Prisoner Stories

This post will deal with a story of a prisoner in an attempt to humanize at least one individual out of the millions behind bars and the injustices that they have suffered.

This will be a theme post that I'll repeat periodically. All of the information about this prisoner comes from the web site FAMM or Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

The first person that I'd like to feature is named Sharanda Jones. 

 Sharanda made a mistake that cost her her life and her relationship with her daughter who was eight years old at the time of her incarceration. Sharanda had a difficult home life as her mother was paralyzed when she was very young in a car accident. Sharanda's grandmother worked and disability and welfare were all that this family had to survive. Once she had a daughter of her own and was working in cosmetology Sharanda made a mistake that cost her life and her relationship with her daughter who was eight years old at the time of her incarceration. became involved in the acquisition of Cocaine to turn into Crack Cocaine. She was using the income from this criminal activity to support herself  and her daughter as evident in the fact that she only had 250$ in her bank account when she was apprehended. This was a terrible mistake that Sharanda and her whole family regrets deeply.

We have all made mistakes, but I believe if we have payed our penalty we should be allowed a second chance. Because of the very specific Crack Cocaine laws that were passed in the 90's, and because she was categorized as the leader (which is debatable in the case as one of her brothers was also heavily involved) she is now serving life without parole for her offence. This means that without a presidential commutation the next time Sharanda leaves prison will be in a casket. I believe that death in prison should be reserved for violent offenders that cannot reenter society but I'm afraid that many of them will be released while Sharanda spends her whole life behind bars for a non-violent, first time drug offence. 

Does this story seem unfair to you? You can do something! Sign the Petition to the President regarding the possible commutation for Sharanda and thank you!

The profit being made off of the prisoners in this country is obscene. In the article written about juvenile detention centers where this picture was found (PHAWKER.COM) there is a list of different cases of abuse and neglect that have been verified through an investigation that took place. These range from intimidation and sexual harassment to neglect of basic medical needs that has even resulted in death. The private company that is running these juvenile detention facilities has a contract with the states in which it operates mandating that the beds be kept full. This has led to sentences that are drummed up or fabricated to meet these contract parameters.


The prison population in this country has doubled from 2000 to 2010 according to a Washington Post article about the extremely lucrative private prison have become. The private prison industry has seen its market shares soar in value and currently has a combined profit of around 3.3 billion dollars annually. The population in this country has not doubled between 2000 and 2010, but the prison population has. This has an incredible effect on our country as a whole. Every inmate leaves behind a family that needs them. This harms children, spouses and society. The destabilization that occurs as a result of this has ripple effects that are hard to put a dollar figure on but are profound nonetheless.


 If someone has committed a crime worth incarceration than I am not against this individual being forced to serve the appropriate sentence, However, when an individual receives excessive charges to fill the quota of a contract that a prison has with a state I do see this as a insult to justice.  A corrupt judge will be paid off and innocent people suffer as a result.


I have a friend who wrote bad checks and was caught and prosecuted. He ended up in work release in Elkhart County. There is a group of judges that own the work release program and a disproportional amount of individuals are sentenced to this facility as it is profitable for these judges. The subsequent destruction of his family was tragic and was difficult to see. This is the reason I started this blog to try to bring attention to this situation and through dialogue come up with solutions.

This image says it all in a way. We as an industrialized, developed nation have more prisoners as a percentage of our population than any other country. This is not just tragic, with tragic implications for the families, neighborhoods and culture  of those imprisoned but it is a very profitable enterprise for those that control the Prison Empire...

Have you or your family or someone you know been effected by this crooked system? Please share your story or make a comment.