Citizens for Criminal Justice Reform – New Hampshire

“The prison wall, that line between the pure and impure, has all the emotional tones of a woman's maidenhead,  says Gresham Sykes in his 1957 classic, The Society of Captives

When my daughter Rebecca was in fourth grade, we studied New Hampshire history. The family made field trips to historic sites throughout the state. We visited the New Hampshire State House, cooked colonial food, and acted out historical plays. It was a good review for me too.

Cliff died in prison back in 2002. He was just 47. Lung cancer turned his prison bid into a life sentence. I guess I knew Cliff. We met the day I moved into a cell with him in the Hancock Building.

I didn't know what a mittimus was before going to prison. By then, my future depended upon one. A mittimus is a warrant for commitment to prison, describing the conditions for incarceration and release. In 2002, the mittimus for my first sentence stated that I was sentenced to the New Hampshire State Prison for "not more than 7 year(s), nor less than 3 1/2 year(s)." I was also ordered to be "of good behavior and, comply with all the terms of this sentence."  Before my minimum parole date, I would have to go before the parole board to find out if I could begin serving my next sentence. The parole board would, presumably, decide whether I had been "of good behavior," as my mittimus stated. But how would the board know what my behavior had been?  I found out from fellow inmates that the prison administration supplies the parole board with a synopsis. That synopsis would conclude with a Warden's Recommendation.