Your blog category
____________________
Bill Livolsi was recently released from a Federal prison to home confinement due to COVID-19. He is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT. We celebrated our 200th consecutive weekly online meeting on Monday, April 13, 2020.
____________________
Dear Friends:
This is an invitation to join a growing community of men and women who have faced, or are facing, prosecution for white collar crimes.
Every Monday evening, I attend a White Collar Support Group on ZOOM. We are a very diverse group, all sharing a common bond, in varying stages of our journey. We share the good and the bad, our struggles and our successes, and what we have learned, all with a focus on compassion and accountability, in a supportive and spiritual setting.
Although the lens is spiritual, we get real in a hurry as we are all in the midst of the most difficult challenges of our lives. Most of us have lost our careers, our friends and our families, some of us were subjected to relentless press coverage, and we were all ostracized from our communities.
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D, M.Div. mentors our group. He has traveled the road we are on. I encourage you to read Jeff’s story.
I met Jeff in 2013, a few months into dealing with a federal indictment for wire fraud. I was confused at what I was facing, and scared at the thought of what this would do to my family, especially my youngest children who were 9 and 11 years old at the time. My children were soon likely to lose both their parents to federal prison.
The first time Jeff and I spoke, I had just dropped off the kids at school and was sitting in my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot where I wouldn’t be disturbed. Jeff answered my call and I nervously introduced myself. I realized fairly quickly that Jeff was someone who could help me find some of the answers I was seeking. We talked for at least 90 minutes that morning.
Whether it was discussing how best to talk to the children about our situation; setting up a support system for them in school and in private counseling; talking thru the various aspects of dealing with the criminal justice system and what to expect before, during and after; never once did he rush me off or make me feel that my issues were unimportant. Jeff has helped me in so many ways since that first call. In fact, it was Jeff who suggested that my attorney request staggered sentences for my wife and me (which the judge approved).
Since that first call we’ve talked about life in prison and starting over afterwards, maintaining a marriage while incarcerated, and the importance of forgiveness, just to name a few. I value Jeff’s advice because he always gives a straight answer and I can always count on it being true to his experience.
Eventually, in 2015, I was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. My report date was deferred until 2019, while my wife served her time. This time was invaluable; as I was able to raise my children from early childhood to the wonderful teenagers they are today. The most difficult thing I ever faced was saying goodbye to my children and family and walking into R&D at El Reno. Even as I took those steps, and began serving my sentence, Jeff and his ministry were there for me.
Six weeks ago, a little over one year into my sentence, I gained early release as a result of the CARES Act. I’m back home in Tulsa now, living with my children and loving every moment. That’s not to say I don’t face significant challenges. We all do. I am rebuilding extended family relationships, kick-starting a second career, adjusting to the social stigma of being a convicted felon, and doing what I can to reestablish ties to my community.
I was eager to rejoin Jeff and the support group that he has built. After clearing participation with my P.O., I was on the ZOOM call the very next Monday evening. Each week I am reminded that I am not alone, that through my participation I can help, and learn, from others, and that despite all the hardships I have so much to be grateful for.
I encourage you contact Jeff. He will send you a link to join us this Monday night @ 7pm eastern (4pm pacific). If you put in the work it will change your life. It might save it too.
I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Bill Livolsi, Tulsa, Oklahoma
“The new year promises to be an interesting one in white-collar crime” wrote professor Peter Henning of Wayne State University Law School and author of New York Times DealBook’s “White Collar Watch” back in January. Little did the professor know.
I doubt Henning could have predicted that thousands, maybe millions, of floundering businesses would be leaving as much as $100 billion in forgivable loans on the table as they risked insolvency because they were afraid they’d get arrested for taking it. The reopening of the economy is being slowed not just by the virus but because the public is increasingly aware of the government’s capriciousness in criminally charging people.
On May 5, two men in New England became the first people to face a criminal fraud complaint related to the Paycheck Protection Program, the $660 billion plank of the CARES Act that supplements the income of small businesses whose revenue’s been sliced by social distance and shelter-at-home orders. Prosecutors warned: More cases would be filed.
And they were. A cast member of reality TV show “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” was charged with making a fraudulent loan application that netted him $2 million, which he spent, in part, on a Rolex, diamonds and child support arrearage.
