Tim Herman is a member of the Ministry’s White Collar Support Group that meets every Monday evening on Zoom.
I spent four years at a federal prison camp in Tucson AZ.
On July 24, 2023, I signed a Release Plan which listed my “Referral Date” as August 24, 2023. This is the date my Case Manager gave the Chicago Region Reentry Management Office (RRM) as my release to the halfway house in Peoria IL. However, the Chicago RRM office claimed that the Peoria halfway house was full, and the next open bed space was November 29, 2023. I spent an extra 95 days in prison and I arrived at the Peoria, IL halfway house on November 29, 2023.
This halfway house is small – 25 beds. It used to be a nursing home, so it’s well-suited for its current purpose. My room is like a cheap college room complete with furniture you might find at Motel 6. I have two roommates, and we sleep in three separate full-size beds. Our room is approximately 400 SF and has a bathroom with a tub/shower. Every “resident” is allowed to have a TV not larger than 32” and we may purchase our own bedding (but not a pillow). Bedding is provided to indigent residents.
Our halfway house has a kitchen complete with a microwave, two refrigerators, two freezers, and plenty of cabinet space and storage. Breakfast and dinner are catered daily, and there is plenty of milk, orange juice, and coffee. Lunch is provided with cold-cuts, bread, and cheese. There are plenty of snacks available; all food and snacks are free, but soft drinks are available from a vending machine. Residents may buy their own canned foods (soups, Dinty Moore, etc). Restaurant food may also be delivered – but food from home is not allowed.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not own/operate federal halfway houses; the service is contracted to a variety of social service and nonprofit agencies like The Salvation Army, and to private companies. The Peoria halfway house is operated by Carle Clinic, a large regional healthcare provider.
I have been assigned a Case Manager, who is a Carle employee and who is responsible for administering the program consistent with BOP policy. The Case Managers report to a Facility Manager, who in turn reports to the Chicago RRM manager (BOP). Positive interaction and compliance with halfway house Case Managers and staff is important as this is the initial indication of a successful transition back to society. The fact that the halfway house staff here are not BOP employees is a very important distinction as they have not been institutionalized by years of working in the prison business. The staff here are “normal people” who genuinely seem to care about our well-being.
Halfway house residents do not have “custody levels” as one does in prison. For example, prison camps are minimum security, and do not house sex offenders or those with a violent crime conviction, but this halfway house population includes people with all sorts of criminal convictions. Nevertheless, all the residents here seem to get along well.
We are encouraged to find employment quickly. Recreation time away from the halfway house increases when we are employed. Weekend passes may be granted two to four weeks after arrival.
I will be released to home confinement on January 9, 2024, and I will remain under the management of the halfway house for the rest of my sentence which ends July 8, 2024. So far, my forty-one days at the Peoria halfway house has been a noticeable change from the Tucson prison camp. Spending time with my wife and family has been the highlight of being here, and having full use of my cellphone and laptop makes me feel productive and connected. It’s not home – but it’s halfway home.
White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series: Miriam Baer, Author of the Book, “Myths and Misunderstandings in White Collar Crime”, on Zoom, Dec. 12, 2023, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
We are honored to have Miriam Baer as the December speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series. Open to all!
Myths and Misunderstandings in White Collar Crime uses real world examples to explore the pathologies that hamper our ability to understand and redress white-collar crime. The book argues that several misinterpretations about white-collar crime continue to impede its enforcement, including: its failure to be classified according to degrees of severity in many jurisdictions; its failure to statutorily parse groups of defendants into major and minor players; and the failure of statutes to effectively define crimes, leading to the prosecution of ‘unwritten’ crimes. Miriam Baer offers a step-by-step framework, informed by theories of institutional design and behavioral psychology, for redressing these misunderstandings through ‘code design,’ or paying greater attention to how we write, frame, and lay out our federal criminal code, as a roadmap to more coherent and useful laws. A clearer, subdivided criminal code paves the way for a discussion of white-collar crime unmarred by myths and misunderstandings.
Miriam Baer is the Vice Dean and a Centennial Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. During the 2021-22 academic year, she was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, where she worked on her forthcoming book, Myths and Misunderstandings of White-Collar Crime (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).
