Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

This art refers to me in the Arkansas prison system. I have 14 years left before I am free.

My prison has programs such as a substance abuse treatment program, a reentry progam called Think Legacy and a leadership program called Principles and Applications for Life (P.A.L.). The first two will not enroll me due to the long time I have left to serve. I wanted to go to vocational school at other prisons, but I was denied for that, too, because of the length of my time.

Me and a lot of the other long-time inmates have to just sit year after year doing nothing that will actually benefit our rehabilitation. Arkansas prison system classes are only open to short-term inmates, which I feel is unjust to guys who really want to join them.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Lamar "Shone" Moore is an artist and writer, who believes in the need for criminal justice and prison reform. He is incarcerated in Arkansas.