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If you are working on an APWA-related project, please let us know how you plan to utilize the Archive. We hope to share information about your work with our readers and, whenever possible, with relevant APWA authors.

The APWA is an open access archive. We encourage use of the writings for research, course planning, and projects engaged in examination of the criminal legal system. Reproduction of essays in their entirety infringes on author copyright without their explicit consent from the writers. Please contact us if you plan to reproduce entire essays; we will do our best to put you in contact with the authors for consent, and their compensation for any project that is profit making.

*At this point in the Archive’s growth, it’s important to revisit actions taken to protect privacy when the APWA had fewer resources. For this reason, we are temporarily pulling all essays and poetry under pseudonyms and anonymity to quality check and ensure all identity protecting redactions have been thoroughly applied. The privacy of the writers in the APWA is a top priority, and so is displaying their writing as they wish it to be displayed. We will restore all pieces as soon as we can confirm the highest quality privacy protections.

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The * operator replaces zero or more characters, so searching for w*ess would match “wilderness”, “witness”, “WordPress” and also “wess”.

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Warden's approval order ignored
2023

Warden's approval order ignored

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Sabotaged Buddhist meal, 2023
2023

Sabotaged Buddhist meal, 2023

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
No running water at shop, keep working!
2023

No running water at shop, keep working!

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
A short staffed prison in SD
August 7, 2022

A short staffed prison in SD

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
The window in my cell
February 2, 2022

The window in my cell

02-02-2022 THE WINDOW IN MY CELL I sit here and watch the world go by. I watch the rain bring the green of spring, and the flowers bloom. I watch pedestrians walk in the summer...
Nelson, Travis M.South Dakota
Lawyer says: Just be patient
2022

Lawyer says: Just be patient

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Memories
2022

Memories

Ward, Lance RyanSouth Dakota
Small price
November 18, 2021

Small price

Baker, Joel L.South Dakota
New born life & old steel throes
November 18, 2021

New born life & old steel throes

Baker, Joel L.South Dakota
Living the way of insanity
November 18, 2021

Living the way of insanity

Baker, Joel L.South Dakota
We the people
July 31, 2021

We the people

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Denial of access to court on 1983 complaint
July 31, 2021

Denial of access to court on 1983 complaint

Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Governor fires prison officials, my civil rights lawsuit legal mail stalled, but I'm still intrepid
July 31, 2021

Governor fires prison officials, my civil rights lawsuit legal mail stalled, but I'm still intrepid

7/31/2021 Governor Fires Prison Officials, My Civil Rights Lawsuit Legal mail stalled, but I'm still INTREPID On Tuesday, July 13th 2021, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem suspended Mike Leidholt. On Thursday, July 15th the Governor...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Warden and deputy fired by governor
July 30, 2021

Warden and deputy fired by governor

7/30/2021 Warden and Deputy Warden fired by Governor The South Dakota Department of Corrections is messed up, has alot of problems that have been ignored for decades and is corrupt. I have been saying this...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Poor work ethics get you promoted
April 17, 2021

Poor work ethics get you promoted

4/17/2021 Poor Work Ethics Get You Promoted I have been in the South Dakota State Penitentiary for over a decade and have seen many things occur that the public is not aware of. One of...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Buddhist magazines treated like porno
February 7, 2021

Buddhist magazines treated like porno

2/7/2021 Buddhist Magazines treated like Porno I have been the Jameson Buddhist Group facilitator for about 5 years now and I cannot believe that the Buddhist magazines titled 'Lion's Roar', January and March 2021 issues...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Reprisal labeling
February 7, 2021

Reprisal labeling

2/7/2021 Reprisal Labeling In prison, nobody likes to be labeled by prison staff and others as a “rat,” “snitch”, “Buddha Rat,” “Lawyer rat,” etc. But this has been done and continues to be done openly...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
PC setup
2021

PC setup

PC Setup There is alot of things I don’t like about prison, but the most recent vindictive thing to happen to me is to be setup to be moved off the unit by another inmate...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Cheap labor
2021

Cheap labor

Cheap Labor In the South Dakota State Penitentiary most prisoners make 25¢ an hour. I have had a job making a maximum of $46.25 a month working as the Mauve section orderly sweeping, mopping, cleaning...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
My two roses
circa 2021

My two roses

Baker, Joel L.South Dakota
A bag of rags please, governor
October 20, 2020

A bag of rags please, governor

A Bag of Rags Please, Governor In this time of the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping our country and the prisons in it, I find that it goes against common sense to clean less and take away...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Empty room Buddhist group
October 20, 2020

Empty room Buddhist group

Empty Room Buddhist Group The Jameson Buddhist Group has been using the old chapel room for years on Tuesdays when we have are service. We have our religious locker there in that room with all...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Legal journal taken
September 3, 2020

Legal journal taken

Legal Journal Taken I am what is called a jailhouse lawyer because I do legal research and have filed civil rights lawsuits in federal court, which the prison officials don't like. Yesterday my cell was...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
Expired donut refund, your fired!
August 1, 2020

Expired donut refund, your fired!

Expired Donut Refund, Your Fired! 8/1/2020 I am a prisoner at the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary and I cannot believe I got fired for something as petty as asking for a...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
In mind you are free
August 1, 2020

In mind you are free

8/1/2020 In Mind you are Free. The great philosopher Plato once said, "One cannot make a slave of a free person, for a free person is free even in a prison." I have this tatooed...
Bell, ShaneSouth Dakota
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If you are working on an APWA-related project, please let us know how you plan to utilize the Archive. We hope to share information about your work with our readers and, whenever possible, with relevant APWA authors.

APWA is an open access archive. We encourage use of the writings for research, course planning, and projects engaged in examination of the criminal legal system. Reproduction of essays in their entirety infringes on author copyright without their explicit consent from the writers. Please contact us if you plan to reproduce entire essays; we will do our best to put you in contact with the authors for consent, and their compensation for any project that is profit making.

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