My husband has been sentenced to two years in texas state jail and tdc to run concurrent.Any info anyone has on these places would be greatly appreciated, it is his first time and he is a non-violent offender..we are not sure where he will be sent yet..Thanx

Amelia,

My aplogies for the delay in getting to this.. been a busy week!

I am not the best authority on T.D.C.J. but will tell you a little of what I know about the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and what new inmates may face there...

BTW.. This post is partially in response to Amelia's Introduction post.
LINK:
Amelia from Texas (http://www.prisontalkonline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=196)

Rapes, Beatings, Gangs:

Basically... This is what your husband and others can expect:

Being that he is relatively young and has not been around the block when it comes to prison, other inmates may test him soon after he is transfered to a "farm" (prison unit). There is almost always a pecking order, as well as other inmates that will take advantage of those they deem weak.
Often this means a number of inmates may jump him soon after he gets there to see how he reacts. If the new "boot" inmate balls up and yells for help, begs, or anything else.. He will be looked upon as weak and people will take advantage of that. If he fights the best he can, then no matter the outcome of the fight (it is hard to win when you have multiple guys on you) he will usually be respected..
(These fights are usually fist-fights ment to test someone.. Not kill the inmate) - though of as someone that will "get down for himself"; and therefore others he is around, and will have less in the way of guys trying tobullying him since they know he will fight.. (how is that for a long drawn-out sentence :) )
To me, it is similar to some of the hispanic gang initiations you probably have seen either in the news or in many different hollywood movies.. This is the mentality of many that are inside.. I don't mean to frighten you with this.. But when you are on the inside it is a different world than out here.. most certainly with different rules and mentalities..

TDCJ has done a lot to curb the hard core gang-bangers in the system.. If you have a "jacket" (prison file) with affiliations and gang activity there is a good chance you are doing your time in lock-down. AKA - SEG, AD-SEG, SHU, The Hole, etc. (Your own cell for 23+ hours every single day.. every single year) You won't find very many known gang members in general prison population in Texas so having to become a member of one gang to survive isn't as necessary as it once was.
There are still "clicks" that run together but chances are they won't pressure him much about membership or anything like that.

Prison Rape - I only had someone proposition me one time and it was from an extremely drunk old-timer that never tried to make a real move.. If a new inmate carries himself like a man he probably won't run into to many problems.. Always paying attention to people and your surroundings helps keep ones self out of areas that rape may occur. This goes for EVERYTHING in prison.. PAY ATTENTION and stay out of the areas you don't feel you have any business in!


Beating by guards, etc..

The best thing I can tell you about this is for him to do what he is suppose to do.. be where he is suppose to be and then mind his own business.. do his own time.. and he should be fine..

"Out of site, out of mind"

Guards "C.O.'s" (correctional officers), BOSS', etc. know who the bad actors and trouble makers are.. When you start "riding" (hanging out) with them you get on their suspect list.. They pay a lot of attention to all of this and inmates are known by the company they keep.. It's good to have "friends" around a compound but you can do that without really associating with them...

Prison is a good place to get into yourself.. Analyse what is in your head - what you have done, what you are doing, and most importantly, what you are going to do..

Amelia, you husband will be alright.. You just need to stay strong for him (& the kids) and in turn it will help him be as strong as possible for you.. This may be an unfortunate event but a steping stone to something better.

I am sure he feels lost and VERY helpless right now.. That will change with time and support from you.

Can you tell me how far into the system he is right now?
Has he made it to diagnostics in T.D.C.J. yet or is he still in a county jail?

If you can give me a few more details & questions I will do what I can to answer then, or find out the answers!

Hang in there!
David

Amelia
Hang in there my husband has been in the system for 2 1/2 years and has been fine. As FED X said tell him to be aware of where he is and that will help. I have several friends in some of the units in texas. Once he gets into an id unit let me know and I can tell you what I know about it.

Anthony has been all over the place here in texas. Don't panic and remember to trust GOD.

thanx shortie..do they really move them all over the state..can I do anything to request he stay as close as possible(for the children's sake) he has already been moved once and it has only been a month and a half he is now at the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa texas..about 30 minutes from my home( i hope he stays there longer!!)??

Amelia
We do not have any control over where they move. They move them where they can accomdate the needs. Some prison have a time limit how long they can be there. So it really up to the TDJC. I know it sucks but just hang in there.

By the way how far are you from Fort Worth???

Thanx..we are about 9-10 hours from fort worth..we are passed corpus christie way down on the border of mexico...I spoke to our lawyer and since Stephen has some pending charges he said he will try and keep him from "going up" as long as he can..we'll see!!??!!

Just keep on the attorney and it will help honey. I have learned that much. get the info from the parole help topic in this thread and when it comes time you will already be ahead of the game

Thanx..you are real sweet!

Amelia I just want you to remember that you are going through this too. You need to pay attention to yourself and know that you are able to break down. You do not always need to be strong. One night after you put the babies in bed you need to take a long bath and just let some of this out. Let go of it and free yourself of some stress.

I want you to know that i am here for you and that you can talk to me anytime. Just know that ok.

