BLOG POST #1 November 19 2010 4:45 pm

BLOG POSTED BY Douglas L. Thomas
TOC# 1272514
James V. Allred
2101 FM 369 North
Iowa Park, TX 76367

Hello and greetings to all who take a moment to view my first blog post. I have sat here for a couple of hours now contemplating how to approach this blogging. When I got locked up in 2004 I was not familiar with it and still don't understand how it all works. I mean I understand the process, I'm just not used to writing about myself for the world to read. Since my posts are scanned directly into the computer, I hope that my handwriting is legible. I've been told that it resemble an ancient long-forgotten script. My question is, if it's long-forgotten, how do they know about it? I must also warn that my thought process is much like a pinball machine. My mind's usually working 90 to nothing. The hamsters that spin the wheels in my head are all jacked up on caffeine right now and my hands [are] having trouble keeping up. Stupid hand! As you can see I'm goofy, but I also know how to be serious. As I began writing I didn't know if I wanted to come off as funny, serious, offensive, touching, quirky or just crazy. I guess what really matters is that I'm me 110%. You know or maybe you don't, but I learned a long time ago that I can't make everyone happy, nor is that my objective. I know that there will always be people who look for reasons to complain. They are not happy unless they are in contention with someone or something. I don't understand those people but I don't waste my time trying to figure them out either. Don't get me wrong, I'm strongly opinionated and vocal about things I don't like but I don't look for reasons to complain. Some people will stand in the rain and complain that they are getting wet. I guess common sense isn't always present in the thought process.

I guess that my purpose in blogging is to help others understand prison life and to answer any questions you have about prison life or myself. I know I haven't introduced myself yet and I am sorry. I will get to that as soon as I get done with this tangent. One quick note of importance, if anyone has any questions or blog topic ideas please feel free to voice them. Don't ever worry about offending me. I am a very open-minded person-- I don't hold any ill regard towards anyone. Race, creed, sexual orientation, background or anything else you can hold a bias against does not concern me. I'm a very real, open, and down-to-earth guy. There's enough hatred in this world without me adding to it. So if you wish to comment on anything just contact me on my blog page or you can write to me at the address at the top of page one. I promise that I will always respond to any comments or letters.

OK I know I've been mysterious long enough. So please allow me to formally introduce myself.

As you already know, my name is Douglas Lee Thomas buy my friends call me Doug or dreamer. Well, I guess that's the nicest things they call me. I was born on September 14, 1982 which makes me 28 years young and a Virgo. I am currently serving two fifteen year sentences here in Texas. I began these sentences on July 15, 2004 and if all goes as planned I could be released on parole in early 2012. Now then I need to talk about my crimes. This is one reason I want to blog so others can see that there are innocent people in prison. My story is a bit lengthy but it's necessary to present the facts. Please bear with me. I'll allow each of you to come to your own conclusions.

For the crime of escape from a correctional facility, I received 15 years. I am completely guilty of this. There is no denying that. For the crime of sexual assault, I also received a 15 year sentence ran concurrent with the other one. Of this charge, I am completely without a doubt innocent. I became the victim of an underpaid attorney whose only concern was getting home to improve his golf handicap. Here's the rundown of my offenses.

My story begins in May 2002. At that time I was 14 years old and on adult probation for burglary. I didn't actually break into anything, but I bought and sold stolen merchandise.

During this time I shared a home with my now ex-fiancee Tiffiney, who was 18 at the time. I had 2 younger brothers (Chris was 17 at the time and Mike was 16) and 2 younger cousins (Brian who was 16 and Patrick who was 15) living with me on a pretty regular basis. Because of this and the fact that school was out, I had teenagers in and out of my house twenty four seven. Technically, we were all teenagers and minors too young to drink but it never stopped us. My house quickly became party central. During this time, a 15 year old girl began hanging around the house. Her name was Melissa and she was a friend of my cousin Patrick's girlfriend. Alcohol and marijuana were used regularly by almost everyone. After a couple weeks, Melissa became obsessed with me and kept making advances at me. At first, I just blew it off but it became more problematic when she refused to stop. One night in August during a party, Melissa was being disruptive and was irritating several of my guests. When she refused to calm down, several people became rude and borderline confrontational. To solve the problem, I asked Melissa to leave. Eventually she did and apparently went home with a wild story.

