When Siobhan and I spoke about my life as the wife of prisoner I stressed to her how very fragile is the predictability of the life Michael and I share; the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) controls every aspect of Michael’s environment. I explained to Siobhan how easily everything can change for us with the stroke of pen or the snap of a bureaucrat’s fingers. Not long after this story was published, someone within the BOP picked up that pen.

On April 18, 2007, the prison administrators at Lompoc Camp (where Michael is currently designated) put my husband in handcuffs and locked him in “the hole” – segregated housing, where he is locked down 23 hours each day. Not because Michael broke any rules, or violated any prison policies…but because Michael is an author who writes about the prison system. Michael is a man who inspires others around him to make better choices, to accept responsibility for their own bad decisions that led them to prison, and to prepare for a contributing life beyond prison. Everything Michael does is a manifestation of his positive attitude and his desire to inspire others to lead better lives both inside and outside of prison.

Prison is about punishment; there is no rehabilitation going on unless a prisoner is self-motivated to redirect his/her efforts toward growth, introspection, education, contribution, and preparation for a law-abiding life beyond prison – as my husband did twenty years ago when he entered USP Atlanta at age 23.

The Bureau of Prisons cannot stand the fact that Michael is going to emerge from 26 years in prison as an educated, contributing, successful individual. Michael is an extraordinary man who has done extraordinary things despite obstacle after obstacle. To date, prison administrators at all levels have been unable to find a way to celebrate his accomplishments from behind prison fences. That the prison would rather lock him in isolation and fabricate ways to punish him than utilize him as a resource to promote and encourage rehabilitation among the tens of thousands of inmates living without hope is ludicrous, and it is shameful.

We do not know how long this administration will keep Michael confined in isolation, we can only hope that whatever set them off is resolved quickly.

Keeping Michael locked up and isolated is not only wrong, it is a waste of what the prison system ought to realize is one of its greatest resources for promoting rehabilitation: Michael’s example.

In the meantime, our marriage is strong and we remain wholly committed to each other and the promises we made on our wedding day. We thank you, Siobhan, for writing an article that for the first time really captures our world; and thank you, GOOD Magazine, for publishing it.

When Siobhan and I spoke about my life as the wife of prisoner I stressed to her how very fragile is the predictability of the life Michael and I share; the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) controls every aspect of Michael’s environment. I explained to Siobhan how easily everything can change for us with the stroke of pen or the snap of a bureaucrat’s fingers. Not long after this story was published, someone within the BOP picked up that pen.

On April 18, 2007, the prison administrators at Lompoc Camp (where Michael is currently designated) put my husband in handcuffs and locked him in “the hole” – segregated housing, where he is locked down 23 hours each day. Not because Michael broke any rules, or violated any prison policies…but because Michael is an author who writes about the prison system. Michael is a man who inspires others around him to make better choices, to accept responsibility for their own bad decisions that led them to prison, and to prepare for a contributing life beyond prison. Everything Michael does is a manifestation of his positive attitude and his desire to inspire others to lead better lives both inside and outside of prison.

Prison is about punishment; there is no rehabilitation going on unless a prisoner is self-motivated to redirect his/her efforts toward growth, introspection, education, contribution, and preparation for a law-abiding life beyond prison – as my husband did twenty years ago when he entered USP Atlanta at age 23.

The Bureau of Prisons cannot stand the fact that Michael is going to emerge from 26 years in prison as an educated, contributing, successful individual. Michael is an extraordinary man who has done extraordinary things despite obstacle after obstacle. To date, prison administrators at all levels have been unable to find a way to celebrate his accomplishments from behind prison fences. That the prison would rather lock him in isolation and fabricate ways to punish him than utilize him as a resource to promote and encourage rehabilitation among the tens of thousands of inmates living without hope is ludicrous, and it is shameful.

We do not know how long this administration will keep Michael confined in isolation, we can only hope that whatever set them off is resolved quickly.

Keeping Michael locked up and isolated is not only wrong, it is a waste of what the prison system ought to realize is one of its greatest resources for promoting rehabilitation: Michael’s example.

In the meantime, our marriage is strong and we remain wholly committed to each other and the promises we made on our wedding day. We thank you, Siobhan, for writing an article that for the first time really captures our world; and thank you, GOOD Magazine, for publishing it.