First published on https://straightfromthepen.com
WORKING ON BECOMING YOUTUBE STAR https://www.youtube.com/@WayneTDowdy3 In the last twenty-eight days, according to the average YOUTUBE SUCCESS rate for new YouTubers, I am beginning to shine, but am still a work-in-process. I listened to one YouTuber who now earns a six-digit income, who said it took one year to get the first 100 Watch Hours. I feel blessed to have over 100 in the last 28-days on my main channel (@WayneTDowdy). A.I. Bing Doesn't Communicate Well To verify the above statement about "average YOUTUBE SUCCESS rate for new YouTubers," I decide to use some artificial intelligence to get an actual number, but I didn't find what I wanted. Here is what BING says: My Question: average time for new YouTubers to get 100 watch hours Sent message. average time for new YouTubers to get 100 watch hours Searching for: average time for new YouTubers to get 100 watch hours Searching for: average time for new YouTubers to get 100 watch hours Generating answers for you… Hello, this is Bing. I searched the web for your query and found some relevant information. According to one source1, to apply to the YouTube Partner Program, you’ll need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of Watch Time on your channel. And even then, you need to set up an AdSense account and accept all of YouTube’s terms and conditions to move forward with the application. Another source2 suggests that choosing a topic for your channel that is not too broad or too narrow, creating engaging content, optimizing your videos for SEO, and collaborating with other creators are some of the strategies that can help you grow your YouTube channel. A third source3 states that the ideal watch time can vary due to a range of factors like the content type and video length. In general, they take 50-60% as a benchmark. If you get an Average View Duration of 70-80%, the video is performing well. A fourth source4 provides some mathematical examples of how to reach the 240,000 minutes of Watch Time needed for monetization. For instance, they say that you could make 240 videos at 10 minutes long, with each getting 100 views. I hope this information helps you with your YouTube goals.
At any rate, I feel I am off to a great start. One thing that caught my attention on my channel is that the listed start date is October 31, 2011, which is one of the years I was in federal prison. One of my loved ones must have used YouTube on my behalf and created the channel on that date. February 6, 2023 was the date of the first video posted (private). @STRAIGHTFROMTHEPEN In closing, I hope you will bless me by Liking, Subscribing, and Sharing my YouTube channels to help grow the channels, and in doing so, know that you are appreciated and are contributing to a worthy cause. Thank you!
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(Originally published on StraightfromthePen.com as Revising a Life by Wayne T. Dowdy. Now available as a podcast from that website.) While walking with a friend at the McDonough Goodwill Store and Donation Center, I snapped the photo of Kirklands' Autumn Plaque and two pictures. Revising a Life by Wayne T. Dowdy relates to a variety of aspects from my life (affiliate marketing, relationships, my writing career, and my overall successful reentry into society). I wrote more about those topics on my other website in Life After Release-9. On Writing: A month ago I came up with the idea for an eBook, Revising a Life, because that is what I am in the process of doing. I am the author, editor, and creator, at least, to the point of where my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God, allows me. One day He will elect to End the Story. For now, though, I am writing the story as I go along one day at a time, accepting that everything will be okay. I am a good writer and will focus more on my writing career than what I have been doing since my release. Affiliate Marketing: At this point, I am not impressed with the whole affiliate marketing process. I question whether the companies are getting sales from my promotions and not paying me what is due, so .... I am moving on to other companies. However, I would be more successful at it if I advertised and followed suggestions better than I do when it comes to posting content and mass advertising to market what I promote. Successful Reentry: Since my release on August 28, 2018, I've actually accomplished a lot but don't feel like I am where I should be in life by this time. However, I know things work according to God's will, whether I like it or not. What is of greatest importance is that I continue to work and to live my life without resulting to old behaviors, such as getting high on mind-altering substances, and then becoming a walking crime spree in action. Not my style anymore. I retired decades ago. Picture Perfect: At five million photo views on Google Maps, I was in the Top One percent. Now that I am up to 18-million, can't be too many others who outperform me (make that 33-million in October 2022). Unfortunately, my success in that area only strokes my ego because it hasn't earned me a cent! Now, I am in the Top Ten percent as a Google MAPS American Restaurant Reviewer. That stat may benefit me in some areas but still hasn't made me rich and famous. :-) Relationships: Still lacking in that area, too. Maybe I need to quit playing hard to get, and focus more on the women who want me and are worthy of my love, rather than chasing others who are so filled with themselves that there is no room for anyone else. In A Prisoner and a Poem for a Princess shown below (also available in Essays & More Straight from the Pen), I wrote about the only fiancé that I've had in decades, which left me with a broken heart when she died from Congestive Heart Failure at the age of 47. Broken my heart may be, but I am okay with it. Some things are just meant to be for