Friday, March 8, 2013

Hello world!

Yes, I'm still here and staying strong, I'm way overdue for an update. I was waiting in hopes of having some news to share about my court progress. More later...

Last week I realised what the two most common things I hear men saying to one another...

1) "What's up." (In its many forms)

- Waz-up
- Wud-uhb
- Wah-iht
- Wa-it
- and...

2) "I'm gonna punch your ass out!"

...and if it is sincere, usually closed with... "BITCH!"

What an insane place to live...

PHONES:

They replaced the phones. Two in every day room, so four in each house of 100 men. The cut-over to the new system was yesterday so I haven't had a chance to test it yet. On paper it sounds great simply for the fact that what was a $10 call for 30 minutes is now $4.10 for the same length of time. Great news right! It may be the FCC and BTB efforts have really made an impact. Way to go guys"

CHAPEL WORK:

I am very blessed to work in an area of the prison where I can actually help people. My small role to support men seeking to correct false thinking and better themselves. While in the chapel I am not exposed to the normal vulgar, evil conduct and violence which is the norm everywhere else. As a clerk I am able to keep my skills sharp in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. I've enclosed a couple of recent samples of forms I designed based on our needs. I love it when the chaplain simply says, "here is the information we need, figure out an organised way to reflect it, or create a flyer." Simple yes, but I am in prison so I am grateful to keep my skills sharp. It was really sad when they cancelled the Computer and Business College courses here. Almost all jobs require some kind of knowledge in using simple programs.

COURT:

As most of you know I have submitted a petition for a Governor's Clemency and the hearing went well in October, 2012. As of December it is on the Governor's desk. Now it is a waiting game. It could be 2 weeks, or even 3 years before a decision is made.

So as not to lose my deadline I had to submit a Federal Court petition of Habeas Corpus in October as well. This generated a lot of stress. The good news is the judge accepted my petitions as having merit. But then the state and I went back and forth until February 7th. Of course it's their job and career of choice. The highest skilled lawyers (prosecutors) working for the state. For me it's a nightmare. With hardly any resources or access to documents. No computer, phone, or internet access and I am not a trained lawyer, but I have to present a legal argument for a judge. So, now it's in the judge's hands and I wait. Will it be 2 weeks? Or 3 years?

It was a tough and stress-filled 6 months and I can only hope it will be worth the effort.

Until next time,

- be sure to hug those you love and forgive those who have hurt you.

David