The Incomplete Skeptic: Guest Paul Mickelson, Resotrative Justice Expert & Bringing Wisdom from Pain

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Incomplete Skeptic. Here we explore marginalized ideas and the people behind them.  

Today’s Guest on The Incomplete Skeptic is Paul Mickelson.  Here is his Website:  https://mickelsonconsulting.org/.  

Some of my interviews are not for the timid of heart, but this one is harder than most to hear.  That is why I made the YouTube video 'Age Restricted' (for adults only).  If I can do that here, too, I will.  YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!  

In this episode, because we will be talking about prisons and corrections; I must straightaway admit that I am an ex-convict. I have served two major incarcerations and several minor incarcerations. But I am more than my mug shot.  I've been out of prison since August of 90 and sober since August of 90.  Connect the Dots...

When I was in the Missouri prison system at Jefferson City, I recall a professor who said, 'It is important to have the courage of our convictions, but it is imperative that we have the courage to question our convictions'. I love that idea. I think that is what The Incomplete Skeptic is all about. In this episode, be warned that you might be shocked to hear about some of the things that happen in correctional settings.  This episode is not for the faint of heart, but if you are able to deal with harsh realities and move past them in our Search for the Holy Grail called Forgiveness, then you'll see that forgiveness is more powerful than the offense that calls it to the Round Table.

The Incomplete Skeptic believes that the Restorative Justice practice is one of the best things that has happened to help people rediscover and recover their sense of original worth.  'Making direct amends to those we have harmed, except when doing so would injure them or others' is a stellar way to bring peace and healing to the wounded among us.  Oprah once opined that we should make our wounds our wisdom.  If ever healing were more needed, we need to look no further than corrections in the USA and abroad.

Paul is a member of the Full Circle Advisory Board that I recently joined. We are a group of ex-convicts trying to make a difference in the system. While Paul is not an ex-convict (and is the only one in our group that has not done time), his compassionate sense of intelligence garnered my respect. There is a saying in prison that 'no one comes out the way they went in'. I think that is true for both convicts and staff.  Paul acknowledges this as true.

Here is some of Paul's history:

1978:  Graduated High School. 

1983: Graduated from UMD (University of Minnesota Duluth), holding a Sociology degree with a criminal justice emphasis.

1984-1992:  After graduating from college, Paul started working for the Bureau of Prisons.

1992-2013: He left the BOP as a supervisor and started with the Department of Corrections (DOC), wherein he pioneered and operated the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP), the first medium security unit at Moose Lake Correctional Facility.

He also opened and supervised the first Sex Offender treatment unit at Moose Lake and coordinated the largest medium security expansion there.

2013: He retired as Discipline Unit Supervisor.   He went on to develop and coordinate the Restorative Justice Program for at-risk youth in Carlton County, Minnesota. Paul left the county in 2018 and was hired by the Department of Human Services (DHS) as ICMS Coordinator, helping staff navigate conflict and deepen working relationships through Restorative Responses.

2022: Retired from DHS.

Paul is currently the Co-owner of Mickelson Consulting LLC.  He works with a number of School Districts on the implementation of Restorative Justice practices.