reasons unknown to me. Conclusion: Once again, in A Prisoner and a Poem for a Princess, I mention hearing a song that made me wonder if it was what was fixing to happen (losing my lover). At the time I did know know Pearl Jam was the group who had redone the old song I heard in my head, before hearing Pearl Jam's version on the radio. If you want to hear a great song and witness something special, click to open the YouTube video where Eddie Vetter and Pearl Jam gives three men a wonderful opportunity who came out of prison after being wrongly convicted. Pearl Jam Concert, May 27, 2006, Camden, NJ Watch "Mix - Pearl Jam - Last Kiss" on YouTube Big Springs Park I love a walk in the Park! My life after release has not been one. That hasn't deterred me from continuing to pursue a better life. I'll clarify. The World refuses to work According to Wayne's plans but I continue to feel Blessed by the Best and to maintain an Attitude of Gratitude. Health: A few doctors have complimented me on my overall health condition at my age: I don't look or feel my age and don't have to take several medications to function and stay well. At work I can run circles around most of the other employees when it comes to strength and endurance. Relationships: Update: September 26, 2021: Since my release I have been cautious about getting involved in relationships. In the last two months I've met three top contenders who captivated my attention, with the last one who celebrated her birthday today. Another lovely lady continues to keep me in the Friend Zone but there have been signs of progress about our relationship moving in a positive direction. We are good friends and that is important but I want more! :-) "What I would like is that special lady who loves me the way I will love her and then perhaps I will perceive my life as great." Year One of New Life by Wayne T. Dowdy | STRAIGHT FROM THE PEN Life Goes On and I am okay with the life I have, though it is not how I imagined it would be before I walked out of the prison gates as a free man. I am fortunate to be alive and in as good of health as I am to complain about anything that happens in relationships. When and if the time comes for me to be in a serious (or a not-so-serious) relationship with a woman, it will happen and my being more celibate than some priest will end as another junction in life begins. I am okay either way: A fighter and survivor I am! Ad: Rexing Dash Cam The times people wished that they had an event recorded is innumerable; especially, while driving vehicles or when walking or running. Rexing Dash Cam is one of North Americas top sellers of dash cams for cars or on the trail while walking, running, or jogging. I may earn an Affiliate Commission if you use any links on this website to purchase a product or service; however, my opinion remains unaltered regardless of financial gain. Finances: My investment plans went great for a few months but then just as for thousands of others, my account values over recent months have gone downhill; however, I am still in the Green in most areas and am grateful to not have been as impacted by the stock market corrections as severely as thousands of investors and traders. In the rapid changing and volatile Crypto market, devastating is one word to describe activities over the last few months, with over 500 billion lost within a couple of days at one point. Fortunate for me, I didn't have that much to lose and retained most of my funds. To let people know about some of the things I do as a successfully-reintegrated individual, I wrote about the Trading Apps I Use. Last weekend, over the three previous days I had lost between $450-600.00 in Crypto-Trading, a small sum in comparison to typical traders. By Monday at Noon, I recouped the losses. That's Crypto, up and down, with some swings as drastic as 25-75%. A few weeks ago I went to a birthday party and swam in a pool alone after the children went back inside with the adults. It was nice having the privilege to get some sun and enjoy being alive and well after all these years. In the meantime, I will continue to do my normal things to avoid becoming a recidivist, going to Twelve Step meetings to share my experience, strength and hope, remembering where I came from and where I can return if I decide to return to old behaviors. Though overworked and underpaid by my employer; I remain grateful for my job because it helps to keep me healthy and provides an opportunity for me to meet a lot of lovely ladies I would not otherwise see. One of whom may just be my next wife, whether she drives a Mercedes or not. :-) *********************************************************************************************************** Click image to transfer to https://straightfromthepen.com to read: The Truth About Incarceration, Part I by Wayne T. DowdyLife goes on for me as I continue my quest to blend back into society, a society that I have never fit in, in a sense, as I spent most of my life in places designed for those who refuse to conform. These days I live my life much different than I ever imagined and am more tolerant, more patient, and more compassionate than I was during my youth; otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting in front of a computer working on a blog to post. I'd be dead or back in prison. My opinion is that anyone who spent decades of life inside most prison systems, struggle to fit back into society, whether in America or abroad. That belief has support in overwhelming recidivism numbers (over 80% return to prison within a few years of release). Once a person adapts to prison life, no true deterrent exists to make them stay out because the fear of going to prison is gone; living inside prison life may be easier for some than others. For me, I walked out the doors with the respect of my peers and would walk back in with the same level of respect because of being viewed as an OG (Old Gangster). But .... Today, I prefer to be on the outside doing what I can to make a difference. Even though things don't go according to my plans and I am living under conditions I would prefer to be different, I am okay and will continue my quest of trying to fit back into society. Regardless of how I feel about what goes in society, right or wrong, I am not in control and can only be responsible for my actions. My plan is to become a successful affiliate marketer. Earning a few extra crumbs will be nice once I get things going. One of the products I promote is vitamins and supplements for the Life Extension Foundation. Check the following links to see some of the businesses I provide content for to help along those lines (successful affiliate marketing). Thank you! Back in my younger and wilder days, I lived my life in the Fast Lane, running around doing things I lived to regret because those activities helped me succeed at spending most of my life in prison. These days I take it slow and usually think before I act. Living in the Slow Lane helps me to stay focused on doing what I need to be doing, instead of blasting around town locked and loaded. Now that I live my life in peace and harmony with the Universe, I have a life worth living, one no longer driven by daily drama. In the last few weeks I have been listening to YouTube videos for stock ideas and information to allow me to make more informed decisions. Mike Jones, the man I am posting a YouTube video on below, is one of my favorites because he is a down-to-earth type of person who devotes a lot of time and energy into researching companies and available stock options. Personally, I like buying Penny Stocks on my Charles Schwab account. I also use Webull, Stash, and SOFI for trading and investing (If you click Webull, and sign up for an account and then fund it with $100 before March 1, 2021, both of us will get two free stocks). :-) Each of the trading apps that I use have their pros and cons. In the future I may write a blog about my experience with each trading app as a small-time investor/trader. And I do mean small-time. If I had $25,000 to play with, I would be a Day Trader (buying and selling some of the same stocks in a single trading period). With Webull, which I promote to earn free stocks for successful referrals, I can keep up with my day trades because their app has a counter that shows how many day trades I have left. I like that! SoFi restricts me from selling when I do it three times in five business days. I'm on restriction now, again. Two time offender. Darn! Sometimes I do it without meaning to, especially when I put in an automatic buy or sell when a stock reaches a certain price. Anyways, I'm going to take it slow and leave you with this YouTube video presentation by Mike Jones. Thanks for stopping by. Come back again for more exciting news from my Life in the Slow Lane. :-) My apologies to anyone who visited this website and failed to find any updated content because its owner and contributors abandoned it months ago. I created the two above images with my Motorola One Zoom phone, a red poster board, and jewelry that I purchased at Goodwill of North Georgia. A Walk in the Park Since my release on August 28, 2018, to Dismas Charities (Halfway House (Residential Reentry Center) in Atlanta., after having never used a cellphone until then, I have become a top photographer for Google Maps, now qualified as a One-Percenter. :-)
The following article was my submission for possible publication in a book that I submitted over a year ago. I include excerpts from some of my published materials and blogs that relate to the topic of recidivism, returning to old behaviors. My writing was not accepted for inclusion in the book but I do want my thoughts and ideas to be read, so I am posting it for the world see. 🙂
Though parts of the former submission may be outdated, the principles and concepts that I present are not, since not a lot has changed, per se. Millions of people remain in prison across the United States of America; especially, those who suffer from mental conditions and addiction problems. Maybe something I wrote will encourage someone to do something that leads to changes in the status quo of mass incarceration in America. What We Know What we know is that America has a severe problem with recidivism that costs victims of recidivist immeasurable amounts of pain and suffering, and American citizens billions of dollars. My story shows the high-cost of recidivism and major problems within our Criminal Justice System and its policies. How do we reduce recidivism rates? Does the answer lie in reentry initiatives, preventative measures, sentencing factors? All the above, perhaps? In 1988 I recidivated and spent thirty-years in federal prison and am part of the problem. I offer a unique perspective to help change the status quo. My goal is to use my vast experience in corrections to become part of the solution in penance of my debt to society. First, to establish my qualifications to write on the selected subject, I’ll summarize selected points of my extensive criminal history, which began with my first arrest in 1969 for the burglary of a school, at the age of twelve, and continued until my last arrest on August 18, 1988, for the charges that I will write about later. My criminal activities as a child lead to at least twenty arrests as a juvenile; all arrests related to my drug and alcohol problem, the true reason behind me costing taxpayers over a million dollars that I will show in association with me spending most of my life confined behind barbed wire fences lined with rows of razor wire. For clarity and to offer an excuse for the negative behaviors I displayed for decades of life, when I was eleven-years-young, I began using LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and other mind-altering substances. My life of substance abuse continued