For three and a half years, Jason and I wrote letters and occasionally talked on the phone. He was located in a prison quite a distance away, and with me having a young child at that time, it never worked out for me to visit. In the beginning, Jason had put his faith in the appellate system and habeas corpus. Looking back, I can tell you this: While Jason waited for someone from his family to go talk to his attorneys, things slipped through the cracks. We are still not sure what happened with his appeal, though we know it was denied. Jason's family, having been financially ruined from paying for FOUR criminal trials and emotionally drained after losing him to the system, dropped the legal ball so to speak. During this period, Jason had high hopes that something would turn out for him. There's really not much to say except that we were both waiting for that "something" to happen, but it never did.
Toward the end of this phase, Jason and I were still in contact, but I was beginning to lose hope and pull away emotionally. Our letters and calls got fewer and fewer. I was struggling with wanting to be there for him, but I was sick about facing a life alone. On some days I feared he would never come home.
In the beginning of 2008, I moved, and though Jason said he wrote me 30 letters after that, but I never received any. Not one. I had had a health scare around that time, and I would later find out that since he never heard from me (I had not received his letters and thus had nothing to respond to), he feared the worst...that I had died. I thought he had simply pulled away from me. Though I was sad, I understood how difficult it must be for him. The three and a half years to come we now refer to as the "missing" years.
Chapter 3...
Our story begins again! In August of 2011, out of the blue I heard from him. I can't explain how happy I was. Or how happy he was! Within 24 hours we picked up right where we had left off. It was as if no time had passed, and our love was stronger than ever. He had been in prison at this point for 10 years, and one of the sweetest things he ever said to me was that he would "pull another 10 if he would end up with me." I told him to bite his tongue! He told me that it would likely be 3-1/2 years until he was up for parole, but I was ready to wait. We had something to cling to, something to look forward to. He moved to a closer prison, one that's only about an hour drive away, so I go and visit him every weekend. We still write letters, but we talk on the phone more. It's easier in a way than it was in chapter 2 of our story because with seeing him every week, we really are sharing each others' lives. I've even gotten to know his son, who I take to visit him on occasion.
I found out that nothing had ever happened with his case from a legal standpoint, and I attacked it from every angle I could. I met with several attorneys to discuss clemency, habeas corpus, and I even went to the courthouse and read the entire trial 4 transcript. What I found out was that his attorneys had DESTROYED all of his files. Everything gone. And they were within their legal right, as they only are required to retain it for 8 years. This blew my mind. And put us back to square one. So, if we wanted to pursue habeas corpus, it was cost a minimum of $15,000 to retain the attorney, and since they would be starting from scratch, having only the trial transcript to start from, it could cost more.
Not having any money, I did the only thing I could. I filed for clemency on his behalf. This was filed December 1, 2012, and has yet to be addressed by the parole board. According to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles website, they have six months to investigate the clemency plea and come to a decision. In May of 2013, Jason's prison file was requested, and he was scheduled to be interviewed by the clemency investigator. However, that interview was canceled (along with all other interviews scheduled at the prison) and has never been rescheduled. We think his file is sitting somewhere on someone's desk, forgotten. I have called, written letters, and emailed everyone from the warden to the Governor, and I cannot get any kind of response regarding this.
So now we are patiently waiting for him to come up for parole. He was initially eligible in January of 2015, but with a new bill that passed a couple of years ago, he comes up six months early, which is next month--July of 2014! I am praying that they release him, as we still do not have the money to hire the attorney for habeas corpus. He could be home any day now. It seems like it has been such a long road, and we are now finally at the end, ready to begin our Happily Ever After.
The hardest part for me is probably the lack of physical contact. We can't touch during visits, except saying hello and goodbye. And the loneliest part of my day is when I lie down in bed at night, wishing he were snuggled up with me. The hardest part for him at the moment is the unbearable heat. There is no air conditioning there, and the Georgia summers are torture. They are not even allowed to go shirtless, so the heat is stifling. There are so many things I can't wait for him to have and experience when he comes home!
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