We aim often to feature voices of the incarcerated in this space. Today, we highlight Christopher Dankovich, an incarcerated writer in Michigan. Dankovich was sent to prison when he was 15, and received a 25-to-37-year sentence sent for second-degree murder. Currently 34 years old, he has spent more than half his life incarcerated.
Excerpts from the essay “What Life is Really Like for a Teen in Adult Prison” are included below.
His head swivels on high alert constantly. In church, which he wanted to attend, he won’t read the music while there are still people moving around. He’s watching to see who comes in, because one of the regulars recently tried to pressure him to do something he didn’t want to do and became aggressive with him when he refused. (After talking with the incarcerated church leaders, that man is no longer welcome at church.)
My friend Mike was recently moved to the “adult” side of prison. Having been housed away from regular adults for the previous year with other youthful offenders—juveniles sentenced as adults—he was forced to leave all his friends and the protected safety there on his 18th birthday.
But how much really changes physically or emotionally from the time you’re 17 years old, 364 days to when you become 18?
I’ve never had to be so aware of how someone is standing or sitting. I had to have us switch sides while deadlifting after seeing a half dozen creepy men gawking at him. I have to gently tell him to sit normally when he curls his legs up into the chair so that the handful of men with devious intentions will stop staring at him like a dog that just saw a steak. I teach him to eat a banana by breaking off pieces because not doing so could get him assaulted.
You can read the full essay “What Life is Really Like for a Teen in Adult Prison” by Christopher Dankovich on the Prison Writers website. Prison Writers is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven project that aims to edit, publish, and mentor writers from across the United States, helping them shape their stories with care while preserving their authentic voice.
Chris Dankovich is a writer, artist, and teacher and has been incarcerated since he was 15. Dankovich has previously been published in the past four annual PCAP Michigan Review of Prisoner Creative Writing, The Harvard Educational Review‘s book Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and recently won second place in PEN American Center’s annual prison writing contest.