FBI agents picked up Maurice “Arkansas Mo” Fayne May 13, the same day the Small Business Administration changed the game and announced – in the form of guidance on Question 46 of its Frequently Asked Questions – that it would allow “safe harbor” for any loans under $2 million by assuming that all certifications made about need, meaning those statements applicants make about how much the business required the stimulus loan to stay afloat, were made in good faith.
That’s code for “no criminal charges.” If those PPP loans aren’t used for payroll and overhead, they’ll have to be paid back, but companies that borrowed less than $2 million shouldn’t expect to look out the window and see windbreakers on the stoop.
That also means that if Arkansas Mo had sought and borrowed $1.9 million and hadn’t been found out before May 13, he could have tooled around in his leased 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith without worrying about red and blue lights pulling up on him.
The average loan is around $240,000, so it stands to reason that many, maybe even a majority, of PPP borrowers are covered by the guidance in Question 46 and won’t become defendants in criminal cases related to the PPP. Among those who’ve been preemptively absolved, there must be a few who fudged the numbers or doctored a document. At least for now, it looks like they’ll get away with it. While collar crime is interesting, indeed.
Attracting my attention is the likely reason for the SBA rule change. The deadline for the original PPP safe harbor provision – the amnesty period for borrowers who had committed fraud in the PPP application process to return the money in any amount with no questions asked – was May 14, a day after the answer to Question 46 appeared.
Business owners had been described as panicked and anxious prior to the May 14. Confessing to a crime when no penalty awaits is easy; the fact that entrepreneurs were perplexed about whether they should return the money during a time of financial amnesty tells me that they likely hadn’t made phony applications but were more afraid that the government would accuse them of doing so even if they hadn’t.
While the number of returned loans hasn’t been reported as of May 15, I bet it was higher than anticipated – almost like a reverse bank run – because people didn’t want to risk an indictment by an unpredictable prosecutorial regime. The SBA changed the safe harbor rule on May 13 because appropriated funds need to be circulating in the economy, otherwise foil the point of the PPP.
Especially during a crisis, no one should take advantage of stimulus programs or other bailouts. Some will, out of greed or even desperation, as the Rev. Jeff Grant, former inmate and founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, described in a first-person column for Entrepreneur.com. But most won’t, and they should feel confident that their lack of intent to cheat the government would protect them from being criminally accused as they’re trying to save their business against unprecedented odds.
But lack of intent – it’s called mens rea, Latin for “guilty mind” – is rarely a protection against indictment. White-collar crime in the year 2020 is interesting because people are proving that they’re hip to this reality; they wisely gave wide berth to fickle federal prosecutors, proving they’d go under before they’d go up the river over some poorly outlined lending rules.
Craig Stanland is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT. We celebrated our 200th consecutive weekly online meeting on Monday, April 13, 2020.
___________________
October 1st, 2013
You have one unheard voicemail.
“Mr. Stanland, this is special agent McTiernan with the FBI. We are at your residence and have a warrant for your arrest. You will need to call us and come home immediately, or we will issue an APB with the Federal Marshall’s for your arrest.”
This is how my journey began.
For just under a year, I committed fraud against one of the largest technology companies in the world. I discovered a loophole in their warranty policy and exploited it for my financial gain.
Read more below…
I was already by most standard definitions, successful. I owned a few homes, beautiful cars, expensive watches. I was a VIP at some of the best restaurants in Greenwich and Manhattan.
I was married to an incredible and amazing woman.
I did not need to do what I did.
But, I was not worthy of my amazing wife. I was not worthy of my success. I was not enough, and I was empty.
Unworthiness and emptiness transformed into greed.
I knew what I was doing was wrong; the voice inside told me not to do it. It begged and pleaded, and I ignored it, burying my head in the sand.
Drinking to excess and buying everything I could get my hands on in a desperate attempt to fill that void. I was too blind to see I was trying to fill a broken glass.
I plead guilty to one count of mail fraud, received a twenty-four-month sentence, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution.
I lost everything: my homes, my career, my cars, my watches.
I lied to my wife and told her what I was doing was “OK.”
I broke trust in our marriage, and she left me.
