2015 Update

This story has been neglected!  So here's an update.  In June we finally got the parole board's decision that he was denied.  I was on the floor for about two days before I bounced back and got back to my normal, mostly positive self.  He took it like a champ, as he does everything.  He's really so amazing....

The first thing that I did was send a letter to the Governor asking for a recommendation for release.  In Georgia, the Governor can't pardon an inmate, but he can write a letter to the parole board recommending release. 

Then I proceeded to write a letter to the parole board asking that they reconsider their decision.  In it, I outlined what I imagined to be all the qualities of a "perfect" parole candidate, of which Jason has every single one.  

So, life carried on as usual.  He can be paroled at any time they choose to let him go, for any reason.  It's a constant state of suspense in a way. 

About 10 days ago, he was moved without warning and without requesting it, to a new prison.  This  might be very good news!  We don't know yet.  What we do know is that the prison he was sent to offers classes to prepare for release, so he has signed up for the necessary classes.  He also likes it much better there.  It's the same driving distance for me, and it is a privately-run prison instead of a state-run prison, which Jason has told me is like a night and day difference.  He has air conditioning!  I told him that was the number 1 thing that made me happy.  He said the food there is actually edible, which is his number 1 joy.  He can also go outside to "yard" on a daily basis, which is something he was rarely able to do at his last prison.  For him, the icing on the cake is that he will have a teaching position.  He has always wanted to be a teacher, and years ago was a teacher in the prison system until they found out he previously worked with computers (I guess they thought it might be a risk of him escaping somehow?)....I know it makes no sense. 

If he's happy, I'm happy.  :)  I will be much happier if and when they send him home.  I've been very patient, I think.  It has been YEARS.  It is time. <3

ALMOST NEW YEAR'S

We had such an awesome weekend...we don't usually get two visits back to back, but I had a bad feeling Thursday night that told me not to go on Friday (which was the original plan).  It turns out that my feeling was right: They had an accident in the visitation waiting area where the emergency pepper sprays diffused. I'm glad I missed that!  So, I visited Saturday and Sunday. We missed each other terribly Sunday night and today. I know it will be even worse by the end of next weekend since I will be visiting twice more. Four visits in nine days will be so great, but it makes it that much more painful.

The good news is, it's almost January! We are hoping to hear from the parole board in January, so with each day that passes, we both grow more and more excited.  Of course I will post once I get the news.

HOLIDAY BLUES AND LOCKED DOWN AGAIN

We still have not heard from the parole board, so I'm expecting something in January (if they are not backlogged).  It's been October since they received Jason's file for parole consideration.  His dorm has been locked down since Thursday...I have no idea why and probably won't get any details until they are out and I have heard from him.

I've been having the holiday blues, and this just makes it worse.  I hate going days with no contact, and I know he is stuck in his cell with nobody to talk to but his roommate.  At least this time he has some books to read.

I need him to come home.  I really do.  I was hoping some way some how they would let him come home before Christmas.  That might still happen...Of course, I will post here as soon as I hear something!

HURRY UP AND WAIT...

Being stuck in waiting mode is very frustrating.  Knowing that Jason could literally be home any day but that his file has still not been sent due to administrative drag is upsetting to me, to say the least.  For over a week now, Jason's counselor has been trying to meet with him to finalize his file so that it can be sent to the Parole Board.  Well, last Friday she had off.  Then on Monday she saw him and said she would send for him on Tuesday.  Tuesday came and went.  Wednesday, she got pulled away from her duties to distribute food packages, as the prison is as always short-staffed.  Thursday, the counselor sent for him, but the officer in his area never gave him the message to come to the counselor's office because he was too lazy to deliver the message to him.  And alas here we are back at Friday when the counselor doesn't work.  Apparently many people there only work 4-day weeks, and they're constantly being pulled in other directions to cover for areas where there is a staffing shortage, so basically nothing gets done or it literally takes forever.

I'm trying to be patient.  Jason keeps telling me to be patient.  I respond in typical fashion that I have been waiting YEARS, and that it is now just a matter of someone sending something along on his behalf that could be his ticket home.  I've lost patience.  I'm ready.  He's ready.  Let's do this already!

THE PROCESS HAS BEGUN!

Finally, Jason received word today that the Parole Board has requested his file/parole summary from his counselor.  Yay!  This is the first step in the parole process.  Once the parole summary is complete (which his counselor said would probably not be until the end of October), the Parole Board will make the decision of whether to parole him or not.  I just KNOW they will, given his unique circumstances.  :D  I'm still in shock.  We've waited for this for what seems like forever.  He is afraid to hope, afraid that he will be let down, so he's trying not to think about it at all.  I told him to do whatever he wants to make himself feel better.  I have enough hope for the both of us! <3

PAROLE ELIGIBLE!

