In an article for The Atlantic, John J. Lennon explores how Joe Biden’s 1994 crime bill affected prison education through the tale of Twist, a fellow inmate at Sing Sing.
EXCERPT
Wanting to understand how Twist’s and my diverging experiences with higher education in prison had shaped our future prospects, I asked Twist if I could interview him. He agreed. So on a sticky August evening in Sing Sing, I talked with him. We met in a schoolhouse classroom with caged windows. He has a boxer’s frame, and, except for a few scars from razor tag back on Rikers Island, he has a smooth-skinned, handsome face. Outside the window in the prison yard, handballs thwocked and men yelled about nothing. But Twist was talking to me about something serious — his life.
He estimates that he has been in 100 fights since he has been locked up. He also draws, sings, raps, and writes — he’s a genius, he told me. “I’m not just some gay-bashing Blood,” he said. “There’s so much more to me than that.” When I asked if he thinks college would have helped him hone his talents, he responded, “It would have added to the understanding of Twist.” (Twist refers to himself in the third person on occasion. I’m okay with it.)
Read the full story at The Atlantic.