Sunday, February 22, 2009
Eighty-Six Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp
The Second Chance Act of 2007 was signed into law about one year ago. One of the provisions of that legislation was that it expanded the authority of prison administrators to release offenders to community confinement centers a lot earlier than was previously authorized. As a consequence of that legislation, I will report to the halfway house on May 20 of this year. Had that legislation not passed, I would have remained in prison until July.
In cases where the sentences were relatively short, the legislation helped, though it was not monumental. Certainly, my family and I feel thrilled that I will return to quasi freedom six weeks sooner than would have otherwise been the case, though in the bigger picture, six weeks is not life changing. This week, I learned of another prisoner who is receiving much more consideration.
The other prisoners refer to the man as Coach. He has been incarcerated for more than 16 years, and he expected to serve another 24 months before release. Coach is 73-years-old, and he has been serving time for a white-collar offense. He has worked out every day of his sentence, and as a consequence of his exercise, Coach has the build of an athlete in his mid-thirties. I am not exaggerating. He does not have access to weights, but through isometrics, and jerry-built systems on the yard with rocks and sticks, Coach has built massive biceps, a powerful chest, and kept his waist trim with slate-like abdominals. With his full head of hair, a casual glance would suggest Coach is no older than 40.
Despite his physical appearance, Coach is not 40. He is 73. Besides the age, Coach has served longer than 10 years, he has completed more than 75 percent of his sentence, and he does not have a history of violence. Taken together, provisions under the Second Chance Act now qualify Coach for release to home confinement. Rather than serving an additional 24 months, Coach’s case manager notified him that he will be releasing to home confinement within the next month. That was a monumental change.
As I contemplated Coach’s release, I realized the absurdity of some of these federal sentences. This was not a subject I would have contemplated had I not lived amidst so many prisoners. Coach was 73-years-old and he had been incarcerated for more than 16 years. It seemed prudent that administrators would release him to home confinement early. What purpose would two more years of confinement serve? Society reaped no further benefit from continuing to inflict the punishment of confinement after so much time had passed.
What I found troubling, however, was that our society continued to lock tens of thousands more offenders in prison despite their having served significant portions of their terms. I didn’t see the point. They could not receive consideration under the new legislation, however, because to qualify for the earlier access to home confinement, the prisoner had to be older than 65; had to have served longer than 10 years; and had to have completed more than 75 percent of the sentence imposed. Very few people would merit consideration under such provisions, and society paid a heavy price because of the lunacy in such laws.
Justin Paperny
