The following contains the analysis and opinions of the author. The author does not speak for the Backpage defendants. On Thursday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted journalist Michael Lacey’s release from prison pending the outcome of his…
Former Phoenix Police Chief Ruben Ortega passed away on June 8th. He was 86. I do not hear the rousing skirl of bagpipes when I consider his death. Instead, I hear Clarence Darrow: “I have never killed anyone, but I…
To the non-sex worker community, Oscar night 2025 may have seemed like a triumph for those currently or formerly in the sex worker community. Anora — an indie flick about a sex worker who marries a Russian oligarch’s son and…
Trump is right. The FBI is chock a bloc with shnooks. So stop clutching your pearls over his appointment of Kash Patel as the agency’s new director. Patel promised as director of the FBI that “he’d shut down the bureau’s…
The following contains the analysis and opinions of the author and no one else. Say what you will about the United States’ 47th President, Donald Trump, but his pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, aka, the “Dread Pirate Roberts,”…
Prisoner Jackie is demure chaos. One half Peruvian, one half Mexican, Jackie’s parents produced a beautiful boy. But Jackie was not satisfied . . . she added breasts. Jackie is a trans cellmate who is also deaf and mute. Dealt…
Prison is a harvest of depression’s bruised fruits. A man does not share his gloom, lest a cellmate will share back. Confined for nearly three months in two different prisons in Arizona and California, I listened to no venting. I…
Jesse Lopez wants to pull on my sleeve about Jesus. Jesse was a banger and a career criminal. Before his current parole violation — a minor matter — he did 10 years — a major matter. Today he stands, a…
My cell mate, Oliver Howard, has no visitors and expects to die in prison, not believing he will survive his eight-year plea deal. He is charming . . . though hard of hearing. Guards consider him a good fellow, and…
I went to prison after a 100-count trial alleging that six Village Voice Media defendants facilitated prostitution. I was found guilty of a single count of laundering money; i.e., placing assets in a European bank. The verdict is mysterious. FBI…
It is to be a memorable day. As usual, we are waking at 4 a.m., a foolish and dark time of day. After breakfast, a group adjourns to the basketball court. It is my cellie’s 71st birthday, and he is…
