From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration - Conclusion

Updated 4/07/24

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Sadly, Melissa Palmeri passed away on Sunday, March 24th.  She was only 44 yrs. old.  Her obituary can be read, here.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa's son, Vinny and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."  Michael's second book, "View from a Cage" is now in print.

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

The previous five segment to this series are titled:

· End the War on Drugs
· Widespread Implementation of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multisystemic Therapy (MST); Hold Juveniles Accountable
· Widespread Implementation of Evidence-Based Programs
· Widespread Implementation of Core Correctional Practices
· Remunerate Correctional Officials and Employees Based on Results, i.e., Reduced Recidivism
 

Privately Fund a Significant Portion of Reform Programs

I would like to see the bulk of the suggested offender reform programs – including education – privately financed. This could be done through charity, social impact bonds, or some combination of the two. Privately funded programs will likely be cheaper, more effective and would avoid the incessant debates about whether tax dollars should be spent in this manner.

The economist David Friedman asserted that anything done by government could be done in the private sector for half the cost. While I don’t know if anyone has ever tested this hypothesis, or if the ratio is exact, I do believe the principle is accurate. This is because when the government funds a project, those in charge of how the money gets spent know that the government can always get more via taxes. Thus, they have little incentive to monitor how much they’re spending, or how they could spend less and achieve the same result. On the other hand, private donors are likely to take a great interest in how efficiently their money is being spent. And given that they aren’t being forced to provide it, they are likely to stop doing so if it isn’t being spent wisely. Importantly, those making spending decisions know this, and are therefore incentivized to make as efficient use of the funds as they can.

Privately funded programs are likely to be more effective than if funded by the government for the same reason they’d be cheaper. Namely, if the programs don’t achieve the results desired by the donors, those doors will likely discontinue funding them. In other words, privately funded programs are likely to be more effective because the financial managers of private programs will be held accountable by those paying their salaries.

Finally, with taxpayers not being compelled to pay for the programs, they’re unlikely to be concerned with how many are being provided. They will have little incentive to protest, petition their representatives, or otherwise complain. And absent pressure from their constituents, such representatives would have little reason to oppose the programs.

 Core Correctional Practices

Anti-criminal Modeling – Staff serve as an anti-criminal model for offenders by engaging in pro-social behaviors and reinforcing them when they do the same.

"FROM BEHIND BARS" - A Series, Part 80 - Day 3411; Corona Virus

Image from The New York Times

"Do not believe anything the governor or commish says they are doing to reduce the population."

This is the eightyth installation of a periodic series of letters written to and from someone currently in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction.

In this issue, our correspondent talks about the Corona Crisis in the states' prisons and how it is effecting prisoners, the governor's misleading statement about releasing prisoners so as to limit the virus's effect and the lack of personal protection use by the guards.

These letters, submitted anonymously, are redacted to protect the privacy of the writer and the writer's family and friends.

As time went by, the letter became more personal, revealing the emotional and physical distresses endured by those committed to Connecticut's prisons. These distresses are not confined (no pun intended) to just the prisoner, but extend to the prisoner's family and friends. And we pay for it.

After examining the trial transcripts and speaking extensively to others with first hand knowledge of the matter, I'm of the opinion that this person is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted; his council being incompetent and ineffective.  Please keep an open mind and take the letters at face value.


Editor

From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration - Part 5

HMP Dovegate, from the Serco website.

Updated 4/07/24

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Sadly, Melissa Palmeri passed away on Sunday, March 24th.  She was only 44 yrs. old.  Her obituary can be read, here.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa's son, Vinny and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."  Michael's second book, "View from a Cage" is now in print.

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

Remunerate Correctional Officials and Employees Based on Results, i.e., Reduced Recidivism

          “There aren’t very many occupations where the more an organization fails to achieve its overarching objective the more its employees stand to make.  Corrections is one of them.  As the system is presently designed, the earning potential of those who work in our nation’s prisons is tied directly to high prison populations and high rates of recidivism.  And so long as that remains the case, society will continue to see the kind of abysmal results it has witnessed since the advent of the modern correctional era.

          “Prison systems should be structured in a way that incentivizes reductions in recidivism.  Presently they are not.  Politicians and corrections officials may pay lip service to the importance of reducing the number of offenders returning to our nation’s prisons, but the fact is the system is set up in a way that encourages high prison populations.

