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   Keep in Mind, You’re a Guest        Many of the men who are locked up, learned how to “be a man” in Prisonlandia. Consider the idea that many of those around you may not have had the opportunities that you had. They very likely did not have positive influences to guide them down the right path. Many learned their version of manhood in Prisonlandia due to the lack of a father figure. Be mindful, that some of the things we discuss in this book that you may find odd, annoying, or uncouth, may very well be normal to many and great disrespect will be felt if you give the impression that you are belittling them, their culture, or speaking as though you are better or more “civilized”. Discernment is a valuable tool and one that you will need to have when dealing with those in Prisonlandia. You will need to be able to pick up on cues or people’s actions and words and be able to discern the...

  The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Texas Prison Inmate To Work or Not to Work   Having good health and being able to physically perform tasks is a truly rewarding thing that anyone should be thankful for, however, being compelled to work without benefit and under fear of disciplinary action if refused, can really suck the enjoyment out of a day's good work. In TDCJ, under the current law and policies, you can be forced to work through threats of disciplinary cases or loss of “good-time” which has no real value anyway. Many other states have determined that this “slave” like labor is wrong and have created laws which prohibit it. However, Texas is one of the last holdouts and is taking advantage of the power granted to the States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except  as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the Un...

The Journey of Stephen McGee from Houston Police Officer to Texas Prison Inmate Find Out Who Your Friends Are When I first came into the system, I had no idea what to expect and being an ex-cop made the anxiety even worse. At first, if asked, I would simply tell everyone that I had been in the security field. However, after a while I became comfortable enough at my first unit to start opening up a little bit. Wearing “masks” had proven destructive in the past and I didn’t want that type of life again, plus part of my issues prior to my arrest had to do with the struggle of having lost my identity and sense of purpose, so it was important for me to acknowledge my present identity – an ex-cop who was now an inmate. As I began to open up and share my past with other inmates, I didn’t experience negativity or distancing but instead embracing and curiosity. Many guys shared their stories about how they had once wanted to be a police officer but had made a poor decision early on in life tha...