Dean Baer writes and teaches at the intersection of business and criminal law. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, where she served as an Adviser on the ALI’s Principles of the Law of Compliance, Enforcement and Risk Management. Before academia, Dean Baer served as an assistant general counsel for compliance with Verizon and was also an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Baer is often quoted by major media outlets on issues of federal and white-collar crime. She has published widely, including in the Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Texas Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal Forum. She is also a co-editor of a leading white-collar crime casebook and has had her work featured and cited by several federal appellate courts.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her mini-labradoodle, Lucy.
We held a lunch and learning session with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the U.S. Pardon Attorney to raise awareness about the impact of restitution, share how restitution for many is a “life sentence,” and advocate for commutation of restitution. After our session with the NACDL, the NACDL contacted attorney David B. Smith, Esq. (a recent White Collar Week speaker) based on our recommendations.
David Smith and Jim Felman drafted the Fairness in Restitution Act. The NACDL Board approved the FIR Act. Two weeks ago, we received the final version (now available for review). Our supporters are currently the NACDL, The Federal Defenders, and Progressive Prison Ministries.
I am the legislative committee chairwoman of the campaign and have worked extensively with David Smith and the NACDL. Elise Roper is the Remission Now chairwoman. Cassandra Cean-Owens and Roxanne Jackson are invaluable members of the legislative committee.
We are all members of the Remission Now Campaign, and we are serving a “life sentence” due to oppressive and unfair restitution requirements.”
Bios:
Tanya R. Pierce, MBA: is a co-Founder of the RemissionNow campaign and was appointed by Dr. Topeka K. Sam, Founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), to lead the strategic and legislative planning. Tanya is the Founder of Life Unbolted, which supports people impacted by the federal carceral system. She created the Young Adult Initiative (YAI), a peer-led training, mentoring, coaching, and accountability cohort-style training for federally impacted individuals aged 18-24. The program collaborates with the U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York (EDNY) Special Options Services (SOS) Program. In 2022, she received the Department of Justice (DOJ) Token for participating as a credible messenger in the U.S. Attorney Office EDNY Inaugural Reentry Simulations and Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) contracted Residential Reentry Center (RRC) Forum. She was a contributing Stakeholder of the Coordination to Reduce Barriers to Reentry: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond: Report to Congress from the Reentry Coordination Council: April 2022.
Tanya has over 20 years of experience in real estate development. She holds a certificate in paralegal studies from CUNY Queens College, a certificate in JTC: Python Coding 3.9 from Columbia Business School. She is a NY Certified Peer Specialist. Tanya is a vocal federal criminal justice reformist.
Roxane Jackson: Roxanne is a dynamic and accomplished professional with a vibrant, engaging personality. She received her formative education in the Chicago Public Schools. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois, and obtained her law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Jackson has amassed over (30) years of senior management and human resources experience with numerous not-for-profits and Fortune 500 companies, such as FOX, L’Oreal USA, Mars Inc., and Omar Medical Supplies.
Her engaging demeanor gives her the ability to captivate, teach, and entertain audiences with her infectious enthusiasm, unique delivery, and thought-provoking content. Roxanne is currently the Midwest Regional Director of a national organization. Roxanne is building coalitions in the Midwest to address legislative changes needed to provide true second chances to those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Elise Dixon-Roper: a co-founder of the RemissionNow campaign, was a managing partner in a small minority law firm in Chicago when she was indicted in 2012 for mail fraud. Prior to her sentencing, Elise had practiced law for 20 years. In 2015, Elise was sentenced to 15 months, serving 9 months in Lexington, KY. In 2021, Elise reached out to Dr. Topeka K. Sam, Founder of the Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM) to see how she could help her and several of her friends with restitution. The Fairness in Restitution (FIR Act) is a result of this group’s perseverance in trying to help the thousands of people who are stuck in a life sentence due to restitution. Elise is currently an Operations Manager for a consulting/insurance firm in Chicago. Her main goal now is to obtain remission and to help pass the FIR Act.
