Prison Journal: Day 8,199
January 20, 2010
Every time I talk to a new prisoner who arrives at Taft Camp, I become more convinced of the value my friend, Justin Paperny offers as a prison consultant. Today I spoke with Rick, a businessman from Los Angeles, who arrived in Taft to begin serving a 27-month sentence for tax evasion. Rick’s struggle was much more difficult as a consequence of the inaccurate information he received before surrendering to prison.
Rick’s attorney did not advise him on the pre-sentence investigation. After Rick had paid his attorney to represent him through trial, the attorney switched to tactics and advised Rick to plead guilty. Rick agreed, but despite the strategy shift that would require fewer man hours by the attorney, Rick did not receive a refund from the exorbitant fee he paid. Worse yet, after the guilty plea, the attorney ceased to counsel Rick through the remainder of the criminal justice process. Without guidance, Rick fumbled through his meeting with the probation officer who prepared the pre-sentence investigation report. Rick did not know that he had a right to review the PSI report prior to his sentence. After his sentence, the attorney said, “You’ll be fine,” to Rick but he could not respond to Rick with any answers about life in prison.
When the day came for Rick to report to prison, his attorney told him to surrender to the U.S. Marshal’s office in Los Angeles. That wretched advice resulted in Rick being locked inside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, then in a holding facility at the Victorville prison, before marshals arranged for Rick to be transported in chains to the minimum-security camp in Taft.
Through MichaelSantos.net, my wife Carole makes numerous articles available to guide people as they confront problems with the criminal justice system. The articles do not offer legal advice; they describe what I’ve learned as a long-term prisoner, and they describe the experiences of others. People like Rick who are new to the criminal justice system could save themselves a lot of grief by reading more about the jaws of justice that are about to grip them. Even better, they should talk with Justin Paperny, as he can tell them the steps he took to navigate his way through the system successfully. Had Rick called Justin, he would have saved himself tens of thousands of dollars, and loads of paralyzing anxiety.
This morning I ran 10 miles, but an 8:00 appointment with the TOAD outreach group precluded my strength training.
[Consecutive running log: 3,586 miles over the past 404 days]
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Related posts:
- Prison Journal: Day 8,041
- Prison Journal: Day 8,085
- Prison Journal: Day 8,140
- Prison Journal: Day 7,947
- Prison Journal: Day 8,232
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