Prison Professors With Michael Santos

111. Earning Freedom with Michael Santos   Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term (1.2)   I’m reading from chapter 1 of my book, Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term   For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com         ******* “¿Que Onda?” Another man is locked in the same cell. Cuban, I presume from his accent. He stands by a waist-high metal locker in boxer shorts, staring at me. He looks like a thug. We’re the same height, though he is heavier, with more fat than muscle. Crudely drawn tattoos look like chicken scratches across his arms and torso. I nod. “¿De donde eres?” He wants to engage me. “I don’t speak Spanish.” “What is you, white?” He speaks in English this time. The man’s question bothers me.  I think of myself as an American, un-hyphenated by ethnicity. “I am what I am.” “I thought you was Cuban.” “My dad’s Cuban.” “So why the fuck you don’t speak Spanish?” “I speak English.” I’m ready for this guy’s challenge, if that’s what he wants. “Where you from?” “I’m from Seattle.” “You a cop

101. Earning Freedom with Michael Santos   Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term (1.1)   I’m reading from chapter 1 of my book, Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term   For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com         I can feel the DEA agents waiting. I don’t know where or when they’ll strike, but I know they’re near. I’ve never been arrested before, and I’m scared. My wife, Lisa, sits next to me in our Porsche convertible, clutching my hand. We’ve only been married five months. She’s a glamorous South American blonde who looks spectacular in her form-fitting designer clothes, better still in a bikini. With her beside me, I feel powerful. I’ve built my life on extravagance and appearances, and Lisa completes the image I want to project. She’s five years older than I am and I always try to appear strong for her–man enough for her. I don’t want her to see my fear, but inside I’m shaking. Shadowy forces feel like they’re closing in, but I don’t have a grasp on what’s coming. Instinct, intuition, a

109. Insights from Federal Prison Camp   Innocent from The Inside Blog: By James Catlidge   James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison.   James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset.   For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp.     As I've mentioned before, any sentence less than 1 year creates real difficulty for both the "short-timer" and the population he's serving with.  Some of my good friends have been shot-timers.  My advice and our conversations all revolve around all the rich life experiences they are missing out on.  I encourage open honest dialogue with all my

James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp. Its daybreak around 7:15 A.M.  This time of year, I make my way to the eastern corner of the track approximately 80 yards from my cube  I'm laced up tight for my 9 laps this morning, as the sun casts its warming glow across my face and body.  Its cold, maybe 50 degrees.  I have my   t-shirt and gym shorts on.  Today I have a fleece lined sweatshirt on also to keep the damp chill off my body. I have my earbuds in to ward off any would-be talke

James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp.     Prison is an amazing social science experiment.  As I observe my fellow inmates and occasionally insert counsel, I'm struck by the difficulty that brilliant men have with doing their time.  Men I respect for their intellect can suffer so needlessly.  I'm left to assume they must of had a spouse or friend or child in their life that assisted them on the outside.  Life is very easy here IF you are aware of your surroundings, use your manner

105. Insights from Federal Prison Camp   Innocent from The Inside Blog: By James Catlidge James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp.     There is a rhythm or an ebb and flow to the camp population here at Taft Camp.  Every week men leave for home and new men arrive, either self-surrender or transfer from another prison.  Oddly, those departing are sad and excited.  We, also, are sad and excited.  We share 24 hours a day, all meals, classes, recreation, church, deep talks, intense deba

105. Insights from Federal Prison Camp   Innocent from The Inside Blog: By James Catlidge James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp.     Very dramatic week.  I have insulated myself both physically and mentally for the road ahead.  As each of you know, I am an optimist having grown up on the sunny side of the mountain.  I earnestly prepared to be here.  I immediately deployed a strategy of kindness, openness and seek to be very helpful with everyone here at Camp.  I cross racial lines

Innocent from The Inside Blog: By James Catlidge James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp. Lots of oddities that make life at Camp interesting. Visitation: Friday, Saturday, Sunday and all Federal holidays. We meet our visitors in a large visitation room located in the front of the Camp. All visitors can arrive as early as 9:00 AM and must leave by 3:00 PM. 5 vending machines has every snack you can imagine. You must bring usually 2 rolls of quarters to use the machines. All of those

