My name is Peter Kamal Mukuria, also known as Comrade Pitt. Recently I did an interview, and it was an interview with another one of my peers who is currently incarcerated with me here at Jessup Correctional Institution. His name is Paul P-Dogg as everybody calls him, P-Dogg. So he put out a–his last name is Brooks by the way, Paul P-Dogg Brooks–and so he put out a book a while back titled “Another Wrong Turn: A Mother’s Love.”
And we did an interview surrounding this book because I wanted him to, you know, not only get an opportunity to talk about, you know, what he has been doing with his time while incarcerated, which is obviously something constructive–to try to use and occupy his time doing something constructive. And that’s what he did–he wrote a book. Not too many of us can say that, and not too many of us have the patience and, you know, the hard work to do that.
So he put together a book. It’s a fictional book, but it’s also a book that, to me, I can relate to as I was reading it, and a lot of the characters I could also relate to because they remind me of some of my friends, you know, some of my family members.
And it really hits closer to home, the title of the book in and of itself, because it said, “Another Wrong Turn: A Mother’s Love.” I can’t even count how many times I’ve taken those wrong turns, but yet, through everything that I’ve been through, my mother’s love is definitely something that never, never left my side and continues to be on my side to this very day. So the title of the book is something I one-thousand percent could relate to, you know and that’s why I was like, “You know what? I need to check that book out, see what it’s about.” So I got the book, I read the book, I really enjoyed the book, and I think a lot of people would also appreciate the book and also appreciate the fact that this is also, you know, an incarcerated person who’s doing, you know, something positive with his life, which is something that tends to go under the radar.
A lot of times when people are talking about prison issues, they tend to talk about, you know, the violence, the chaos, etc., but nobody really seems to really want to talk much about, you know, the positive things that prisoners are doing. You got a lot of people behind these walls who are so incredibly talented, it will blow your mind. I like to consider myself an artist, I am an artist, but some of the other artwork that I have seen from behind these walls that’s produced by other inmates to me it is mind-boggling how much, you know, talent is being wasted behind the walls. And you get so many people that, you know, not only draw, you got other people that make, literally make clothes. And you got some other people that–you got so many talents that’s within these walls that I think that a lot of people–and P-Dogg is a prime example–that the only thing that they really need is a second chance.
And I think my friend P-Dogg, having known him since I’ve been here Jessup–which is, has been for a year–having known him for that whole year, he’s been the same old person that I’ve met since day one. Nothing about him changed, and he’s still the same person, always focused, always stays to himself, doesn’t bother anybody. And you know, this is one of those guys where if you see him, and you see his demeanor, you see his conduct, you can tell that he has grown, he has matured, he has been through a lot, but he has made it through it all, and his experiences is what made him who he is.
And you know, I think that, you know, especially here, there’s a lot of older prisoners. And, to me, a lot of these older prisoners, you know, especially the ones that I have come in contact with, have been incarcerated for a long time–some of them since they were in their teens, and now they’re in their sixties. You know, so it’s kind of like, you know, it kind of makes you wonder like, you know, he got locked up at sixteen years old, seventeen years old, and now this man is sixty years old. [Unintelligible]. He has grown, he has matured, he has a lot of experiences under his belt, he has learned from his mistakes, but yet, he still does not have that second chance that he rightly so deserves–that rightly so many others actually deserve.
But I wanted to kind of add more about this interview that people will listen to with my dear friend, Paul P-Dogg Brooks, and I hope that people do also get a chance to check out that book. And I’m sure that you guys will also enjoy and love it. And that is it for now. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate that, and I hope that you guys have a good one. As always, all power to the people.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