Who I was as a person had become so inextricably tied to my things and my ability to purchase those things that without them, I had no idea who I was.
I had no identity other than being the man who blew up his life and the life of the woman he loves.
Any sense of self-worth, which was shaky to begin to, had vanished.
I was fortunate. I was assigned to Otisville Federal Prison Camp. My safety was never a concern, and all things considered, it was actually a pretty setting.
Picnic tables surrounded by nature and wildlife. The deer would almost eat out of my hands. The goose with the broken wing did eat out of my hands. My fellow inmates were some of the most interesting people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
But the mind is a prison we cannot escape.
Shame cast its long shadow over me, and soon, I was consumed. I couldn’t break free from its suffocating grip.
Shame for the hell I know my wife is experiencing. She was working fourteen-hour back-breaking days, just to keep a roof over her head and food in the fridge.
The pain I hear in her voice when we speak, it’s raw and visceral. It’s the most authentic expression of suffering from someone who’s been hurt more than they knew it was possible to hurt.
To often we are hurt the most by the people we love the most.
Shame for the arrogance I displayed with my family and friends. Shame for not listening to the voice in my heart.
That voice is gone, I ignored it for too long, and it has abandoned me.
Shame for who I had become. Shame for being blind to what truly matters to me. Shame for understanding too late that it’s not things. It’s not money or job titles.
Sometimes the most beautiful things in life are, at their core, simple.
Love. Family. Friends. Joy. Experiences. Creativity. Honesty. Integrity. Time. Freedom.
With every thought wrapped in shame, my monkey mind created the vision of what my suicide would look like.
I’m in a dark, dingy basement, pistol in my mouth, I pull the trigger, pieces of brain and skull plaster the wall behind me.
My mind played this image over and over on a perpetual loop for four months straight.
Every night, just after the ten o’clock count, as I rested my head on the pillow, I would pray. To anyone or anything who would listen,
“Why won’t it stop? Why won’t it stop? Please make it fucking stop……”
Begging and pleading. Each night the same prayer, and every morning the same disappointment when the light of a new day kissed my eyes.
Four months of unanswered prayers.
I smiled and pretended, everything was OK. I was afraid to share with anyone what I was feeling. Rumors were swirling around about what happens to inmates who speak of suicide. Solitary confinement, getting shipped out to a mental facility.
I bottled it up and kept it in. The tighter I closed the lid, the more the pain grew.
This was when I began planning how I would kill myself. This is the power of shame. This was my rock-bottom.
A well-timed, out of the blue, visit from my best friend of thirty years turned everything around in an instant.
Sean showed me I had worth, outside of what I had always believed made me worthy. I was not my property or possessions.
My value, my worth, was in being a friend, and nothing more.
It was from this day on that I began to rebuild and reinvent my life.
I guess my prayers were answered. Fortunately, not the way I was asking for.
It’s been six years of rebuilding and reinventing. Ups and downs. Disappointments and failures and massive successes.
My life is no longer tied to my things or my ability to purchase those things.
It is built on a foundation of:
I am enough. I am worthy. I love myself. I trust myself. I accept myself, truly, deeply, and unconditionally.
I live in a state of abundance and gratitude.
When we have a foundation rooted in these, we no longer need anything outside of ourselves to feel whole.
We are whole.
My term of supervised release ended on May 9th, 2019. About a month afterward, I was asked a question.
“If you had an opportunity to change your life, to do things differently, would you?”
I thought about it—the pain, the suffering, the shame, consumed by the vision of killing myself.
My response came from deep within, from the truest expression of myself,
“There is not enough money in the world for me to change a thing. I am exactly where I am meant to be, doing what I am meant to be doing. This has turned into the greatest gift I have ever received.”
I am free.
My mission now is to help people whose lives have fallen apart rebuild and reinvent their lives.
I’m a Reinvention Architect. I help my clients start over so they can have the extraordinary life they’ve always wanted.
I offer a free Start Over Strategy Session. On this call, we’ll identify what an extraordinary life for you looks like and uncover challenges that are holding you back from reinventing your life.
You’ll leave this call with actionable next steps to start rebuilding and reinventing your extraordinary life now.
