I Left My Heart in Folsom Prison

08/12/2011 by J. Nelson

To the parolee caught trying sneak back into Folsom Prison: Next time just try the souvenir shop.

Original Story: MSNBC

00002 — Hand-built by inmates and Chinese railroad workers, this view of the granite wall that surrounds Folsom's old yard is from the main access road

The so-called “old Yard” was one of the facilities to which I was assigned as a temporary “consumer of Corrections services.” Years after my release, while driving with my then-girlfriend to Lake Tahoe for a wedding, I turned onto the prison road. I wanted to see that giant wall as an outsider, a perspective I didn’t have in my previous experience on the property. Read more

Apocalypse Hoosegow Part IV: Prison Doctor Purgatory

07/15/2011 by J. Nelson

Oh, there are so many fun ways we can go here. The first might be to address the teeming mass of Americans who believe increasing prison healthcare spending will mean that inmates can expect better medical services than the rest of us. Read more

Apocalypse Hoosegow, Part II

03/08/2011 by J. Nelson

Part II of a series wherein we follow Federal Receiver J. Clark Kelso “up the river” of prison health costs

The parting shot in our first installment focused on the current rate of spending in California prisons and the fact that there’s no excuse for letting Federal Receiver J. Clark Kelso keep his job rather than hiring someone who will stand up for taxpayers. Read more