Cassandra Cean-Owens: a co-founder of the RemissionNow Campaign and former litigation, transactional, and managing attorney was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison, resulting in her disbarment by the New York State Bar. Her release to home detention in May 2020 amidst the COVID pandemic ignited her passion for criminal justice reform. Cassandra, now under federal supervision, is deeply committed to contributing positively to society. During her time at Danbury Federal Prison Camp, she instructed legal research and writing classes, founded the prison’s law library, and crafted the curriculum for the United States Department of Labor Legal Secretary Apprenticeship Program. Cassandra’s multifaceted life includes serving as a licensed practical nurse on weekends, a Sunday School Bible Teacher for adults, and a former chaplain for the New York City Police Department. She co-designed Columbia Law School’s Paralegal Pathway Program and serves as its program Ambassador, reflecting her unwavering commitment to making a meaningful difference in the world. Cassandra resides in New York with her husband Isaih R. Owens, Esq., and nine-year-old daughter.
Background Restitution is intended to be a compensatory, not punitive, component of a defendant’s sentence after a conviction. Too often, however, the restitution imposed is unfairly onerous, disproportionate to the harm actually caused by the person, and unsupported by evidence. Even after a person has served their prison sentence, many restitution orders make it difficult for a person to start their life again, to care for their family and dependents, and even to make the required restitution. Many people who have served short sentences for crimes are burdened years and even decades later by restitution requirements. Restitution can become a “life sentence.”
Summary The FIR Act would improve federal restitution law by: Ensuring fairness, proportionality, and accuracy in the amount of restitution owed.
Require that the Government show actual loss sustained by a victim as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s actions.
Eliminate joint and several liability and ensure that defendants are only responsible for compensating harms they themselves caused.
Hold an evidentiary hearing for proving or disproving the amounts included in a restitution order. Preventing restitution obligations from becoming overly onerous or lengthy.
Change the statutory period of liability to pay a fine from 20 years to 10 years and preventing extensions, which current law does not allow for but were sometimes permitted by courts.
Allow courts to consider the economic circumstances of a defendant so that defendants are not burdened with unfair and unrealistic burdens.
Prevent the seizing or garnishing of wages, benefits, or certain other amounts if it would leave the defendant assets that would qualify them for the appointment of counsel under federal guidelines.
Allow defendants to petition for a change in their restitution order if their economic circumstances change.
Allow defendants to keep small amounts of money made outside of wages and benefits, such as small gifts or inheritances. Helping victims recover while also helping defendants avoid burdensome debts.
Require that any amounts collected by the Government first go to satisfaction of a restitution order, in cases where both restitution and forfeiture are required.
Allow settlements of outstanding restitution obligations which would guarantee an amount of restitution for victims while removing a burden from the defendant.
Exempt any reduction in restitution amount owed from being counted as income for income tax purposes.
“Join us in this week’s episode as we discuss what he has learned along the way about relationships, work ethic, service, God, addiction, prison, and sobriety. This is a deep dive into how to love, tell your truth, and live a meaningful spiritual life in service to others.”
“Over 20 million people are suffering right now from substance abuse, often in silence. This secrecy around addiction creates shame which then increases the addiction, which then increases the shame.
This vicious cycle can only be broken if we first break the stigma of addiction and the silence and shame that perpetuates it. This week’s guest on the Cracking Open podcast is Jeff Grant, and he’s here to do just that.
After a basketball injury, Jeff was prescribed opioids for the pain and thus began his slippery slope into substance dependency. His growing addiction led Jeff down a path filled with secrecy and lies that ultimately caused the loss of his law firm, a suicide attempt, a felony fraud conviction, and a federal prison sentence.
This cracking open moment radically awakened Jeff’s life and soul. After being released from prison, Jeff earned his Master of Divinity, served at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries, and then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. – the world’s first ministry dedicated to serving people navigating the white-collar criminal justice system.
Jeff’s law license has since been reinstated, and he once again founded a private law practice in New York City where he is committed to using his legal expertise and life experience to benefit others. He also recently celebrated his 21st year of sobriety.