The next morning, Melissa showed up at my house with her mother and sister. Her mom began hollering, waving a small pistol and making threats. She said, "Why did you get my daughter drunk, screw her, and kick or out like a piece of trash?" I just laughed and told her that her daughter had lost her mind, that none of that had happened. The mother continued to make threats so I pretended to call the police. I couldn't actually call them because I had a house full of alcohol and drunk teenagers. Eventually, the three of them left my house. A week or so later, I heard [a] rumor that the mother and Melissa had gone to the police and filed a report.I just blew it off and went on with life. On September 13th, 2002, I was arrested by Eastland county Sheriff's tactical team for Hot Checks. Apparently they had been hunting me for awhile. I ended up to being sentenced to 4 years in Texas prison for violating my probation.

In February 2004, I was released on parole for good behavior. I paroled to my aunt's home out in the country and planned on making a fresh start. I'd grown up and was tired of partying all the time. It was common to see my cousins and I walking along the country roads in the area. On the night of March 20, 2004, we were stopped by 2 highway patrol officers for apparently jay walking. For some reason, I decided to give a false alias when asked for an I.D. My cousin unknowingly gave them my real name. I was detained for failure to identify. At first, my real name came back clear. A few minutes later, a call came in that I'm wanted for sexual assault. At first I freaked out, but then I realized it had to be Melissa. I was held in county jail with no bond for the charge. A few weeks later I was indicted for sexual assault. The indictment alleged I had knowingly slept with a minor under the age of 18. I immediately tried rallying my family around me but they weren't in a position to hire an attorney. I ended up stuck with a public defender. For any who do not know what a public defender is, it is an attorney assigned by the courts. By law they have to assign all defendants council. These attorneys are only paid $350 regardless of the outcome of the case. As you can gather, there's not much incentive to do much. Most of these lawyers are used to making $350 an hour. Basically it means I was screwed which is true. My attorney instantly looked down on me and tried to get me to sign for a plea agreement. I refused to confess to something I hadn't done. I gave him a list of witnesses and told him they could prove my innocence. They'd all been at my house. My attorney contacted my mom and told her she needed to contact the witnesses. I never found this out until much later. He simply told me that he had contacted my witnesses and they had refused to come give statements. I never knew that I could have [illegible] them to testify. I didn't know a lot of things. My county jail has a policy that if you have a legal council you can't access their law library. So this basically means your lawyer can feed you anything he wants. I had also asked for a motion of suppressed evidence but my attorney said I couldn't access that information. Once again, another lie I discovered all too late.

During this time I had made janitorial/maintenance trustee due to good behavior. My job required that I work one on one with the female jailer named Natalie. After awhile, she said she had fallen for me. One night she offered to help me escape if I would run away and be with her. I was so upset and angry that I didn't think but acted with her assistance. I escaped from Eastland County Jail on the night/morning of July 7, 2004. Natalie and I spent a week traveling throughout Louisiana. On July 14, 2004 we were arrested in Tyler, Tx while awaiting a friend. Once back in jail, I realized just how stupid and selfish I'd been. My family took my escape as me saying, "I really don't care about you guys." That wasn't my intention, but I understand how they came to that conclusion. Also, the local and surrounding media dragged my name through the dirt and sensationalized my story. They portrayed me as an armed and dangerous sexual predator. I'm one of the nicest people around; this couldn't be me, but it was. Because of all the media hype, I requested a change of venue which means a different, DA, judge and county would try my case. Once again my lawyer lied and said no one was available.

Through many days of threats, coercion, lies, trickery, and manipulation, the district attorney and my lawyer coerced me into signing a plea deal for 15 years. I was told that I would be eligible for early release after 2 years. That was a lie. It turned out to be 7 1/2 years. Also, I was never told that I would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of my life. So here I am completely innocent. I've spent 6 1/2 years of my life in prison and have to register for life all because of a girl who got her feelings hurt. After being down here for about a year, I tried to file an appeal only to find out I wasn't eligible for an appeal. My only shot is to file a writ of Habeas Corpus on the grounds of insufficient council. Several things have held me back in doing this, but the two biggest are that I don't have a typewriter to type up my documents and two I can't afford legal council. I'm being told that the longer I wait, the worse my chances are.I guess I'll have to see.

For those who care, Natalie and I realized our attraction was due to the situation. The real love just wasn't there. She received 3 years prison for her part in my escape. We had agreed to remain friends, but no contact has been mad in a few years.

