New Passion

2007 has been quite a year for me already and it's not even halfway done. First, I found a new passion. I found a new inspiration. That may sound kinda dull or unbelievable because of where I am. In 16 years, I have done everything in a 10x7 foot space that any human could possibly think of with what I have available to me. Yet, I have found something new and exciting to occupy my time.
I kinda stumbled onto this new passion of mine. I was sitting here one day, staring at the walls and it came to me like an Epiphany. It was like a lightning bolt struck my cerebral cortex and it made everything so clear to me.
Before I tell you all what my new passion is, let me say this, a word of caution. Please do not try this at home. This should only be done by the most professional, skilled, individuals that have absolute knowledge in this area and that have studied each and every variable possibility and that have tested each and every action and reaction and know exactly what will happen in any given situation. So, for all of you kids out there and all of you adventurous adults, leave this to the professionals. This could be extremely dangerous and cause physical and mental ailments that can not be cured.
So, I'm sitting here in the cell, thinking to myself, staring at the walls and it comes to me. Hold up, here comes a CO, I have to get back to you later....

My Address

Hey y'all, just in case anyone on here is trying to write me at my snail mail address:

Ronald Gibson (Osiris Abu Ameer)
BQ 5220
175 Progess Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090

PHASE II

Surrounded by thugs, bugs and
Human slugs.
I sit in a daze, caught,
a sinful maze
Of human indecency.
I'm no celebrity
but all eyez are on me.
The camera got me shy
Sittin atop a steel door
like an eye in da sky
No privacy shall I get
Can't even get on da toilet
to take a SH--!
Hush, hush, ya mouth
the cop says to me.
Quiet on the tier.
I guess he doesn't want
anyone to hear.
Hear the pain,
Condemned men crying,
Some, mentally insane
F--- you!
My only two words.
I shout at him,
Just to be heard.
Surrounded by thigs, bugs and
Human slugs.
Condemned to die.
I sit in a daze,
on the Second Phase.
All I can think is
WHY?

*Written '97 on Phase II, Death Row, SCI Greene, B-Pod

From Sept. 27

What is going on out there? I thought that life in the pen was madness but today's new sport, shooting HS and college kids, has given me pause. From the fool up there in Canada to the idiot that just took hostages today in of all places, AGAIN, Colorado! Ouch! I know that entire state had to be on a state of alert from that. Fortunately the Gunman is dead and didn't get a chance to shoot as many people as he probably hoped to. He did however shoot one young lady, as they are reporting. My prayers go out to her and her family and we are praying for a speedy recovery.
Is this being reported more or is it actually happening more? For all you cowards out there preying on the kids of the world, some of these men in the pen are waiting for you to come through these gates. You won't have your fancy guns then!

Oh, my fellow bloggers, I forgot to tell you all how I do this. I can't get right back to you, so you have to be patient and wait for my responses. Some will be faster than others. Please jump in at any time with questions or whatever you feel the need to know from me. I have been away at court, so I want to get back into the swing of things. Holla!

I feel like I have been away for years, so it is good to be back! I don't know who is listening out there but here I am. This year has had a crazy start for me, good and bad. I got some good news in the courts and will be having a new sentencing hearing to decide if I will get life in prison or death again. Yipppeee! Good and Bad! LIFE in here is a fate worse than death! Some of you "Freefolks" don't seem to understand that. Imagine someone telling you that you had to live in your bathroom for the rest of your life and only they could tell you when to come out and when you'll eat. When you do come out, you will only be allowed to go to your basement and in your basement are 200 men, that have just come from out of their bathrooms and most of them are REALLL killers! Yippppeee, LIFE in prison!
All I can say about that is it is one step closer to freedom and the court did show me that there is light. Innocent men die in here and some are freed! Pray for me, I need it!

Good news, I completed my paralegal course, with flying colors! I should have my certificate this week. I know it doesn't sound like a GREAT accomplishment or anything but it was harder for me this time, since I have not been in school for over 20 years. So, it's a HUGE deal for me. Now, on to my bachelor's! Any advice on a good field to choose? I'd like to hear what y'all think a man that leaves prison should or would be interested in? I'll tell you all my thoughts afterwards.

I want to put to rest ALL the myths about prisoners prolonging their time by filing appeal after appeal after appeal. The simple fact of the matter is that the DA appeals issues that are frivolous that they KNOW they can't win as much as prisoners do. Also, some of us sit for decades waiting for one judge to decide the issues in our cases, fairly, only to discover that the judge has been swayed by politics and won't even follow the laws that he is supposed to uphold. There have been so many cases overturned in this state alone in the past five years because lower court judges were afraid or too biased to do their jobs properly and the Federal courts had to overturn their decisions. That happens all across the country. Exactly why does it take a judge five years to work on one case, only for him to adopt everything that the DA says in their briefs?? There have been men waiting ten years for one judge to work on their case. There are only a couple hundred Capital cases in PA, which are supposed to be "Priority" in the courts since someone's life is at stake and there is so much money and politics involved. No one judge ever has more than five, maybe ten in his court at once. If that many. So, why does it take soooooo long for them to work on them? If you took five years at your job to do ANYTHING, you'd be fired, a month into it! If not a day or week!

