Blood on the Razor Wire: A Prison Memoir

by Chad Marks, Chad Robertson (Editor)

Overview

Twenty-four-year-old Chad Marks was sentenced to forty years in the Federal Prison System for a non-violent drug crime. He was sent to one of the worst, if not the worst, prison in the United States where violence, beatings, stabbings, and death were just everyday business. This book takes you on that journey with him, as you read you can feel and experience the disappointment, hope, fear, and desperation of never knowing if today will be your last day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666231359
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	11/16/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	206,519
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

Chad Marks is a 42-year-old published author, criminal justice reform activist, and educator. At the age of 24 years old he was sentenced to a 40-year federal mandatory minimum in prison for his involvement in a non-violent drug crime.

During his over 17 years in some of the most dangerous federal prisons in the United States Chad became known as the, “Lawyer,” by both staff and prisoners. He learned the law chasing a dream—to one day have a chance to reclaim his own life. While pursuing his own freedom as a “Jail House Lawyer,” Chad was able to secure release or a reduction of sentence through the Courts for other prisoners.

Law was not the only thing he did in prison. He taught the men around him to read, and write. He also dedicated his time to tutoring college students behind the walls, teaching Alternative to Violence Project Seminars, Leaders Breed Leaders, and many other rehabilitative programs.

In 2019 Chad wrote a pro se motion that he filed to the Court that eventually led to his 40-year sentence being reduced from 40 years to 20 years. The federal sentencing judge found that based on Chad’s rehabilitation—which included earning a college degree—and changes in law, that he deserved a second chance to reclaim his life. The dream that he had been chasing had become his reality.

On June 25, 2020 the gates that Chad had heard slam so many times locking him in, slammed behind him this time after letting him out.

Today Chad works as a paralegal for Freedom Fighters & Prison Consultants. He is also the owner of FEL$CON, a business that provides services to prisoners across the country. Chad’s life mission is to be the voice of the voiceless—those serving grotesque sentences who deserve the same opportunity that he now has.