I was sentenced to 50 years (40 suspended) at the age of 18 for non-violent crimes. I spent my entire sentence in Maximum Security Facilities. AMA.

Do you have any advice for parents that are noticing bad behaviour with their young kids and are genuinely worried their child could be heading down a similar path?

Editing to add: Thanks so much to everyone that has replied to this. I really appreciate all your advice and concern. It means a lot. A trully great bunch of people to be so kind, understanding and insightful. Cheers :) xxx

Absolutely - be involved and don't be judgmental. If you can understand what they are going through and what is causing the behavior, you will be in a better position to help steer them in a better direction. Not saying to be a helicopter parent, but treat them as a person. I guess this would also depend on the age of the child, that would also impact your approach.

Yeah, I have always been really involved and I am not at all judgemental. I am pretty open-minded and have treated him like a person. He has certainly had to grow up a bit faster than other kids, due to it being just the two of us. He is 10 and this year has been getting in so much trouble at school. I feel I have given him a pretty good life, I provide for him well and love him so much. I am just really worried about his teenage years. I dont know what more I can do to help him.

It might be time to get a professional involved, if you have exhausted what you can offer at this point. Another perspective couldn't hurt. As a dad, that's the route I would take if I were in your position. You want to do everything in your power to help him figure it out sooner than later.

He has his first appointment with a psychologist in two weeks.

Thanks for your reply, it is really breaking my heart with worry. I am always there for him and am a good mum. Hopefully him talking things out with the psych will help.

Thanks again, I wish you and your family all the best in the future. :) x

God Bless.. I wish you the best.

How did you start using at a young age? What was the timeline of drugs you used?

I had a pretty rough childhood, various abuses which I think may have been the catalyst. I think I started drinking and smoking pot at the age of 12, also did my first line of coke then. It snowballed from there into heroine and crack.

As a fellow felon here, I was lucky enough to get pardoned by the great state of Louisiana earlier this year and currently I am working on getting everything expunged. Louisiana locks up more people per capita then anywhere else in the world and I know the hardest part for me once I got out was dealing with the probation along with the 10 year waiting period that follows once you completed probation/parole. I did 3 years followed by 5 more years of probation. That 10 year waiting period that follows is setting people up to fail, what are some things you think probation and parole can do so people like us actually have a chance of succeeding once we get released?

Sorry if I'm ranting but for example, a good buddy of mine did 4 1/2 years on a 9 year sentence. Once he got released he scored a solid job working construction. This job was in New Orleans but his parole officer was about an hour away. His officer would tell him to come in to take a piss test at 4:30 PM but this fucker knew he was working a 9-5 job with 40 hour weeks. After this same situation went on for a week, his parole officer revoked his probation for being 45 minutes late each time to piss. Must be noted that my friend pissed cleaned every single time. The system wants us to join back into society and work like everyone else but if finding a decent job wasn't hard enough, they go and lock you rite back up once you do start to better yourself.

Our system is broken. It would be nice if they had more resources available - I literally received $25 and the choice of a bus ticket or a family member picking me up - zero guidance, and that's what I needed. I think POs are totally overworked and have a huge backlog of cases - with that, I feel like they become more concerned with getting things off their desk than looking at each person as an individual.

Man no bullshit, just checked my mail and my lawyer sent me a copy of my certified expungement that was just signed off by the judge. http://imgur.com/FhSrtC9

Congrats!

What's the biggest misconception that the average person has about max security prisons?

Rape is definitely not as prevalent as portrayed - that's the biggest misconception by far. Also - not everyone in there is a bad person, some are of course but many are just people who made bad mistakes.

Thanks for taking the time to answer! That's always seemed like one of the scariest thoughts of prison for me. As a rough guesstimate, how prevalent do you think it is? What sort of percentage of people experience this?

Nothing to worry about unless you were a snitch or a child molester from what I saw.

Jared's gonna have a bad time then

Only thing he has going for him is the judge ordered him to do his time in Colorado at a federal prison that has a sexual offender program. He will be around his "people." I don't have any sympathy or tolerance for that kind of person.

Are we not defined by our actions?

