Although I read the article two weeks ago, I can’t shake it. For starters, Blake’s essay describes what solitary confinement is like better than any I’ve ever read. He writes:

Or this:

And before you think that Blake made some of this up, I would tell you that everything he says in the essay is exactly how I remember solitary. I had two stints, myself, and I felt and witnessed its demoralizing effects as a prisoner across the hall from me hung himself two weeks after I was released back to general population.

Solitary is so bad, so odious and dehumanizing, that on one occasion, I decided to take a chance on getting shanked with a homemade knife over a visit to “administration segregation,” which are the nice words for the hole. I had been called to the lieutenant’s office where I was told that I should “check in” to segregation because the prison had received some “kites” with death threats placed against me. Apparently, some of the inmates were angry that I was providing legal services to blacks and hispanics. (At the time, I thought it was the white supremacists who had made the threats, but I later found out that it was a black jailhouse lawyer angry that his friends were coming to me rather than him.)

I remember thinking that a shank in the back seemed preferable to spending six to eight months in solitary, waiting for the feds to come pick me up and transfer me to another prison. So, that kind of tells you how awful it is.

I am glad to see that people are starting to care about solitary confinement. Congress held hearings last year, and Mother Jones has had a series of articles (here and here), including one pictorial about living inside a solitary cell. And the practice of solitary confinement received some additional scrutiny because of its use during Bradley Manning’s pretrial confinement. All of that being said, however, this practice is still so ubiquitous in our country that everyday I feel shame because I’m not doing more to end it.

It is certainly debatable that other forms of torture are worse than solitary confinement, but I think you’d have a hard time telling that to William Blake, who writes:

Why do we do this to people, for as long as we do? What is our justification for holding someone in solitary for decades?

These are just some thoughts I’ve had since reading William Blake’s illuminating piece.

The post The Worst Torture: Solitary Confinement appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

I enjoyed telling the congregation about my personal story of redemption, but more importantly, I enjoyed telling them about the huge human rights disaster here in the United States, called Mass Incarceration. Some people simply do not recognize how huge the problem is until I tell them that the US incarcerates the equivalent of the populations of Nebraska and Wyoming, combined.

I also appreciated the wonderful words spoken by my mother, Rebecca Richards, and the Clay Center Pastor Bruce Paulus. I look forward to working with Bruce in the future on prison ministry and reform, as he has done that type of work, through Alpha and Prison Fellowship, for a number of years.

But mostly I enjoyed starting my talk off with a joke at the expense of my step-father, Bill Richards, who took it in stride, and then, ironically, prayed for me!

On Monday, I spoke to two groups of high school students at David City Aquinas, the school that my wife once attended. The students had many great questions, and they seemed encouraged. Some even want to pursue law school!

On Wednesday, we had three speaking events in New York. The first event occurred at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. I cannot tell you how amazing it is that I was even asked to speak there. The S.D. of New York is one of the most important federal courthouses in the country. Many huge cases are brought there because the courthouse handles the cases originating from Manhattan. That a law school student, and a former federal prisoner, was speaking there and to a group of federal judges and clerks no less, is nothing short of miraculous. I spoke about how the court can better handle its growing docket of pro se cases, and there was a great discussion afterwards about the role of clerks in assisting pro se litigants.

Annie and I then traveled to NYU Law School. Out of all the speaking events we’ve attended in the past three years, the students at NYU were hands down the best and most engaged crowd we have ever had. We spoke at Professor Sharon Dolovich’s class on the criminal justice system. The Q&A took two hours, and I swear that the students would have asked Annie and I even more questions had time not run out. After the class, we jumped immediately into a book event. One our favorite people showed up, our friend and agent Jody Hotchkiss, as he always does when we are in NYC.

I must say thank you to Professor Sharon Dolovich, who invited us to NYU and who spends her days teaching law school students about prison law.

On Friday morning was the big event: the Fremont Prayer Breakfast. Over 400 people showed up at 7:00 am to come listen to my talk about redemption. After discussing my personal redemption, I spent the majority of my talk discussing the problem of mass incarceration, just as I did in every other talk. I will write more about this event later on.

I feel very honored and blessed to have spoken to over 800 people about mass incarceration. I really feel the calling to talk about the prison problem with anyone that will listen.

The post Our Spring Break: Telling People About Mass Incarceration appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

I had the pleasure of joining a panel today on HuffPo Live to discuss whether the promise of Gideon is being kept. The general consensus was no. Public defenders simply do not have sufficient funding and there caseloads are unconstitutionally burdensome.

The post The 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

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We had both just finished reading Armstrong’s book, It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. As a non-Christian at the time, I was struck at Armstrong’s perseverance in fighting cancer. Whereas my dad, who was a long-time Christian, focused on a different theme throughout the book: that Armstrong’s belief in himself was what kept him alive and was the ultimate source of his success, both on the bike and off.

“To continue believing in yourself, believing in the doctors, believing in the treatment, believing in whatever I chose to believe in, that was the most important thing, I decided. It had to be.” Lance Armstrong

I remember my dad saying that Armstrong might have beaten cancer, but that if he was relying on his own will and might, eventually, he would fall off his proverbial bike and crash, just as all imperfect humans inexorably do.

And so it has happened, just as my dad predicted.

This week Mr. Armstrong has admitted that his strong will was no match in a fight against his desire for success and god-like status.

