How to Document Your Prison Journey Without Internet Access

You don't need internet access to document your journey from prison. Michael Santos didn't have it for most of his 26 years. What you need is a pen, paper, and somebody on the outside willing to publish what you write.

How can someone without internet access document their journey from prison?

A viewer wrote in with a specific situation: a friend in prison in Georgia, eligible for parole in February of 2029, no family, and the viewer serving as his power of attorney. She wanted to know how someone in that position could begin documenting their journey.

Michael's answer started with what he had. "When I was in prison, we had some amazing technology," he said. "A piece of paper and a pen. Your friend in Georgia has the same technology."

He explained the landscape: there are 53 different criminal justice systems in the United States. Fifty states, the District of Columbia, the military, and the federal system. Of the 50 states, policies vary widely. "I only know of one that provides internet access," Michael said. "It's the state of Maine." Some prisons have tablets. Whatever access someone has, that's the technology available to them.

Michael described how he did it himself: "You can use it as I used to do it. Pen and paper. Build a coalition of support. In my case, it was my wife. I'd send it to her. She would then publish it. That starts building my record."

The same applies to someone in a state system with parole eligibility. "He can express the ways that he has worked to atone, to reconcile, to overcome the complexities of living in confinement, and to advance himself as a candidate for parole," Michael said. In the federal system, there's no parole, but the principle is the same: a person should always be working to make himself a better candidate for the highest level of liberty at the soonest possible time.

What is the origin of Prison Professors?

Justin asked Michael to explain how Prison Professors began, and why he thinks the platform matters. Michael held up a specific object while answering: a book given to him during a visit to FCI Oakdale in Louisiana. "This book gave me access to all the staff there," he said, "and spoke about how important they are, all the hard work that they do, and how they're going to use our program in Oakdale."

He described the strategy behind it. "You start off with a vision of defining success. I want to see more pathways for people to earn freedom from merit." To influence prison staff, Michael has to demonstrate that people going through the Prison Professors program are more inclined toward preparation for success and less inclined toward disruptive behavior. If he can show that, staff support the programs. If staff support the programs, they influence regional directors, deputy directors, and the director, creating incentives for people to go home.

"They are a better advocate for that than I will ever be," Michael said. "But I've got to give them the resources, and I've got to collect data." That's what Prison Professors became: a vehicle for free courses and free education, especially for people in special housing units or lockdown who don't otherwise have access to programming. Because the courses are free, participation can be documented and measured by points earned, and that data can be shared with staff. "Slowly, you start getting things to turn in the direction that we want them to turn."

He was honest about the scale of the task: "I've got to undo 50 years or hundreds of years of very disruptive policies that perpetuate intergenerational cycles of failure and recidivism. That's a heavy lift."

What does "I won't ask you to do anything I haven't done" mean?

Justin asked Michael to explain a phrase he uses often: "I won't ask you to do anything I haven't done."

Michael's answer traced back to his own sentence. "I did 9,500 days in prison," he said. Inspired by figures like Frederick Douglass, Nelson Mandela, and Viktor Frankl, he built what he describes as a three-part course for himself: focus on getting an education, focus on contributing to society, focus on building a support network. "Those would work together in symmetry and harmony," he said. "The harder I worked, the more I contributed to society. As I contributed to society, I could learn, and more people would come into my support system. Those people would become advocates for me."

He's clear about what the work did and didn't do. "I didn't get out a day earlier," he said. "But because of the work that Prison Professors does, there are now pathways where people are going home. There are several members of our community who got clemency because of the work they did. I'm not going to take credit for it. They did it."

Michael described his own role plainly: "All I am is an ambassador, a pathway. That's all Prison Professors does. We're not lawyers. We're not lobbyists. We're not legislators. I have no power. I'm 16377004. I have a voice, and I have a passion to advocate for change."

He named the promise behind the free model directly: "Never ask me to do something I didn't do. Never charge anybody a penny. Never lie to you."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone document their prison journey without internet access?

Yes. Michael Santos did it for most of his 26 years using pen and paper, sending his writing to his wife, who published it on his behalf.

How many criminal justice systems exist in the United States?

53: all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the military system, and the federal system.

Which state provides internet access to incarcerated people?

Maine, as far as Michael Santos is aware, though he expects that to change.

What is Prison Professors?

A free education platform Michael Santos built to give incarcerated people courses, documentation tools, and a way to build a record, while also giving Bureau of Prisons staff data that supports policy change.

What does Michael Santos mean when he says he won't ask people to do what he hasn't done?

He served 9,500 days in prison and built his own three-part course around education, contribution, and a support network, documenting all of it himself before ever teaching it to others.