This book is a compilation of expressive poems and letters from four men serving time in Federal prison. It is about their life, their experience, their feelings and observations as they pass time day to day in an incarcerated existence.

A Native American, a proud and educated Lakota Sioux from the Montana reservation who had served most of 20 years expresses his pain through his poetry. You shall meet him first. His descriptive couplets let you come into the most protected and unreported sections of prison. You shall be amazed at what you see and hear. A Stephen King novel could not be more descriptive or frightening.

A big cowboy with a high intellect from the Laredo area of Texas medicates his pain with humor. You shall laugh along with him as he shares his life and experiences, his mis-interpretation (tongue in cheek) of Lonesome Dove and the absurdity of the prison system.

A full Colonel, retired from the Army after 47 years of service, serving life in Federal prison. He was convicted for spying for Russia in the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s based upon an FBI sting operation in Florida in the late 90’s. Denying his guilt from start to finish, he will nevertheless die in prison. He was convicted at the age of 74. He is now 80. In his writings, you often must read between the lines to get a feel for what he is saying. In Federal prison all letters are read and censored. If you say the wrong thing, you could end up in the S. H. U. (“Shoe”, Special Housing Unit), otherwise known as “the hole”! Getting some of his writings out of prison was not an easy task.

Finally, you will meet the lawyer who controlled the “law library” in prison. Somewhat ala The Brethren by John Grisham. He worked his way into prison by infuriating the power of some very wealthy people, the Bancroft family. Yes, the same family that just sold their Wall Street Journal for several billion dollars to Rupert Murdoch. His writings tend to be philosophical about life, the legal system and his prison experience. You will be interested in what he has to say.

Prisons are people. Each one, no matter their race, age or mental state, cannot be stereotyped as a class. Each is an individual, with their own unique personality, character defects and character value. Each has his or her own hope for when they get out. Each has their own fear, which they mask in their own unique way. Each has their regret for how they became an inmate.

The late 60’s and the 70’s of the 20th Century followed the Due Process Model of criminal justice in the United States. Those who adhere to due process principles believe in individualized justice, treatment, and rehabilitation of offenders.

The last 25 years of criminal justice in this nation both federal and state governments have followed the crime control model of criminal justice. That model supports the belief that the overriding purpose of the justice system is to protect the public, deter criminal behavior, and incapacitate suspected or known criminals. Those who embrace its principles view the justice system as a barrier between destructive criminal elements and conventional society. Speedy, efficient justice, unencumbered legal red tape and followed by punishment of sufficient deterrence for others to see, is the goal of advocates of the crime control model.

In 2005, over 7 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year end 2005 – 3.2% of all U. S. adult residents or 1 in every 32 adults. (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome html)

Each different facility whether federal or state, is a totally different experience for the inmate. From gang fights to personal vendettas to wide swings in containment facility structure, each person’s experience is different.

An Indian and Three White Men: Confessions from Prison is a glimpse of the prison experience of four different men with four very different backgrounds as related through letters they sent home and to friends.