Luckily again, we are in the good ole USA and we have a system of checks and balances.

Keep on rumbling!! Later y'all...

Good News!

It's nice and cold outside. I wouldn't know for real though, all I can do is look out of the window and touch the glass to get an idea of how cold it is. I have been doing that for so long that the weather doesn't mean much to me anymore. I'd go out if it was ten below! Unfortunately, if it's under 20 degrees they don't let us go out. I guess they are scared that we'd freeze to death and cheat the system out of the honors. I know they could care less about our health; dudes die in here every year from things that were preventable if the prison ADM. wanted to help them.
OK, a tiny bit of good news. I am done with my paralegal course. I did pretty well too. Now, I have to wait for my paperwork. I finished faster than I planned to. Now, I want to get on to either some advanced courses or to a bachelor's or associate's degree. With you help and other family and friends I will be able to do that. Keep an eye out for our new site too, it's called ANOTHER CHANCE and it will be up soon. We'll give you all all of the details soon. Also, give me some ideas on what makes a good site? What do folks want to see and talk about on a site to keep them interested? Since I have only seen about two of them, I don't really have a clue! Later y'all...

Peace and Love, Osiris
PS Come at me with those questions y'all, anything y'all want to know about the row or prison???

This blog thing is like a new world to me. I'm like Robinson Crusoe up in here or Jacques C. Get at me and let me know what is on your brain? All comments are welcomed. This is for anyone that wants to answer: what is the worst thing about the blog? What is the best thing? Are there things that you can and cannot do on the blog or on the www in general? Tell me the rules, if there are any?
This is what is going on on the row right now. This administration has come to the conclusion that there is not enough room in this prison for all of us and they MAY have to start doubling us up. Meaning that there will now be two men to a cell. That's a normal thing for prisoners that are out in population and that have been that way since they came to prison. Death row has never been doubled up. So, over the course of decades, there have been many resentments and even hatred built up between some men that live in here. To now tell those same men that they have to now be forced to live in the same cells would be disastrous! Not only would there be someone murdered in here but the increase in rapes and assaults would soar.

Holla back!

Recurring Dream

It's about 2 in the morning and I just had that dream again. I am running through the jungle, someone is chasing me but I can't see who they are. I am not actually scared. I am more like excited because I have a plan. I can see every move that is going to happen. I'm brushing trees, knocking down animals that get in my way, stepping on and over logs. I can feel the cool mud on my bare feet. I can smell every scent that passes me. A lion in the tree, an elephant a few hundred feet away, maybe. I can smell the powerful perfumes of the different types of trees and flowers. I see a huge snake, hanging from a tree. Duck, keep on running. I can hear the voices behind me. Not very close but I can tell that they are frantically trying to catch up to me. I slow down, I don't want them to lose me. I stop, so that they can get closer. OK, continue to run. There are maybe 5 or 6 of them. I know where I am headed and I am trying to lead them to it. The river is coming up next. This is the tricky part. I have to let them get close but not close enough to grab me.

I am at the river. I stop. I look down into the river. I'm shocked because what I see isn't me! It's not Osiris! I am 5' 7" and 175 lbs. What I see in the reflection is a huge man, about 8' tall, 300 lbs. or more with tribal scars across his face and huge flowing dreads that reach down his waist. He has a huge club in his hand and a long knife in the other. What the . . . ?! I stop longer than I am supposed to. I can hear them getting closer. I dive into the river. I am not trying to actually swim across. For some reason, I know that I can hold my breath forever and they are in trouble as soon as they get into the water. I'm about ten feet into the river, underwater and I can see them hesitate to get into the water. I wonder if they are scared of me or maybe the animals that they might find in the river. One brave soul dives right in. I immediately grab him. Then, I wake up!

That's the dream I've been having since I was about 16 years old. I never knew that other people had recurring dreams because no one in the hood would ever talk about things like that. No one would admit to having nightmares or even having any type of dreams, unless they were sexual. The problem is, what does it mean??? Was I really a warrior in a previous life? Or am I trippin? If so, I have been trippin for a long time. I have read all kinds of books to try and find out what my dream means. NO luck! A few other guys have told me that they have dreams but not like mine. No one has ever seen themselves as someone else. I mean actually SEEN themselves. Of course we all may want to BE someone else?

So, any of you dream specialists that can help, holla at me, if you get time. Be warned, I don't have a dime for your diagnosis! :-) This is what they call Pro Bono in legal jargon. Thanks!

Thank you all for welcoming me to the Blogosphere. I'll be all up in here as much as I can. In the meantime, ask questions. Not just to me. Question life! Learn, teach, be positive in all that you do, that's the only way.

To all you fellow bloggers and bloggerettes, help me y'all. I know there are questions that you want to know the answers to. Ask. I'll either tell you to get lost or I'll answer you. Nothing is off limits. Y'all need to know what is going on in the gulags of America. Especially here in Pa. Pa. is almost like being in the South. Maybe worse?