Sure. You aren't the same baby shitting in your diaper that you were at one time though. We all evolve and change through growth

The DOJ disagrees with you. They say 216,000 victims of rape and sexual assault assault per year, meaning that it's likely that more men are raped in prison than women raped outside prison. It's epidemic, for sure. I suppose you think that you know the prevalence because men who got raped readily told you about it.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/21/us-more-men-raped-than-women

I can only speak to my time in prison and my knowledge of what went on in the facilities I was housed in.

What's it like knowing that it could all go down the tubes with one mistake? I would be very afraid and stressed out.

It wasn't so much stressful as I already had it in my head that I was going to change my life for the better. It was a long 10 year stretch on probation.

How much did you end up paying in fees to the state? When I was on probation in FL I owed $60 a month plus costs for the classes I was ordered to take.

That's $7200 if that's all you paid.

I believe Virginia must be different, at least back then. I wasn't required to pay for my supervision. I did have to pay back court appointed attorney fees and court fines associated with my convictions when I got out, it was between $6-7k if I remember correctly.

So are court appointed attorneys not provided for you free of charge? Or was that some other fee? I've heard this before but I never understood it.

Nothing is ever free. Once you are released, at least in Virginia, part of your costs are what the state paid the attorney. This is the case if you are convicted, if you are found not guilty, I believe you do not have to pay.

Do you think the legal system handled your case fairly? In what ways did your experience in prison help, and in what ways did it hinder your rehabilitation?

I absolutely think it was handled fairly, I deserved every day I did. It helped me realize my life is short and I shouldn't be wasting it by victimizing other people for selfish reasons. It hindered me by making me less trustful of other people, even today I am overly cautious letting people into my world.

It's pretty refreshing to hear someone accept responsibility for their actions, acknowledge that the system treated them fairly, and turn their life around as a result.

If I'm understand your sentence correctly you were sentenced to 50 years in prison with 40 years suspended upon successful completion of 10 years of probation? That means you ended up serving (with good behavior time) 6 years followed by 10 years of probation?

100% correct.

-Fights and agressions between the prisoners are common?

-If the answer is yes, how did you got through this? You learned to fight there with someone or you've had to figure out how to protect yourself?

-Can you stay out of trouble in jail if you want to or trouble will end up finding you?

-What did you learned inside prison that you wouldn't learn outside, that you can teach us?

-There is someone specifically that you will never forget?

Thanks for answering us!

Fights are quite common, I was in several altercations myself - including being stabbed 3 times. You always have to stand up for yourself. You certainly can stay out of trouble, stay away from drugs, gambling, and loans.

Biggest thing I learned is that everyone has an agenda - what I mean by that is most often people are usually out for themselves and if they are being kind, more often then not, there's a selfish motive behind it, not to sound cynical.

The thing I will never forget is my buddy Eddie Lee, he did 27 years. He's out now but was never really transitioned or adjusted well. He drinks a lot and has a hard time with most things.

Thanks for your patience answering us!

I've got one last question, you've said that you got stabbed 3 times and was in several altercations. What's your tip for people without any training to defend themselves, how they can make their self defense?

It was one altercation. My tip to defend yourself is to stay away from drugs, gambling and debts - then you won't have any problems.

How do drugs even get into a prison?

"Suitcasing" = A visitor would hide the drugs within their cavity and pass it to the inmate during visitation. This is the most common method that I am aware of but there were guards who also facilitated getting drugs within the walls.

The government doesn't try and stop this?

They do but inmates do not have anything but time to try and devise plans and ways around things. Inmates spend a lot more thinking about how to get drugs in than the government does about keeping them out.

Was it hard finding work or a job? Are you doing something that has a potential for a full-fledged career?

Yes! Being a felon is a life-sentence in that regard. I make $9/hour at 41 years old pushing around steel everyday. Very humbling. At the time that most people are in college or learning a trade, I was in prison. That, along with the record, is a disadvantage since I lost that time of building a skill set, which was my own fault. I do not have a career, I have a job and do the best I can to help support my family. If it wasn't for my wife, I would be homeless.

As someone with a misdemeanor, I can't stress this enough. I was convicted of one crime, 4 years ago. I didn't even do any time in jail or pay a large fine ($600 in total). I'm a college graduate and I received an honorable discharge from my time in the military. Still, I have a hard time finding a place to live because of my record. A lot of apartment complexes in nicer areas don't even consider someone with a record.

