Untitled

I have arrived.

After the arrest, I waited 14 long months for the trial. Knowing the jury held the fate of the rest of my life. I guess they found it wasn't worth much, as they sentenced me to 20 years in prison.

And now I'm here. Home sweet home...

I committed a crime. There's no denying that.

I'm going to prison. There's no denying that either.

The only question left: how long?

The plea deal I accept clarified I could be sentenced "up to 30 years". That's pretty vague. Maybe it will be 5 years? 10 years? God forbid, all 30??

I've been looking down at this sight for 4 years. When I woke up this morning, I knew that could be the last time. I have my parole hearing today.

They cuffed me up and shuffled me to the prison van. This was my first time being outside the premises of my prison since my sentencing. Out the window, I could saw all the normal people milling about. Soon I could be them! Not a number, but a person. No longer on this God awful uniform.

Of course, that didn't happen. The board voted to deny me parole 0 to 9. Not a single member approved of my release. My next parole hearing? 4/15/2028.

The strangest thing happened today...

I was finally given permission to buy a tablet from the commissary because of my good behavior. Having not had internet access since my sentencing hearing, I decided to Google myself and see how publicized my trial was to the general public. Unsurprisingly, I found dozens of articles. All with pictures of me cuffed up and in court. 

What I didn't expect were that those pictures were being spread around online by a group of prison enthusiasts. I guess these guys have a thing for prison. They like to look at pictures of inmates and read about their arrest and trial. I guess some of them even like to pretend to be locked up. Pretty strange...

I commit a crime, am found guilty, get sentenced 40 years in prison and something about that is attractive to these perverts?? What's wrong with them?

Ah, well. I guess I'm not in a position to complain these days. I'm an inmate now. 

I was sentenced today.

Last night was strange. Laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, knowing this might be the last time I would sleep in a non- prison cell for a few years. Still, I was holding out hope that the judge would be lenient. I was running over every scenario. It's very possible that the judge sentences me to prison. 2 years? 3 years? Maybe I can get off with just probation?

As you can see, I wasn't so lucky. When my lawyer suggested an alternative sentence to incarceration, the judge just laughed and said, "There's no version of events where your client doesn't end up behind bars."

The prosecution wanted 8 years. I was given 16. I guess the judge was having a bad day or something. Crazy how the fate of several years of my life came down to one person's feelings. The guard started to cuff me and prepared me for transport.

I was shuffled into the van with the other soon-to-be inmates. Despite the circumstances, each of the other men wore a sense of relief across their faces. The months, sometimes years of stress building up to the sentencing, were finally over. And they were all treated to short sentences. All under 3 years. Not me. 16 years!? How am I gonna survive that? I'm not built like these other guys. In my wildest imagination, I could not have dreamt of being locked up that long.

Hey! Great to see you again. How are you holding up? I know it's awkward having to shuffle around in that uniform, but it will just take some getting used to. I've been told you won't even feel the chains after a while.

Anyway, I was able to make a deal with the prosecutor. It's a plea deal for a huge sentence reduction. As your lawyer, it would be crazy for you not to take it.

The plea is 12 years imprisonment, including time served. It's great news!

What's that? Yeah, I know 12 years is a long time, but it's way less than you could have been given. You should be grateful.

Not to be insensitive, but what did you expect? Did you really think someone like you would get less time? It doesn't matter if you think 12 years is unfair, anyway. It's not up to you.

Just sign your name at the bottom of this plea agreement. Signing might be difficult being handcuffed, but do your best.

After this, another court date will be scheduled for "sentencing", which will just be a formality. Just tell the judge that you're guilty of all charges and you accept the plea. They'll inform you that by accepting the plea, you are admitting full responsibility for your crimes and wave your right to appeal.

You'll be escorted to prison immediately.

What's that? Do you get to go home first? Of course not. You're going to prison. What do you think this is?

You'll be eligible for parole once your sentence is 85% served. This means the earliest possible release date for you is September 16th, 2034. There will be a parole hearing a few weeks before to approve or deny. I'll be honest, it's unlikely you'll get out that early, but you never know. It's not in your hands anyway, so don't fret.

Anyway, hurry up and sign that plea agreement. I've got big plans this evening. I won't go into detail. You'd only get jealous haha.

I was shackled today and led to the Visitation Center. This time it was to talk to my lawyer.

The news was much worse than I hoped: a plea deal for 30 years. I'll be out in 25.5 years if I'm lucky. That will make me 52. This is much more time than we were hoping to get, but I guess the DA has something to prove. It sucks knowing that I'll spend another decade behind bars just to help someone else's career advancement.

Nothing I can do about it though. That's what criminals get.