          “Whether prisons are operated by government officials or privately run, the incentive is to maintain or increase prison populations.  Not only do substantial incarceration rates mean increased earnings for correctional officers and other rank and file institutional staff  (who are beneficiaries of significant amounts of overtime) [but] private prisons get paid on a per inmate per diem basis.  So the more inmates they house, the higher the profits for shareholders.  By contrast, lower recidivism means lower earnings for most of those directly involved, regardless of whether it is a publicly or privately-run institution.

          “To be clear, we are not suggesting that high rates of recidivism are a consciously pursued goal on anyone’s part.  We don’t see the problem as a nefarious conspiracy.  To ascribe intention to any of this seems to us to grant too many people entirely too much credit.  What we are saying is that people respond to the way in which things are incentivized, and that the present arrangement is tantamount to disincentivizing the development or implementation of meaningful strategies to reduce the rate of recidivism.  Stated a bit differently, the present design inadvertently rewards inaction.  Simply put: When one is likely to make more money from doing nothing than he is from doing something – especially something as challenging as trying to motivate offenders to undertake the work necessary to change – it isn’t hard to guess which path he is going to take, i.e., the path of least resistance.

From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration - Part 4

Image from Global Research Center

Updated 4/07/24

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Sadly, Melissa Palmeri passed away on Sunday, March 24th.  She was only 44 yrs. old.  Her obituary can be read, here.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa's son, Vinny and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."  Michael's second book, "View from a Cage" is now in print.

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

Widespread Implementation of Core Correctional Practices

          Implementing evidence-based programs, while necessary, won’t be enough.  This is because even the best programs have little chance of succeeding in correctional environments that are not conducive to offender reform.  Whatever lessons offenders learn in their programs will be undermined by the dysfunctional milieus in which they live.  Unfortunately, this is a far more common problem than you may think.  Consider “… Anthony Flores and his colleagues (Flores, Russell, Latessa & Travis, 2005) asked 171 correctional practitioners to identify three criminogenic needs, none could.”  Given the importance of targeting criminogenic needs when trying to reform offenders, this is more than a little disheartening.  And this refers to practitioners.  Imagine how bad the case is for “front-line” staff!

          Also, “Gendreau and Goggin (1997) report that only a minority of correctional agencies - perhaps as few as 1 in 10 - function in such a way as to satisfactorily deliver effective treatment programs.”  They identified such problems as “ … employing program directors and staff that have little professional training or knowledge about effective treatment programs; the failure to assess offenders with scientifically based actuarial risk instruments; the targeting of factors … for change that are weakly related or unrelated to recidivism; the use of treatments that were ‘inappropriate’ or delivered with insufficient ‘dosage’ or ‘intensity’; the failure to include aftercare in the treatment; and a general lack of therapeutic integrity.” 

Available at Amazon

          In our book, “Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime”, Brent McCall and I identified several of these factors, as well as others.  These include staff modeling inappropriate behavior, lending support to criminal values, not enforcing nor following the rules and rewarding bad behavior and punishing good behavior.

From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration - Part 3

Pres. Trump signs "First Step Act"  Image from Time Mag.

Updated 3/08/24

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Since his release, he authored "View from a Cage: My Transformation from Convict to Crusader for Liberty" and currently hosts the podcast, "The Rational Egoist".

Today, he and the love of his life, Melissa, need our help.  They haven't the resources to absorb the associated loss of income and the expenses that come from Melissa's cancer treatment.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa, her son and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

Widespread Implementation of Evidence-Based Programs

Before delving into what I mean by “evidence-based programs”, I think it will be helpful to first briefly discuss the history of the idea that one of the purposes of prisons is to rehabilitate offenders.

          The penitentiary system was created in the late 18^th century and came into prominence in the 19^th.  From the beginning it was supposed that among the goals of incarceration was that of reforming the character of criminals.  Whether through the “silent system” as at New York’s Auburn prison, or the “separate system” at Pennsylvania’s Cherry Hill prison, it was thought that removing offenders from society, making them labor, intensively, and teaching them religion would get them to atone for their sins and alter their evil ways. 

          By the late19^th century it became clear that this model was failing, and changes were soon enacted.  Labor and religion were still very much part of the prison experience, but new reforms, such as indeterminate sentencing, were added to the mix.  While never fully implemented in practice, the idea of the indeterminate sentence was that there would be no specified period of time to which criminals would be sentenced.  Instead, they would be released when their actions demonstrated that they were ready for society; this was thought to provide offenders with the necessary incentive to reform themselves.