Yes!  It's official...Jason is finally parole eligible!  I'm praying that they will grant him parole soon.  In the meantime, I am headed to Atlanta this Friday for the Georgia Department of Corrections' Family Day where we can speak with the warden and other GDOC representatives.  To my knowledge, this only happens one day out of the year, so I'm on it!  I've been waiting a long time.  You can NEVER get in touch with the warden.  I believe it is set up that way on purpose:  He has no voice mail, no email, and you cannot leave a message to have him call you back, and of course he is never available when you call.  I have faxed him and send him snail mail letters without response, as well.  So, this will be a very important meeting for us.  There are four things that Jason has specifically asked me to address:

1.  Ask for information on programs for life sentences.

2.  How are we supposed to order books?  A little background on this...there is very little that prisoners are allowed to receive, and it must always come through a third party source.  They used to allow books to be sent in to prisoners through Amazon, but they have now put a stop to that, for God only knows what reason.  They expect inmates to now purchase books using the money they have on their accounts (provided by their family) which we cannot figure out, since this isn't the 70s when you could place book orders from a catalog.  I truly don't think such a book store exists.

3.  Discuss the many visitation issues/problems with the warden.

4.  Safety concerns, particularly about gang violence getting out of control.  Jason is not in a gang, but non-gang members suffer, too.  Sometimes they get caught in the cross-fire, or they are punished for things that gang members do to each other (like last week's 7-day lock-down).

I was at visitation on Sunday, and in line for almost an hour.  The visitors typically end up discussing prison topics during this time, and I was enlightened about rumors such as families will soon be required to supply toilet paper--really?  I thought it was ridiculous when Jason told me that the inmates were required to bring their own spoons to "chow," as the prison did not supply them.  I said "Plastic spoons?"  Yep--plastic spoons.  I already know that he has to pay for his medicine and doctor visits, when they allow him to be seen.

If I hear one more person talking about how good inmates have it...

PSEUDO-FREEDOM!

Yay!  The 7-day lock down has ended.  My sweet is free to roam the dorm.  And shower.  And get decent (by prison standards) food.  :D  I'm so happy I could cry!  Oh wait...I did cry.  LOL

So here's the scoop:  Apparently there is a new law in the state of Georgia where if there is a gang-related fight (and that is a term used loosely), there will be a mandatory 7-day lock down of the entire dorm.  And gang can be defined as real Crips versus Bloods type of violence or anything more than one-on-one fighting. Sigh.  Is it just me or does it seem like they never solve the problem, they just make things worse for all?  Contrary to popular belief, peer pressure does not work in a prison setting, so punishing everyone for the actions of one, or more than two as it were, does nothing but punish those who are unlucky enough to cohabit in the same dorm.

Even as I'm writing this, I can hear the collective sound of apathy.  Unless you have been in a prison or have a loved one who is, the issue of humane treatment of prisoners is probably pretty low on your priority list.  After re-posting a video on Facebook yesterday that I ultimately had to take down, it really hit home with me that there are so many people in this country who either just don't get it or just don't care.  That pains me because not only is the love of my life in prison for something he didn't do, but he has also met other "good" guys in there who have helped him, and I feel for them, as well.  Nobody should be treated the way they are.

So this brings up the debate:  Government says that people are imprisoned to rehabilitate them, not punish them.  Studies prove that their intentions are suffering miserably.  And I agree that there are guilty prisoners who have committed heinous acts, and I want those people to stay in there.  But even before Jason's unfortunate situation I have always disagreed with capital punishment because there are SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE IN PRISON.  Unless someone confesses or there is irrefutable evidence (like video of them carrying out the crime), you cannot be certain.  I would rather let a few guilty go free than to put to death even one innocent person.  I'm sure a lot of people would disagree.  I can't even entertain the thought of what would have happened if Jason had gotten the death penalty.  No, we won't go there...

Though it may be unpopular to do so, I will continue to try to bring light to the plight of prisoners in the US.  I understand that there are some prisons here that do treat inmates well.  But I think the vast majority do not.  Imagine for a moment that you were locked down for 7 days in the Georgia heat with no air flow, only one shower in that seven-day period, eating food that is so bad you would rather not eat at all, no cold clean water to drink, as you are punished for something you didn't do.  You have nothing to do except to talk to your bunk mate, and you are in a tiny space.  You can't communicate with or see your loved ones.

Jason said it was as bad as being in the hole.  The hole is solitary confinement.  I told him about that Facebook post, and that I had shown the video to let people know that prisoners do not have it as good as they think they do, as I see people posting all the time on Facebook how well they think prisoners are treated.  For the first time ever in the smallest voice I have ever heard him use I heard, "They REALLY think that?"  It broke my heart to hear the hurt and disbelief in his voice.  And then I changed the topic.