While I was in solitary, I could speak to inmates in adjacent cells through the grating of the plumbing access panels that separated our cells It was from those men that I learned how to prepare for my pre-sentence investigation, prison programs that could reduce my sentence, how the federal bureau of prisons would determine which prison I would serve my sentence, how I could continue my relationship with my family while I would be away, and most of the questions that I had for my attorneys. Frequently the very topics that we discuss during our White Collar Support group meetings.
I had visited prisons as a law student, as a prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney. Yet, the majority of my understanding of prison life was irrationally shaped by Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Angels with Dirty Face, and other fictional accounts. My fears were based on my ignorance.
I was sentenced to 60 months. As a result of an inmate telling me about RDAP (the residential drug abuse program) I was honest with the presentence investigator and shared with her my history of alcohol abuse. If not for that inmate, I would have thought sharing that truth would have hurt me even more at sentencing. If I had known of the White Collar Support Group, I would have been aware of RDAP and that completing it would reduce my sentence by 12 months. I would have learned of “Earned Good Time”, “Residential Reentry Centers”, home confinement and a myriad of
I served 5 months in solitary confinement before being transferred to the Oklahoma Transportation Center via “ConAir”, and ultimately served an additional 29 months in FCI-Morgantown. I lost my reputation, my elected office, my military career, my pensions, my law license, my home and most tragically time with my loved ones.
After my release from prison, I spent 6 months on home confinement and am now on supervised release. While there may be no one way to prepare for any of these things. I am fortunate that once I returned home I found Rev. Jeff Grant through social media, and he has greatly assisted my reentry.
Jeff listens. I look forward to our weekly White Collar Support Group meetings. I now have a network of friends that I can share my concerns with that have experienced the very same things that I am going through. I listen to people that I have lived it. I hear the good, the bad and the miraculous. These new friends are not just faces on a zoom screen. Frequently, we connect via phone or email to follow up and support each other.
“It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is community.” and I now have the White Collar Support Group to thank for creating one for me. Hopefully, I can give to others as much as I have gratefully received.
