My favorite version of Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, is on ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD, recorded at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA, one block from my birthplace. This Freebird en route to Atlanta got one more lockdown in for the road. More will be revealed. The 35-year sentence that I began on August 18, 1988, has finally reached its end. Well, at least, close to its end. When I leave August 28th, as it now stands, I have 192-days in the halfway house and 5-years on supervised release, following satisfaction of the 420-month term of imprisonment imposed by the court. This blog contains mixed topics; some written from a positive perspective, others from a not-so-positive perspective. I'll tell some of what my last month has been like living in an institution ran by the most absurd federal prison administration I've ever lived under for the last thirty-years. DEPARTING: I'm leaving behind many friends, a lot of good men, and a lot more defeated by an over-abundance of suboxene and bug poison (K-2/Spice) that flooded this compound within 6-months of this warden taking command. Based upon statements made by inmates at the last institution she ran, the same thing happened there: she reduced alcohol consumption that resulted in an increase in demand and availability of K-2 and suboxene. Concerning wardens that Washington officials began referring to as Chief Executive Officers (CEO), because of, in my opinion, the federal prison system becoming a business-venture, more so than a place to help its men and women become law-abiding citizens. The Congressional budgeting system allows wardens and executive staff to take home hefty bonuses by cutting operating cost, often at the expense of the safety and health of staff and inmates alike. Throughout the years, I've met many good men and women who worked for the BOP, a few of whom helped save the lives of myself and others by offering their time to provide needed services to help prisoners learn life-skills; especially, for those in programs designed to help addicts and alcoholics learn to live life without the use of drugs and alcohol. JOURNALING INTO A NEW LIFE: This time 23-years ago, I was writing in journals about my newfound way of life (living without using drugs and alcohol, and working on becoming a better man who lived by different spiritual principles). Here's two excerpts I hope will inspire others: August 23, 1995: "This new lifestyle is a lot more simple and easier to live by in this environment, because I don't have to worry about getting a U.A. [urine-analysis], going to the hole for being stupid, or having to try so hard to get by. I used to have to hustle to support my dope habit, but not anymore. I never had food in my locker, but kept the lockers of dope men well-stocked. Now I have food to eat, good shoes to wear, and can afford to send money to my family as gifts or to buy other things I want or need. I have time for Wayne and I care about Wayne. Wayne deserves to be cared for, because he's a worthy human being, and really is not a bad guy, so I'm no longer trying to destroy him. I'm trying to 'set him free.' He deserves that!" September 13, 1995: "I have began my pursuit of freedom, which could end up being a fruitless search from me on the legal angle, but if God wants to see me free, I will be free. If not legally, in spirit, which is most important. I would like to be legally free, because I know I can make it out there now, and know I have a lot of valuable experience, wisdom, and knowledge to offer certain segments of society. For that reason, I deserve another chance." LEGALLY SPEAKING: The legal pursuit of my freedom proved fruitless and a waste of time, energy, and thousands of dollars, but it did keep me occupied and I learned a lot. If you consider the success I had getting my halfway house date changed and the knowledge gained, it was beneficial. I also helped free others. During the legal Pursuit of Freedom process, I damn sure learned that what the law says doesn't matter: If the courts want to follow the law, they do. If not, they use their power and ignore the law. After I build straightfromthepen.net, I will post court documents from my case and others to prove what I just wrote. ALONG SPIRITUAL LINES: I know everything worked out the way it was supposed to, and that if the courts had followed the laws passed by Congress, and the court decisions I relied upon during my direct appeal process, I would not be alive today. I had a bad drug problem and ill intent for several years after my conviction. Today I don't have either and will live the rest of my days in peace, clean & sober, and, for the most part, healthier than when I arrived in 1988. LIFE NOT ACCORDING TO WAYNE: Most of these last few days of my life in prison have not went according to my plan. I planned to attend the last few A.A. and N.A. meetings; to quit my job on August 17th, and then spend some time outside on the