for 26 years, 3 months, 18 days (I stopped using April 5, 1995). From the time of my first childhood arrest, I did not stay out of jail or some type of confinement for more than six months, until 1976 after release from my first adult prison sentence, when I served thirteen months in prison for a burglary to steal guns. That time I almost made it two years without an arrest. On August 28, 1978, I landed in jail for stealing a car and robbing three drug stores at gunpoint. Two armed robberies and the car theft happened in Dekalb County, Georgia. The other robbery occurred in Paulding County, Dallas, Georgia. Though not charged for assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, during the Paulding County robbery, the pharmacist refused to comply with my demands and I struck him upside the head with a pistol that discharged a round into the wall, crimes of which if committed today and if charged with then, would have kept me caged for life. I suffered from mental illness back then. I went to trial and a psychiatrist testified that I could not differentiate between right and wrong. The jury didn’t accept the guilty by reason of insanity defense and found me guilty as charged. I did not receive help for my psychiatric issues. The judge sentenced me to twenty-years, serve eight, balance probated and then I went to Dekalb County to face charges. Though I planned to stay out of prison upon release after the first time, I did not, because I returned to using drugs and made terrible decisions. Drug addiction lead to me robbing those drug stores in 1978 and the courts sentencing me to multiple sentences for a total of fifteen-years to serve and five-years of probation. I didn’t complete the original sentences before picking up additional charges for new crimes committed while in prison. In 1981 I assaulted two correctional officers while they were trying to get another prisoner under control, the prisoner of whom went into the gymnasium bathroom to pick up drugs stashed for him to pick up. He owed me two ounces of marijuana. For that incident, the disciplinary committee sentenced me to two-consecutive, fourteen-day sentences in solitary confinement. The State of Georgia charged me with two counts of mutiny in a penal institution. I laughed when the person serving the warrants told me of the charges. “Mutiny, I wasn’t on a battleship,” I said. I didn’t laugh when sentenced to two more years for committing the crimes. After I got out of the hole for those charges, I got into more trouble and ended up back in the hole and then when I went to trial, and the jury found me guilty of the charges I’ll discuss next, the court sentenced me to four consecutive years. The two-year sentence for the mutiny charges run concurrent with the four, consecutive to the original sentences. For the Dekalb County crimes, I accepted a 15-year plea agreement after a psychiatric examination proved more harmful than helpful. At twenty-one-years old, those fifteen years seemed like life imprisonment when I calculated being thirty-six before getting out. My plan was to leave when possible. I did. Three years into the sentence, I escaped from Coastal Correctional Institution in Garden City, Georgia. In June of 1981, several prisoners planned to escape Saturday night. An associate asked if I wanted to escape with them? I declined. They didn’t leave on Saturday, and then on Sunday when I didn’t get a planned visit, I became depressed and changed my mind about leaving. On Sunday night, myself and ten others escaped by climbing two chain link fences. The first fence, five feet high, the other twelve with an inward facing arm, three feet long and strung with barbwire. The arm of the extension set at a forty-five-degree angle, facing the institution. To get to the fences, a prisoner nicknamed Tiny lured a guard into a trap. The guard stood above six feet tall, Tiny near five, so it is logical to assume the guard didn’t feel threatened by him and violated the security protocol by opening the Control Room door to hand Tiny an electric razor. Tiny grabbed and held him until reinforcements arrived who were hid in a blind stairway. I waited in another corridor for the takeover and the opening of the doors. Moment later, the outside doors opened. I ran five-to-six hundred yards across a field to the fences. Before I made it to the first fence, a correctional officer driving a security vehicle had stopped and was firing a shotgun at the other escapees who had cleared the tallest fence. I barely slowed until I landed in the sand trap between the two fences. I climbed the second one, the tallest. When I reached the three-foot extension, I grabbed hold of its arm and pulled my body up to the barbed wire strands, and then used my hands to swing from strand to strand until I reached the top row. I threw my right arm over the top strand. A barb pierced my bicep. I jumped after clearing the wire. The guard fired again. A pellet struck Tiny in his foot and caused him to stumble before he fell to the ground. The gun bucked from the blast. I ran a few feet before I hit the ground awaiting the buck of the gun from the next blast, which hit another prisoner in his shoulder. He staggered from the impact but continued running to the woods. Tiny jumped up and ran with me into the woods before the guard could fire again. The guard may have had to reload, but whatever the case may be, I got away without taking any lead with me into the Woodline. I separated from the rest of the escapees. Running through the woods, I tripped over vines and fell into a gully in the dark forest, but I still get away before the hound dogs arrived. A helicopter flew above the forest shining a light through the treetops. To avoid detection, I stayed in the shadow of the trees and once had to pull bushes over myself to avoid detection as the helicopter passed over. Helicopters did not have heat sensors in those