I hope you had a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend. What a great weekend to celebrate those Americans who have sacrificed their lives to have our freedom and democracy! Almost any news report alerts us to the chaos and troubling world that we have. Yet, we are safe and free with so many rights, much of it is due to the public and military servants that gave all to safeguard us and our country. In prison, this weekend was like any other weekend, except with Monday off (so an extended weekend). We had another delicious holiday dinner: hearty meatball subs with green beans, a very refreshing pasta salad, Snyder’s potato chips, and a piece of peanut butter cake.
Two weeks ago, the status of the novel coronavirus pandemic was declared to be over – at least as it was written in the law. Much government funding and support was given to prisons, including increased phone minutes, from 300 minutes to 510 paid minutes per month. Even though the funding has ceased, the Board of Prisons decided to provide 510 paid minutes to inmates who are actively participating in recidivism reducing programs under the First Step Act. For me, this is wonderful news, which really helps defray an expense of trying to figure out how to pay for extra phone minutes. If someone is not participating in the program, then they will be limited to 300 minutes which they will have to pay. I am relieved that I do qualify and have the opportunity to have this extra incentive.
Speaking of the First Step Act, since I started my prison sentence over 6 months ago, I had been earning 10 days of credits for every month that I completed. Thus, I have accumulated 60 days (2 months) of credits off my sentence. Last Wednesday, I had my 2nd mandatory evaluation (the evaluation is required to have within 180 days since the last one). My evaluation went really, and I was rated at the lowest level of security risk possible, which is minimum/minimum. This simply means that the next status is “community service,” which could be as soon as my next evaluation. With regard to the law, I now accumulate 15 days of credits for every month that I complete, so essentially 50% of my time served are credits. For every 2 months that I complete, I have 1 month credited so that my accumulated time served would be 3 months. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to participate in the program and receive the credits!
Over the past week, the weather in Morgantown has been stunningly perfect: crisp, clear mornings with lots of sunshine and warm evenings and cool nights. The one band that I am in, 2-Point Enhancement, was given permission by Warden Bayless to play for the GED Graduation on Friday. The band spent Thursday setting up the instruments and equipment and rehearsing the songs that we would play, including the classic march of Pomp and Circumstance. We toned down the music, since the space was more confined to the Visitor Center rather than the large auditorium that we conveniently play and rehearse in. The celebration of the graduation went exceptionally well. For all our effort, we were given fresh popcorn and icees – this was quite the treat! I hope all of you have an incredibly wonderful week and continue to look for the little miracles! As always, thank you for the continuous support and love!