recreation yard to exercise and tone up my body, and to work on my suntan in preparation for all the fat-butt-girls waiting to chase me. ;-) The warden closed the recreation yard over three weeks ago and spoiled my Suntan Plan. RECENT EVENT: The warden's closure of the recreation yard indirectly resulted in a clash between two ethnic groups in the Chow Hall on Sunday, August 12, 2018. When tension builds amongst an inmate population, and one ethnic group gets punished and suffers because of an action by another group, a tender box is born; complements of the warden, captain, or other prison official, who implemented unnecessary punitive actions in response to an issue, such as is the case at hand. (Read "Politics & Prison" (11/07/16) where I wrote in response to this warden's use of group-punishment techniques, and show how it creates conflicts in a prison population and is thus not a rational correctional-management tool for all situations: "MORE ON BLANKET PARTIES: If certain prisoners are given a blanket party or 'sanctioned' by their peers for failure to comply with rules or regulations, it may lead to extreme violence; therefore, the ideological control mechanism for military men and women does not work on prisoners, or otherwise has adverse effects; that is, unless the prison administrators really want prisoners to clash. Many administrators have ulterior motives.") THE CHOW HALL FIASCO lead to 5-prisoners suffering injuries severe enough to justify a trip to the local hospital for treatment. I was inside the chow hall during the fiasco. NO OUTSIDE RECREATION: The reason for closing the recreation yard was because staff found homemade wine buried beside an area known as the "Boom Boom Room." Prison staff have known about the problem for years, including the whole period of this warden's stay (about 2-years). Staff have probably dug as much as 50-75 gallons of wine out of the same spot, and yet, instead of being intelligent enough to use available technology (posting surveillance cameras in the area as most competent prison administrators do in problem areas), the warden/prison administration, chose to close the recreation yard to tear down the Boom Boom Room. The recreation yard is a place where men go to exercise or relax, to relieve anger, stress, and tension associated with prison life or just to stay healthy. TINDER BOX: The closure of the recreation yard created a Tinder Box because a few members of one ethnic group is responsible for its closure, as is the warden. That put targets on the backs of everyone of that nationality. THE CATALYST: A inmate who worked the a.m. Food Service shift, stole fruit and hid it in a Dish/Tray Room, where prisoners use a dishwasher to wash food trays, utensils, etc. When he returned during the next shift and learned his stolen-stash was stolen, he attacked a member of the other ethnic group, known to bury wine. Several members of the latter group attacked and beat down the aggressor and that lead to retaliation by members of the aggressor's ethnic group. FIASCO RESPONSE: The staff who responded got medical attention for the aggressor who received minor injuries, and then escorted him and four of his attackers down the walkway toward the medical department and segregated housing unit. I sat at a table near where the ethnic group of the four attackers often sat. After the incident in the Tray Room, I went to the opposite side of the chow hall and saw those escorted out the rear door of the Tray Room. I returned to the other side and let my peers know of the events racial nature. Then myself and most other non-participants moved out of the area to get out of the way of what was sure to follow. Upon leaving with the offenders, staff locked the chow hall doors with approximately 150-200 inmates left alone inside with one food service staff member. After 5-to-8 minutes of the racial situation brewing, the aggressor's ethnic group attacked anyone who looked like they may have been of the other ethnic group, thus creating a racial riot inside the chow hall. For approximately 3-4 minutes, food trays soared across the chow hall, injuring those hit; weapons of various types were used to batter opponents; fists and feet used where possible. The food service staff member ran and locked himself in an office inside the chow hall. I suspect he radioed for assistance, but I never saw him come out of his hiding spot into the Battle Zone, evidence of being a true coward. According to what an associate who stayed in the Battle Zone, one staff member came in through the rear door of the Tray Room, ran in and began spraying all aggressors with Pepper Spray. Two staff members made the wrong turn and came to the non-participant side. One pointed a camera at us and said, "Get on the ground." And then later, "Turn and face the wall." I knelt down on one knee but did not turn to face the wall. An injured Hispanic participant had came from the Battle Zone with blood running down his head from different angles and