days. I made it out of the woods a few hours later, where I stole a car from the parking lot of an aircraft manufacturer. I would have stolen an airplane if I had known how to fly one. Soon thereafter, I saw a railroad crossing with two guards posted waving for me to stop. I didn’t. I almost ran over them instead. A mile down the road, I did the same thing. A chase car got behind me when I made it to the next road. A high-speed chase followed but not for long. The car I stole only ran a little over a hundred miles per hour, wide-open. Police cruisers ran a hundred and forty. The pursuing police officers boxed me in with their cars and captured me. Before I got out of the car with my hands in the air, a prison van pulled alongside one of the police cruisers. The cops put me in the prison van and ended my wild escapades. Those events lead me to the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Georgia, where the state kept the worst-of-the-worst, a prison plagued with violence. Because of all the violence and state officials refusing to follow a federal court order to improve living conditions, stop the racism, and brutality, the federal government implemented processes to begin a takeover. Part of that process included appointing a federal monitor to oversee the lawsuit and placing a federal warden over the institution. Someone cut the tires on the warden’s vehicle I assume that the family clans did not like that the Feds sent in a foreigner to disrupt their running of the prison, and wanted to let him know that he wasn’t wanted in those parts of the woods. He did not leave. Another process formed was the creation of the Staff Inmate Communication Committee (SICC). White and Black prisoners in each living unit elected a white and black representative to help reduce prison violence. My peers chose me to represent their interest, thus I became a spokesperson and received copies of all legal documents filed in the litigation. I fought and succeeded at helping to change the prison, as I am fighting now to change the system. In 1982 the federal government reported that GSP was the most violent prison in the United States. I argued the issue with a federal monitor because New Mexico prisoners had rioted and killed more people than prisoners had killed in Reidsville. The federal monitor replied, “The New Mexico incident was during a time of rioting. During the normal run of the prison, y’all have had six-murders, fifty inmate-to-inmate attacks, and thirty-five inmate-to-staff attacks, with fewer prisoners than New Mexico. That is what makes this prison the most violent in the United States.” Events almost kept me in prison the rest of my life, because another prisoner wanted a transfer to another prison, he and others lied and said I killed a person, one of the six murders in 1982. I was innocent of the actual murder, but that incident made me realize I needed to change my life, and that’s when I began. Several years later, I made parole. On August 1, 1985, I completed my commitment to a halfway house in Atlanta, Georgia and made parole. I did not plan to reoffend. I wanted to be a successful law-abiding citizen and did well until, once again, I returned to using drugs and that always lead me back to prison. Now to my last arrest and conviction. Tennessee state police arrested me August 18, 1988, in Campbell County, Tennessee, for possession of explosives (firecrackers and a hand grenade that was a dud), possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of stolen credit cards. At first, I was under an alias. No other charges filed, other than me using a stolen credit card to rent and not return the car I was driving when arrested. The actual charge was theft by taken motor vehicle. I agreed to extradition to face the Theft by Taken Motor Vehicle charge in Gwinnett County, Lawrenceville, Georgia. A few days after my arrival in Georgia, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation called me out for questioning on the armed bank robbery of the Bank of Dawson County, Dawsonville, Georgia. I refused to cooperate and laughed when the investigating agents tried the Good Guy/Bad Gay routine to elicit a confession. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent jumped from his seat, knocking it over, and then said, “You think this is funny. They’re trying to put armed robbery charges on you and I’m going to make sure you get more.” I laughed again. I knew my life was over and figured I’d die in prison anyway, so it didn’t matter anymore. I screwed up really bad this time, I thought. Within thirty-six hours, I had four counts of armed robbery, two counts of false imprisonment, and two weapon charges to go with the theft by taking motor vehicle charge. That was before the FBI filed the federal charges. I knew my life was over and contemplated suicide to shorten the process. I’m glad I changed my mind and have lived to see this day as I type. Back to the last crimes and convictions: On November 10, 1988, a federal jury found me guilty after a four-day trial for the following crimes committed June 21, 1988: 1) armed bank robbery (Title 18 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), §§ 2113(a)(d)); 2) abduction of a person to facilitate commission of an offense (18 U.S.C., § 2113(e)); 3) conspiracy to commit bank robbery (18 U.S.C., § 371) (the charge that lead to convictions on all other counts), and 4) use of a weapon during commission of a crime of violence (18 U.S.C., § 924(c)). The court delayed sentencing due to a pending case before the United States Supreme Court. On February 24, 1989, a federal judge sentenced me to 420-months (300-months on Count 1, 360-months on Count 2, sixty-months on Count 3, all concurrent (running together), and sixty-consecutive months on Count 4). I did not walk out the prison doors without handcuffs on my wrists, a belly-chain around my waist, and shackles on my