9-29-2021

Maddy or

To Whom it may concern, 

My name is Benjamin M.. I am incarcerated at the north Central unit located at Calico Rock, Arkansas. I am currently a barrack porter and I hate the fact that i have to clean after 60 inmates. I literally bust my butt to clean because other inmates do not care if they make a mess or not. They are not the ones who have to clean the barracks.

I feel that is not right to work and not get paid for it. Just like when a lot of us got our 2020 EIP stimulus checks. A lot of the inmates got half or all of the $3,200. The Arkansas Department of Correction put a hold on our money and put it in their account to draw interest off us. The federal and the taxpayers pays for the inmates to be here. Why should we have to pay rent for them (ADC) to take care of us.

We get $12.00 indigent each month and maybe $150.00 once we get released if we are lucky to get the whole amount. For those who have never been to prison, my advice is once you get here, be prepared to work your butt off for nothing. In other words, it ain’t worth coming to prison. The Arkansas state prison will use you as a slave and you will pay for it. If you refuse to work, they will lock you up in isolation for 30 days or more.

When I read about the Abolition Amendment, I feel that there is hope and we all need to stand up for what is right. The Arkansas DOC needs to stop and think, people change for the better all the time. Every time the law changes or is added, more people go to prison. It does more harm then it does good. The director Ben Magness does not give a crap about us as long as he gets the money, he’s happy.

Everything that I have mentioned, how is this helping us (inmates) better ourselves? We have all done our time. We deserve to have a 2nd chance in life, everybody does, after we have been release from prison. Once we get out, we are broke with $150. How is this going to help us get started in life, to be able to get back on our feet. Arkansas is trying to strip us from everything. Why because they [all do] not care if we make it or come back to prison because we can’t pay our fines or our parole fee. It is very hard for us felons to get a good paying job so we can get back on our feet to better ourselves and to become a better citizen to the community around us. Arkansas may be a cheap state but along it, give us a break.

Do I want to be an active member of the campaign? Yes I do, where do I sign up? I am not afraid to speak my mind so let me be a spokesperson. I will tell people what they don’t want to hear and that is the truth. I will not tickle somebody’s ear so they only hear what they only want to hear. I speak the truth because the truth shall set us free. What does the organizer do? What does the educator do?

No, none of us here in Arkansas get the prison radio show or station. It would be awesome if we could so that we can know what our rights are, while we are incarcerated. I also believe that the prison radio station will also educate us as well once we get out.

I believe that if the citizen understands what goes on in prison. They will have a better understanding of what we go through. People needs to realize and understand that being in prison is a total different world then it is being released from prison. Believe me when I say this. Prison has a world of its own that no one seems to understand. People go by hearsay instead of going deeper and getting all the facts of what really goes on in prison. The people that works in ADOC and the governor covers up the truth. We are all not bad people. Yes, we have made mistakes, but who hasn’t. A lot of us are trying to better ourselves for our family and future generations to come. This prison is all about the money and not about giving 2nd chances in life. Thank you for your time and God Bless you all for doing what is right and speaking the truth. 

Thank You
Benjamin M.