Join us in this week’s episode as we discuss what he has learned along the way about relationships, work ethic, service, God, addiction, prison, and sobriety. This is a deep dive into how to love, tell your truth, and live a meaningful spiritual life in service to others.”
We were honored to have Doug Berman as the October speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series.
Among other important topics, Prof. Berman discussed the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent sentencing guidelines revisions for certain first time offenses including a two-point reduction, noncustodial sentences and retroactivity. And there was an extensive Q&A!
Professor Douglas A. Berman is Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and Executive Director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, housed in the Moritz College of Law., Ohio State University. Berman’s principal teaching and research focus is in the area of criminal law and criminal sentencing, though he also has teaching and practice experience in the fields of legislation and intellectual property. He has taught Criminal Law, Criminal Punishment and Sentencing, Criminal Procedure – Investigation, Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform Seminar, Federal and State Clemency Decision-making, The Death Penalty, Legislation, Introduction to Intellectual Property, Second Amendment Seminar, and the Legislation Clinic.
Professor Berman attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. In law school, he was an editor and developments office chair of the Harvard Law Review and also served as a teaching assistant for a Harvard University philosophy course. After graduation from law school in 1993, Professor Berman served as a law clerk for Judge Jon O. Newman and then for Judge Guido Calabresi, both on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After clerking, Professor Berman was a litigation associate at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison in New York City.
Professor Berman is the co-author of two casebooks. Sentencing Law and Policy: Cases, Statutes and Guidelines, published by Aspen Publishers, is now in its fifth edition. Marijuana Law and Policy was released by Carolina Academic Press in 2020. In addition to authoring numerous publications on topics ranging from capital punishment to the federal sentencing guidelines, Professor Berman has served as an editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter for more than twenty five years, and also serves as co-managing editor of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.
Professor Berman is the sole creator and author of the widely-read and widely-cited blog, Sentencing Law and Policy (https://sentencing.typepad.com/). The blog often receives nearly 100,000 page views per month (and had over 20,000 hits the day of the Supreme Court’s major sentencing decision in United States v. Booker). Professor Berman’s work on the Sentencing Law and Policy blog, which he describes as a form of “scholarship in action,” has been profiled or discussed at length in articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal, Legal Affairs magazine, Lawyers Weekly USA, Legal Times, Columbus Monthly, and in numerous other print and online publications…
Please join us for the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Fall Institute on Friday, November 3, 2023 at the Madison Hotel, 1177 15th Street, Washington, DC. Last year, 15 Fellow Travelers attended this conference together and then we all went out to Carmine’s Italian Restaurant for an evening of camaraderie, stories, laughter – and great food! Let’s do it again!
I am honored to serve as Co-Chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section Reentry & Collateral Consequences Committee. – Jeff
Our friend and White Collar Week podcast guest Christopher Poulos, Executive Director of Center for Justice and Human Dignity , has organized this important conference. It is especially on-point for Fellow Travelers and all members of the white collar justice community. We will be sending a contingent and hope to see you there!
“Join us on October 16-17, 2023 at Rewriting the Sentence II Summit on Alternatives to Incarceration in Washington, D.C. to explore the future of effective innovations in the criminal legal system.
Featured speakers include United States Sentencing Commission Chairman Judge Carlton Reeves, Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters, and Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, Founder and Director of the Institute for Trauma-Informed Systems Change at McLean/Harvard.”
Please check out my interview on Beyond The Balance Sheet with hosts, Diana Clark & Arden O’Connor of the O’Connor Professional Group – Behavioral Health Navigation. The podcast discusses the important mix of legal and psychological training advisors need to serve their clients best.
“Jeff Grant possesses an intriguing narrative that he candidly recounts. His journey began with opioid addiction and culminated in him borrowing funds from clients’ accounts, leading to his incarceration. Jeff underwent a transformative experience, earning his Master of Divinity degree and successfully reinstating his law license. He now serves as the visionary behind Progressive Prison Ministries and GrantLaw, which is dedicated to aiding individuals convicted of white-collar offenses by providing them with moral support and defense. This episode will be one of your favorites.”