legs, until August 28, 2018, before I left the institution en route to Dismas Charities in Atlanta, Georgia. Dismas Charities is a privately-owned halfway house/residential reentry center (RRC). RECIDIVISM IN AMERICA: WHAT WE CAN DO Today I write as a professional and have spent hundreds of dollars to make a difference through my writing resources and otherwise, in penance for the harms I caused society with my criminal behavior and lifestyle. The Bureau of Justice Statistics released a new study (“2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism: A 9-Year Follow-up Period (2005-2014),” NCJ 250975, May 2018), a follow-up to the 5-year study relied upon for comparison by the ex-director (“Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 30 States in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010,” NCJ 244205, April 2014). The May 2018 study revealed an Eighty-three percent (83%) recidivism rate during the 9-year follow-up period, and that shows the seriousness of recidivism in America and the need for a magic elixir that does not exist. However, even if there isn’t a magic elixir, we can reduce recidivism by ending financial incentives for politicians who make laws and policies that fuel mass incarceration. Positive change will be slow until lawmakers stop state and federal funding for private prisons. In the conclusion I will offer suggestions to reduce recidivism and help to create more productive members of society in the process. The 2017 annual cost of incarceration for federal prisoners was $36,299.25 ($99.45 per day). Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 52 (03/18/13), and Vol. 83, No. 83 (04/30/18). TREAT THOSE WITH ADDICTION PROBLEMS AND MENTAL ILLNESS In December of 2002, USA TODAY published an article “Study: treat addicts’ mental illness,” by Marilyn Elias, 12/02/02, USA TODAY newspaper. According to Charles Curie of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about one third of drug and alcohol abusers have an underlying mental disorder. In a Pennsylvania state prison study around the same time, researchers determined that 85% of Pennsylvania prisoners had addiction problems, with half of them (42.5%) having an underlying mental disorder. Mr. Curie stated in the same article, “That’s typical of prison systems nationally. And we know if these inmates recover from the disorders, they’re unlikely to repeat crimes.” Think about that statement: “inmates …, unlikely to repeat crimes.” Those were high numbers to ignore for those wanting to reduce recidivism, considering that reducing it would decrease state and federal deficits. Of what should be of greater significance to policy makers is helping other human beings to become productive members of society. With it being 2019, sixteen years passed since the release of that study. To date, the Federal Bureau of Prisons only has one facility that treats those with dual disorders (Lexington, Kentucky), but some states have implemented more of such programs and seen positive results. I am one of the fortunate ones from the federal system who received treatment for both disorders while in prison, long before the authors released the study. My success verifies the study findings. I was a model prisoner for several years before my release. I behaved in a constructive manner and helped others learn to live as law abiding citizens by practicing Twelve Step principles. Now I am a productive member of society because I am applying what I learned in prison. Studies on recidivism shown in 1997, that 67.5 percent of prisoners released three years earlier were re-arrested, amounting in a five percent increase from those released in 1983. The re-arrest rate for drug offenders rose from 50.4 percent in 1993 to 66.7 percent in 1994. Before the 2018 study, which is a follow up to the 2005-2010 study, showed those numbers increased to 76.9 percent, and then to the staggering eighty-three percent after adding four years to the study period, all of which shows a growing problem within the Criminal Justice System. In April 2014, the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Statistics, released study NCJ244205 “Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 30 States in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010,” by Matthew R. Durose, Alexia D. Cooper, Ph. D, and Howard N. Snyder, PhD, BJS Statisticians. The study expanded to include statistics for a five-year period, compared to the typical three-year studies. The five-year study showed 67.8 percent of prisoners released had been arrested for a “new crime” within three years of release, and 76.6 percent within five years. Here’s the numbers for relevant offender categories: 1) property offenders 82.1% (burglary (81.8%), larceny/motor vehicle theft (84.1%), fraud/forgery (77.0%), other (83.6%)); 2) drug offenders 76.9% (possession (78.3%), trafficking (75.4%), other (78.1%)). 3) public order offenders 73.6% (weapons (79.5%), driving under the influence (59.9%), other (77.9%)). Ironically, violent offenders came up last: 71.3% for re-offenders (homicide (51.2%); murder (47.9%); non-negligent manslaughter (55.7%); negligent manslaughter (53.0%)’ rape/sexual assault (60.1%); robbery (77.0%); assault (77.1%), and other (70.4%)). FEDERAL RECIDIVISM STUDY: In the recidivism study by the United States Sentencing Commission, “The Commission studied offenders who was either released from federal prison after serving a sentence of imprisonment or placed on a term of probation in 2005.” STUDY NUMBERS: Offense Types and recidivism rates were as follows: Drug Trafficking (41.7%), Fraud (13.6%), Firearms (12.8%), Robbery (4.3%), Larceny (3.9%), Immigration (3.5%), and ALL Other (20.3%). DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RECIDIVISM STUDY: The first numbers are those in the study, whereas the second number represents offenders sentenced in 2014, after the eight-year study