Before my current job I got turned down for fantastic positions once they saw my record. I was offered a number of jobs only to find their hiring policy prohibits it all together or at least has a waiting period of X years prior to being able to hire. Like I said, it's just a misdemeanor. I can't even imagine what a felon has to go through. I look at the shit I had to deal with and I just can't fathom what sort of impossible limitations you have on your life. I wish you well, and I thank you for everything you do in the community.

Thank you, please feel free to join us on our sub /r/excons

A follow-up here.

Do you have any particular thoughts on how to improve this? I mean, the problem is pretty straightforward, but the solution seems tricky.

Some people definitely want to help. Maybe have some extra cash, a spare room, some odd jobs that need doing, and would love to help someone take that first step.. but you always worry about the "what if" of that person actually being a hardened maniac.

Basically, do you have any thoughts, from your side of this problem, of how we can address that? More government based support and outreach for newly released convicts? Some other method of connecting people with opportunities to those who are deserving and willing of them being released?

I'm not sure more government is the answer, they don't seem to have the best track record. People who actually care about the issues and their programs could be the solution - a grassroots efforts would be most helpful in my opinion.

Can you tell me about your wife and your marriage? How long have you been together, does she have a similar history, etc.?

My current wife and I have been together for 7 years come this spring, will be married for 5 in May. She does not have a similar history at all, pretty much the opposite. I guess she just likes bad boys.

Didn't sound like you are a bad boy at this stage in your life at all. Congratulations :-).

Thank you. Yes, bad boy days are behind me.

Why maximum security? I'm all for due punishment for theft, but maximum security seems like it should be reserved for violent people.

I had gotten in an altercation at the county jail I was originally housed in, that led me to be assigned to a maximum security prison.

Ouch. Was the altercation necessary for self-preservation or was it a heat-of-the-moment type thing? Still seems kinda harsh, unless you tried to kill a guy.

Heat of the moment - it was with a C/O, I was young with an attitude.

does it bother you that some people who commit far more heinous crimes are getting much lighter sentences? some murderers get less than you did, hell jared fogle fucked underaged kids, created, distributed, and possessed child porn and he's only getting 15 years. of which i'm sure he'll only serve 5 of those years and be released or paroled for some reason or other down the line.

Yeah, it's tough. I've seen sex offenders paroled, returned, paroled again and returned all before I was released. I'm sorry but hell has a special place for those types of people. State judges have much more discretion than federal judges.

dude that's so fucked up man. do you think plea bargain's should be done away with? or maybe have some strict rules on how plea bargains can be done? cause it seems like plea bargains just get powerful/rich people lighter sentences while plea bargains screw the hell out of poor people who can't get adequate lawyers so they plea out even when they're innocent.

I'm not opposed to plea bargains depending on the severity and nature of the crime. Committing a violent or sexual act is different than white collar or drug offenses in my opinion.

Did you meet anybody on the inside who claimed and you believed they were innocent but plea bargained?

No I didn't personally, but I do believe that there are some in prison who are innocent.

Did they serve descent food on Thanksgiving or Christmas? I know odd question I always wondered

Not bad, better than the rest of the year. It's still all processed stuff but it resembled a holiday meal.

What's your favorite apple type?

Granny Smith

Start with the obvious, I guess. What kind of nonviolent crime is serious enough to merit a 50 year sentence?

B&E, forgery & grand larceny- was charged with 32 offenses but took a plea deal and was convicted of 5 felonies.

One could make the argument that breaking and entering (burglary) is a violent offense.

Do you mind my asking where it was that you were convicted of these crimes? Not trying to look you up or anything, just curious how you received the sentence and how it was structured.

B&E could be violent but isn't classified as such and my offense was not violent. I was convicted in VA.

40 suspended so it's a 10 yr sentence?

Essentially. If I were to violate by committing a new crime I had 40 over my head.

what's your best advice to your son?

To be like me today, not me when I was 18. I am open with them about my past mistakes.

do they listen?

I think so. They are fantastic kids. I am so lucky!

Good to hear...How old are they?