If you’re interested, schedule the call here.
I’d be honored if you watched my TEDx. If it resonates with you, can you please share it with someone you think may need to hear it?
A huge thank you to Jeff and the Progressive Prison Ministries for all the support pre and post-prison and for this opportunity to share.
To have a safe place in a time of uncertainty is a blessing.
Rev. Fr Joseph Ciccone, is Pastor of Saint Joseph Mission Progressive Catholic Church, Cliffside Park NJ. Please join Father Joe as he holds a Prayers of Hope service from St. Joseph’s Mission Church, Daily at 1 pm ET: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephmissionchurch/. Father Joe is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.
____________________
I have been a helper all my life, a cop for 20 years, and a teacher and college professor for another 20 years as well. Now I am a Progressive Catholic Priest, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins. Our ministry tries to help those who are lost, broken, and have been rejected by traditional religion and sometimes even thrown away by society itself. Even through all the ups and downs (and there were many) I loved going to work every single day and still do. Oddly, especially during challenging and difficult times, I felt most called and even excited about being out there making a difference. Clearly one of the most poignant times was the AIDS epidemic when I was a first responder through that entire period. I always felt I had the best and one of the more important jobs ever. I was scared, but never wavered during that time of being in my twenties and thinking I was invincible. Although a lot changed in my life and a call to service came crashing down in 2001 along with the World Trade Center which gave me the ability to start anew. Seminary would happen a few years later and now doing ministry that I hope is a true and powerful call and to really be of service to others has been a great blessing that I will be forever grateful for.
But this pandemic seems different. Maybe it is because I am older, have two of the high-risk factors, heart condition and diabetes. Plus, I am the sole caregiver for my special needs sister, after the death of our mother 3 years ago. I have always been a fearless, relentless social justice advocate fighting to make the world a better place. Now I am a social distant observer, fearful witness to a world that seems to be falling apart and I am lost. I know I am not alone as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and purpose. Countless people worldwide are in lock down. Italians are no longer singing from their Terraces and I would venture to say that almost everyone is lost and afraid.
After a quiet dinner with my sister last night, I suggested we go outside to the front porch to watch the sun starting to set. As we stepped out the UPS person had just dropped off a package. God bless those wonderful essential workers. It was a box of fresh Palms that were supposed to be given out for Palm Sunday this weekend, that will never be used to bless the world now. He had run back into his truck and I can hear him yell to me to call 911 “Hey! A blind man just fell and he is hurt – do you know him?” My sister was going to jump into action, and started to run down the stairs and I stopped her. “No, Nancy you stay here” and I moved toward him and watched him get up. He had a cut on his chin that was bleeding but seemed okay. I recognized him from the block. He is young man that I often say hello to. Sadly, I do not even know his name. I have spoken to his caregiver who helps him to be very active and independent. “Can I help you get home?” I called out. He yelled back, “No! No! Stay away from me.” To be honest, I was glad he said that because I was afraid to. We called his caregiver and all turned out okay. But I knew I didn’t do enough….and it broke my heart.
I had trouble sleeping last night and scrolling endlessly through social media I read a post from a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. Father Mike, another independent Catholic priest, operates a food truck for the hungry and a homeless shelter. He is one of my “priest heroes” long before this terrible time. His post hit a nerve, “All of the Clergy hiding in their rectories and behind cameras should be banned from ever preaching about the Martyrs and the Church Fathers ever again! You can still serve while maintaining social distancing and safe practices! Jesus Weeps.” It hit home because every day I am broadcasting a “Prayers during Pandemic” service LIVE to help give a message of hope. I added a comment about judging others, clearly I should be listening to my own words. Maybe Father Mike is right. We need to do more, we need to have more purpose, we need to use this time of world pause to help each other, and of course doing so safely. This can be the time to help our Earth heal and be better for not only tomorrow but for generations to come. But most importantly, we need to find the blessings that are hidden in these dreadful times and find those blessings that are right before us as Spring comes to the world and we must look to this re-birth of ourselves during these most challenging and quiet days. It seems the Earth is starting to heal and I just hope that all of us can do so as well.