From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration, Part 2

Updated 3/8/24

Image from Alabama Dept. of  Economic Affairs

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Since his release, he authored "View from a Cage: My Transformation from Convict to Crusader for Liberty" and currently hosts the podcast, "The Rational Egoist".

Today, he and the love of his life, Melissa, need our help.  They haven't the resources to absorb the associated loss of income and the expenses that come from Melissa's cancer treatment.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa, her son and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

Widespread Implementation of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)

Hold Juveniles Accountable

         

Perhaps the best way to reduce crime is to intervene in the lives of at-risk and delinquent youths to prevent them from becoming full-blown adult criminals.  Fortunately, there are two cost-effective programs that have been shown to reduce juvenile delinquency: Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST).  Let’s look at each of these.

There is an abundance of evidence indicating familial relationships have a significant effect on both the formation and continuance of juvenile delinquency.  Thus, if the goal is to reduce such delinquency, it makes sense to target the entire family for intervention.  This is precisely what FFT does.

“[FFT] … is a structured, family-based intervention that uses a multi-step approach to enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors in the family.”  Addressed to medium-risk youths between 10 and 18 and to their families, it attempts to change the way family members communicate with one another and thereby improve relationships within the family.  The FFT therapist seeks to identify the “functions” a youth’s antisocial behaviors serve, as well as the functions the other family members’ problem behaviors serve and it attempts to show them how to satisfy these needs/wants with more productive behaviors.

From Behind Bars - Ending Mass Incarceration, Part 1

Updated, 3/8/24

Image from "The Crime Report"

By Michael Liebowitz

A Connecticut prisoner for some 25 years, Liebowitz was formerly housed at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers, CT.  He has been a free man since November 2022.

Since his release, he authored "View from a Cage: My Transformation from Convict to Crusader for Liberty" and currently hosts the podcast, "The Rational Egoist".

Today, he and the love of his life, Melissa, need our help.  They haven't the resources to absorb the associated loss of income and the expenses that come from Melissa's cancer treatment.  Please consider making a ten-dollar donation to help Melissa, her son and Michael.  Donate here.

Along with Brett McCall, Liebowitz is also co-author of "Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crime", available at Amazon.  Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, PhD reviewed the work in a 3/12/21 article in Psychology Today magazine.  In his review he writes, "I have found that Liebowitz and McCall are keen observers with a positive objective - to help others become more effective in helping people like themselves to change and become responsible human beings.  This book is definitely worth a read."

Liebowitz is also a regular guest with Todd Feinburg on WTIC AM 1080.  Podcasts of Todd's segments with Liebowitz can be heard, here.

Introduction

I would argue that; strictly speaking, ending mass incarceration per se, should not be the goal.  Rather, what we ought to seek to accomplish is a significant reduction of criminal behavior.  After all, if we simply set out to eliminate mass incarceration as our primary goal it would be simple enough to achieve: just open the prison gates and release the bulk of the population.  I highly doubt, however, that this “solution” would be palatable to the general public.

The questions are:  Are there policies we can implement that will dramatically reduce crime and if so, what are they?  I firmly believe the answer to the first question is yes and the purpose of this plan is to articulate and propose such policies.  Crime reduction will undoubtedly require a bold and comprehensive plan.  And while due to my lack of resources I am unable to provide all the details I would like to (such as cost, for example), I still think my plan meets these criteria.

It consists of the following:

·        End the War on Drugs

·        Widespread Implementation of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multisystemic Therapy (MST); Hold Juveniles Accountable

·        Widespread Implementation of Evidence-Based Programs

·        Widespread Implementation of Core Correctional Practices

·        Remunerate Correctional Officials and Employees Based on Results, i.e., Reduced Recidivism

·        Privately Fund a Significant Portion of Reform Programs

Let’s examine each of the plan’s components in turn.

End the War on Drugs

          I argued above that our primary goal ought not to be ending mass incarceration, but to reduce crime.  I pointed out the ease with which we could shrink the prison population by releasing prisoners en masse, but that the public would likely see this as undesirable.  There is one type of offender, however, who should be released and one type of crime that should be removed from the book: drug offenders and drug offenses.  These two reforms would by themselves significantly reduce the prison population.  Ending the “war on drugs”, however, would not only do this, but it would also reduce crime, and not just crimes related to sales and possession.

