Jail Reflections
PATRICK O’NEILL’S LETTER FROM RALEIGH Halfway House – September 6, 2021 On August 24 I stepped through the gate of Federal “Correctional” Institution Elkton in Northeast Ohio into the loving arms of my wife, Mary Rider. A welcoming committee of Jack and Betsy Williams and Julie Shocksnider invited Mary, me and my friend and chauffeur…
Read MoreAugust 19, 2021 At this writing I have 5 days left in FCI Elkton before my transfer to a Raleigh halfway house. While here I have interviewed more than 15 men about their lives and their cases. One man, who turned 30 since he was sentenced, has a 22.5-year sentence — that’s more than 8,000…
Read MoreHello Friends, As my transfer date gets closer (Mary picks me up at Elkton August 24 around 9 a.m.) I want to thank all of you who have so kindly supported me and sent prayers of Love for Mary and me and our family over the last 7-plus months. I won’t say this has been…
Read MoreOut of Egypt I Call My Son Patrick O’Neill’s Prison Reflections (Transcribed and edited by J. Mark Davidson) July 30, 2021 My Time in Elkton is Drawing to a Close July 15: It is 9:00 a.m, and I’m waiting for Rec. As I get closer to leaving Elkton, I am also getting more anxious. In…
Read MoreWhat are you willing to risk for what you believe? Fr. Steve Kelly, SJ, is a peace activist and a member of the Plowshares movement, a largely Catholic movement of pacifists that protests nuclear weapons by damaging weapons and military property. He has spent at least a decade of his life behind bars for his…
Read MoreHalfway House to Nowhere My past month was filled with a great spiritual struggle. Thank God for the cell phone that has connected me to my little Lectio group, interviews, and the Catholic Worker Zoom round table discussions. Living with others here is also a special time. Sometimes there is a moment when I catch…
Read MoreThe Discernment Of Spirits, In MDC Brooklyn July 8, 2021 Friends, loved ones all- It is impossible to adequately express my gratitude for the hundreds of beautiful letters I’ve received here during the past month… No, really, it’s impossible. You see, my efforts to answer most of them personally have been hamstrung by a frustrating…
Read More(The following letter was written by Mark Colville to his son, on the occasion of being absent for one of the biggest days of his life. Mark shares it with his son’s gracious consent.) June 15, 2021 Isaiah… The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind, that I haven’t taken the time to let…
Read MoreThis is a podcast interview conducted by Alan Winson and Rebecca McKean where Carmen Trotta speaks of his time in Otisville and now under strict home confinement in NYC. Martha tells of her time in Danbury and now the conditions in the halfway house in Manchester, NH where she is currently being held. Mark Colville…
Read MoreThe World of Fascist Franchises Martha Hennessy June 15th, 2021 I am now three weeks into my stay here at the Manchester, New Hampshire halfway house. My home confinement is blocked because I’m labeled a violent recidivist by the federal Bureau of Prisons. This morning I was denied my only walk outdoors because I neglected…
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