Kenneth E. Hartman
Encyclopedia
Kenneth E. Hartman is an American writer and prison activist. A convicted murderer, he is serving life in prison in California.
When he was 19 years old, he murdered a homeless man after an alcohol and drug binge. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While in prison, he has married and has fathered a daughter.
He was one of the proponents of the "Honor Yard" in California State Prison in Lancaster
; the program involves "600 inmates who have promised to avoid drugs, gang activity and violence against each other or prison staff and who live in a section of the prison separated from the general inmates" where they may take training and classes. Hartman wrote about his experiences in prison and this program in his essay "A Prisoners' Purpose", which won one of the John Templeton Foundation
's 2004 Power of Purpose awards. In a 2009 New York Times editorial, he described the effects of the recession on the prison system. He has also written against the penalty of life imprisonment without parole, calling it "the other death penalty".
His 2009 memoir Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars (ISBN 1934633194) won the 2010 Eric Hoffer
Award for memoir.
When he was 19 years old, he murdered a homeless man after an alcohol and drug binge. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While in prison, he has married and has fathered a daughter.
He was one of the proponents of the "Honor Yard" in California State Prison in Lancaster
California State Prison, Los Angeles County
California State Prison, Los Angeles County is a male-only state prison located in the city of Lancaster, in Los Angeles County, California. The first and only state prison located in the county, it is also referenced as Los Angeles County State Prison, CSP-Los Angeles County...
; the program involves "600 inmates who have promised to avoid drugs, gang activity and violence against each other or prison staff and who live in a section of the prison separated from the general inmates" where they may take training and classes. Hartman wrote about his experiences in prison and this program in his essay "A Prisoners' Purpose", which won one of the John Templeton Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...
's 2004 Power of Purpose awards. In a 2009 New York Times editorial, he described the effects of the recession on the prison system. He has also written against the penalty of life imprisonment without parole, calling it "the other death penalty".
His 2009 memoir Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars (ISBN 1934633194) won the 2010 Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer was an American social writer. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983...
Award for memoir.