How does one prepare to go to federal prison? Monday, December 3, Tom Anderson reports to FCI (Federal Correctional Institute) Sheridan in Oregon. Tom suggested I read The Rabbit Hole, a blog written by another felon who entered a Florida FCI for three months last March. [Like all blogs it goes in reverse chronological order. Below is the beginning of the first post, thus it's at the bottom of the March Archives]
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Introduction and Background
On February 13, 2007, I was sentenced to 3 months confinement in a federal prison followed by 3 years supervised release with a special condition of 3 months home confinement with electronic monitoring.
In 6 days, I report to the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, FL. I must self-report by 2pm, however, the nice lady in the Receiving and Discharge department recommended I show up by noon or I risk not being able to purchase any necessary items from the commissary before the weekend (i.e. toothpaste, toothbrush, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, etc.). I am leaving Charlotte on a 9:40am (EST) flight, arriving in Pensacola at 10:27pm (CST). I will then take a cab to the prison 10 miles away. I will arrive with the clothes on my back, my wedding band (no stones), $1000 cash to place in my "account" for commisary and phone calls, reading glasses, and my driver's license (airline ID). It is my understanding I will be strip-searched and my clothes (and hopefully driver's license) returned to my wife by mail. By my calculations, I will be released on June 29, 2007. I have already purchased the return ticket so I hope I calculated correctly. I have 72 hours to get back to Charlotte and contact the probation department to begin my home confinement.
I have decided to share the thoughts of my prison experience because of the paucity of information available on the subject (nothwithstanding a handful of books and websites I have found). There are, I am sure, good reasons for this. For one, people who have been convicted of a crime are not usually interested in publishing details of a consequence that may be a source of shame or embarrassment. Fair enough. Additionally, the internet as we know it is only about 12 years old and blogging is an even newer phenomenon so the vast majority of current inmates lack experience with the entire concept of sharing their life in such a public manner. Finally, blogging requires a certain technical expertise and internet marketing savvy. None of these are constraints for me.
I am not normally comfortable with sharing my personal life in such a public manner. I sympathize with the fears of Winnie-the-Pooh:"When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it. "Nonetheless, there is value to me, and I hope to others, in documenting my experience.
I will not spend much time commenting on either the process or the substance of the government's prosecution of my case. The law is the law and the facts are the facts. Whether I agree or disagree at this point on this matter or that matter is really irrelevant. I entered a guilty plea, accepted responsibility, paid restitution, and received my sentence. It is what it is.
In addition, given that I am about to serve time in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons followed by 3 years under the supervision of the Federal Department of Probation, it is simply not prudent to be commenting on my case beyond what has been entered in the record, either in the form of documents submitted by my lawyers or statements made directly by me in court. Finally, the entire experience is still somewhat raw and it is common wisdom that one should avoid making comments on the record that one might later regret without adequate time for reflection.
Nonetheless, I know that the first question you are asking is, "What did this guy do to receive a federal prison sentence? How did he get to this point?"
The barest facts are as follows: On July 21, 2005, my home was raided by 7 FBI agents at 6am. . . .
[This excerpt came from here.]
Steve, you are a prince to be discussing this. Will you please keep us updated on Tom?
ReplyDeleteSomething that has sickened me for YEARS is that we (not Tea, but society) has made fun of prison treatment. I'd hoped that as society joked about gays in the 1980's then they are now accepted that this would happen with prisoners, but it has not. People can make fun of them and there seems to be no back lash.
As you know, I was acquainted with someone in this mess. Because of him, I was saddened and gave considerable thought to it. When I had an article published about something unrelated, an old friend saw it and contacted me. After a bit of me asking him how he was (I was so happy to get his call!) he told me WHERE he'd been. (Sheridan) My reaction still has him smiling, "You were rubbing elbows with the country's smartest people! Did you meet any Kennedys?" The guy was in for white collar crime-- I fret over $100 utility bills-- he was dealing with LOTS more money.
We've become good friends since and every so often, he tells me more. It hurts to hear, but I am his friend and he has to get it out. It gets real as he tells me and he can begin to heal. He said that Tom will be put into 23 hour jail cell and be shown "who's boss" and really put a prisoner mentality on him. The guy running the place there is a "Reverund" something and Tom being white will put him in the minority. There is a woman who is also in charge and she gets mental games going. It sounds like a concentration camp mentality and there is no way to mentally escape. I got a taste of throw-up in my mouth listening to his story. I hurt for all of them going down there.
Please keep us updated if Tom doesn't mind. If he needs his spirits boosted, get a PO box for us to send him funny notes through you.
Thank you for writing about this and putting a human face on what is happening. My husband gets on me for being liberal about this, but prisons should rehabilitate, not mentally screw people. Most of them get out as will Tom, but what kind of a mental state allows them to survive that prepares them for reality?
Can Tom go in early and be discrete and as dignified as possible in this?
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