dripped blood on the floor in front of me. The violence was still in progress twenty-five feet away: I knew not to expose myself to flying trays by turning around when the two dummies did not even notice that those of us standing against the wall were docile. The other staff member who made the wrong turn, used profanity directed toward one man and threatened to spray him with pepper spray. During this time, you could hear inmates attempting to rip pipes from their fixtures to use as weapons in the Battle Zone, while those two knuckleheads wasted time messing with us. Finally, one of the guys standing against the wall shouted out, "We aren't the one's fighting." The camera man turned and then moved to where the action was going. The dummy with the pepper spray turned and followed him. Another staff member came in and said, "Y'all just get down on one knee. I'm trying to look for injuries." He pointed to the injured Hispanic and said, "You, get over there." Then he said, "Is anyone else injured?" Maybe ten minutes later, the crowd dispersed toward a door and began to exit on the opposite end of the chow hall. I followed. We returned to the living units and was locked in our cells for about a week. GOD'S WILL VERSUS MINE: I also planned to mail out some of my property on Thursday at R&D Open House. We can only mail outgoing packages, after approval by unit staff, and then during Open House on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A sign on the door showed "No Open House Today," but if you were to ask the Warden or one of her officials, you'd be told that Open House is opened during all schedules periods; a lie I have been told before. Well, that's where God's will versus mine comes to play. I believe that whenever I'm faced with such obstacles that there's a reason for it and that it'll work to my good. In the past it always has and this time is no different. The delay gave me more time to sort through my ton of property to lighten my load as I set out to travel the Road to Happy Destiny. :-) ________________________________ More to come from this author at https://straightfromthepen.com Email: [email protected] Prison violence, prison politics, Bureau of Prisons; K-2, Spice, Suboxen, homemade wine.
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BOOK REVIEW by Wayne T. Dowdy: THE LAST CONFEDERATE COIN, S.G. Garwood and Dr. Jonathan M. Jackson Horace Lawson Hunley designed a murderous device during the American Civil War: the H.L. Hunley, one of the first hand-cranked submarines, the very craft that took his life. The South led the race to create the first hunter-killer submarine. Authors S.G. Garwood and Dr. Jonathan M. Jackson, capture the reader’s attention with graphic details of America's bloodiest and most gruesome war, the War Between the States, as they take you into the confines of the H.L. Hunley during its missions. Historically, on February 17, 1864, the brave men of the H.L. Hunley sunk the U.S.S. Housatonic off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Something went wrong during the process and Lt. Dixon went to the bottom of the ocean with the Hunley and its crew, to lay at rest for 136-years; the vessel did not resurface until August 8, 2000. The submarine took the lives of thirteen other men before its final voyage in 1864, where it took the lives of its last eight brave men, claiming a total of twenty-one men throughout its brief history; five on its first voyage and eight each on the last two. Reading the novel and seeing the numerous photos, assists the authors at telling a story about the lives of its main characters and the story behind the H.L. Hunley, most all based on historical facts, with a love story woven into its fabric. The Last Confederate Coin falls within the historical-fiction category, but there is a lot of truth in this fiction: A Confederate coin discovered inside the H.L. Hunley tells a story in itself and helped to identify its owner. That is a fact! The plot and scenes create a vivid image of what life was like for many of those trapped in the American Civil War, and of those heroic men who lost their lives fighting for a cause, but the authors take the readers deeper than that, below the surface and into the depths of the ocean with those last eight men on the final voyage of the murderous device. TO ORDER: Online for $22.95 plus S&H https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=The+Last+Confederate+Coin&type= ORDER DIRECT: send email to Alexius Rex Publications: [email protected] (Corrlinks friendly) I see the worm hole up ahead. Entering the worm hole, I'll be traveling at warp speed as I race toward the future. Images zooming by so fast that I'll only see blurs of the present as thoughts and ideas for the future bombard the senses. The future that glitters on the other side of the worm hole is a place I never expected to see, back when I began this voyage into Never Never Land. I sat in jail contemplating suicide because of the extreme dissatisfaction