by Justin Paperny | Oct 4, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, October 4, 2009 What Type Of Prisoner Will You Be? Since releasing from prison, on August 17th, 2009, I have spoken to a number of businesses and Universities about ethics. Last Friday I addressed 4 additional classes at USC's Marshall…
by Justin Paperny | Sep 27, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, September 27, 2009 This past Monday, the 21st of September, I addressed 5 Accounting Classes at USC's Marshall School of Business. A couple of weeks ago, I sent an introductory e-mail to scores of professors at USC, explaining why my…
by Justin Paperny | Sep 7, 2009 | Blog
I am pleased to post a blog written by my close friend Michael Santos. Mike and I met shortly after my arrival at Taft Camp. With Mike's leadership and direction, I made my time at Taft Camp one of the most productive years of my life. I am grateful…
by Justin Paperny | Aug 17, 2009 | Blog
Monday, August 17, 2009 I've Been Released From Prison: I'm Free! It’s 12.15 a.m. on Monday morning and I’m sitting in my bedroom, feet resting on my couch as I write atop a spiral notebook on my lap. In a little more than 4 ½ hours at 5.00 a.m. I…
by Justin Paperny | Aug 16, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, August 16, 2009 Convicted Stockbroker Describes Ethical Lessons While serving my sentence at Taft Federal Prison Camp, I had the privilege of corresponding with a handful of Universities. Like my friend Walt Pavlo, I wanted to help others…
by Justin Paperny | Aug 10, 2009 | Blog
Monday, August 10, 2009 In my book, Lessons From Prison, I frequently use the terms "values-based decisions" and "corporate codes of ethics". Briefly, allow me to share a few thoughts on these subjects. Making values-based decisions helps assure…
by Justin Paperny | Jul 28, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, July, 28, 2009 Quasi-Freedom Some may wonder why I’ve been so incommunicative with my blogging responsibilities since leaving Taft Camp on May 20 of this year. The truth is, although I’m not in prison, I’ve still struggled with…
by Justin Paperny | Jun 1, 2009 | Blog
Monday, June 1, 2009 Justin was released from Taft Federal Prison Camp on May 20th. He is doing well at the Vinewood Re-Entry Center in Hollywood where he will reside until July. In the near future he will post a blog outlining his first few of…
by Justin Paperny | May 19, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Going Home from Federal Prison It's late Tuesday evening and I've just finalized my final day as a prisoner. I've taken my final shower, used the bathroom for the final time, and given away most of my personal belongings. I…
by Justin Paperny | May 18, 2009 | Blog
Monday, May 18, 2009 One Day Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp As I was growing up in Encino I had a core set of values that permeated my character. I worked hard, I studied hard, I was loyal and honest, and I was disciplined. Those…
by Justin Paperny | May 17, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, May 17, 2009 Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I heard many people complaining that yesterday was their worst day in prison. With only a few more full days to serve, I can handle just about anything. I understand why…
by Justin Paperny | May 16, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, May 16, 2009 Three Days Until My Release From Federal Prison Each day I learn more fascinating stories that describe why people come to prison. Sometimes these stories shock me, and sometimes they bring me sadness. I identify with…
by Justin Paperny | May 14, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, May 14, 2009 Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I am so happy to have finished my final Thursday in prison. My time is over, though the lessons of prison keep coming. In these final days of my term I'm keeping a low…
by Justin Paperny | May 13, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp One week from today I will walk out of the Taft Prison Camp boundaries. That will begin my new life and I'm so enthusiastic that I can hardly contain myself. According…
by Justin Paperny | May 12, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp We have a very pleasant officer who works in my housing Unit at Taft Camp. She just disbursed the mail and I am pleased to have received an email message that editors at…
by Justin Paperny | May 11, 2009 | Blog
Monday, May 11, 2009 Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp WOW! I'm really getting close to release. I have only one more Monday remaining to serve. I look forward to the life I begin leading in just more than one week. These…
by Justin Paperny | May 10, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, May 10, 2009 Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Of all the holidays, Mother's Day was the only holiday that I had to serve twice in prison. I struggled a lot through Mother's Day last year, as my mother and I are very…
by Justin Paperny | May 9, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, May 9, 2008 Ten Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I'm looking forward to accessing my own computer. For far too long I've been burdening my mother with all of my typing obligations. It's been a real chore for her, though…
by Justin Paperny | May 8, 2009 | Blog
Friday, May 8, 2009 Eleven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Millions of Americans misunderstand prison. I know that before I served a sentence for charges related to securities fraud, I had no real idea of what prison was about.…
by Justin Paperny | May 7, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, May 7, 2009 Those who have been following my daily blog know a little bit about me. They may read a lot more if they order a copy of my book Lessons From Prison . In it I describe growing up in a loving home and the privileged adolescence…
by Justin Paperny | May 6, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Thirteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Tomorrow I will shop in the commissary at Taft Camp for the last time. At least I think it will be my last shopping day. I'm told that the administration freezes all…
by Justin Paperny | May 5, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Fourteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp In Lessons From Prison , I wrote quite a bit about ethics and the influences that came over me when I lost sight of an ethical code. I had left the University of…
