coming to you from cell block #6

Headway

2010-05-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have a title! Micah called today and he has a title for his first book.

Coffee With Apollo.

That is so perfect. I loved it right way, and his brother the illustrator is going to have fun with it. We have the book all written up, we have the dedication and now we have the title. All that is left is the cover and we are ready to go to press.

You all are going to love this book, I do!

Surprise Calls

2010-05-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

Some things really make my day and make me smile. One of them is a surprise call from Baby Boy! Micah called today instead of Saturday. He said he was just feeling so good he had to share it with someone before he busted.

He got a great letter as well as a great visit, and he has been moved back to B pod. He is more comfortable there and feels safer for the time being. He can also do more writing there. Easier to concentrate I suppose.

I was so excited that he called because I am almost done with his poetry book, the book with no name so far. I ended up using 60 of the poems he has written, and I must say it is looking very good. Now I am learning how to post his ebook and then you all will be able to see how dang creative and smart this kid is!

Oops there I go again, bragging about baby boy. Oh well I am amazed at his writing and expect everyone will be. Now I have to wait to talk to him until Monday, at least he is happy today.

Good Question

2010-05-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

I got a really good question from a follower of the blog on a past post. The person asked if there was anything they could do to help Micah money wise. Actually I am glad they asked.

Right now I am working on getting some of Micah's poetry put on an e-book. Once I get that done if everyone will just buy one it would keep him in the coffee for awhile.

We also appreciate all the help we have received for Micah and most of all he appreciates it!

Obviously he is very frustrated right now and sooo ready to get out of Coconino County, that is a long sit for anyone. Depending on how the election goes tomorrow it may get more crowded and miserable there.

Thanks to all and pura vida!

New Celly

2010-05-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Micah got a new celly this week. And the best part of all, he had coffee!!! I mean to tell you, that kid is a kick when you get a little coffee in him. He had me rolling on the floor when I talked to him Wed. He was doing his normal stand up comedy act and really had me going.

He asked me to apologize to all who have written who he has not answered. He has been out of stamps and envelopes and his mom will not send him money.

I would send him money, but as it is tight am selfish and would rather use it to be able to talk to him.

But he does appreciate the letters, and as soon as his mama puts some money on his books he will be able to write to all his friends. Sorry folks we are working on it :)

p.s. if you have ever seen the movie "Hoodwinked", the little guy they give the coffee to to get things done? That would be Micah on coffee!

Mothers Day

2010-05-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Mothers Day in the U.S. I do not really enjoy Mothers Day too much anymore. There is a saying that a mother can only be as happy as her saddest child. For some reason on Mothers Day I think a lot about my boy that I cannot see and get a hug from.

The holidays are always the roughest for all of us, and I'm sure they are much worse for Micah than me. He has been super bummed out lately and I am so anxious to get out there and visit him a few times.

I have not seen him for a year now and it has been tough on him. I am just so thankful that his brothers visit and for all his friends that keep visiting and writing.

I have taken to writing him really long, really boring letters of our adventures here in Costa Rica. I think they help him sleep. He has not been drinking coffee due to limited funds so I think sleeping has become much easier for him.

If anyone gets over to see him the next couple of days tell him his Mom loves him a ton and can't wait to get over and see him. He really is a blast to visit with and at least I will get to talk to him on the phone today, can't wait!!!!

Raining Letters

2010-05-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Micah wanted me to send a bit thank you to those who have written lately. He has been a bit down in the dumps and needs all he can get these day. Thanks!

How to Visit

2010-04-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

I have received a couple of emails asking me how to visit Micah. I have decided to tell you! The best way to do it is call the jail, at the number under the address on the right. Ask them if Micah has any visits left this week.

Visits begin every Sunday morning and he has two thirty minute visits a week. Not much ha? If he has any visits left they will tell you and you can go down to the jail. The Coconino County Jail is right behind New Frontier Natural foods on Sawmill Rd.

When you got you must bring an ID. They also require that you be at least 18 unless you are a family member.