As those palms that were delivered yesterday symbolize Jesus returning to Jerusalem after those 40 days of prayer, isolated and alone, in the desert, we too can use this time to pray and reflect. Although those palms may not physically reach the faithful this year, they will spiritually and wait patiently for Ash Wednesday next year, to be burned and start anew. Further confirmation that there is hope that the world and life will go on.
May God protect and love you all+
Rev. Dr. Joseph Ciccone a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care. Here is currently assigned to Saint Joseph Mission Church, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins and to people in need wherever they may be. I have also been a Chapel Minister at Saint James Chapel at Union Seminary and specialize in traditional and non-traditional Catholic, Christian and Interfaith ceremonies. Our Mission on the Move began in New Jersey in 2016, thus far we have married nearly 400 couples, Baptized so many of the children and some of the couples we have married. We make countless hospital visits and give the anointing of the sick, bring the sacraments to the home bound, the lost and broken and those who needs Gods love but have been hurt by the traditional church.
Rev. Fr Joseph Ciccone, is Pastor of Saint Joseph Mission Progressive Catholic Church, Cliffside Park NJ. Please join Father Joe as he holds a Prayers of Hope service from St. Joseph’s Mission Church, Daily at 1 pm ET: https://www.facebook.com/saintjosephmissionchurch/. Father Joe is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.
____________________
I have been a helper all my life, a cop for 20 years, and a teacher and college professor for another 20 years as well. Now I am a Progressive Catholic Priest, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins. Our ministry tries to help those who are lost, broken, and have been rejected by traditional religion and sometimes even thrown away by society itself. Even through all the ups and downs (and there were many) I loved going to work every single day and still do. Oddly, especially during challenging and difficult times, I felt most called and even excited about being out there making a difference. Clearly one of the most poignant times was the AIDS epidemic when I was a first responder through that entire period. I always felt I had the best and one of the more important jobs ever. I was scared, but never wavered during that time of being in my twenties and thinking I was invincible. Although a lot changed in my life and a call to service came crashing down in 2001 along with the World Trade Center which gave me the ability to start anew. Seminary would happen a few years later and now doing ministry that I hope is a true and powerful call and to really be of service to others has been a great blessing that I will be forever grateful for.
But this pandemic seems different. Maybe it is because I am older, have two of the high-risk factors, heart condition and diabetes. Plus, I am the sole caregiver for my special needs sister, after the death of our mother 3 years ago. I have always been a fearless, relentless social justice advocate fighting to make the world a better place. Now I am a social distant observer, fearful witness to a world that seems to be falling apart and I am lost. I know I am not alone as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and purpose. Countless people worldwide are in lock down. Italians are no longer singing from their Terraces and I would venture to say that almost everyone is lost and afraid.
After a quiet dinner with my sister last night, I suggested we go outside to the front porch to watch the sun starting to set. As we stepped out the UPS person had just dropped off a package. God bless those wonderful essential workers. It was a box of fresh Palms that were supposed to be given out for Palm Sunday this weekend, that will never be used to bless the world now. He had run back into his truck and I can hear him yell to me to call 911 “Hey! A blind man just fell and he is hurt – do you know him?” My sister was going to jump into action, and started to run down the stairs and I stopped her. “No, Nancy you stay here” and I moved toward him and watched him get up. He had a cut on his chin that was bleeding but seemed okay. I recognized him from the block. He is young man that I often say hello to. Sadly, I do not even know his name. I have spoken to his caregiver who helps him to be very active and independent. “Can I help you get home?” I called out. He yelled back, “No! No! Stay away from me.” To be honest, I was glad he said that because I was afraid to. We called his caregiver and all turned out okay. But I knew I didn’t do enough….and it broke my heart.
I had trouble sleeping last night and scrolling endlessly through social media I read a post from a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. Father Mike, another independent Catholic priest, operates a food truck for the hungry and a homeless shelter. He is one of my “priest heroes” long before this terrible time. His post hit a nerve, “All of the Clergy hiding in their rectories and behind cameras should be banned from ever preaching about the Martyrs and the Church Fathers ever again! You can still serve while maintaining social distancing and safe practices! Jesus Weeps.” It hit home because every day I am broadcasting a “Prayers during Pandemic” service LIVE to help give a message of hope. I added a comment about judging others, clearly I should be listening to my own words. Maybe Father Mike is right. We need to do more, we need to have more purpose, we need to use this time of world pause to help each other, and of course doing so safely. This can be the time to help our Earth heal and be better for not only tomorrow but for generations to come. But most importantly, we need to find the blessings that are hidden in these dreadful times and find those blessings that are right before us as Spring comes to the world and we must look to this re-birth of ourselves during these most challenging and quiet days. It seems the Earth is starting to heal and I just hope that all of us can do so as well.