by Justin Paperny | May 4, 2009 | Blog
Monday, May 4, 2009 Fifteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I'm very happy today as I received an indisputable confirmation that I am going home in two weeks. As federal prisoners, we're all required to hold full-time jobs. A…
by Justin Paperny | May 3, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, May 3, 2009 Sixteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp In yesterday's blog I provided a brief snapshot on the six speeches I have prepared to deliver to corporate audiences. I feel strongly that these speeches can add to any…
by Justin Paperny | May 2, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, May 2, 2009 Seventeen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp As I move into my final two full weeks of confinement, I've been thinking about my goal of building a speaking career. As I described in my book, Lessons From Prison…
by Justin Paperny | May 1, 2009 | Blog
Friday, May 1, 2009 Eighteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp It's a new month and the last month I'll begin as a prisoner. There were times during this sentence when I felt so far away from the month of May. My work carried me…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 30, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, April 30, 2009 Nineteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Today I read an article from a business magazine that described the infamous fraud triangle. That concept has been discussed widely in business circles. I wrote…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 29, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Twenty days until my release from prison, and, oh, what a release it will be! I'm not referring to walking out of prison. That will certainly come. I'm talking about the release of all that has been building up within me…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 28, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Twenty-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp One year ago today, at this very moment, I was shivering with anxiety in a cold cell after self-surrendering to Taft Camp. I was fat, bloated, miserable, angry…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 27, 2009 | Blog
Monday, April 27, 2009 Twenty-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp One year ago today I was playing golf with a few close friends, lamenting over the unfairness of my imminent self-surrender to prison. Those were difficult hours,…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 26, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, April 26, 2009 Twenty-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Today I spoke with a young man who is in a place that I once knew. His name is Brian and he recently self-surrendered to Taft Camp. Brian is serving a sentence…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 24, 2009 | Blog
Friday, April 24, 2009 Twenty-Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I'm really enthusiastic about my upcoming release, but the enthusiasm sometimes manifests itself with a condition my friend Michael Santos calls short-term-itis,…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 23, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, April 23, 2009 Twenty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I want to spend the rest of my life helping as many people as possible reach their highest potential. In my book, Lessons From Prison , I describe the poor…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 22, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Twenty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Every morning I wake and I know that I'm another day closer to home. I've always known this, of course, but realizing that four weeks from today will bring my…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 21, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Twenty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp And the countdown goes on. These final weeks of my imprisonment keep me busy. Last night I worked on a flyer I will use to promote Lessons From Prison .…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 20, 2009 | Blog
Monday, April 20, 2009 Twenty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Yes, that is correct! We are now into the twenties, and the time continues to pass. Now that I've announced the imminent release of Lessons From Prison , I'm more…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 19, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, April 19, 2009 Thirty Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Yesterday I announced the publication of my new book Lessons From Prison . Today I'd like to tell readers about some of my plans for bringing the book to market.…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 18, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, April 18, 2009 Thirty-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Finally, I'm in my last full month of this year that I've served in confinement. Although I've been writing a daily blog since last summer, I haven't revealed…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 16, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, April 16, 2009 Thirty-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Tomorrow my mother will drive up to Taft Camp for her final prison visit. This makes me very happy. She has made the long trek with my step-father, Ken,…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 15, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Thirty-Four Days Until My Release A close friend forwarded an article she found indicating that members of Bernard Madoff's family may have retained Larry Levine as a prison consultant. Mr. Levine, apparently, served many…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 13, 2009 | Blog
