CHANGED LIVES IN SAN QUENTIN
By Chaplain Harry Howard
as told to Chaplain RayWhen Chaplain Harry Howard first told me about the book he was working on, I shared his excitement as he described how he intended to tell his story of San Quentin and the people whose lives it has touched. Now Chaplain Howard honors me by requesting that I write the foreword to his book Changed Lives in San Quentin
San Quentin Prison - those words evoke a particular image for people in virtually every comer of the world. With dubious thanks to the Hollywood movies and the television detectives who invariably chase the suspect recently released from San Quentin that image has become distorted and oftentimes counterproductive.
I do not dispute the fact that in the 134 years of its existence a variety of people have helped write the chronicles of San Quentin Prison This book is the story of dope, booze, greed, passion and all the human frailties that cause men misery But the most important aspect of Changed Lives in San Quentin is the resilience of the human character. This Is the story of eight once-desperate men, who only after they learned to respect, love and believe in themselves and the power of faith, did they become "regenerated". Many of these men return weekly to San Quentin to shareless fortunate
To these men I extend my hand in sincere admiration and thanks for the help they are giving me in the management of my prison They bring their messages of hope and faith to the men of San Quentin.
To Chaplain Harry Howard:
Thank you for being there when the men of San Quentin Prison have needed you.
Daniel B. Vasquez
Warden,
San Quentin Prison
INTRODUCTION
San Quentin Prison is located in Marin County just a few miles north of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. It's the oldest unit of the California Prison System and the most infamous. Alcatraz Island, the former federal prison, is located 15 miles south of San Quentin's grim walls. These two prisons, in the minds of the public, seemed to be in competition for which could be the toughest on their incarcerated guests. This competitive impression was created by stories featured in magazines, newspapers and books. It was expanded on radio, in moves, and later on television.
In many cases, as a result of this public impression, many inmates entering either of these institutions took a perverse kind of pride in trying to be tougher than they really were. After all, they were being sent to "Q" or the "Rock". They'd made the "big time". They were real "hard cases and the State and Federal Governments were recognizing their criminal daring.
For the criminal, spending time in San Quentin took on the aura of being decorated for bravery. A criminal record that included time in "Q" . was like adding a campaign ribbon to the tunic of a war hero. San Quentin became the graduate school of crime, and the men who completed the course of study were regarded as the desperate best. In their minds, these men had a reputation to live up to and willingly accepted the "glamorized" toughness they were expected to demonstrate.
In reality, however, San Quentin was the proving ground for stupidity. The inmates made it brutal on themselves. It was as if the prison wasn't as tough as they'd expected, so they adopted a criminal code which allowed them to brutalize each other. They established a pecking-order tradition among themselves that was based on violence, perversion and sadomasochism. Once this tradition was started, it was next to impossible to stop. It was tolerated by prison officials because it created the illusion of peace among the inmates and the measures required to curb it couldn't effectively be executed within existing prison budgets.
Every man entering San Quentin will have his life changed. He will come out different from what he was when he went in. He'll be older, but the changes rarely stop there. The drug culture has had a dramatic affect on the general prison population, and this isn't restricted to San Quentin. Drug habits can be cultivated and used to enslave men in any prison.
Young men can sell their bodies for a fix. They can become subject to the authority of the prisoner cult boss. Others may become "soldiers" to, enforce the orders of the cult leaders. Some simply submit and exist at the whim and caprice of the tradition. It boils down to how much physical pain, terror and abuse each individual can take. Naturally, the competition to become a cult leader is very stiff but in this case, it isn't the cream that rises to the top. It's the maggots who feed on the corruption of fear, brutality and shame that take charge.
In this atmosphere, as impossible as it appears to be, there is a simple. inexpensive answer to the problem. It has been there all the time. but very few inmates were aware of it. It was hidden behind the traditions and wails of sadistic brutality. But some men have found it and they're making it work.
Men like Bill Dixon, John Bishop, Jim Fuller, Earl Matthews, Dennis Whitman, Jerry Graham Ernest Sanchez and James Williams have all had their lives changed behind the wails of San Quentin. They found the answer - the only answer that works - and now they're guiding other men to the ultimate solution.
This book is their story. Each of them has faced the challenge of the "yard". They've been in the "hole". They know the meaning of "lockdown" and the terrible peril of crowded loneliness that comes with endless nights and hateful days. They've graduated with a different degree, and now they're coming back to "Q". But they don't have to stay. They work for the Boss of Bosses, and He's given them liberty every night. The title. "ex-con", doesn't hang around their necks to drag them down. It isn't a badge they wear with pride, but it isn't something they have to hide either.
If you're sitting in a cell, let these men show you the pathway they found to real freedom. Let your life be changed by the Boss of Bosses!
En Agape,
Max Call
Chaplain Harry Howard has been Protestant chaplain at San Quentin for 14 years. He was chaplain at the California Youth Training School in Ontario, California, for 14 years before coming to San Quentin.
He has a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry degree, both from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Barkeley, California.
Harry and his wife, Kay, live on the prison grounds at San Quentin. He have held training seminars across the United States and Canada for volunteers in jail and prison ministry. Chaplain Howard has also served as president of the Association of Christian Prison Workers for one year. This organization was begun by Corrie ten Boom.
The Los Angeles Times stated that Chaplain Ray has probably been in more prisons than any other man in history. For years his International Prison Ministry has been providing millions of Bibles, Bible Study Books, LifeChanging Books, and Scripture Greeting Cards free to prisoners in the United States and Canada.
His dynamic ministry has led thou-sands from crime to Christ He and his wife, Leola, can be heard daily on over 1 radio stations as they air their nationwide broadcast Chaplain Ray's films, depicting life behind prison walls, have been shown in over 40,000 churches, and the television programs have reached from coast to coast.
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