Innocent from The Inside Blog: By James Catlidge James Catlidge is serving a 60-month sentence for a white collar crime. He is a businessman that got caught up in a criminal probe. Prior to surrendering, he began writing a blog. We are recording James’ blog, Innocent from the Inside, to help more people understand the challenges of surrendering to federal prison. James serves his sentence with dignity, and readers may find hope in his positive mindset. For more information, visit PrisonProfessors.com   Below is the written version of his blog from one of his entries, describing his second week in a federal prison camp. It takes 21 days to build a habit. Today is day 13. I’m adjusting to the rhythm and sounds unique to Camp. Our housing is 2 and 3 man cubicles. The population is so light that I have been afforded my own cubicle. This is a real luxury. I can write, read, think, be left alone or invite a friend into my cube for a nice chat. The floors are concrete and the ceiling is like a warehouse ceiling with

From the blog of James Catlidge: Innocent from the Inside In the final stretch now..........12 days remaining and the preparations for unplugging, exiting the grid continue. I will use this Post to provide you with details about logistics available to me to stay connected to you:   TELEPHONE: I have 300 minutes per month, I will focus those minutes on the kids and my mother, If I  do call you and you are not my mother or my children then we will be brief. I have been told that the minutes are going up to 450 soon, which will allow much better connection with all of  you. So with all this in mind the old adage "don't call me I'll call you" seems to apply here.   MAIL: Mail day I have been advised is a significant day at camp, all men are lined up as one camper is assigned as his job to be the mailman and deliver to every recipient their mail once per week. 90% of men standing at their dorm door receive NO MAIL yet they all stand in hopes that each new mail day may bring them a message from the outside. I have

101. Discover Insights From Federal Prison Camp: Memorializing a Journey to Prison Camp with James Catlidge #2 Innocent from the Inside   In Victor Frankls book "Man's Search for Meaning" (written while in a German concentration camp) he contends.... "EVERYTHING can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms- to choose one's own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."......lots of meetings with new friends have yielded so much knowledge about my upcoming vacation, I was referred to a new friend Michael Santos (amazing story) who spent 23 years in Federal Prison for a crime he did commit and decided early on that he would emerge a new man. I can tell you having spent 4 electric hours with him that he is unlike any man I have EVER met with. I realized during our visit That I have spent 30 years working on me, reading every book on self-improvement I could get my hands on and ultimately making my career a 30 year focus on team building, lifting, en

Discover Insights From Federal Prison Camp: Memorializing a Journey to Prison Camp with James Catlidge #1   Let me start by saying It's good to have friends and even better during the tough times.    I wanted to give you each an update on my case. Nearing the end now, I spent 6 years fighting the FALSE charges and in summer of this year negotiated a plea. We are preparing for a sentencing hearing for me on the 12th  (This coming wednesday) ...Thank you Jack, John, Steve, Margaret, Charles, Randy, Jerry and MOM who will be in attendance!   The Judge has many options: -Up to a 60 month cap in a minimum security camp -or Probation  -or Home confinement  - OR Any combination of the above   This has been an exhausting protracted battle and I feel somewhat relieved that the end is insight. The financial cost (for those curious) were 8.3 million in legal and an additional 3.1 million Tiffany and I personally decided to give to those who lost money in the project. These are not the cost that matter most h

Download a free copy of Prepare by visiting PrisonProfessors.com.   Thoughts on Self-Surrendering: Unless a person has a valid reason to postpone the surrender date, it may be best to start serving the sentence as quickly as possible. Intuitively, many people want to postpone their surrender date. In our accompanying course, available at ResilientCourses.com, we offer many examples of successful journeys through prison. Members of our team have real depth and breadth of experience. I’ve worked with more than 1,000 people that have self-surrendered. As an attorney, our partner Shon has worked on sentencing memorandums for more people than he can count. And Michael has written about and interviewed more than 1,000 people that have gone into the prison system. Our personal experience convinces us that unless there is a valid reason, it’s best to surrender to get started in prison at the soonest possible time. From the time a person becomes a target of a criminal investigation, it feels as if the person is servin

Reading from Prepare: What Defendants Should Know About Court, Sentencing, and Prison Get free download at PrisonProfessors.com or send an email to [email protected]   It would be best to avoid problems while in prison. But as described throughout this book, that isn’t always easy. Depending upon security levels, complexities surface. People in prison must interact with hundreds, or thousands of people. Some of those people have mental health issues. Some of those people have an agenda that differs from a person that wants to focus on getting out of prison at the soonest possible time, with the least amount of trouble. It’s reason we believe that every person going into the system should learn as much as possible. To get the outcome they want, they must always use critical-thinking skills, understanding ramifications that may come with every decision. The BOP considers all employees correctional officers first. Any staff member, including secretaries, cooks, chaplains, and landscapers have the authori