period ended: 81.7% – 81.2% were Male offenders. White offenders led at 43.7% – 38.1%, followed by Blacks at 33.9% – 32.7%, Hispanics at 17.8% – 23.4%, and other races at 4.6% – 5.8%. EDUCATE TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM: Post-Secondary Education Reduces Recidivism! In the study, 34.3% did not graduate high school, compared to 36.6% who did; 21.4% had some college, and only 7.5% were college graduates. OTHER RESULTS OF RECIDIVISM STUDIES: 49.3 percent of those released were rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervised release (e.g., failing to pass a urine analysis, failure to report to the supervised release officer; leaving without permission from a halfway house, perimeter of home confinement area or the state; violating state or federal laws, etc.). “Recidivism Among Federal Offenders: A Comprehensive Overview,” United States Sentencing Commission, March 2016. The 2014 and 2018 studies show recidivism decreases as age increases. FUNDING NEW RECIDIVISM REDUCTION PROGRAMS: Releasing qualifying elderly offenders who complete the recidivism reduction programs outlined at the end of this section will save billions of dollars to use for funding other programs with minimal risk to society. Reducing this category saves a lot because incarcerating the elderly costs the most. This section targets a large segment of inmate populations and thus saves hundreds of billions, even with only marginal success. The cost savings will supply more resources for managing other aspects of the criminal justice system. Let us assume Mr. Curie is correct (“[W]e know if these inmates recover from the disorders, they’re unlikely to repeat crimes”). Based upon that premise, if ten percent of released inmates received treatment for dual disorders, while inside and did not recidivate by committing more crimes, then each ex-offender saves the criminal justice system a minimum of $25,000 per years, not including associated savings gathered from not spending money to arrest and re-prosecute the offender. The Department of Justice could apply those savings to revamping correctional systems with more psychiatrists, psychologists, and addiction specialists needed to reduce recidivism rates that fuels Mass Incarceration in America. Using 2,000,000 as a base figure, and $25,000 as the cost of incarceration to accommodate the lower cost of housing healthier prisoners in state-and privately-owned prisons, if 85% of the 2,000,000 prisoners have an addiction problem, that’s 1.7 million prisoners. If 42.5% of that 1.7 million have an underlying mental disorder, that’s 722,500 prisoners with dual disorders. If twenty percent of that 722,500 asked for and received treatment, that would be 144,500 people treated and “unlikely to repeat crimes.” If Mr. Curie is correct, the following numbers I use would be higher and save more taxpayer dollars. Again, using a modest $25,000.00 as the annual cost of incarceration, if ONLY ten percent (72,500) of the 722,500 of prisoners with dual disorders were treated, released, and never committed other crimes; taxpayers would save $1,806,250,000 each year. That doesn’t include money saved from not having to pay law enforcement and the prosecution for associated costs. If ten percent (14,450) of the twenty percent (144,500) suffering from dual disorders, completed treatment and stayed out of prison, that would be $361,250,000 saved annually. If that same twenty percent (144,500) stayed clean after release, that would be $3,612,250,000 saved. More importantly, thousands of citizens would not fall victim to those released from prison in worse shape than when they arrived; another recidivist or death statistic in the making. Nor do those figures factor in the decreased need of hiring more law enforcement personnel; not having to pay for more buildings and equipment and resources, including not having to build more prisons to warehouse the prisoners. THE SOLUTION To reduce recidivism and help protect American citizens, as well as to help the returning citizen to successfully reintegrate, increase the availability of rehabilitative programs. The programs need to 1) require that participants have at least a twelve-month clear conduct record; 2) require attendance for counseling sessions for any noted mental disorder and or addiction problems; 3) require participants to attend all scheduled educational or trade-related courses. As part of the reconstructive process, prison official must be required to create more evidence-based programs for reducing recidivism, as the recently passed First Step Act requires for federal officials. Part of the process should include regularly-scheduled, independent audits performed on a random basis by an external agency and include interviewing twenty-percent of inmate participants, with the goal of assuring compliance. If prison officials do not comply, sanctions should be issued against prison officials (e.g., monetary sanctions, demotions, and termination for repeated citations for failure to comply). Incorporating the above processes will change lives and give many men and women trapped behind the walls, bars and fences of the thousands of prisons across the United States, an opportunity to become assets to society rather than tax liabilities. Yes, some will fail. Thousands of other will succeed at becoming better men and women to help make America great again. I posted this blog as an answer on Quora.com in response to the question: As an ex convict, what are some things you wish more people understood before judging you? That people change if they so choose, and that one thing ALL successful people have in common is a lot of failures. I stood at the podium in that photo in 1985 and failed to succeed as the one who did not return to prison, but that was then, and this is now. That failure led me to today, where I am alive and free and will succeed to be The One.
