Seven Years in Prisonlandia: An Ex-Cop's Journey Through Texas Prisons.

  The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Texas Prison Inmate Running From Our Problems   I have literally been on both sides of this. I’ve done the chasing and I’ve done the running away. Just as my brothers in blue and I reveled in the spirit of a good chase, it can seem that our problems often enjoy pursuing us when we run. Imagine that you screw-up, break the law, the cops show up and so you run. At first, your problem is the psychological state that led you to breaking the law or causing a problem. Then, the cops show and you have an entirely new problem. Then, as you run, more officers show up along with a K9, helicopter, etc. You get the point, the longer you run, the more problems you accumulate. When I ran on foot from officers after violating a protective order, the officers pursuing me were not my problems, they were simply manifestations of The Problem. I was running from regret, frustration, poor decisions, insecurity, codependency, anger, and ...

​ Prisonlandia: The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Prison Inmate. Parole Attorney   This can be hit or miss and depends on what is in that pesky little parole file. If the DA, investigators, or victim have provided the parole board with unflattering information, including a protest, whether true or not, this will sway their decision more than the fact that you hired an attorney. Remember, the Parole Board is part of the Executive Branch of Government and is not bound by the same rules as a Court.  I spent an obscene amount on a parole attorney who was very reputable and had been around a long time to represent me for my second parole review before my “short-way”. I was denied release despite receiving an FI-1 vote from the lead voter. My mandatory supervision date (short-way) was about a month away and so my attorney offered to do it pro bono. I assumed that surely things would go in my favor but I was wrong. In fact, the Board member who had previou...

  The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Texas Prison Inmate Occasionally, each unit goes through an audit which is conducted by the American Correctional Association (ACA). The interesting thing about these audits is that they are announced weeks or months in advance, giving each unit sufficient time to address possible issues. This process doesn’t seem to provide an accurate reflection of the system and the problems that fester within it. My suggestion: do unannounced audits and inspections so that the ACA can really see how the unit is managed and operated on a day-to-day basis. My observations over the years on each of my units has been that each unit is kind of run in a lackadaisical manner, was often undermanned, yet ran more efficiently than when they would begin preparing for an audit, had more staff, and began trying to fix and address all of the problems that they ignored for the rest of the year. There has got to be more accountability within our Pri...

​ The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Texas Prison Inmate We Don’t Need to Lock up Everybody   Problems are not known or cared about until they show up on our doorstep and affect us personally. This is especially true about incarceration and how it affects our citizens and society as a whole. Did you know that despite China having a bigger population than the U.S., LESS people are incarcerated by their Communist government than here in our free country?  Violent crimes and crimes where individual’s rights are clearly and directly violated, certainly need to be addressed. However, those that involve addictions, clear mental health issues, or simple “possession” issues, should not be herded up like cattle, demonized in their community, and tossed into Prisonlandia with ridiculous sentences. The U.S. is a country of laws indeed, but we’ve lost our way. What type of country have we become when we begin to lock away people for simply offending the moral sen...