Monday, April 13, 2009 Thirty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp A bit of a blow-up almost occurred with a new prisoner here at Taft Camp yesterday. I thought it might be a good idea to write about what I observed. We have six…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 12, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, April 12, 2009 Thirty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I've been following the awful news about the pirates off the coast of Africa who have taken an American ship captain as a hostage. This must be a terrifying…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 11, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, April 11, 2009 Thirty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp News comes a little late to those of us in prison. I called my close friend Brad and learned that his wife Elana had given birth to their first child. Their…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 10, 2009 | Blog
Friday, April 10, 2009 To thrive through the turmoil of imprisonment, I've written that successful prisoners lead proactive adjustments. They begin serving their terms with the end in mind. With a clear vision of how they want to emerge, the…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 8, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Forty-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp The statistics say it all. Senator Webb recently released a congressional report calling for massive prison reforms. Among other complaints, Senator Webb said the…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 7, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Forty-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp In yesterday's blog I wrote about the importance of leading a proactive adjustment That simply means that a successful prisoner does not wait for the prison system…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 6, 2009 | Blog
Monday, April 6, 2009 Forty-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp With nearly a year of imprisonment behind me, I've learned some strengths that can help a prisoner adjust. Over the next five days, I will write about what I've…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 5, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, April 5, 2009 Forty-Four Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I've been publishing daily blog articles for longer than seven months. The initial purpose was to document my journey through prison. By writing about my thoughts,…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 4, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, April 4, 2009 Forty-Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I really thought I had experienced the worst of confinement. By now I have about 90 percent of my prison term behind me, and I feel as well adjusted as possible.…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 3, 2009 | Blog
Friday, April 3, 2009 Forty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Two events this week bolstered my feelings that a need exists within our society for practical lessons in ethics training. I know that must sound ridiculous to some.…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 2, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, April 2, 2009 Forty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Although I'm not a deeply religious man, I have always felt a connection to my Jewish heritage. Both of my parents are Jewish, and I went through lessons to…
by Justin Paperny | Apr 1, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Forty-Eight Days Until My Release From Federal Prison The final month that I will have to begin and end in prison has arrived. I'll serve a few weeks in May, but I hardly count that time. This is it. April is truly my final…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 31, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Forty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Yesterday I participated in a class called the Entrepreneurial Compass. It is a class in which I have participated for the past several months. The class is…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 28, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, March 28, 2009 Fifty-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Today begins my 12th consecutive month in prison. It feels as if it has been a long time in coming. Nevertheless, I'm pleased to have reached this point. This…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 26, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, March 26, 2009 Fifty-Four Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp This short-term-itis is really affecting me. I notice it most during the evenings. I crawl onto my steel rack rather early, as I always have. During the entire…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 25, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Fifty-Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I felt sad to have heard a story a fellow prisoner told me. Bill was serving a three year sentence for a financial crime. Bill was in his early 40s and…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 23, 2009 | Blog
Monday, March 23, 2009 Fifty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp A few weeks ago I wrote that my running career at Taft Camp had come to an end. I had suffered from a pain that likely came from pushing myself too hard. Rather…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 21, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, March 21, 2009 Fifty-Nine Days Until My Release From Federal Prison The wonderful aspect of coming to the end of my prison term, or one of the wonderful aspects, is that I reach a milestone every ten days. Now I'm counting down to the…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 19, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, March 19, 2009 Sixty-One Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp I've read a lot of books since I began my sentence, on April 28, 2008. Now I have a note-taking strategy that will help me codify and retain all that I'm learning. I…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 18, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Sixty-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I've enjoyed a welcome experience for the past two days. It's been helpful for me to pass along what I've learned over the past 10-plus months of my…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 17, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Sixty-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp I am scheduled to participate in the pre-release classes for a total of five weeks. Last week I completed my first two sessions, and yesterday I had my third. Really, I…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 16, 2009 | Blog