IN THIS EPISODE: [01:27] Jeff shares his background story from being a successful lawyer to drug addiction and hopelessness ending in attempted suicide [04:21] Would white-collar crime still have been manifested if it were not for drug addiction? Jeff discusses the motivations of people within the Progressive Prison Ministries [08:16] Arden asks if financial institutions unintentionally reward people with values that lead them down a white-collar path [11:45] Jeff discusses life before and after crime and how families cope with life after white-collar crime [18:24] Jeff discusses what his family experienced and why he started the GrantLaw Firm [26:27] Jeff gives his advice to anyone who finds themselves involved in a white-collar crime scenario
KEY TAKEAWAYS: White-collar crime brings down a lot more than just you. It brings down your family, friends, and sometimes an entire community. Insider trading is a crime of opportunity and a lifetime sentence even after serving time. Many marriages do not survive white-collar crime, but there is hope, and listeners can contact Jeff’s firm for advice.
BIOGRAPHY After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison (2006 – 07) for a white-collar crime (SBA loan fraud) he committed in 2001, Jeff started his reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, majoring in Social Ethics. After graduating from divinity school, Jeff was called to serve at an inner city church in Bridgeport, CT as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. He then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first ministry dedicated to serving people navigating the white-collar criminal justice system.
On May 5, 2021, Jeff’s law license was reinstated by the Supreme Court of the State of New York. On August 10, 2023, he celebrated 21 years of continuous sobriety.
Jeff has founded the law firm of GrantLaw, PLLC, is once again in private practice in New York City and is committed to using his legal expertise and life experience to benefit others.
GrantLaw, PLLC, is a new type of law firm providing private general counsel services to clients who have previously faced or who could be facing white-collar prosecutions and regulatory proceedings and their companies and families. In this role, Jeff and his team assist clients in making critical and timely business and family decisions and in executing them so that they have the best chance to come out the other side with lives of purpose, meaning and success.
“Jeff Grant is the real deal… I can’t imagine there is a lawyer in this country more qualified to consider the complex issues facing people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families.” – Evan Osnos, The New Yorker.
What are holidays like in prison?” It’s a big and important question because so many fears course through our minds as we walk this path, and this is one of them.
An important aspect of a justice journey is understanding that everyone’s experiences are their experiences; they aren’t set in stone. This was my experience; it doesn’t mean it will be someone else’s experience.
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“Remorse is the poison of life.” – CHARLOTTE BRONTË
There’s a sadness in the air. It’s not just mine; it belongs to all of us. None of us complains.
What’s the point? We’re all in the same boat, all wishing we weren’t. We keep our wishes to ourselves, doing our best to maintain our routines, all the while struggling with what we should be doing, not what our reality is. There’s no reason to say it because we’re all thinking the same exact thing.
We all wish we were home with our families doing whatever each of us does on Christmas Day. There is a collective, unspoken desire that Christmas disappears just for the time we are in prison. We’d like to skip the day or at least be unaware of it.
I should be home but I’m not. I should be waking up next to her, kissing her shoulder, wishing her a Merry Christmas, as she rolls over with a sleepy smile, saying, “Hi, baby, Merry Christmas.”
I can hear her morning voice in my ear, not yet awake, soft and gentle. I love it.
I should be bringing her lavender tea in bed and the first present of the day. I should be next to her, celebrating not only Christmas but the anniversary of my proposal. We should be sitting on the floor, under the light of the tree, opening our presents, opening Matisse’s and Athena’s gifts. We should be making breakfast.
We should be together. But we’re not and it’s my fault. I want to escape the regret and the weight of this day. I look to our last Christmas together but I ruined that one too. We woke to the shadow of prison in the air and the pain from the accident in our bones. Two Christmases have been destroyed and I’ll be here for the next one as well.
This isn’t Christmas. It isn’t an anniversary. It’s just another day I want to end.
As a thought leader in personal reinvention, Craig’s mission revolves around guiding individuals from the anguish of unfulfillment into the joy of a purpose-driven life of meaning. His work empowers people to break free from their status quo, reconnect with their true selves, and unleash their full potential so they can discover more profound meaning and purpose in life beyond professional, financial, and material success.
