Three days ago, Old School finally got a transfer to another facility. The cops ended up putting Shaggy and me together (Shaggy was Old School’s celly) since they like to keep s.o.’s together.
Although I got along with my crack-dealing cellmate, I was actually relieved to be separated from him. Since I wasn’t forthcoming with my story of how I ended up in federal prison, he was careful to avoid the subject with me. I’m pretty sure that he suspected something, but we never had any problems. Thankfully, not every non-s.o. in prison is a gremlin.
When they moved me to Shaggy’s cell, he went into instant battle mode. I’ve explained in other posts how every time a cell door is opened, any inmate inside has to be cuffed behind his back. The guards had him cuffed up through the chuckhole in the door, and they threw me in with him.
Shaggy is so limber, he was able to get his cuffs under his feet to move his bound hands IN FRONT instead of behind his back. He knew about my fight with Fudd, and he was ready in case I tried something.
Both the guards and I were stunned by his dexterity. The cops ordered him to put the cuffs behind his back, and I had to assure him that I wouldn’t hurt him before he complied. After the cops removed our handcuffs and left, I reminded him of the one conversation we had in the cafeteria, and I told him why I had to assault Fudd. He was friendly after that.
Since we knew that we were both s.o.’s, we had a very candid discussion about our offenses. I thought that I had gotten the worst deal possible when I got my 78-month punishment. I was wrong. Shaggy got charged with receipt of c.p. instead of the normal possession charge, which netted him a hefty 108-month sentence. He’s trying to fight his case, though his chances of winning are pretty slim, I think.
While we agree that what we did was illegal, we can’t understand why c.p. downloaders get hit with so much more time than the people out there actually touching children. When I was awaiting trial, I had to attend therapy classes as part of my bond conditions. I met a guy in my class who was convicted of molesting an 8-year-old, and he only got 120 days of jail time as punishment. Yeah, that’s DAYS, not months.
There is a huge disparity in punishment between those who download c.p. and those who have hands-on sex crimes with tangible victims. Many s.o.’s with hands-on crimes against children get less time than I got, or are able to get probation.
So the legal system is sending a clear message that if you are going to commit a sex crime, hands-on is the way to go. Less jail time that way. If THAT doesn’t convince you that our laws are totally FUBAR, I don’t know what will.
I agree...that needs to change, not to condone cp because it is just a step away...and there is a real child victim behind every picture. I understand what your saying though. Offenders with tangible victims should be thrown the book. CP offenses should be receiving probation/with required classes and couceling. Ridiculous how broken ass backwards our system is.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started on the disparity in sentencing! Remember the guy who got in trouble for taking his family to see Toy Story 3? "Keeler, 46, was sentenced in May 2008 to serve five years of probation for second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under age 13. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison." This guy got PROBATION for a hands-on crime, but Joe and others get years of INCARCERATION for possession of c.p. It makes NO SENSE.
ReplyDeleteCan't help but say, I see this the other way...the sentencing for cp should not be less, but the sentence guidelines for molesting should be more....both are equally as awful.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I respect your right to your opinion. However, I disagree with you. First-time CP offenders need TREATMENT first, not incarceration. Joe got more prison time than someone who actually molests a child! That just doesn't make sense. Both offenses are wrong, but they are NOT the same.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend serving time for child porn bc of wrongly labeled downloads from limewire. He was 19 at the time and the "victim" was 17. It is legal for a 19 year old to have sex with a 17 year old but not to watch it on a computer? That is not right...
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