The Bible warns of rooting our identity in the idol of our own self. Indeed, self-idolatry in particular is perhaps second to none when it comes to human destruction.

This was so for Mr. Armstrong as he lied, intimidated, and threatened anyone who dared to challenge his self-absorbed version of the truth. And all that it got him was the ire of the world.

“At the end of the day, if there was indeed some Body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I’d been baptized.” Lance Armstrong

I wish I could say that Armstrong is so wrong and I am not. But I would be deluding myself if I didn’t say that I, too, at times, struggle with focusing on success rather than on God.

The only difference between him and me is that I know I can’t live a true life without Christ and that I, alone, can’t save myself from an eternal judgment.

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

Once again, dad, you were right and I was wrong. I wish I had listened to you more often.

The post Lance Armstrong and the Fallen Idol of Self appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

Incarcerating someone for one year costs around $35,000–as I wrote about yesterday in The Atlantic.com–it’s the equivalent of a year’s college tuition. It also leads to more crime in the long run as the national recidivism rate for returning prisoners hovers around 66%. That means two-thirds of prisoners are being released and committing new crimes, which also cost new taxpayer dollars to prosecute.

The result of our current criminal justice system is a revolving door of crime and cost. And this door primarily affects communities of color and poverty.

So, how do we stop it? One way is to provide prisoners with a means of breaking the cycle. A way to become productive citizens.

Cue the Prison Post-Education Project located in Seattle, Washington. The non-profit is the brainchild of Ari Kohn. The Project helps released prisoners attend college.

Does it work? Washington state’s recidivism rate is over 45%, whereas the recidivism rate of former prisoners who go through the Post-Education Project is TWO PERCENT!

For every dollar the Project spends, it probably saves taxpayers 10 dollars.

If you are interested in the Project, please watch the video here, to see how it literally saves lives. If you have some money or time to spare, please think about donating to the Project.

The post Saving Lives: The Post-Prison Education Project appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

The culprit of such ridiculousness is the combination of mandatory minimum sentences and unlimited prosecutorial discretion to charge criminal conduct. To put it differently, Congress passed a number of draconian mandatory minimum sentences that federal prosecutors can wield at their discretion. They didn’t use those weapons against me; they did against Adam.

I hope to highlight these unjust parts of the federal sentencing as long as some one will give me a platform to do so.

To read more about Adam Clausen, please visit his website here.

The post The Randomness of Federal Sentencing appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

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October 19, 2007

Dear Shon, 

Your father was sad to leave you, but also excited for what he knew was ahead for him (heaven). I feel such deep sadness as I grieve the loss of the hopes and dreams of experiences you were counting on having with your Dad after your release. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be that way for you and me. It is strangely ironic that 5 years ago you were there for me when I lost my Mom and now I am here for you as you have lost your Dad. We are very blessed to have each other.  

I will never forget the day your Dad waited for me by the cemetery when I went to view Mom’s tombstone for the very first time last March. He saw my CA license plates and knew it must have been me so he waited there on the golf course. That was more than a coincidence. Your dad was an angel for me that day. I was struggling and, on a whim, drove home and straight to the cemetery. Of all the people I could have run into in that moment, it was your Dad, who I had been praying so hard for, offering me a moment of gentleness, compassion, and hope.  

Your Dad left a legacy in you. So much of what I’ve heard you say that you admire about your Dad, I see in you. Your Dad loved/loves you and is so proud of you. He lives on in you as you carry his spirit and all that he has taught you throughout your continued journey. I love you, Shon. 

Love,

Annie Marie

Project 4:4 – A Good God in Hard Times / Power of God Over Everything (Marty Barnhart) from CCC Omaha on Vimeo.

The post A Cherished Memory, A Reminder of Hope For The Things Unseen appeared first on Shon Hopwood.

1) Law Man is a LOVE story!

Law Man weaves the story of how a seed was planted in the teenage years, blossomed into deep friendship during the prison years, and bloomed into the ultimate commitment of marriage.  It details how deep intimacy and vulnerability in friendship can grow one’s heart and open it to things once thought seemingly impossible. Law Man even contains snippets of real letters written back and forth between me (Annie) and Shon during his incarceration.

2) Law Man is relatable.

Law Man tugs at every conceivable emotion and really pulls the reader into the story as if the reader is right there with the characters. It contains a story of my personal struggles that are representative of how many women struggle with such issues as body image, a severe eating disorder, insecurity, perfectionism, fear, grief, guilt, confusion, etc. And many women can relate to the emotions of Shon as he shares the struggles of early adulthood which include feeling like his life had no purpose, the pull of addictions, eventually finding his passion and purpose, and redemption.

3) Law Man reads like fiction.

This is not a boring memoir! Women and men who have read Law Man say they read it fast because they could not put it down. Shon’s writing style is inspired by accomplished fiction authors, most especially, Amy Hempel and Chuck Palahniuk.  

4) Law Man is a story of hope and inspiration.

Law Man illustrates that change can happen and life can take a different direction even when it seems impossible. Law Man includes many themes that most people have struggled with personally or have a friend or loved one who has. It shares how Shon and I came out of the depths of darkness (lack of purpose, addictions, eating disorder, depression, crime, sin, imprisonment, etc) to be redeemed and transformed into finding: meaning and purpose in life, joy, healing, love, freedom, and, most importantly, God.

The post Four Reasons Why Law Man Is A Great Book For Women appeared first on Shon Hopwood.