Get free copy of Prepare: What Defendants Should Know About Court, Sentencing, and Prison at PrisonProfessors.com, or email [email protected] Call 949-205-6056   When people go into the prison system, our team encourages them to go in with their eyes wide open. When Michael began serving his sentence, back in 1987, he was 23 years old and didn’t understand a thing. As a result of not understanding what would follow, he made a series of decisions during the earliest stages that complicated his journey. Similarly, as explained in Lessons from Prison, Justin didn’t have any idea about how prisons operated or what steps he could take to grow at the start. The more we know about the system, the more we empower ourselves to make good decisions, given the resources available to us. We’d like to think that everything will proceed well. In reality, we’re entering a system where things don’t always go as we’d like. Sometimes, the atmosphere of imprisonment presents us with problems and challenges. It’s not alw

From the book Prepare: What Defendants Should Know about Court, Sentencing, and Prison Chapter 11: What Should I Know About Staff Hierarchy in the Bureau of Prisons Get Your free copy by visiting PrisonProfessors.com or sending an email to [email protected]     Navigating the bureaucracy of prison requires at least a cursory knowledge of the key players and their roles. This section provides a basic overview to consider for those going inside. Bureaucratic Structure: Our nation incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation on earth. Millions of people have gone through the system, and thousands of people work in corrections. It’s run like any other bureacracy, modeled in a hierarchical formation. The positions are more important than the individual, and the individuals rely upon program statements and policy statements to govern operations. The organizational hierarchy is clearly defined and much more formal. Staff members that work alongside each other do not address each other with first

Visit PrisonProfessors.com to get a free download of our book:     Prepare: What Defendants Should Know about Court, Sentencing, and Prison   Send an email: [email protected] or call 949-205-6056 for more information       What Should I Know About Prison Transfers?       Based upon the number of minimum-security camps in the federal prison system, we estimate that less than 20% of the federal prison population gets the privilege of voluntarily surrendering. Being able to surrender to prison is a perk. Ordinarily, when judges sentence people to serve less than 10-year terms, and the person does not have a history of violence or escape attempts, the Bureau of Prisons will classify that person as “minimum-security.” Judges may allow those people to report to prison on their own volition. In the systems, it’s known as “voluntary surrender.” There is an advantage to surrendering to prison voluntarily. It’s less stressful. Rather than mixing with hundreds of other prisoners, many of whom may be intimidati

In most cases, after a person enters a guilty plea, or after a jury finds a person guilty, the judge sets a sentencing date. Those sentencing dates may be extended if the person is cooperating with authorities. Sometimes a person doesn’t get sentenced for several years after the guilty plea. In most cases, a person will face a sentencing hearing within a few months of pleading guilty. On the other hand, our team has worked with clients that waited 10 years before they had resolution. They committed a crime, faced civil proceedings, waited through criminal proceedings, cooperated with authorities. From the time of the crime, and the time the sentence was imposed, 10 years passed. Every case is different. To prepare for sentencing, the defense attorney will prepare a memorandum. That memorandum will summarize the defendant’s conduct, include points of law, and offer reasons why the defendant deserves leniency. The prosecutor will submit a memorandum. In most cases, the prosecutor will argue for a harsher senten

In the previous chapter we discussed the structure of PSR reports and how a Statement of Reasons can help some people overcome problematic PSRs. Probation officers prepare the PSR specifically for the sentencing judge. But the PSR follows the person all the way through the journey. In fact, our team would argue that the PSR has a bigger influence after the sentence is imposed. After all, a judge likely knows a great deal about the case. If a defendant engineered an effective sentence-mitigation strategy, as we described in chapter six of this program, the judge will also know a great deal about the person and the influences that led him into the problem. Further, an attorney will likely be there to advocate on the person’s behalf. After the judge imposes the sentence, on the other hand, the defendant will not have an attorney. He will need to advocate on his own behalf. And the PSR will be an essential tool. If the person worked intelligently by engineering an effective sentence-mitigation strategy, he may su

What Should I Know About the Pre-sentence Investigation Report? After a person pleads guilty or is found guilty, the presentence investigation will be the next step. For more details, check out Rule 32 of the U.S. Rules of Criminal Procedure in the federal system. Each state system has a similar rule in the book of criminal procedure. In federal cases, probation officers conduct these investigations to help sentencing judges and others evaluate the background of the person. The investigation culminates with an all-important presentence investigation report (PSI or PSR—used interchangeably). The report will include recommendations, based on guidelines and the probation officer’s opinion. Sentencing judges will consider recommendations from the PSR when imposing sentence. Besides the importance of the PSR for sentencing, people should pay close attention to the process because the report also will play a significant role in the person’s life if he is sentenced to prison.  Information in the PSR influences how a