Smart Communications/PADOC
Frank Winn LZ5851
SCI Houtzdale
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

My name is Frank Winn, I am 52 years old and I’ve been incarcerated for approximately 24 years, due to poor decisions/bad choices I made. However, I was born in Philadelphia and raised in between North/West Philadelphia. I was born into a tight knitted family. At an early age I learned the significance/importance of family. My grandparents were the patriarch and monarch of the entire family. They literally exemplified the epitome of what true/real love was/is. I have never encountered a couple that love as my grandparents did. I truly had a great childhood. I grew up being the only child with a host of cousins. At an early age I was heavy into sports (I.e. football, boxing, martial arts, etc). I was truly blessed to experience family structure. The turning point – for my life – started when my grandfather transitioned back to the essence. As a young 12-13 year old boy – without a father figure -, I began rebelling. My father was always a great father but he was in prison. During the time when I was in grade school, public school teachers was simply passing a lot of students – living in down trodden communities – onto the next grade….when in actuality we weren’t qualified to be passed. For me, being the only child, my mother was able to thoroughly focus on me. She realized that my reading & writing was unacceptable. She took action and showed me how to write (print/cursive) and through her tutoring me,
I developed a strong inclination for writing. Writing/reading – for me – is a safe haven. These two things are what has helped me maintain my sanity behind these steel doors, brick walls & barb wire fences. Thus far, I have written three books and one manifesto. I have more books in the theater of my mind that I plan to bring into fruition, some time in the future.