Jeff Smith spent a year in prison. But what he discovered inside wasn’t what he expected — he saw in his fellow inmates boundless ingenuity and business savvy. He asks: Why don’t we tap this entrepreneurial potential to help ex-prisoners contribute to society once they’re back outside? (From the TED Talent Search event TED@NewYork.)
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In his letter of resignation from Congress, Jackson eschewed the defiance of Rod Blagojevich, suggesting a guilty plea is likely. Jackson also said he is cooperating with investigators. But cooperation has a legal meaning far stronger than its common meaning; a defendant can be “cooperative” without cooperating in the legal sense. That is, a defendant may promptly fulfill most of a prosecutor’s specific pre-indictment requests — detailing his crime(s), resigning from office, declining interviews, etc — but that won’t be enough to receive an elusive 5K-1 letter, the government’s reward for defendants who help them make cases against others. A 5K-1 letter is the best way to persuade a judge to depart downward from federal sentencing guidelines.
Therein lies Jackson’s problem/opportunity. He is surrounded by possible high-value targets: his dad, the famed civil-rights leader who runs Operation PUSH; his wife, Sandi, a prominent Chicago alderwoman; his brothers Jonathan and Yusef, businessmen/activists who own a lucrative beer distributorship purchased after their father had organized a boycott of the brewery’s products; dozens of high-level public officials with whom he mingles. Sun-Times columnist Mike Sneed reported Friday that Jackson is, in fact, “singing with the voice of an anxious canary” and that the feds are interested in all he knows about a “powerful dem femme” who is not an alderman. Read the rest of… As our regular RP Nation readers know, contributing recovering politician and former Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith spent a year in a federal prison due to circumstances relating around a campaign finance violation. His pieces about his political rise and fall, and his observations about sex in prison have been this site’s most popular reads — by far. A few months ago, he gave some helpful advice to former Governor Rod Blagojevitch upon the beginning of his prison term. Today, he answers the question on the minds of many Americans: What can the nation’s most infamous pedophile — former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky — expect during his life term in prison. It is certainly not what the mainstream media has reported: Last week, the Washington Post ran an AP story about what ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky can expect in prison. I’m not sure if they ran such an airbrushed version out of naivete or because it’s a family newspaper. But in case anyone is curious, let me see if I can shed a bit more light. If prison were India, there would be two classes of untouchables: snitches and pedophiles. Child molesters try desperately to blend into the population. However, the most famous pedophile in the nation right now is going to have a hard time blending in. 1) According to the Post, Sandusky “will be able to watch college football, including Penn State, when the games are broadcast on ESPN or another major network.” If the television set in the common area is tuned to the Penn St. game, then Sandusky just might be able to watch it. But if it’s not, and Sandusky – or any other newbie – walks up to try to change the channel, the result will not be pretty. 2) The Post notes that cards, dominoes, and board games. are popular prison activities in which Sandusky could participate. No one will want to be seen playing cards with Jerry Sandusky. From the minute Sandusky walks onto the compound, he will be targeted, and anyone who voluntarily and publicly associates with him will immediately be suspect.
It’s not just “possible,” it’s overwhelmingly likely. Given the fact that he will be in danger from the moment he arrives, I imagine that he’ll start out in isolation until emotions surrounding the case cool. If not, anyone Sandusky is placed with would have to fight Sandusky in order to preserve his own reputation, which would lead to the removal of one (or both) from the cell. The problem would likely continue for as long as Sandusky is placed in the general population. 4) According to the Post, Sandusky could be swapped in for an inmate in another state. It’s possible, but it probably wouldn’t change anything for him: his face was ubiquitous around the country, not just in Pennsylvania. 5) Inmates, noted the Post, generally spend an hour in the yard, which might entail playing softball, though the bat has to be tethered and secured to the backstop. The bat being tethered to the backstop would not prevent it from being used on anyone standing (or dragged to a location) near the backstop. Read the rest of… Contributing RP Jeff Smith researches the amazing but untapped (and capitalist) potential in prisons in his audition for the TED speaking program. If you are unfamiliar with TED, click here. They select a winner based on reader feedback, so PLEASE go here and vote!
The program exceeded all of my highest expectations. In thirty minutes, the program provides a new, independent look at the career, scandal and recovery of Jeff Smith. And, while I am obviously biased, I think it demonstrates that despite his serious setbacks, Jeff’s voice will continue to educate, provoke and make us laugh for many years to come. Click here to listen to the podcast: “The Postcard Only Rings Once. We are really thrilled to report that contributing RP Jeff Smith will be the featured guest this weekend on National Public Radio’s “This American Life,” the wildly popular radio program hosted by Ira Glass. Jeff will be discussing his unique career trajectory — from rising political star, to federal prisoner, to college professor on the journey toward redemption. It’s a journey that he first discussed exclusive at The Recovering Politician. And soon, we will expect a bestselling book on the experience. The show sounds very interesting:
Check your local NPR schedules this weekend for “This American Life,” and/or the podcast will be available on Sunday at 7:00 PM EDT by clicking here. So please tune into Jeff this weekend! Contributing RP Jeff Smith hit the national radio airwaves yesterday to talk about the advice he’s given to Rod Blagojevitch on his first day in prison. Click here to listen to the NPR interview. Click here to read his essay. As former Illinois Rod Balgojevich spends his first full day behind bars, contributing RP Jeff Smith offers him a few educated tips:
1. As your grandma probably taught you, God gave you two ears, two eyes and one mouth — use them in proportion. • When you get to prison, listen, watch and learn. You’ll have a hundred questions on your first day and in one month you will know the answer to 90 of them without having to ask and risk looking stupid.
•Don’t talk about how you got railroaded. So did everyone else. •Don’t ask anything about anyone’s family; it will be a sore subject with many, especially those who have not seen or heard from their children or ex-wives in years. •Don’t ever talk about how much time you have. Someone else has more. Read the rest of… Our own contributing RP Jeff Smith recently appeared on The Brooklyn Politics Show to offer some advice to former New York State Senator Carl Kruger, who was recently sentenced to a hefty prison term for bribery.
Our own contributing RP, Jeff Smith, once again is hitting the international public airwaves, the subject of a lengthy interview on National Public Radio on his jail experience and recovery. |
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