15 and 13. My oldest has been on the honor roll his whole life and loves football. My younger one is more into the ladies!

Yes - I'm quite proud of their achievements so far.

How did you get and stay sober? AA? NA? Thanks.

While that may work for some, for me it was that I never wanted to go back to prison again. I knew that drugs put me there and I needed to stay away from them.

Late, but so do you feel that prison is an effective deterrent against crime then? I'm sure it varies person to person, but it seems like that aspect of the system treated you well.

If you already answered, sorry. I'm on mobile and it's harder to tell

No, prison is more punitive and reform starts within yourself. I would not say it is a deterrent.

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I suppose, and like you said jail isn't your first thought when doing drugs. In my mind, I would say my focus was getting my life together, part of that being staying out of jail, if that makes sense. Getting clean would not only keep me out of prison but impact many aspects of my life in positive ways.

Have you seen any films or TV shows that get prison right? If not, what would make such shows more realistic?

Shawshank had the camaraderie aspect that I experienced. Rectify showcases the social awkwardness post-release pretty well. OZ was totally Hollywood as is Orange Is the New Black in my opinion.

May I ask if Chris Cash is your given name? A bit prophetic if so. Did you or anyone ever have fun with that? Like "just make that cheque out to cash"? I tried to donate but the gofundme doesn't take paypal :(

Yes it is, no relation to Johnny unfortunately.

Thank you for trying to donate! We appreciate the attempt.

What was the scariest moment of your time incarcerated?

Probably within my first week, I was approached my another inmate offering to loan me cigarettes until my money hit the books. Of course this always comes with interest, so I declined. I had a buddy I severed time with in country that covered my smokes, interest free. Word got back to the first guy that I went through someone else for smokes and it caused a big problem and it nearly became an altercation. Having just arrived, this was both memorable and scary.

Thank you so much for answering my question, that's the first time it's happened in an AMA!

What's the biggest lesson you learned during your time incarcerated that you can apply to the outside world today?

I can never gets back those years that I served and nothing short of defending my wife or kids would put my in a position to go back there. In other words, there's really nothing more valuable than my time and freedom, that's what I learned.

How do you feel about marijuana legalization?

I'm all for it- I think there are many medical possibilities that need to be explored. As for recreationally, I feel it should be treated similar to alcohol.

What are some things that I can do to support reformation of the laws?

Specifically, I'd like to see money and effort go towards rehabilitation instead of imprisonment, and for people who have turned their lives around to be able to easily and reasonably have their records expunged so their efforts to develop and maintain a positive role in society aren't sabotaged by perceptions of their past actions.

EDIT: Grammar.

This is written above in my intro and it answers many of your questions:

Together, we also launched a non-profit this week, Rexcons, in order to raise enough funding to allow us to convert the Wiki into a paper version that will be supplied to inmates upon their release, starting with one facility we hope will serve as a model to others.

Along with the fact that the criminal justice reform movement has some real momentum behind it - the ban the box order by President Obama as well as the bi-partisan bills introduced by the Senate and the House, for example - I am excited about the major push towards providing real rehabilitative opportunities to those who earn them.

There's really not much out there, not just trying to promote our stuff because reform needs to happen everywhere, on many levels.

What would be your best advise for kids that are in similar situations as yourself?

I know it's tough to relate to the kinds of problems that would lead a child down this path so early in life so it's always valuable when someone who has turned their life around can look at them in the eyes and understand their situation.

Try to find something to help you feel good about yourself, especially if there are external factors that are out of your control. My mistake was using drugs to feel good early on - that does not work, only hides things, particularly the pain.

which prison gang had the best dance moves?

Remember West Side Story?

Do you mind listing the 32 different felonies?

Most were realted to writing bad checks. For each check you wrote you received 3 felony charges: forgery, uttering and obtaining money under false pretenses. The rest was statutory burglary and grand larceny.

What advice would you give to young people who are considering and/or already doing drugs?

I guess I would ask why they are considering it. Is life so tough that you are looking for an escape? If so, then stay the hell away, it will only eventually compound the problems. Important to find a way to deal with things in a positive way, somewhere to focus your energy. It's easier said then done, I've been there and ended up in prison partly because of it.

what was it like when you first got out of prison. were you excited, scared or something else?