If you would like to visit and are having trouble getting in email me and I will tell Micah so that he can save a visit for you. He just refuses all visitors until you come to visit at your designated time.

Easy peasy ha? Have a good visit!

Forgiven and Forgotten

2010-04-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

Micah is doing well. A big welcome to the new followers, he needs all the support he can get at this time. He has been very down. The visits are very important. I know how hard it is to go visit him. For me it is just such a drag to see him in that stupid place and not break down that glass and rescue my boy. It is very emotional to see him there.

I do realize visiting people in jail is not everyone's favorite past time. Even Micah has mentioned that had he known what he knows now he would have found someone to visit every chance he got. The visits mean that much to him.

We are spending about five grand to go visit him this summer. We don't mind though because I just love the heck out of that big ole' teddy bear and we are just living a different kind of normal. One where family vacations are planned around Micah's two year celebration etc.

On a sadder note, we are praying for Larry Hendricks, yeah the one I have bashed. He has been missing in Flagstaff since Monday and our prayers are with him as well as his family. Just doing his job was what Micah's lawyer told me when she told me he is really a nice guy. I will take her word for it!

Missin' You

2010-04-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

There are some days that I just miss my boy! I mean I miss the heck out of that boy. This has been one of those weeks. I think because I know I am going to see him in a couple of months, it makes me anxious. I am so jealous of all you that can actually go visit him anytime you want to!

Speaking of which he said for everyone to get their butts down there and see him! He is feeling forgotten and pretty darn lonely so if you got the time, or even if you don't go visit my boy, for me!

Baby Boy

2010-04-12T13:13:00.001-07:00

When Micah calls me he always says,"this is a call from baby boy". Well judging by this pic. that some kind soul sent me yesterday he is not my baby boy anymore! I am so excited to see him I owe a thousand thanks to the folks that made this happen, it made my day, heck my month, heck it will get me by until I see him in a few weeks. Thank you!

Vote No On Sales Tax Increase

2010-04-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

On May 18th, go out and vote. Vote no on the one cent tax increase. How is this related to prisoners? If the state has to start budgeting they are going to cut the mandatory prison time to 65% rather than the current 80%. Do you know that means Micah could be out in 13 months if he gets his minimum 5 yr. sentence. I would love to see him.

Prices

2010-03-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

In Coconino County Jail they charge $1.00 for a package of Ramen!
In Coconino County Jail they charge $4.00 for a bag of coffee (that is $1.50 a bag in prison by the way)
In Coconino County Jail they charge you for your salt packets, pepper packets and sugar packets.

Keep it Real?

2010-03-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

In talking with Micah today he had a question. He is moving right along with his novel, but seems to be suffering from a bit of writers block. He suggested to me that maybe he should change it over to a fantasy. Like let the hero find a geeni lamp and go from there. My thought was "keep it real". He is wondering what all his fans would like, the fantasy edge or the keep it real slant?

Also Micah has no visitors so far this week and would love, love, love visitors. He informed me today that he has pretty much given up on eating. Much rather have coffee, so he trades for it. Man I can't wait until he gets out of County, not as much as him for sure, but can't wait nonethesless!

Mark

2010-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

When I received my call from prison phone services today it was under a different name. Silly kid, talk about bored. I do need to apologize to everyone who had joined Micah on Facebook. It turns out it was a good idea, but not a good thing. In reading the posts and stuff to him it made him too angry and brought up a lot of feelings he is not ready to deal with right now. So I have deleted his Facebook and will continue to try and keep everyone updated here on the blog.

I realized today that if Micah receives the minimum sentence, which we feel sure he will, he will be getting out in two years. Like two years from right now! That made me feel really happy and it also means he is half way done! I am getting really excited to visit him in June and we are all looking forward to seeing how much he has grown. As he said, he is just a "beast". Can't wait!!!!

FB

2010-03-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Micah would love it if everyone could hit him up on Facebook! Check him out at Micah Neumann. He is bummed that everything has to go through his mom, but hey not too many other ways for him to communicate with the rest of the world.

