Letters from Prison
From George Scalf
- Registration Number: 253679
- Baraga Maximum Correctional Facility
- 13924 Wadaga Road
- Baraga, Michigan 49908-9204
Dear Michael,
I hope and pray this finds you well and growing exponentially in your faith, and in belief of your self. I am well, all thanks be to God.
I am now in a prison in Michigan. I finished a 40-year sentence for the feds in 2010. I served more than 25 years on that 40-year sentence. Then they sent me to Michigan to serve a new sentence.
Brother, I am embarrassed to tell people how much time I’ve actually served. What will they think? How will they look at me? Those thoughts bother me. I don’t want to be seen as some unredeemable animal. I’m not. I am a product of my poor choices, compounded by an environment where the rules of society are convoluted.
I too came to prison young. I was convicted in the 1980s for bank robberies. I was a teenager. I was sent to federal prison. First I went to El Reno federal prison. I was the youngest person in the prison. Soon I fell to the influence of the prison culture. And “Fell” is the correct word. It’s used as in the “Fall of man” in the Garden of Eden. This was the fall of my higher self. Ultimately, it led to my throwing my life away.
I was the youngest person everywhere I went. When I got to Marion in the 1980s, I was the youngest person there by a few years. They put me in the hole for a killing. Then they sent me to the Control Unit for five years. The Control Unit was supposed to be the most secure unit in the country. But people would get shot with zip guns. They would stab others with homemade spears. It was the same unit where two corrections officers were killed in two separate incidents on the same day. The violence was very real.
From El Reno I received a disciplinary transfer to USP Terre Haute. From USP Terre Haute I received a disciplinary transfer to USP Lompoc. From USP Lompoc I received a disciplinary transfer to USP Leavenworth. From USP Leavenworth I I received a disciplinary transfer to USP Marion.
At each stop, I picked up a knife to make my way in federal prison.
I eventually ended up in the ADX in Florence, Colorado. I stayed in the ADX maximum-security unit until they sent me back to Michigan. I have to serve 15 to 30 years for stabbing a serial murderer. He raped and murdered some schoolgirls and women.
The hardest part for me is knowing that I did all of this to myself. I’ve watched grandparents pass. My aunts and uncles are dead. My dad is dead. A few friends are dead. My little sister, who was my best friend, is dead. I wasn’t there for any of them.
You talk about feeling helpless. And like you’ve really disappointed. Like someone who truly loved you need you.
Because a real man is there for the people in his life in their time of need. This creates pain deep in your soul. I did it all to myself. That makes it even more painful.
I did it to myself. There is no one else to blame.
The hardest part for me is knowing that I did all of this to myself. I’ve watched grandparents pass. My aunts and uncles are dead. My dad is dead. A few friends are dead. My little sister, who was my best friend, is dead. I wasn’t there for any of them.
You talk about feeling helpless. And like you’ve really disappointed. Like someone who truly loved you need you.
Because a real man is there for the people in his life in their time of need. This creates pain deep in your soul. I did it all to myself. That makes it even more painful.
I did it to myself. There is no one else to blame.
The hardest part for me is knowing that I did all of this to myself. I’ve watched grandparents pass. My aunts and uncles are dead. My dad is dead. A few friends are dead. My little sister, who was my best friend, is dead. I wasn’t there for any of them.
You talk about feeling helpless. And like you’ve really disappointed. Like someone who truly loved you need you.
Because a real man is there for the people in his life in their time of need. This creates pain deep in your soul. I did it all to myself. That makes it even more painful.
I did it to myself. There is no one else to blame.
The hardest part for me is knowing that I did all of this to myself. I’ve watched grandparents pass. My aunts and uncles are dead. My dad is dead. A few friends are dead. My little sister, who was my best friend, is dead. I wasn’t there for any of them.
You talk about feeling helpless. And like you’ve really disappointed. Like someone who truly loved you need you.
Because a real man is there for the people in his life in their time of need. This creates pain deep in your soul. I did it all to myself. That makes it even more painful.
I did it to myself. There is no one else to blame.
To the here and now. Michigan offers us classes on tablets made by Edovo. I just happened upon a course you created. It’s called “The Straight-A Guide.” I started watching your course.
I wish I could shake your hand.
You did it!
Believe me when I say that I too had similar thoughts. I had positive goals. But those thoughts will not do a person any good if he doesn’t act. A person has to chase those goals down. A person has to make them a reality.
To the here and now. Michigan offers us classes on tablets made by Edovo. I just happened upon a course you created. It’s called “The Straight-A Guide.” I started watching your course.
I wish I could shake your hand.
You did it!
Believe me when I say that I too had similar thoughts. I had positive goals. But those thoughts will not do a person any good if he doesn’t act. A person has to chase those goals down. A person has to make them a reality.
I don’t idolize or look up to any man for throwing a ball. I don’t worship singers or actors in movies. I admire men and women who set examples for others through their honor, their loyalty, their discipline, their tenacity, their intelligence, and their eternal struggle to improve.
This takes discipline.
I admire you for succeeding where I failed. I am proud of you. I don’t even know you. Although I recognize in you aspects of myself.
That’s why I’m reaching out to you now.
I may never get out of prison. That does not make me useless. I can still contribute. I have a story to tell.
Do as I say, not as I did.
If I can stop one person from making the mistakes that I have made, I will have made a difference.
I am asking for your help. I am asking for your advice. Point me in the right direction to better my odds of success.
I may never get out of prison. That does not make me useless. I can still contribute. I have a story to tell.
Do as I say, not as I did.
If I can stop one person from making the mistakes that I have made, I will have made a difference.
I am asking for your help. I am asking for your advice. Point me in the right direction to better my odds of success.
I am a firm believer in the power of positive thought. You have obviously “mastered” positive thought.
A person must believe in himself before he can accomplish anything. We control our destinies through the power of positive thoughts. Just as I will get my message out there, I will get someone to help me accomplish this. The only thing slowing me down is finding the right person or people.
I am a firm believer in the power of positive thought. You have obviously “mastered” positive thought.
A person must believe in himself before he can accomplish anything. We control our destinies through the power of positive thoughts. Just as I will get my message out there, I will get someone to help me accomplish this. The only thing slowing me down is finding the right person or people.
You mentioned your goals. My goals are similar to yours. I will get published. I will find people to help me. I will make a difference in someone’s life. These things I can do. I will do.
I am Irish. Not only are we known for our sense of humor, belligerence, and eloquence, we’re known for being stubborn.
I will accomplish my goals. It’s just a matter of when and with whom.
If you can help me, or lead me to someone who can help me, contact me at the address below.
I will finish this for now. I could say a lot more.
After all, I am Irish.
I truly admire the discipline it took for you to rise about these insurmountable odds. I feel like we are brothers in the same war. You made it through the worst of the war.
I became a casualty to the song of the sirens.
You take care of yourself. I too take staying in shape seriously. I am about the same age as you. And I am still a monster at the burpees.
I know you know about them.
I will keep you in my prayers.
Please do the same for me.
Go with God.
Respect and admiration.
Write:
- George Andrew Scalf
- #253679
- Baraga Maximum Correctional Facility
- 13924 Wadaga Road
- Baraga, Michigan 49908-9204
- Also contact through Jpay.com: George Scalf, #253679
I’m Michael Santos with Prison Professors.com Visit our website to learn more. We teach people who have been charged with a crime. We teach them how to prepare for success. We help them understand steps they may take for the best possible outcome. We create pathways to success.
It’s never too early, and it’s never too late to prepare.
Visit prisonprofessors.com for more information.
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