November 24, 2014
After talking with several different inmates in here on cell isolation it sounds like I still have a good chance of getting released to a halfway house six months early. Many different problems and concerns came with this undeserved punishment of cell isolation, losing my early release to a halfway house was one of them. Getting an early release to a halfway house is something that has to be earned, or so I thought. Not every inmate qualifies for T.C. (Therapeutic Community), I'm not sure exactly what the criteria is for qualifying, but I do know that it has to go through an approval process, first by the prison which has already approved me, then finally by my judge which doesn't go up for her approval, or denial until ten months prior to my release date. The other inmates are telling me that this is just a formality, they're saying that if the prison approves an inmate’s early release, then nine times out of ten the judge follows suit regardless of an inmate's prison record. Before getting this Rule Infraction Board ticket my record was untarnished, earning myself an approval for early release by the prison last year. Even then I thought my chances were still slim, having to get an approval from a judge that once compared my criminal act to that of a murderer. The judge assigned to my case is notorious for being one of the coldest judges in my county, handing out lengthy sentences that are far worse in comparison to the other judges and this is why I'm so concerned. No matter what all the other inmates say, I feel that I should prepare for the strong possibility that I'll have to finish out my entire sentence from prison. I also remember the judge telling me that if it wasn't for the deal made by the prosecution and my defense attorney that she would have sentenced me to several more years than the five I was given. So regardless of whether or not I get out of here six months early, I just thank God every day that I don't have longer to serve in prison. I need to be back home with my children, and they need me too.
Steven Dybvad
