Does Prison Make a Dad a Deadbeat?

Let's get this out of the way first: I know that when a father chooses to commit a crime he is intentionally choosing to put at risk his daily involvement in his children's lives. If that is the only criteria necessary for a dad to be a deadbeat then Michigan's prisons are full of deadbeat dads. 

Even if the criteria were more expansive and included men who continue to put themselves first and ignore the needs of their children, or who fail to speak into their children's lives from prison, then Michigan's prisons are still full of deadbeat dads.
Some men in prison, however, want to be a part of their children's lives. If the mothers of these children have an amicable relationship with the father these children benefit from whatever input the prisoner is able to make into his children's lives.

But what happens when a prisoner wants to be a part of his children's lives and the children's mother or mothers refuse to make a relationship possible? From a legal standpoint some of these men still have parental rights, but it is extremely difficult to enforce these rights from behind prison razorwire. 

One prisoner I know, who goes by the name "Words", has worked hard to save money from his prison job to buy clothes for his daughter, but because his daughter's mother refuses to cooperate, Words has been unable to bless his own daughter from within prison. I have seen Words struggle to find ways to invest in his children's lives, even trying to talk to them on the phone, but to no avail. 

It is no secret that prison tends to run in families. This is not a genetic predisposition though. One factor certainly is the absence of fathers from their children's lives. Yet, these children would benefit from the lessons learned through the poor choices made by their fathers, if only the mothers would make it possible.

Some men want to make right their wrongs, however much they can. Not being a deadbeat dad is a top priority, yet their past decisions hinder them from accomplishing this. As long as these men are in prison their involvement in their children's lives remains at the mercy and whims of the children's mothers.