As those palms that were delivered yesterday symbolize Jesus returning to Jerusalem after those 40 days of prayer, isolated and alone, in the desert, we too can use this time to pray and reflect. Although those palms may not physically reach the faithful this year, they will spiritually and wait patiently for Ash Wednesday next year, to be burned and start anew. Further confirmation that there is hope that the world and life will go on.
May God protect and love you all+
Rev. Dr. Joseph Ciccone a Priest in the Order of Franciscan Servants and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York with a Master of Divinity Degree in Ministry and Pastoral Care. Here is currently assigned to Saint Joseph Mission Church, bringing the Gospel to those in the margins and to people in need wherever they may be. I have also been a Chapel Minister at Saint James Chapel at Union Seminary and specialize in traditional and non-traditional Catholic, Christian and Interfaith ceremonies. Our Mission on the Move began in New Jersey in 2016, thus far we have married nearly 400 couples, Baptized so many of the children and some of the couples we have married. We make countless hospital visits and give the anointing of the sick, bring the sacraments to the home bound, the lost and broken and those who needs Gods love but have been hurt by the traditional church.
As is the case with any loan, the devil is in the details. The terms and covenants in the loan documents dictate what you can or can’t do with the money once you get it. You can only use the funds for the purposes you stated in your application — that is, to pay operating expenses of the business to keep it afloat until it starts bringing in sufficient revenue again. You (and your spouse) will probably have sign for the loan personally, and will probably have to pledge all available collateral, including a second (or third) mortgage on your house. If you maxed out your personal credit cards while anticipating your disaster relief funding, you can’t use the money to pay off your cards.
The writer is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. He was sentenced to serve over two years in Federal Prison for a white collar crime, and is scheduled to report next month. He sent me this prayer letter and asked me to post it on prisonist.org. – Jeff Grant
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar criminal justice/economy exiled community. It hosts a White Collar Support Group meeting online on Zoom every Monday at 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT, information here. We will be hosting our 200th consecutive weekly meeting online on Monday, April 13, 2020.
____________________
To President Trump, Members of Congress, Surgeon General, Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force & Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons,
On behalf of all those who are incarcerated, waiting to report or are in the process of working through the criminal justice system I write this prayer letter to bring a voice to our plight. As I am preparing to report to a federal prison, I believe it’s important that we do whatever I (we) can to advocate for ourselves.
“Early on in this pandemic, we learned that, as with other closed spaces such as cruise ships and nursing homes, the covid-19 coronavirus spread rapidly in Chinese correctional facilities. Now the United States, which leads the world when it comes to incarceration, faces that same challenge.”
The question on the minds of those that have family members in prison or waiting to report is what the government will do to intervene on our behalf. The most common recommendation put forward by the ACLU and other organizations is to reduce the population inside prisons and avoid the reporting of any new inmates unless the circumstances of the crime warrant removal from general population. Prison reform (The First Step Act) was signed into law in 2018 in order to address some of the many issues that have plagued our system for years. Like any change in law the process is slow and the suffering of those who are most affected take much too long to implement.
As the coronavirus continues to spread it has made its way into prisons and reports of infections are increasing daily. There have been numerous reports warning that this was inevitable due to the close proximity of the living quarters, where inmates share bathrooms, laundry and eating areas. As reported in the New York Times “jails experience a daily influx of correctional staff, vendors, health care workers, educators and visitors — all of whom carry viral conditions at the prison back to their homes and communities and return the next day packing the germs from back home. How will we prevent incarcerated people and those who work in these institutions from becoming ill and spreading the virus?” It’s obvious that it is impossible to avoid an outbreak in prisons even during the best of times.