OK, now that I've gotten that behind me, here's a bit more about me. I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. I keep my head shaved, but I have blond hair and blue eyes. I have a few random tattoos, but nothing extravagant.

I'm very open, honest, adventurous, caring and love a good laugh. I'm in a bad situation but I try hard to make the best of each day. I have several interests, hopes, desires and dreams. I'll list a few below and talk a bit about each.

<Music-- I love all kinds. It just depends on my mood. My favorite is probably rock-n-roll. Everything from the classics and alternative to some metal. I also listen to classics, blues, country, and a very little rap. I also enjoy R&B and traditional Northern European folk music. I sing on occasion and hope to one day learn to play guitar, drums, and piano. I'll continue talking about music in a future blog and will critique many of my favorite bands and songs. If anyone has concert stories or photos, I'd love to share in the memory.

<Reading-- I'll read almost anything from books, comics and magazines. I love to learn and increase my knowledge on just about anything. I'm also kind of a nerd and love comic books and fantasy books. I just finished book 13 of "The Wheel of Times Series" for anyone following the series, you'll understand when I say next November can't get here soon enough. At this moment I'm reading "A Home at the End of the World" by Michael Cunningham. It's an older book, but so far it's a great read. It may not fit everyone's taste, but it's a unique story.

<Creative writing-- I love to write if you can't gather already. I usually write poetry, lyrics and short stories. I've began work on a novel without a typewriter [and] it's a pain in the butt. Considering they just raised the price of them to $225, I don't expect to get one anytime soon. Anyone interested in my poetry can request it by writing. It's not great, but it's from the heart.

<Sports-- Where to begin here? I've always been physically active and full of energy. In school, I played football and baseball. I also spent my teenage years skateboarding and rollerblading. I'm also into more extreme sports. I've been bungee jumping and aussie rappelling, but not much else. I really want to skydive and hope to do it one day soon. I've always been an adrenaline junkie. We used to truck surf down interstate 20 or ride the trains from town to town. I've also been into motorcycles and other off-road vehicles for some time. I also like MMA, basketball and Nascar.

I have many other interests and hobbies but recognize that this blog is getting a bit lengthy. That's mainly because of my charge.

One more quick note. I have a beautiful 9 year old daughter named Summer M[?]are. She lives with my mom and step dad because her birth bother won't leave the drugs alone long enough to be a mom.

I hope something I've written has sparked your interest. I'd love to hear from anyone with an opinion. I you want to build a friendship, I could always use a personal mail.I'm hoping that I can help you guys see prison life in a new perspective. Being a "sex offender" in prison isn't easy. I am hated and despised my almost everyone. Occasionally, someone is intelligent enough to listen and learn that I'm not guilty. For the most part, people just lash out at me. I've been beaten down both emotionally and physically, but what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger.

I've lived a wild life to only be 28. I've battled drug and alcohol addictions I've lived life as a homeless runaway. I've been a gang member and lived that life. I've struggled with religion and the origin of man. I went from a boyscout to a homeless meth addict. One day, I'll rebound and finish college so I can move on with life.

I'd love to talk about music, books, movies, TV, culture, religion, sports, sexuality, history, addictions, depression, social economics, politics, prison life, gang life, my life, or anything else you care to discuss. I welcome any and all topic ideas no matter how odd. I hope to be able to post bi-weekly or weekly, depending on the public's response.

Keep in mind, personal mail is like a drug in this place. The more the better. I've become a stronger person and a better man from my experiences. I hope I can share them with you. I hope I have conveyed the importance of correspondence and social networking for those in this place. It's sad to see, but mental illness is rampant in this place. Most of it is brought on when people's families, friends, and society gives up on them. We've all made mistakes... some worse than others. Some of us are innocent also. Regardless of this, we all need someone to care.

Until I hear from you guys. I hope your days are blessed and full of peace. Always remember that what you put into today becomes your future. Also smile--it's good for the soul.

Take care, stay real, and always be true.

Peace,
Doug

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU!

Douglas L Thomas
TOC# 1272514
James V Allred
2101 FM 369 North
Iowa Park, TX 76367

WRITE SOON!!!

[Picture of man wearing red baseball cap and white t-shirt cradling a baby]
[Picture of same man in a white t-shirt looking up at camera]