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A Father's Plea: Please Don't Murder My Son
By Santonio D. MurffBeing a father in prison is like being a lifeguard with no arms or legs. A very hard, very stressful job to say the least. You can educate, encourage and warn oneof the lurking...
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The Three Stooges
A story by Timothy PauleyWhen Tom returned to his cubicle from dinner, the line was already forming. He lived in a dorm which consisted of forty 8' x 5' living areas divided by a four foot high...
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Alcatraz of the South Part 7 (Redemption in the Mirror)
By Michael LambrixTo read Part 6, click hereWhether it was the almost guttural rumbling of the diesel generator or that unmistakable sulfuric smell of the exhaust, or the combination of both as I...
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Reaching For the Outstretched Hand
By Christie BuchananI know people mean well when they spew forth trite expressions like: “God won´t give you more than you can handle,” and “Fake it till you make it.” But sometimes it´s just not the...
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A Quiet Storm
By Eduardo RamirezI was nineteen when I started this road...though how long it would be I had no idea. And that it would be a road I had to walk at all was a surprise to me. I had been questioned by...
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Dusty Orange
By Donald Ray YoungEarly morning clanging of plastic trays, moving anxiously through metal food ports, signify breakfast time. Come and get it! The rusty, metal tray slots open, and a dusty, burnt...
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How an Atheist Goes to Heaven
By Christopher Wilkins Note from Author: This is not a religious article. Although symbols such as God, good, heaven, hell, faith, belief and others which are typically associated with the religion...
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A Flame Imprisoned in My Bones
By Thomas Bartlett WhitakerI awoke to the sound of someone screaming.Before I entered this strange, broken world of steel, concrete and shattered ideals, I thought that all screams were alike. They...
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Crutch
By Chris Dankovich"Hey, did you see that kid in the wheelchair today?""No," I say. "When did he get here?”"I think he just rode in yesterday or today," said Greg."He break his leg or something?""No,...
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Working Out
By Armando MaciasI know a lot, I know a lot about life. I know it has intricate cause and effects. I know with each negative action comes a consequence. The cold, cold cell reminds me of this. Its evil...
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Riding with Blackbeard
By Thomas SchilkSomeone once asked me what it was like to go to prison. Well, it’s a lot like you might imagine it would be, I thought. There’s violence, humiliation, deprivation, regret, guilt, shame...
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Epiphany
By Mwandishi MitchellHe waited...for what seemed like hours in the blistering August sun, on a Greyhound bus modified for state prisoners. Before him stood a towering forty-foot wall encompassing what...
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The Kindness of Strangers
Dear Reader, Thank you so much for visiting Minutes Before Six.All of us at MB6--the writers, artists, and admin team--work tirelessly on this project with the intent to humanize the incarcerated by...
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Blindsided
But first, a note from the admin:A heartfelt thanks to all who visit Minutes Before Six each week and to those of you who have taken the time to leave thoughtful comments on last week’s post, The...
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The Turn Out
A Story by Samuel HawkinsNote from Author: Please allow me to begin by saying that some of you may be offended by what you will read. That is not my intention. I also do not want you to misinterpret my...
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A Fostered Neglect, Part One
Please make a donation to support Minutes Before Six. Thank you!By Jedidiah MurphyI have long wished to do something about the Foster Care situation, having been a product of it myself; yet finding...
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I Once Was Lost
Please make a donation to support Minutes Before SixBy Louis Castro PerezIt´s around 5:00 p.m. and we have just pulled into some fenced-in yard…there is this 16 foot gate that is all around us…I´m told...
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23/23
Please make a donation to support Minutes Before SixBy Terrell CarterEarly in my life—before I had facial hair and my life was not complicated by overdue bills, the care of children, and trying to...
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Impure No More
Please make a donation to support Minutes Before SixBy Jeff C.Part 1: In Yer FaceListen–I want to run all my life, screaming at the top of my lungs. Let all of life be an unfettered howl. Like the...
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The Red-and-Green Gang
If you haven't yet, please consider making a donation to support Minutes Before SixBy Chris DankovichI met Santa Claus in state prison. Big, round, jolly with a beard that happens to be more gray than...
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