Personal and societal change is difficult to achieve and is generally precipitated by some traumatic event such as COVID-19. This is especially true when it comes to laws that have been baked into our judicial system for many years. This pandemic is a national emergency that affects everyone. For those of us who are desperate to see change it is time that government and those that truly believe in criminal justice reform take immediate action to avoid the growing disaster that is happening in our nation’s prisons. For nonviolent offenders with low risk of recidivism there are other options that must be considered in order to avoid causing further harm. In a letter to Attorney General Barr dated March 20th from Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congresswomen Karen Bass they demanded answers on a multitude of suggestions that were made in a March 12th letter that would help during this pandemic and have yet to be addressed. “During this national emergency, DOJ should be doing all it can to increase social distancing and decrease movement to prevent further proliferation of COVID-19. This means that the Department must limit the number of inmates being brought into the system”
When we fail to consider all the costs and consequences of our system of mass incarceration, we run the risk of making a bad situation like this even worse. The justification for protecting public safety with imprisonment must be reassessed during this time as public safety will be at even greater danger if we fail to mitigate risks associated with confining too many people in jails, prisons, prison camps and detention facilities during a pandemic.
It is up to us as individuals to make sure our voices are heard and the word spreads faster than the virus itself. We can’t afford to wait for things to get better and allow people to forget what we are going through right now.
Respectfully submitted,
A Soon-to-be Federal Inmate
The writer is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings. He was sentenced to serve over two years in Federal Prison for a white collar crime, and is scheduled to report next month. He sent me this prayer letter and asked me to post it on prisonist.org. – Jeff Grant
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar criminal justice/economy exiled community. It hosts a White Collar Support Group meeting online on Zoom every Monday at 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT, information here. We will be hosting our 200th consecutive weekly meeting online on Monday, April 13, 2020.
____________________
To President Trump, Members of Congress, Surgeon General, Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force & Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons,
On behalf of all those who are incarcerated, waiting to report or are in the process of working through the criminal justice system I write this prayer letter to bring a voice to our plight. As I am preparing to report to a federal prison, I believe it’s important that we do whatever I (we) can to advocate for ourselves.
“Early on in this pandemic, we learned that, as with other closed spaces such as cruise ships and nursing homes, the covid-19 coronavirus spread rapidly in Chinese correctional facilities. Now the United States, which leads the world when it comes to incarceration, faces that same challenge.”
The question on the minds of those that have family members in prison or waiting to report is what the government will do to intervene on our behalf. The most common recommendation put forward by the ACLU and other organizations is to reduce the population inside prisons and avoid the reporting of any new inmates unless the circumstances of the crime warrant removal from general population. Prison reform (The First Step Act) was signed into law in 2018 in order to address some of the many issues that have plagued our system for years. Like any change in law the process is slow and the suffering of those who are most affected take much too long to implement.
As the coronavirus continues to spread it has made its way into prisons and reports of infections are increasing daily. There have been numerous reports warning that this was inevitable due to the close proximity of the living quarters, where inmates share bathrooms, laundry and eating areas. As reported in the New York Times “jails experience a daily influx of correctional staff, vendors, health care workers, educators and visitors — all of whom carry viral conditions at the prison back to their homes and communities and return the next day packing the germs from back home. How will we prevent incarcerated people and those who work in these institutions from becoming ill and spreading the virus?” It’s obvious that it is impossible to avoid an outbreak in prisons even during the best of times.
Personal and societal change is difficult to achieve and is generally precipitated by some traumatic event such as COVID-19. This is especially true when it comes to laws that have been baked into our judicial system for many years. This pandemic is a national emergency that affects everyone. For those of us who are desperate to see change it is time that government and those that truly believe in criminal justice reform take immediate action to avoid the growing disaster that is happening in our nation’s prisons. For nonviolent offenders with low risk of recidivism there are other options that must be considered in order to avoid causing further harm. In a letter to Attorney General Barr dated March 20th from Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congresswomen Karen Bass they demanded answers on a multitude of suggestions that were made in a March 12th letter that would help during this pandemic and have yet to be addressed. “During this national emergency, DOJ should be doing all it can to increase social distancing and decrease movement to prevent further proliferation of COVID-19. This means that the Department must limit the number of inmates being brought into the system”