Monday, March 16, 2009 Sixty-Four Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I'm excited about meeting Mike today. He is a prisoner who is scheduled to self-surrender to Taft Camp. Over the past several months, Mike and I have shared a…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 15, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, March 15, 2009 Sixty-Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Early this morning I watched a news broadcast on CNN. It showed a troubling development in our society. The segment focused on the City of Sacramento, and showed…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 14, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, March 14, 2009 Sixty-Six Days Until My Release From Federal Prison The spring weather has come to Taft and each sunrise intensifies my feelings that I'll soon be leaving these boundaries behind. It's just more than two more months before…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 13, 2009 | Blog
Friday, March 13, 2009 Sixty-Seven Days Until My Release From Federal Prison As I expected, the news has been filled with reports of Bernard Madoff's imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday, and the…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 12, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, March 12, 2009 Sixty-Eight Days Until My Release From Federal Prison I've been listening to a lot of news about Bernie Madoff. Today he was scheduled to appear in a Manhattan courtroom for a guilty plea. Many of Madoff's victims were…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 11, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Sixty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I'm in the sixties now, with only 69 more days until my release from prison. I've made the most of my time at Taft's federal prison camp, but I am ready to…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 10, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Seventy Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Earlier this year I participated in an interview with my friend Michael Santos. He was collecting information on white-collar offenders for a study on ethics.…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 9, 2009 | Blog
Monday, March 9, 2009 Seventy-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp The process of release has begun! A week or two ago I was called into my case manager’s office. The case manager in prison is responsible for coordinating release…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 8, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, March 8, 2009 Seventy-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp My running career at Taft Camp has come to an end. This saddens me some. Over the past 10-plus months I've really come to enjoy running. It has been a source of…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 7, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, March 7, 2009 Seventy-Three Days Until My Release From Federal Prison Yesterday I heard my name paged over the prison’s loudspeaker. I was to report to camp control. Camp control is an area where one of the lead officers of the camp seems…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 6, 2009 | Blog
Friday, March 6, 2009 Seventy-Four Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Today is a visiting day at Taft Camp. I would like to spend the day under the bright lights of the visiting room with either my mother and Ken, my father and…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 4, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Seventy-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I’ve been thinking a lot about the example I want to set in society upon my release. As a prisoner confined in Taft Camp, I’ve come into contact with many…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 3, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Seventy-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Many years ago, when I was a sophomore at USC, I played in an important baseball game. We were the top-ranked team in the nation and I was scheduled to start at…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 2, 2009 | Blog
Monday, March 2, 2009 Seventy-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Prison Camp This afternoon I will lead a class seminar for thirty other prisoners at Taft Camp. The class is called the Entrepreneurial Compass, and it is usually led by my friend…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 2, 2009 | Blog
Monday, March 2, 2009 Seventy-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp This afternoon I will lead a class seminar for thirty other prisoners at Taft Camp. The class is called the Entrepreneurial Compass, and it is usually led by my…
by Justin Paperny | Mar 1, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, March 1, 2009 Seventy-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp A few days ago I wrote about some of the lessons I had learned from prison. In reading through excerpts of anthologies on philosophy, I came across thoughts from…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 28, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, February 28, 2009 Eighty Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Wow! Tomorrow morning when I wake we will have crossed into the month of March. March will bring the beginning of spring season, the season of my release.…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 27, 2009 | Blog
Friday, February 27, 2009 Eighty-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Earlier this week I attended a seminar for motivational speaking. A chaplain from the camp sponsored the program by bringing in a speaker from the San Francisco…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 26, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, February 26, 2009 Eighty-Two Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I recently had an opportunity to read some of the work by Plato. I remember being introduced to Plato during my undergraduate studies, but at the time my…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 25, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday February 25, 2009 Eighty-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp It was one year ago today that a federal judge sentenced me to serve an 18-month prison term. I didn’t know what that meant as I had not had previous…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 24, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Eighty-Four Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp The stock market dropped another 250 points during yesterday’s trading session. I have always been a buy-and-hold investor, never paying much attention to the…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 23, 2009 | Blog