Face Book

2010-03-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Micah is on Facebook. You can check him out and send him a friend request. He would be thrilled to have more than his family as friends. I will be posting whatever he tells me three days a week when he calls and passing on what others say to him.

At the moment Micah is in the hole, again. He is really struggling and may be looking into transferring to a different jail in the county. He is just needing a change after one year eight months in coconino county.

If you have been thinking about writing him it would be an excellent time right now :)

Liver and Onions

2010-02-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

Our phone call today turned, as it often does, to talk about food. I mentioned to Micah that when I was walking to pick up his little sister from school I could smell someone cooking liver and onions. I told him it smelled really good. He said there are some things that even jail would not make taste good and that was one of them.

I asked him about spinach, knowing his first few months at jail seemed to be filled with sad stories about spinach. He said he has even learned to enjoy spinach as well as onions and oatmeal! That is a big move for him.

Dismissed !!!!

2010-02-20T06:57:00.000-08:00

To the relief of all the stupid case that Micah had a hearing for yesterday has been dismissed. Thanks to those of you who went to attend, only to be told it had been dismissed. Glad someone had the brains to see this was a waste of tax payer money, as well as time.

This whole case stemmed from the Thanksgiving incident I wrote about where Micah was put in the hole for two weeks for defending himself. Evidently his celly went a little wacko and charged into Micah. Micah of course came up fighting. He was a little aggressive, and the attacker pressed charges.

They had one hearing a month ago and Micah's lawyer tried to get it dropped at that time. Thank goodness they finally got it dropped. Micah has a clean jail record going into his sentencing this summer and we would love to keep it that way.

Micah is now in "general population" and feels much more comfortable there. Now if we could just get him working on that GED, I think he would actually be busy.

Hearing Tomorrow

2010-02-18T12:46:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 Micah has a hearing at the municipal court! A great chance to see mr guapo in the flesh, wish I was there to see him. Hoping it will get dismissed as it is a silly charge between Micah and another inmate. Micah's attorney will be handling it. Thanks for the support!

Sick

2010-02-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

I just talked to Micah and he is sick. Sounds like some kind of flu or something. He is all stuffed up in his sinuses and sore throat and fever. I told him we would pray for him, not much else we can do from here. He does not get anything for it, so I wish they would at least give him some ibprofin to help take the edge off. Oh well.

Many Thanks

2010-02-11T16:59:00.001-08:00

Micah has received many letters and donations this month. We wish to thank all who have thought about him at this time. I think the biggest fear for inmates would be that they will be forgotten. I know that is how Micah feels most of the time.

I Love Letters!

2010-02-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

Micah does not understand why I want him to write to me when we talk three times a week. The deal is I feel he expresses his feelings better in letters than on the phone. When we talk on the phone he seems a bit preoccupied with what is going on around him. He mentioned in this letter that they are short staffed at Coconino County, therefore more lockdown time for counting. That is a drag for them. Imagine having to be in your room at a certain time every day so someone can count you.
At any rate I wanted to share a line from his letter to me.

"I just have to have tunnel vision and know this will all end, because sometimes it's hard to believe that freedom is actually out there. But I keep telling myself that it is out there, and it will come sooner than later. Everytime the officers choose me to mess with, everytime we get locked down for nothing, everytime they raise the prices and press the charges and insist with an arrogant walk that they're better than me because I'm a "criminal". I have to tell myself there's a better life, because if freedom was nowhere in my future, stopping myself from doing something reeeeal stupid would be harder than it already is! I just want to get on with life, I want this whole thing done, I feel I've learned my lesson and crime is a part of my past, I don't understand how they're benefiting by keeping me in here, losing money and taking my sanity one day at a time!"

