Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison Characters

Why are we so fascinated by the characters of Darth Vader, or Severus Snape?Because their stories are all about redemption. Over the course of time, we see these characters discover that there's so...

Shaka's dad promises to be there for Shaka no matter what, and he stands by that promise through everything. This guy definitely deserves a "World's Greatest Dad" mug.When Shaka goes to prison, his...

Shaka's mother plays a big role in his life. Unfortunately, it's mostly not a positive one. But we do get some glimpses of positive things Shaka's mom has done or been a part of building…which ma...

Shaka's dad eventually starts a new relationship. We don't hear too much about his stepmother, but she seems to be part of welcoming Shaka into the home she and his dad share, and apparently she's...

Shaka's son Li'l Jay makes a huge difference in Shaka's life. Actually, scratch that: he makes a couple of huge differences. For one, his birth while Shaka is in prison is one of the huge motivator...

Sekou (Shaka's son) is just a baby when the book ends, but he gives Shaka something he's desperately longing for: the chance to be an active parent who is present in his son's life. Or, as Shaka sa...

Shaka isn't able to be very involved in his daughter Lakeisha's life, because her mother doesn't really let him participate in raising her, even before he goes to prison. Lakeisha's only about five...

Brenda is Shaka's girlfriend at the time of his arrest, and they have a son together: L'il Jay. Brenda is a strong and beautiful young woman who really cares about her siblings and would do anythin...

Ebony is a remarkable woman, and she becomes Shaka's romantic partner towards the end of his time in prison. They actually meet because Ebony volunteers for a organization called HOPE (Helping Our...

We only meet Nycci briefly in this book as Shaka's ex-girlfriend from Ohio. But she probably cares about what happens to him even if the relationship is over, because she comes to court to be there...

Shaka doesn't know much about the man he shoots at the time—mainly just that the guy had been looking for drugs and got aggressive. But later Shaka learns more from the victim's godmother. Chris...

A customer of Miko's who picks up crack for his friends, John also offers Miko's team the chance to work from John's house. John has a large and well-kept house because he was a middle class busine...

Kevin's the nephew of the family who lives upstairs from one of the drug spots Shaka works.Kevin and Shaka become close instantly, and often talk late into the night while smoking crack together. B...

Miko's the first drug dealer Shaka works for after he leaves home at age fourteen. Miko acts like an older brother to Shaka at first…but when Shaka steals some drugs from him, Miko follows the co...

Baruti is a wise mentor figure that Shaka learns from. And we think Shaka chooses wisely when he decides to metaphorically sit at Baruti's feet. Baruti is a generous, wise person who really cares a...

BX is Shaka's roomie at Oaks after Shaka gets out of solitary. He's also in the Melanics, and Shaka and BX become like brothers. But they have more in common than just religion. BX works in the law...

Shaka actually knew Day Day before either of them went to prison, but they get reacquainted when Shaka finally gets out of solitary confinement at Standish. Day Day gives Shaka some candy and chips...

Shaka Jimmy meets in holding pen while waiting to go to Wayne County Jail. He turns out to be a neighbor of Shaka's sister at one point, and tells Shaka that he overheard the police talking about S...

Kevin has a wild sense of humor, and is respected by Shaka and his pals and part of their circle. Shaka says, Kevin was one of the few white guys who were cool enough to hang with our little circle...

A fellow inmate at Carson City, O'Neal El opens Shaka's eyes to a whole world of reading…and ultimately writing. The literary world cracks open for Shaka because O'Neal is writing a book. When Sh...

Lowrider is Shaka's neighbor across the hall in solitary confinement at Standish Maximum Correctional Facility. He says hi to Shaka using a piece of paper on a string, gives him some magazines and...

Nancy Weaver writes to Shaka, because she's the godmother of Chris, the man Shaka killed. Astonishingly, she lets Shaka know that she forgives him. She describes her pain and struggles and some of...

Reed helps bring home to Shaka how weird it is that lots of psychiatry patients are in prison instead of in psychiatric hospitals (due to budget cuts, the state of Michigan had had to shut down sev...

When Shaka gets sent back to Michigan Reformatory after his time at Standish, he gets to know Baruti's son, Yusef.Yusef and Shaka both love to read and both hope to make a difference in the world,...

Tom is one Shaka's prison supervisors, and he's super-impressed with the article Shaka writes for the prison newspaper. Tom is married to a magazine editor, and she thinks Shaka can become a publis...

This officer unfairly tries to keep Shaka from using the bathroom when he really has to go. Shaka scoots past him, and the guy dishonestly accuses him of an assault on staff. (It doesn't help matte...

This guy's encounter with Shaka is kind of a two-sided coin. On the one hand, it emphasizes the unfairness of the prison system. On the other hand, it shows how much Shaka has grown and matured. Wh...

Dr. Skinner has a reputation for being hard to work with, but Shaka actually agrees with his methods. Dr. Skinner doesn't want lame excuses, and he does want people to follow helpful procedures. Sh...