Monday, February 23, 2009 Eighty-Five Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp This past Friday, the USA Today published an article indicating that UBS, my former employer, agreed to pay a financial settlement of $780 million to the U.S.…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 22, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, February 22, 2009 Eighty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp The Second Chance Act of 2007 was signed into law about one year ago. One of the provisions of that legislation was that it expanded the authority of prison…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 21, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, February 21, 2009 Eighty-Seven Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp As a prisoner, I feel humbled in ways that I never expected. Sometimes, those feelings are more profound than at others. It is surprisingly easy to adjust…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 20, 2009 | Blog
Friday, February 20, 2009 Eighty-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Today I woke with a wonderful feeling, as if I’ve really made a contribution to society. These good feelings come from an opportunity I had yesterday to…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 19, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, February 19, 2009 Eighty-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp My release date continues to approach at a rapid pace. I like it. Other prisoners I've met have expressed deep anxieties about returning to society. They all…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 18, 2009 | Blog
February 18, 2009 Ninety Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Yesterday afternoon my counselor called me into her office. The counselors in Taft Prison Camp have the responsibility of assigning job details, approving visiting and…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 17, 2009 | Blog
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 Ninety-One Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp As I was running the track at Taft Camp this morning, I thought about the real value I derived from these past ten months I've served. I never would have…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 16, 2009 | Blog
Monday, February 16, 2009 Awkward Encounter at Taft Federal Prison Camp I had an awkward encounter in the bathroom of my housing unit at Taft Camp. I was washing my face when Mark walked in. Mark was another prisoner with whom I had been friendly in…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 15, 2009 | Blog
Sunday, February 15, 2009 Ninety-Three Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp Through my readings I learned something about the history of America's prison system. The entire concept of imprisonment began with a religious sect, the…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 14, 2009 | Blog
Saturday, February 14, 2009 Valentine's Day in Federal Prison As I sat to write this morning's blog, I realized that today was Valentine's Day. This was the holiday for people in love, yet I was alone, as I had been for the past ten months. Living…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 13, 2009 | Blog
Friday, February 13, 2009 Finding Perspective In Federal Prison I read an article in a news magazine that intrigued me. It described a young gang member from Los Angeles who was struggling to reform. The gang member was covered in tattoos and he was…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 12, 2009 | Blog
Thursday, February 12, 2009 Letting Philosophy Guide Me Through Federal Prison Over the course of my imprisonment, I've had ample opportunity to read. Since I chose to avoid the potential for conflict that came with crowded television rooms, reading…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 11, 2009 | Blog
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Sentencing Laws Are Unjust Yesterday I heard news that the ninth circuit court of appeals had issued an order that would result in the state of California's prison system having to release tens of thousands of prisoners…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 10, 2009 | Blog
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2009 Ninety-Eight Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp In three more days, on Friday the thirteenth, I will visit with my friend and business partner Sam Pompeo. Sam has been incredibly supportive of me ever…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 9, 2009 | Blog
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2009 Ninety-Nine Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp I am pleased to introduce myself to the readers of PrisonNewsBlog.com. My name is Justin Paperny and I am coming to the end of an 18-month sentence I served for…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 6, 2009 | Blog
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009 Hello ... this is Tallie, Justin's mom. Justin is preparing for the final 100 days in prison and will continue to highlight his journey with 100 blogs in 100 days beginning February 9th. He's taken the weekend off in order…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 5, 2009 | Blog
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009 Federal Prison Adjustment My schedule has changed again. Recently I was asked to co-chair a class on Mondays from 1-3 p.m. I participated in my first "Entrepreneurial Compass" class this past Monday. Participation in this…
by Justin Paperny | Feb 4, 2009 | Blog
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2009 Managing Family Affairs From Federal Prison Some days, such as today, I feel the full force of being a prisoner. Simply said, I miss my family. On January 22nd, my 34th birthday, my brother Todd and his wife Sunny brought…