I felt in myself. Love for my family kept me alive. Despair ravaged my soul and whole sense of being because of what I had done that put me in another jail cell. Miraculously, I thought of the effect my death would have on my loved ones and cared enough about them to decide not to end the life I had ruined, at least, so I thought (that I had ruined my life). Never lose hope. Life changes. Circumstances change. Life is good today. This past weekend I began reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor E. Frankl, who was a former prisoner in a German Concentration Camp. A notable quote he used that's relevant to a prisoner's experience, as well as in many other facets of our human existence, was one by Nietzsche. Frankl wrote, "There is much wisdom in the words of Nietzsche: 'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.'" In reading of Frankl's account of his life in a German concentration camp, I can appreciate the difference of life inside an American prison compared to the life of a prisoner of war in a foreign country. When I began this sentence, I had a "why to live"; one driven by mass amounts of anger and resentment. But that "why" was killing me. Several years later, when I experienced freedom from those negative emotions, I was liberated. Another favorite quote of mine is in regards to resentment that also came from Holocaust survivors. "A former inmate of a Nazi concentration camp was visiting a friend who had shared the ordeal with him. "'Have you forgiven the Nazi's?' "'Yes.' "'Well, I haven't. I'm still consumed with hatred for them.' "'In that case,' said his friend gently, 'they still have you in prison.'" Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketchum, THE SPIRITUALITY OF IMPERFECTION. August 28, 2018, thirty-years and ten days after I walked in the door of a confined and restricted environment, bound and chained with cuffs on my hands and ankles, I'll leave en route to a Residential Reentry Center (RRC)/halfway house as a returning citizen, without chains dangling from my aging body. I received a new RRC date and an increase in my RRC placement period (the former 119-days were replaced with 192). My former date was 12/26/2018: It really pissed me off to have an RRC date for the day after Christmas. Now I will be home for Christmas! ;-) RETURNING CITIZENS: the Reentry Affairs Coordinator, Ms. P., told me and others in the office that the new term for those exiting prison life is "Returning Citizens," in place of ex-offenders, or ex-cons. As a returning citizen, I know I will face many new problems as I forge my way into a bright future. Discouraged, I am not. I am eager to face challenges and to find solutions and conquer all conflicts and obstacles that stand between me and my success as a returning citizen. A friend who returned to society years ago, once told me during a phone conversation that he sat complaining as he tried to figure out which girl to take on a date. Then the thought occurred, "I bet Wayne would love to have my problem." :-) Yep, Wayne would, just as many of those I'll leave behind would love to have some of the problems I may encounter along the way toward the future. I'll try to remember that if my gratitude escapes during times of character-building episodes of Life Happenings. Perhaps the new experiences I encounter will allow me to learn something to pass on to others who will follow in pursuit of their future. HOW MY RELEASE DATE CHANGED: Some of this information is redundant from another blog; most is not, which I will share in the words of the famous radio host, Paul Harvey, as "The Rest of the Story." A May 10, 2000, Progress Report, showed May 29, 2020, as my Projected Release date; derived from the amount of eligible Good Conduct Time, subtracted from the maximum 420-months of incarceration, set to expire on August 17, 2023. On January 2, 1990, staff informed me that the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles filed a Temporary Revocation Warrant. I wrote a letter on that same day to request the withdrawal of the warrant because I sat in jail until after my parole expired and was not being given credit off my federal sentence due to that time being applied to my state sentence. On April 19, 1990, the Parole Board withdrew their warrant. Over a decade later, I used that letter to establish the legal basis of a challenge to the federal jurisdiction relied upon to put me in prison for thirty-five years. In 2002 the BOP awarded me 188-days of jail credit that it had refused to give for fourteen years. In court, I used the 188-days spent in jail before federal sentencing to establish that the jail time was applied toward a state sentence. Then the BOP credited me with a total of 401-days (from the day of my arrest until the U.S. Marshals took me into federal custody on September 22, 1989). That changed my date to April 24, 2019, but that still was not right: I just couldn't figure out how back then, even though I was no longer on