FBI Newsletter

Federal Bureau of Investigation

National Missing Children’s Day On this day—and every day—the FBI works to reunite missing children with their families and asks the public for help in locating children who have been reported kidnapped or missing. May 25, 2018 Full Story

Hoax Threats are Crimes Making a hoax threat against a school or other public place is a serious federal crime that can land you in prison and affect the rest of your life. May 23, 2018 Full Story

A Pyramid of Lies

Child Sex Tourism

Florida Man Who Traveled to the Philippines to Exploit Children Sentenced to 330 Years in Prison

A 56-year-old Florida man who frequently traveled to the Philippines to have sex with children—and make video recordings of the abuse—will be spending the rest of his life behind bars for his crimes related to child sex tourism.

David Paul Lynch was convicted on multiple counts of producing and receiving child pornography and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. A federal judge recently sentenced the Venice, Florida resident to 330 years in prison.

Evidence in the case revealed that for more than a decade beginning in 2005, Lynch made regular trips to the Philippines to have sex with children. Prior to traveling, he facilitated his illegal activity through online communication with individuals in the Philippines—in one case the mother of one of his victims.

“He used an online messaging platform to send and receive pictures and to arrange travel,” said Special Agent Daniel Ward, who supervises the FBI’s Fort Myers Child Exploitation Task Force in the Bureau’s Tampa Division. “Some of his victims were as young as 6 or seven years old.”

Lynch produced child pornography of at least three Filipino children on his visits and also solicited child pornography via e-mail from a fourth victim. The FBI was contacted about Lynch’s suspicious online behavior as a result of a longstanding partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which had received a tip from security personnel at the Internet sites where Lynch had posted pornographic images of children.

FBI - $20 Million Reward Offered for Drug Cartel Leader

Select image to view full poster and related content

A founding member of a Mexican drug cartel charged with kidnapping and murdering a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1985 has been named to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and one of the highest rewards in the history of the program—$20 million—is being offered for information leading to his capture.

Rafael Caro-Quintero, known as RCQ and considered a godfather of Mexican drug trafficking, was one of the primary suppliers of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to the United States in the late 1970s. In 1984, Mexican authorities raided a sprawling marijuana plantation owned by Caro-Quintero, and he blamed undercover DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena for the raid.

The following year, Camarena was close to uncovering a million-dollar drug pipeline from Mexico to the United States, but before he was able to expose the operation, the federal agent was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, allegedly on direct orders from Caro-Quintero. Camarena’s body, which showed signs of torture, was found a month later.

Transcript | Download

“Our objective all along has been to investigate RCQ’s current activities but also to hold him accountable for Special Agent Camarena’s murder.”

Russ Ellersick, special agent, FBI Seattle

“Caro-Quintero had tremendous power three decades ago, and he

FBI Newsletter

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Stopping Human Trafficking January marks National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, but a recent case in Wisconsin illustrates how the FBI works with its partners year-round to get dangerous traffickers off the streets and obtain justice for victims. January 30, 2018 Full Story

Sextortion A recent case of sextortion that resulted in a Georgia man receiving a 10-year prison term illustrates the online threat to vulnerable young people on social media sites. January 26, 2018 Full Story

2017 Preliminary Semiannual Crime Stats Released

Sextortion Online Predator Used Familiar Tactics to Victimize 12-Year-Old Girl

A 32-year-old Georgia man who pretended to be someone else online is behind bars after using familiar predatory tactics to coerce a 12-year-old girl to produce child pornography and send it to him.

The victims of this type of crime—commonly referred to as sextortion—are almost always vulnerable teenagers who are tricked online and then find themselves in a nightmare situation: They are afraid to tell their parents or friends what is happening, and believe complying with their abuser is the only solution.

“The predators typically pretend to be teenagers online and lurk on popular social media sites,” said Special Agent Kevin Orkin, who investigated the case from the FBI’s Atlanta Division. “The victims—striving for attention, maybe having issues with their parents, as teens often do—are easily manipulated.”

“The victims are too scared to tell anyone what’s going on, and before they know it, they are in way over their heads.”

Kevin Orkin, special agent, FBI Atlanta

The predators establish an online relationship, flirt, and in time convince the victims to send them a sexually provocative picture. “That initial image might not be too incriminating by today’s standards,” Orkin said, but the predators use the image to blackmail the victims. If they don’t send more explicit material, the victims are told, the image will be shared online with their friends and family to humiliate them.

