🔵 By David Harper. Photo by lauragrafie.
Since this is my first entry on this site, I think that I should give you all a background on how I got here. This might get me some hate mail, but such is life.
In 2015, sometime in July, I was on an adult website and answered an „interesting“ ad about a woman who wanted a man to train her daughter. I really had no interest in this, but I thought that maybe it could be some good cyber-sex fodder I was in a bad place in my relationship with others and myself. After several months, I fell for the mother, but she would only meet me if I agreed to be with both her and her daughter. So I agreed, and in January of 2016 I was on a plane to meet her. She ended up being an undercover cop, and I was arrested before I left the airport. This was verging on entrapment, but according to my public defender, it was enticement, not entrapment.
After 11 months in county jail, I signed a plea agreement and was shipped off to the Federal Prison System. (BOP.) Just to be clear, I had no intent of doing anything with the child, but there was no way for me to prove it. The adage of innocent until proven guilty is long dead in the US Justice System.
Although my sentencing guidelines would put me at a sentence of 17 to 22 years, the statute that I was sentenced with gave me a mandatory minimum of 30 years. (More on my thoughts on that in later articles.) I was 49 when I was arrested and with good time, I will be out when I am 74. So this is a bit of an early retirement for me.
My adventure started at a place called USP Lompoc. I lasted about four hours on the yard before I was being asked for paperwork. Sex offenses are very much looked down on in the BOP and sex offenders are beaten up because of their crimes pretty often. So I „checked in“ for my safety and put into the „SHU“ (Special Housing Unit.) Life in the SHU is pretty boring. You are locked in your cell all day long. Food is brought to you can’t get books sent in. Just the beat up books from library donations available to you. I read a lot of old 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s science fiction and fantasy stuff. I also started to write. At the time, we were allowed „SHU pens“. These are small flexible pens that might have enough ink in them to last a week. After two months, I was back on the road to my next spot.
My next spot was FCI Florence. I managed to last four days before being asked for paperwork. I was also told that I was being targeted for a beating. So again I checked in. But after 30 days, I was booted out of the SHU because SIS (Investigation Team) said that there was no credible threat to me. So I went back to the yard. Four hours later, I was back in the SHU after being jumped by two inmates. I was beat up pretty well. After another 60 days, I was on the road again.
I landed at USP Marion in August of 2017. Marion is a prison that has a lot of sex offenders and has a sex offender program. So I finally landed in a safe spot. For nearly five years, I was comfortable, had a good job, lots of books, and a good routine. I could have done my time like that, but then life happened.
In August of 2022 my sister died from metastatic breast cancer. The BOP ranks an inmates‘ security level by a points system with some over-rides on certain things. 0-10 points is considered a minimum security prisoner, 11-15 points puts you at a low, 16-25 a medium, 26 and above a high security. My security points (or custody points) were 4 in August of ’22. So I asked for a closer to home transfer. It was approved. But the BOP and their sense of humor put an upward management variable on me. Instead of putting me at a low (because of my time, that was the best I could do at the moment).) They shipped me to FCI Victorville, a medium security facility. Victorville is a very active yard. I knew that I couldn’t even try to walk that yard, so I checked in right from the bus.
Having a good cell mate is vital when you are in the SHU. Because the two of you are going to be in a 9’x13′ cell for 24 hours a day. 7 days a week, and for several months if you aren’t lucky. Being a check-in, I was going to be in the SHU for six months. For the first two months, I had a good cell mate. Then he went home. Then I got the cell mate from hell. He was a drugger out kid who was 35 years younger than me! He was constantly at the door, yelling and getting notes, and drugs. I was lucky that I had a radio, so I was for the most part able to ignore him. But then he stole a book of stamps from me. Words were said and a fight ensued. It wasn’t pretty, but we got separated and I managed not to get written up. But he filed a „PREA“ on me, saying that I tried to rape him. That was an uncomfortable line of questioning. But it was to no avail on his end, and they believed me, but they had to report it as an unsubstantiated claim.
My next SHU cell mate was only 30 years younger than me. And ended up having a big crush on me. He was still a yeller and a drug user but had enough respect to stop the yelling and lights out and limited his drug smoking to when I was in the shower.
My final SHU cell mate was again 35 years younger than me. He was a check-in and quiet, but constantly was working out. But he didn’t yell, and he didn’t do drugs. But he got „orders“ from his vent conversation to beat me up. So he did. Mostly I just covered up and let him hit my arms and shoulders It got us sprayed with pepper spray. That was not fun. But two days later, I was being shipped to my current spot – FCI Oakdale.
Because I checked in and because of the PREA reporting, it was recommended that I got to a „Re-Integration Housing Unit“ (RHO), so that I could program and learn to be a „good“ prisoner with „good“ thoughts. All because the BOP kept putting me in places where I could not safely walk. Now I get to stay here for 18 months (at the least) until I ask to be moved. But I need to stay here with clear conduct. But that seems to be pretty easy to do, if I can stay out of the target sights of the druggies. This unit is a separate programming unit, so we don’t interact with the general population. No jobs to be had, we only go out to rec for about 90 minutes to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week, and we get some education classes, but they are usually workbooks. So it can get very boring in here.
I got lucky with my current cell mate. He’s a pretty good guy and only 15 years younger than I am. But still it’s a bit hard to think of a guy who is 42 years old that much younger than I am. My days are spent playing games on my tablet, reading, coloring, and writing. I am currently reading three books: „The Oman Machine“ by Terry Goodkind; „Three Magic Words“ by U.S. Anderson; and „Anatomy of a Miracle“ by James Richards. I will probably be updating this with my random thoughts every ten days or so. Some entries will be political in nature (I’m very liberal in nature). Some entries will be about my thoughts about the US prison system (which is very broken), some entries will be about my struggles being away from what’s left of my family and the ongoing struggle with the depression that this brings on. Some of my entries may be my attempts to write some fiction.
This is my way to get all of my thoughts out of my head and into the universe where maybe someone can get some enjoyment, insight or education from them. I will also be putting in shorter entries than this one. I try to limit my writing to an hour per entry. This first entry is longer just because it’s my introduction. I am grateful to all that read this. It means a lot to me that you’ve taken the time to read what I have to say. Thank you. Wishing everyone out there lots of good energy, love and lots of hugs.