drugs. Only after my case was docketed in the United States Supreme Court, where I was set to prove the Department of Justice unjustly convicted me in a court without jurisdiction by violating Article IV(e) of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, did the BOP decide to give me the jail credit that was due. LEGAL RESEARCH: While researching the halfway house issues I've written about in "Life Inside," "Half A Problem," and several other blogs after the BOP modified its halfway house policy (began changing/reducing RRC dates), I learned that Section 3624(b) of Title 18 of the United States Code prohibited the BOP from deducting more than 54-days per year for disciplinary infractions. As written in "Reentry Plans & A Friend Moves On," I lost 82-days in 1990. However, when I reviewed my Sentence Computation Sheet, it did show I was not awarded any GCT for 1990, but did not show that the 28-days above 54 (82 minus 28 = 54) came off in 1991. The Sentence Computation Sheet showed the maximum allowable GCT as 1,576-days. That did not compute, even after I applied the formula used by the BOP as illustrated before the Supreme Court in Barber v. Thomas (2011). I then submitted a request to my case manager for correction. He referred me to the Records Office. I sent an electronic request to staff to the ISM and relied on the Code of Federal Regulations to challenge the GCT calculation. The issue was resolved during a Release Audit on March 29, 2018. I was given 54-days per year on having served 30-years of the 35-year sentence. Thus comes the confusion in inmates attempting to figure out their Projected Release dates. On a ten-year sentence (120-months), a prisoner would think he or she would earn 540-days (10 x 54). Not so! The prisoner only earns 470-days because the formula doesn't allow prisoners to earn time off any portion of a sentence not physically served; therefore, in that example, the GCT earned during the second through eighth years, is deducted from the ten-year total. That eliminates GCT credits for the tenth-year and a portion of ninth. The remaining portion of the ninth year (less than one-year) is prorated at fifteen percent. In my case, 205-days remained, prorated at 15%, allowed me to earn thirty-one more days, which, by statute, won't be awarded until the last six-weeks of my sentence. The corrections are what changed my release date from April 24, 2019, to March 10, 2019. But because March 10th falls on Sunday, I was given the date of March 8, 2019 (that will change to February 5th or 7th during the last six weeks). Afterwards, my case manager contacted the Residential Reentry Manager and requested a re-adjusted date because the change in my Projected Release date reduced my RRC placement period from 119-days down to 72-days, which would then become 43-days when awarded the prorated portion (31-days). Now you know the Rest of the Story. :-) OFF THE RECORD: I sat in my cell listening to Alice Cooper on Uncle Joe Benson's, Off the Record, on Sunday morning (08/05/18). As I sat listening, I wondered what my life will be like in September when I am sitting in the halfway house in Atlanta, or at my residence upon my release. Will I take time to listen to such programs? Will I be interested or have other things to do? One thing I feel certain about, is that I won't be living the thug life. As I wrote in "Guns, Drugs & Thugs: Drug Store Spree," I am a retired thug. I hung up my guns and now use words sharper than razors, more powerful than bullets and bombs; softer than butter, sweeter than honey; rough and tough, or kind and gentle, clean and straightforward. Whatever the situation warrants, I'll use select-words in the construction of sentences and phrases needed to fight battles or to mend wounds caused by my past, straight from the pen, a different pen. :-) _____________________________ In September, StraightFromthePen.com will activate a new email address for special deals on books, essays, short stories, and updates on the status of StraightFromthePen.net and .org: [email protected]. Posting will be determined based upon legal aspects and rules governing life in the semi-free society. Expect an update to my author's page at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/WayneMrDowdy and at other social media sites. Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning; Alice Cooper; Uncle Joe Benson's, Off the Record; Paul Harvey; Residential Reentry Center, halfway house; Good Conduct Time; Bureau of Prisons; Department of Justice; Supreme Court; suicide; German, Nazis, concentration camp; prisoner of war; Holocaust; Nietzsche; spirituality; Wayne T. Dowdy, straight from the pen.
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AuthorAtlanta, Georgia, a city of models & movies. I rode hard & crashed young. Welcome to my life: inspirational, drama, emotional struggles, all defining my character and visions of a new life. Archives
October 2022
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