Apprehensive, even now I have difficulty around crowds. I always check my surroundings. I was excited to be free and see how things on the outside had changed in just 6 years. For example, being able to pay at the pump was new to me as well as CDs.

what was it like to see the improvements to technology when you were released?

Pretty fascinating, the internet was fairly new then. I remember beepers before I went in and cell phones were more prevalent when I got out. A lot changed between 1992 and 1998, especially technology. I was locked up when Biggie died, TuPac died, OJ trial etc..

What was it like experiencing big cultural events, like the OJ trial, in prison? Did you guys watch the news often? Read newspapers? Did inmates talk about it? What about other things like politics?

We were able to watch the news, I had a tv in my cell but not everyone did - there was a TV in the common area of the cell block. It was entertaining to watch the bronco chase.

How did you end up in the downwards spiral of drug use?

Also, I see a lot of awful things happen in documentaries on American prisons, is it really that bad?

It was a combination of pain, factors of my childhood and simply on addiction.

Absolutely that bad. Serving time in a maximum security prison is no day at the park.

did the punishment fit the crime in your opinion?

Absolutely, I deserved every day I did.

How easily would you be put back in? Does it feel like living under a pressure? What if someone else attacks you, you "accidentally" knock him, you are charged for that?

I am no longer on probation and I live a clean life. Unless someone did something to my wife or kids, I do not see myself ever going back.

Was it tough disclosing your prison time to people you met after your release? like when dating/job searching/etc?

Absolutely, people were very judgmental. Fortunately, I chose to surround myself with people that are realists, they realize people make mistakes but change is possible. They judge me by the man I am now, not the kid who screwed up 20 years ago.

Hey man, just want to say good for you for turning your life around. Really inspirational.

I know I'm a little late to the party and I didn't really have a question to ask but am required to, so: what was the craziest thing you saw during your time in prison?

Cheers.

Sexual "oreo-cookie" was the craziest thing (3 guys) - getting up to go to my job in the chow hall, went into the shower, saw that, walked out.

So you still have 40 years over your head?

No, after my violation in 2007 I was taken off probation and the 40 years were no longer held over my head. I'm free and clear now.

What do you think of the war on drugs?

We lost it a long time ago. If people want to do drugs, they will find a way.

Largely unrelated, but your thoughts on Shawshank Redemption?

It's actually one of my favorite movies. But as far as prison life goes it's not realistic to my experience except Brookes becoming institutionalized and the camaraderie shared between Andy and Red.

Are you considering to write an autobigraphy since you've been through a lot ? And where have you grown up ?

Never really thought about it, I'm just trying to use my experience to help others. I think if I was approached to do it, I would but haven't thought about putting pen to paper myself.

I grew up in the state of Virginia and lived there most of my life.

Do it but not now, autobiography is supposed to be written once you life journey is over and when i said journey i didn't mean life at all.

Anyway what made you being an addict ?

I started using substances at 12 and it progressed from there.

One of my acquaintance tried cocaine as 12-year-old. Never got fully addicted because he knew when to stop with drugs, occasionally he smoke pot but he is out of that.

Grew up in very nasty place at very nasty time...

He was smart to stop - good decision on his part.

Are you horrified by the millions of non-violent offenders (usually drug related?) being locked away for long times? And what about the privately owned prisons? I can't believe those exist.

That's why we are looking forward to the Sentencing Reform Bill being passed - mandatory sentencing takes any discretion out of the hands of prosecutors and judges. That needs to change.

I don't think I know enough about privately owned prisons to offer an opinion, I did all my time in state facilities. /u/expeal may want to weigh in on this one.

Good on you for working on these issues instead of (trying to) just put it all behind you. I apologize if this question is too sensationalistic or cliche, but is sexual violence as rampant as tv/movies would portray, and to what extent would you say is that affected by the max security aspect?

Absolutely not, it happens from time to time but it is not as prevalent as one would think or TV portrays. Too many homosexuals willing to scratch that itch.

I don't think there's any correlation between the level of security and the sexual violence, at least not from what i have seen.

Do you feel good about your clickbait title implying you spent decades in max?

Not clickbait. The title is completely accurate.