Dark Tales from the Dungeons

This book is a collaboration of writings by The Men for Honor Writers Group at the California State Prison in Los Angeles County. This work - by prisoners serving time for non-violent drug offenses to first degree murder - offers diverse approaches to admonish, dissuade and advise youth how to avoid finding themselves in the horrific and tragic consequences of incarcerated life. The Men for Honor Creative Writing Class represents the unique California program located in the State Prison in Los Angeles County, called: The Honor Program. This volunteer program, initiated in 2001 by prisoners tired of the senseless violence and backward travels, proposed to some progressive minded staff to start the pilot program they envisioned. To qualify for the program men must request it, abandon all gang and racial ties, agree to random drug tests and respect their peers and staff. Through a bank of prisoner-led groups the men offer peer-taught classes in fields for which they have experience and the few teach the masses. The groups also conduct food sales to give to charities on the outside. In 2003, Los Angeles Times writer Richard Faucett wrote about the success of the Honor Program. Faucett found that since the inception of the program weapons infractions decreased 88 percent, and violence and threatening behavior dropped 85 percent. The program saved $200,000 in its first year alone. In 2008, the Secretary of Corrections recognized the program and renamed it the Progressive Programming Facility. For more read Dortell Williams' article "My Shawshank Redemption," published by the Christian Science Monitor at http: //www.csmonitor.com/2008/1110/p09s02-coop.html and keep up to date with the program at www.prisonhonorprogram.org.
About the Author: Dortell Williams is a forty-three-year-old life prisoner in California, where he has been confined for the last twenty years. A lover of learning, Williams calls prison his university, and proudly asserts that despite the inherent repression of prison, he has still accomplished a list of personal achievements. He is currently studying for an associates degree in Seminary through a correspondence course. He has taught himself to type, operate computers, communicate in Spanish, and earned a paralegal certificate. But most importantly to him, he has taught himself to write, and by that means he passionately represents the underclass, speaking tirelessly to the mass injustice his peers and social class suffer in chucks of decades on a daily basis. Williams is a proud father of a beautiful daughter, a mentor to many, and a follower of faith through action against scarce odds. The Men for Honor Creative Writing Class represents the unique California program located in the State Prison in Los Angeles County, called: The Honor Program. This volunteer program, initiated in 2001 by prisoners tired of the senseless violence and backward travels, proposed to some progressive minded staff to start the pilot program they envisioned. To qualify for the program men must request it, abandon all gang and racial ties, agree to random drug tests and respect their peers and staff. Through a bank of prisoner-led groups the men offer peer-taught classes in fields for which they have experience and the few teach the masses. The groups also conduct food sales to give to charities in the outside. In 2003, Los Angeles Times writer Richard Faucett wrote about the success of the Honor Program. Faucett found that since the inception of the program weapons infractions decreased 88 percent, and violence and threatening behavior dropped 85 percent. The program saved $200,000 in its first year alone. In 2008, the Secretary of Corrections recognized the program and renamed it the Progressive Programming Facility.