Letter from Richard

I got called in to see the case manager today at about 3 PM. She said she would put me in for a transfer to get me moved closer to home, but that I should not get my hopes up. She said that my request would stand a better chance of being approved of she did not to specify a particular location. She said she would word the request "somewhere closer to my release location" (or something similar) and leave it up to the people in Texas who are handling transfers and designations now. She said that there was a fair chance that it would not be approved at all, but there is also a chance that I could get moved to a minimum security prison (a camp) that also happens to be closer to home. That would be just about the best outcome I could hope for at this point. Well, other than the BOP releasing me and saying, "We're sorry sir, but this was all a great big misunderstanding. Here's a couple of million dollars and a Rolls-Royce to help make up for any inconvenience we may have caused". It looks like my security points under the new scoring system will fall either in the upper camp range (0-11), or maybe the lower end of the low security range (12-15). I don't think there is any way that they can score my points high enough to send me to a medium security prison. I am not scheduled for a security recomputation until June 07, but I think they have to do one if I request a transfer (I think). There is also a management variable that tells the BOP that I should not be housed in my "area of interest", and I am sure that will have some impact on my transfer request. It all depends on how that clause is interpreted by the people in Texas (since there is no explanation as to what that really means). She seemed to think that "area of interest" would definitely include the area where I lived and worked, but she didn't know for sure if that would necessarily include ALL of Texas or Oklahoma, but that it would probably include all of both states. That still leaves a lot of ! states t hat are a lot closer than where I am now. She also said that I won't hear anything until at least February, and maybe later. So, IF I get approved (and if they don't send me to the other coast!), then I should be closer to home by this summer or early fall. I hope I can somehow manage to get moved to a CAMP that is closer to home, but the "closer to home" part is my first priority. One problem that I forgot to ask about was my "greater security" management variable that enables the BOP to house me in a higher security facility. Right now, I have zero points, and I am classified as "out custody" (camp eligible), but I was camp eligible from the very first day according to the point system. I think someone here has to submit a request to have that management variable removed before I will ever be able to go to a camp. She didn't say anything about it, and I forgot to ask. She said she would call me in to see her after she recalculates my points, so I have to remember to ask her about it then.
OK, now you know everything I do. Wish me luck.

To Chad the Gray:

Chad,

I don't know if I told you or not, but they started showing rented movies here a few months ago. They did that in Mississippi, but for some reason they had stopped doing that here. They usually have 2 or 3 movies each weekend, but they aren't always new releases. They showed "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" (Albert Brooks)(Mel Brooks' son) for the first movie on Friday night, and it MIGHT not be the absolute worst movie I ever sat through (I would have walked out of a movie theater if I had paid for a ticket), but it is damned close. The next one was "Superman Returns". It was OK, but Superman's life sure has gotten complicated. They showed "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" last night, but there was no place to sit. I think it is on again this afternoon, so all is not lost. I had an art class last night anyway.

I was telling you about the new security point system they have now. Under the old system, I had 0 points (actually, it was -4 points, but the scale only goes to zero), and I was classified as "out custody", which means (under the BOP's own guidelines) that I should have been in a minimum security camp from the very beginning. Somehow, I have a "greater security" modifier (not sure what else to call it), and there is a clause that prohibits the BOP from housing me in my "region of interest". There is no definition of "region of interest", so it could mean Oklahoma, Texas, 5th Circuit, 10th Circuit, the Southwest region, or anywhere within the northern hemisphere for all I know. Nobody here seems to know who exactly made that determination, how long it will be in effect, or who I could even ask. Assuming that they really don't know what it means, they have no interest in asking for me, and if they are lying to me, they aren't willing to tell me who I might ask.

I was talking about the new system, wasn't I? Starting in October (new fiscal year for the government), a new scoring system for the security points went into effect. Under the new system, the BOP staff can add points to your security classification for a lot of things that never counted before. You used to get points (more points is bad) if you got a "shot", which is an official sanction for something that "substantially effects the safety, security, or the orderly operation of the facility". As a possible sanction, you could be sent to the SHU (Special Housing Unit)(the "hole"), you could lose your right to have visitors, to make telephone calls, and/or to buy anything at the commissary (except personal hygiene items). To do any of that, a CSS (Correctional Security Staff?) officer had to let you know what you did (in writing), and there was an appeal process before a convened board to fight a wrongful or inaccurate accusation. Nobody ever wins an appeal here, but at least there was a process that allowed for the possibility. Under the new system, you get one point for each "incident report" (things that don't rise to the level of an official sanction), and not only do you get points for getting an incident report, you also get an additional 2-3 points if you get more than 3 incident reports. At 6 incident reports, they add 4-7 more points for good measure. The problem is that they don't have to tell you when they give you an incident report, and there is no appeal process if you are wrongfully accused. These points can increase your security level to the point where they send you to a higher security prison (medium or penitentiary) and there ain't shit you can do about it.

Another new category that they automatically assign points for is age. The younger you are, the more points you get. I am not exactly sure about these numbers, but a 25 year-old prison gets about 8 points. At 35 years old, you get about 5. It decreases a 1-2 points for about every 5 years of age, so your score goes down over time (if you are in prison for more than 5 years). I think you have to be about 65 before you get no points for your age. I didn't see any way to have points subtracted for advanced age, so I don't think an 85 year-old could ever get -5, for example. This scale only goes to zero, too.

Under the old system, you used to get points taken off for the amount of time you had exhibited "good conduct" in prison. Now, they expect you to exhibit "good conduct", and being good only prevents them from adding additional points. And they actually give you more points for the amount of time you have left to serve. No matter how good you are, you still get about 1 additional point for every year you have left to serve. Under the old system, you could be sent to a camp if you had less than 10 years left on your sentence, but now that would be almost impossible. With just the points for the amount of time you have left, combined with the points they give you for the mortal sin of being younger that Methuselah, you would have to be older than about 50 to be qualified to go to a camp. If you have any other points ("criminal history" or "severity of crime" for example), then you would have to have just a couple of years left.

OK, its time for lunch. More later.