While visiting my son at prison, I met three adorable kids in the sally port. My guess is that they were 14, 10 and 6 years of age. I learned later that they were visiting their father and wereaccompanied by their aunt. What called my attention to them was how...
Learning about Restorative Justice is what helped set my life toward truth and authenticity. I have learned to hold myself accountable and welcome other people to hold me accountable as well. My life has always been internally unbalanced after suffering a...
Trauma can makes us feel like we don't fit in, like we don't belong, like we're less than others. For a few years of my junior high school experience, I was a loner. It wasn't until decades later, in prison, when I became trauma-informed, that I came to realize my...
I loved Johnny with all my heart, second only to God. We were together for 13 years, 10 of them in a happy marriage. My previous marriage did not work out, but offered a contrast of what qualities in a man I wanted, needed. Though in prison, Johnny was supportive,...
In June of 2025, my nephew was stabbed in the face and hand as he tried to protect himself. He was stabbed right across the street from his house for no apparent reason. He was on his way home from work. The incident has left us searching for reasons as my nephew...
To my incarcerated brothers and sisters: My name is Delfino Muñiz. I've been incarcerated for over 33 years serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a tragic choice I made at the age of 18. That decision changed the course of many lives,...
Mental health issues affect the vast majority of people in incarcerated settings. From distorted thinking to psychosis to the effects of adverse childhood experiences, mental health challenges are prevalent in prison. Having just earned my certificate in...
Because of my deeply rooted character defects and the guilt and shame that I carried within, for many years I viewed myself as unworthy of any good-hearted, upstanding citizen's love or care. I have been working on myself since the early 2000s, learning empathy,...
I have learned over time that I need to change the lens of how I see others. Viewing them as injured and traumatized has reduced my stress levels to a more manageable level. I now view people with empathy. The next tool I use is Box Breathing. Four count works great...