And that because I once lived my life without remorse for my actions, that does not mean I live that way now. That is so because I changed my life when I stopped using drugs and alcohol in 1995 and have since worked on becoming a better man and have succeeded. Over the years I helped numerous others to change their lives by helping them recover from alcoholism and addiction issues. That is how I should be seen and recognized for, not for the many things I did when I was a young adult, who had a severe substance abuse problem, who made terrible mistakes. While at the United States Federal Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, I sat in a Twelve Step meeting one Saturday morning in 2004. I had received a meaningful letter from a former member whom I met in prison, and whom was then living his life as a free citizen. In his letter he thanked me for having helped him learn how to live his life without having to return to prison and expressed gratitude for me and the other members of the group in Lompoc, California, where I had known him. Before the meeting I let a grandsponcee (the sponcee of a man I sponsored) read the letter. After the meeting had begun, he said, “Wayne, you aren’t going to read the letter to the group.” Though reluctant to do so, I did. While reading it, I was overcome with gratitude and the tears of gratitude rolled down my cheeks. During a recess break (I paused to wipe tears and struggled to continue reading), a member said, “Wayne’s becoming human again.” I have rejoined humanity and am a good person who contributes to the betterment of society, and it is for that I should be judged, but … I know there are some who can’t get by my past to see the present, and that is okay. I understand and that it is their loss to be so judgmental and prejudicial. I’m okay and will succeed regardless of what the insignificants in my life think or feel about me. The World of Work Graduation Ceremony, the Class of 1985. Who's that dude wearing my three-piece suit? He looks like he thinks he's on top of the world, standing up there at that podium with the pretty lady beside him, giving his speech before 500-plus at the Hilton Hotel in the Big City of Atlanta, Georgia. A Big Shot! The World of Work program trained him and the other participants to be entrepreneurs, how to succeed in the business world, and how to perform during job interviews. Though he was a convicted felon, he landed his first job at one of the Top 100 Atlanta companies; within two-years, he received seven promotions, and increased his salary by fifty-percent. During that infamous speech at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Atlanta, he was the last of the graduates to give a presentation. He spoke a few moments to express gratitude for being allowed to take part in the World of Work program, then concluded by saying, "Nine out of ten released prisoners go back to prison." The audience stilled. His words captured their attention. He paused and then said, "I am the one who won't!" The audience erupted with cheers and a standing ovation. Pride engulfed his demeanor and spirit, as he returned to his seat on the stage for the closing of the graduation ceremony. He lied! Not knowingly at the time he made the statement, but he did because he became one of the nine instead of the one to not become a recidivist. Recidivism: a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; repeated relapse into criminal or delinquent habits. https://straightfromthepen.com/2019/05/02/no-sympathy/ For more on the man wearing my three-piece suit, read Essays & More Straight from the Pen by Wayne T. Dowdy [$9.95 USD for paperback. $0.99 eBook] https://www.amazon.com/Essays-More-Straight-Wayne-Dowdy/dp/1794396829/ref=pd_ybh_a_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Z1152CM1HZZ29T0R4MY0 Mother’s Day is a Special Day! Every Day Should be Mothers’ Day Because Mothers are Always Special! Each year I like to wish all the mothers of the world a Happy Mother’s Day and to add something different to my previous wishes. Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful and deserving mothers of the world, who bore the pain and suffered to give your children life. Each of you are special in your own right; even those who failed to be perfect, you still rule the world in my opinion. https://straightfromthepen.com/2019/03/02/wonderful-women-by-wayne-t-dowdy-3/ Perfection is a fantasy, so even if you erred in your youth or child-rearing practices, you deserve recognition and praise for the pain you endured and thus helped keep the human race alive, popping out babies to face the challenges life presents; some of whom become technological geniuses, innovators, inventors, and the movers and shakers who changed the world. Most of us children become ordinary men and women, but all of us are of equal importance in this thing called life, because each of us are a part of One. https://straightfromthepen.com/2017/09/09/out-of-many/ God Truly Blessed Man by Creating Those Special Women Who Become Mothers! We are connected: It takes each of us to make Life complete, and you special women of the world do your share to make that possible.
Without the strength, love, tolerance and determination of all you wonderful Mothers of the World, our species would have died out by now, because many of us men just want to have our fun in the breeding process and leave the pain and suffering to you. Thanks for doing what you Mothers do! May Each of You Have a Day so Special that It Lives on in Your Mind for the Rest of Your Days as that Extra Special Mothers’ Day of 2019. |
AuthorAtlanta, Georgia, a city of models & movies. I rode hard & crashed young. Welcome to my life: inspirational, drama, emotional struggles, all defining my character and visions of a new life. Archives
October 2022
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