My name is Zachary Burns Im 26 years old and Im currently serving 17 to 40 years for 2 armed robberies and 1 felony firearm case. I have been in prison 5 years and my entire time Ive been in a Level 4 maximum security facility. I wanted to write this short story to describe what life on the inside can be like and explain the routine of a prisoner in a high level prison. A 30 second bad decision can wind you up in prison, no one wakes up and decides today is he day I want to get locked up. This can happen to anyone from lawyers and doctors to atheletes and average joes. I was raised by a loving caring family, got good grades in school, and always played sports. But one night of drinking and popping pills changed my life forever. Once convicted I was sent to prison and in the state of Michigan anyone that is sentenced to 7 or more years must start out at a Level 4 max security prison. What this means is I am locked in my cell 20 or more hours a day with a cellmate. The only time I get to leave my cell is for 2 hours of rec time to go outside to a small fenced in area to exercise or use the phone and to eat in the chow hall 3 times a day 15 minutes each time. 

Now since I was sent to a Level 4 this means youre surrounded by disciplinary inmates, people who dont care to break rules. Most are gang members, murderers and people serving life sentences that will never go home and they have no hope or nothing to live for. Day to day I see violence all around me Ive seen stabbings, people jump people hit with locks in socks, I even saw a man kill his cell mate.

Its a very brutal place to start your sentence at. If you are mentally tough this place will break you down. Prison is like a mine field you have to avoid things each day I grew up down south getting into fist fights and playing sports my whole life. I have hart and stand tall no matter where I am and people in here respect that. When I 1st got to prison I spent a lot of time in the hole (segregation) for fighting. I was so young and felt as if I had to make people respect me. Looking back I see I have nothing to prove to any of these people, the only ones I should strive to impress are my family and my loved ones and myself. Once Im free Ill never see 9/10 of these people again. Being stuck in a cell all day can be discouraging and truly depress a man. So you must learn ways to keep your mind and body busy and stay strong. For me staying to my routine is vital for my health. I still have my good days and bad ones Im only human, but for the most part Im okay. Any man in here will get sad & homesick some days.

My routine is pretty simple; I wake up around 630 am and eat breakfast then go back to sleep. Then around 9 am I wash my face & brush my teeth and go to yard for an hour and call home then workout doing my pullups and pushups. I then go back to my cell and watch the news until lunch then go to lunch and go back to my cell. hen the guards key us out of our cells to shower. Im then locked in my cell until 6 or 7 pm and then I go to yard 1 hour and then am locked in until dinner. then I eat and am locked in the rest of the night. I then clean my cell and brush my teeth and wash my face and lay in bed watching a movie. I also use this downtime to write emails on my tablet or write regular letters. Communicating with the outside world is vital to a man in prison, without visits, phone calls, emails, pictures, letters, financial support (to buy food & hygiene) a man will go crazy. If all you had to look forward to is the sad prison life you’ll become institutionalized and your brain will grow crazy. I have got into trouble since being in prison for getting tattoos and fighting but that wa when I 1st came in. Over the years Ive learned from my mistakes and Ive become focused on bettering myself and doing all that I can to go home a better man. Ive earned my G.E.D. and worked as a tutor helping others educate themselves. Ive got my body in good shape and read and work on bettering my mind each day. Exercise and reading helps to keep me in great shape both body and mind. I can still see why some men feel hopeless though. In level 4 theyre caged in like animals 20 or more hours a day is nonsense. Them arent eligable for trade courses, there are very few jobs so if they have no family support they go without things and being surrounded by problematic prisoners day in and day out is the perfect setup for a toxic environment.

If you tell a man to do good but dont give him the tools necessary to do so, then how can he? Michigan is 1 of 4 states in the US that does not offer good time credits to prisoners. What that means is even if you go years without getting in trouble or earn numerous positive certificates you can never earn credit for time off your sentence.

This is especially discouraging to someone like me (a 1st time offender no one was physically harmed in my crime. Im not downplaying my crime at all, Im 1000 percent remorseful and have learned from my mistakes but at the same time If I cant work to my early release or something positive wheres the rehabilitation in that? Im a very positive person and I remain hopeful that Ill get a 2nd chance at freedom one day. Im currently 6 months misconduct reports and stay on the right track Ill finally be transferred to a Level 2 prison where Ill have a key to my cell and come and go from the yard, gym, library, school building, trade classes, rec rooms and much more. The only time Ill have to be in my cell is 930 pm to 5 am for lockdown. Itll feel so good after 7 years of being stuck in a cell all day every day. Im trying very hard to get there and continue down the right path. Watching sports and writing letters to my family and friends keep me busy and helps me pass my time most days. Even though it can be hard I must remain positive, theres light at the end of the tunnel, I hope when I go home I can meet a wife have children and work hard to take care of them and love them. Im a good man with a lot to offer this world and I pray to god each night Ill get that chance. Hopefully this story can help someone to stay out of prison or someone thats new to prison to stay on the right track. No matter who you are or what lifes throwin at you, you can turn your negative into a positive! Never give up! Always push forward! Things can and will get better. Its up to you to put in the hard work and dedication. Change doesnt happen overnight but you can plant the seed and make the 1st step towards a brighter future. Take care of yourself. P.S. Sorry my handwritings not the best.

-Zach

Zachary Burns #302423