Can you see why I love his letters?

oops

2010-01-30T20:11:00.001-08:00

Oops, I got Micah in trouble. Well not really in trouble, just as he said made him look like a "dumb ass". He asked if I had included money in the last letter I wrote like I said I would. Seems I completely forgot. He got the letter today and asked the guards where the heck the money was. They said there was no money when they opened it. He said he threw a freakin fit and now he was just going to hide in his cell so he did not have to face them. He said he always acts like an ass, and now he looks like a dumb ass! He is so funny, and now I feel so bad.

Cafe Relief

2010-01-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

Wow Micah was in a much better mood when I talked to him yesterday. It is amazing what a difference about 10 cups of coffee can do for a guy. He had not slept at all the night before as he was up all night drinking coffee and spent the day on a coffee binge.

We are in the process of making valentine cards for Micah that we will mail out next week. It takes so long for the mail to get there, so better get on it. He could use some happy love letters for Feb.

GED

2010-01-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

So apparently the Coconino County Jail does not accomodate those who want to increase their learning. Micah has requested to continue studying for and take his GED. For crying out loud people he has been there for 18 months, he could almost have his associates by now.

He is a little bummed that he will just be an alumni of Coconino County!

Ixna on the Saving

2010-01-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

He did request that since he will probably be there about a year longer anyone that was saving their pennies for his prison fund can go ahead and send it to him now. He is out of money, and worst of all out of coffee :( Not too fun to talk to for sure.

I am sure hoping that things will change between now and August, but it looks like that is the date for now. Let's get that kid out of there!

Game

2010-01-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Good ole' Micah. Today I got to hear a play by play detail of his antics during the Cardinals game last night. Unfortunately we turned the game off at half time, thinking they had it locked up. My oldest son called us right after the game and told us we just missed the best overtime game of the year aughhhhhh! Then Micah agreed with him and told me about him dancing on the tables and screaming his lungs out. Poor Micah, and even poorer still his cell mates who as he says love him and hate him.

He was doing better this weekend. Today is his 18 month anniversary. He has been in Coconino County jail for 18 months! That is really hard to believe. He is so hoping to get out of there before his two year anniversary. And of course still hoping and praying for that minimum sentence! No word on him getting out of county any time soon.

Hearing

2010-01-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Micah had a hearing yesterday about the assault charge by another inmate. It seems strange to me that they would ever listen to one inmate over the other. I mean how reliable of a witness are they? So now he is having to deal with this one. The good news is they said that his time would count, good thing ha since he has been in county 18 months now.

Message Por Favor

2009-12-30T12:17:00.001-08:00

If anyone visits Micah this week could you please tell him our internet is out? He has been trying to call us, and hopefully he has figured out it is the ICE thing again. I just don´t want him to think we have up and moved or something. Thanks!

Another one Down

2009-12-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas out of the way and down. For my gift Micah sang a song for me on the phone last night. It was the same one he has on youtube and I loved hearing him sing. He said he had to sing quietly so he did not get accused of being weird. I told him that his voice has grown better. He has more voice control and can even sing quiet now. He said yeah he works on it a lot.

The week was awesome and I enjoyed speaking on the phone with Micah every single day. It was great and I will miss not being able to talk every day. One thing is for sure, I'm not sure whose life is more boring, his or mine.

Christmas Carolers

2009-12-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

I wish I could give a big hug and thank you to each and every person that came in the group to Christmas carol at the Coconino County jail yesterday! If they only knew how much joy they brought to one young man there it would make them feel all warm and fuzzy all over!

In fact Micah was so beside himself with excitement over the singing, people, and hot cocoa that he accidentally spilled the cocoa of the guy next to him. Lucky for him they gave him another cup. He was just higher than a kite last night with Christmas spirit and excitement.

Also there is a rumor circulating that they are going to reduce the percentage of your sentence served from 85% to 60%. That would mean Micah is almost half way done. We can only hope that one passes. He said it was between that and raising the taxes on the good folks of Arizona, I vote for the prison reduction!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Micah said to tell everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. He also wanted to thank all who have given money and helped make his holiday a little more pleasant. Let's all hope he has a much better year next year, and gets to the yard soon.