Akayed Ullah Indicted On Terrorism And Explosives Charges In Connection With The Detonation Of A Bomb In New York City

Dana J. Boente, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a grand jury in the Southern District of New York has returned a six-count indictment (the “Indictment”) against AKAYED ULLAH in connection with ULLAH’s detonation and attempted detonation of a bomb in a subway station near the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on December 11, 2017.  The Indictment charges ULLAH with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”), one count of using and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of bombing and attempting to bomb a place of public use and a public transportation system, one count of destruction and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives, one count of conducting and attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system, and one count of using a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.  The case has been assigned to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan. 

ULLAH was initially arrested on a Complaint and presented before the Honorable Katharine H. Parker on December 13, 2017.  ULLAH was ordered detained and has been in federal custody since his arrest.  He will be arraigned before Judge Sullivan on January 11, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Less than one month ago, during the holiday rush hour, Akayed Ullah allegedly detonated a bomb in a major transit hub of New York City.  In selecting this time and place, Ullah’s alleged purpose in the Port Authority bombing was painfully clear: to inflict as much damage as possible, and to strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers in the name of ISIS.  Ullah’s alleged plot failed, and he is now charged with federal terrorism offenses and facing life behind bars.”

Meet The Democrats’ New Gubernatorial Frontrunner:

Convicted Felon Joe Ganim

With Dan Malloy’s Top Enabler Nancy Wyman announcing that she will not enter the race to succeed him in 2018, Democrats have their sights set on a new frontrunner: convicted felon Joe Ganim. The CT Post reports that Joe Ganim, the mayor of Bridgeport who served seven years behind bars after being convicted on corruption charges, is now being touted as “a candidate with a household name” that Democrats can get behind.

With all of the party’s top-tier candidates like Ted Kennedy Jr., George Jepsen, Wyman, and even Malloy too afraid to enter the race, their party is so desperate that they’re willing to pin their hopes on a convicted felon just so they can avoid being forced to run on the Democrat administration’s eight year record of failures.

 The CT Post reports:

 “Ted Kennedy Jr. said thanks, but no thanks.  Ditto for State Comptroller Kevin Lembo and now Lt Gov. Nancy Wyman, leaving Connecticut Democrats with a void of headliners willing to step forward to run for governor in 2018.

But the party in power appears poised to have its wish granted for a candidate with a household name — for better or worse. His name is Joe Ganim.

The mayor of the state’s largest city, Bridgeport, said Wyman’s decision to rule out a run puts him on the cusp of entering the wide open race. Since April, Ganim has been exploring statewide office, touting his efforts to bring jobs and development to his city while owning up to his 2003 corruption conviction that cost him the mayor’s office and his freedom for seven years.

“You should know that it does in fact move me closer toward ultimately making decision that could be a exploratory to a full announcement,” Ganim told Hearst Connecticut Media. ‘You said January and I didn’t disagree with you.’”

Paid for by the Connecticut Republican Party.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

"FROM BEHIND BARS" - A Series, Part 79 - Day 2477; TORMENT

This is the seventy ninth installation of a periodic series of letters written to and from someone currently in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction.

In this issue, our correspondent talks about the torment wrought upon him by his captors, in retaliation for standing up for his human rights and those of other prisoners.  He talks about the pain of not being allowed to see his wife and the false excuses for the denial.

These letters, submitted anonymously, are redacted to protect the privacy of the writer and the writer's family and friends.


As time went by, the letter became more personal, revealing the emotional and physical distresses endured by those committed to Connecticut's prisons. These distresses are not confined (no pun intended) to just the prisoner, but extend to the prisoner's family and friends. And we pay for it.

After examining the trial transcripts and speaking extensively to others with first hand knowledge of the matter, I'm of the opinion that this person is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted; his council being incompetent and ineffective.  Please keep an open mind and take the letters at face value.

Anyone wishing to write to our correspondent may send a letter to middletowninsider@gmail.com and I will see it is forwarded.  In the subject line, please put “Behind Bars” and address your letter to “Dear Pen Pal”.  While I can’t promise a personal response, I will see to it that you get it, if you provide me with your mailing address.  Your letters will be publish, both to and from, after redacting any personally identifying information.  The writers' identities will never be disclosed.  That info will forever remain confidential.

Editor

Day 2477