I can never express to you how much your words meant to me. I eel exactly like I need to be strong..keep a brave face so noone knows that I am really terrified! Not only do I miss Stephen and worry about him and my kids, this is the first time in a long time that I am solely responsible for my families survival..I havent had a job since i was 17 ( that was 6 years ago!) I am going to take your advice and go take me a hot bubble bath and have a real good cry..Thanx shortie..since I moved down here I dont have very many freinds i left my best friend in NY but even she doesnt truly understand how I feel..Just know that I am here for you as well...Much Love! and God Bless!

Amelia, my son was just transported from a county jail to the Gurney unit in Texas. He was sentenced to 5 years, and he was to recieve time served as he spent almost 1 year in the county jail. According to the attorney, Texas law states and I am assuming that this "law" may just apply to non violent offenders, so we have a similar situation. Anyway, i'm getting side tracked (sorry), but as I was saying my son's attorney told me that Texas law states that the inmate must serve 1/4 of the amount of his sentence. I would suggest you find out if your husband is going to get time served for the time he has spent in jail. Like I said my son was just transported a few days ago, and they have already set his parole review date as next month, which means that with the time served from the county jail plus what little time he has spent in TDCJ he has completed the 1/4 time required which is 15 months for a 5 year sentence. I know it's hard and confusing, and I must say that I have gotten more support from this forum than anywhere else!
Also, I have some phone numbers that I would be happy to give you when he gets transported, one of which is a number where you can get his parole date..Let me know, and I'll help anyway I can. Good Luck, & God bless!! Odiesmom

Amelia...this is how Monty put it to me...take everything you have seen about prison on tv and in movies and everything you have heard about it and forget it all!! It is not like that. It isn't a great place to be, but it isn't the pure hell you have imagined in your mind. The worst part of it...the part that makes it prison, is being away from their families. If he just minds his own business and does what he is told...he will be just fine. You just keep writing him letters and visiting him...keep your relationship as close and as normal as possible. If you are okay...then he will be okay. Keep your head up girl! We are all here for you....and Stephen is there for you too!

This was one o my first posts--it seems so long ago now-I am having an easier time noe thank God.

Odiesmom-forst of all welcome to PTO. Stephen has now been moved to Garza West where he most probably will spend his whole sentence. Any phone numbers you have or anything I would appreciate so much. It is great to hear that your son could be home soon! I will be praying! I didnt know it was only 1/4 here in TX..that is good to know. But we have this one problem because he was a nonviolent he got State Jail for breaking probabtion and SUPPOSEDLY there is NO early release from there which really sucks! But as of now he says there is no Jail just TDC on his file so we really dont know what the heck is goin on ??!!??! This wholw system makes my head hurt!

Montysgirl- thank you for your words, I have been feeling kinda down lately and reading that kind of recharged me! Thank you!

These were given to me by Montysgirl, she has been SO helpful to me, and has provided almost all of the CORRECT info that I have received. First there is an attorney in San Antonio that does only parole representations, I called a few days ago and they were really helpful, quoted me a fee, and in most cases have a payment plan, his fee was only $1200.00....for the entire thing. his name is Paul Hampel & the toll free # is 1-888-707-2765....his e-mail address is (e-mail address removed per PTO policy - member may be contacted via Private Messaging on PTO)
Here is the number to find out when the person is eligible for parole, you HAVE to know his TDCJ number in order to get the info it is...1-800-535-0283. I hope this helps you, and good luck. Oh one more thing, if you call that attorney and ask them to send you a SAMPLE PAROLE PACKET, they will, I'm waiting on mine as we speak. Hope this helps ya some....Carla

Carla thank you so much! do you have to have an attorney for parole? money is very tight around here these days :D but if it makes that much of a difference I will start ther fundraising now...lol...I appreciate the numbers..Thanks!! and thanks to Montysgirl for giving them to you!

Call the toll free number and ask for a parole sample pack, I got mine today and it was really informative! His fee is only $1200.00 which to me is alot of money, BUT being that my husband was married to a lawyer & after almost 9 years of litigation is STILL fighting her, I know from a first hand account that his fee is CHEAP in the long run! I went and saw my son today (first time at a REAL prison) what a experience! He seems to be doing well, BUT because of his COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY not doing HIS paper work "timely" he may not get to parole out on his first review. I WILL be on the phone to his lawyer first thing Tuesday morning. Just call the toll free # and ask them to send you a sample parole packet...it really has given me a starting point! Let me know how it goes...Carla
Also remember that the JUSTICE SYSTEM is just that" JUST A SYSTEM!!

Thank you Carla...when you say the court appointed lawyer didnt do the paper work on time--what do you mean? WE had a real a**hole for an attorney and since he was sentenced have really pissed her off do I need to get on her ass to make sure he comes up when he is supposed to or will our new lawyer (hired after he was sentenced) be able to keep me up to speed? SOrry for all the questions but seems there are so many different phases to this process and you have to be up on everything or you get the short end of the deal...thanks for the number I am going to call tomorrow for my packet...much appreciated!

Odie had 2 convictions in 2 seperate counties,. The first attorney had his plea bargain and all in order, BUT the lawyer in Bowie County says he never received the signed & notarized paper from him, which is such B.S..Therefore he won't be able to get his first parole date which is the 11th of next month if his lawyer just sits on this. See after Odie signed and notarized his acceptance of the plea bargain, then it had to make it back to his lawyer, the D.A. & the judge to sign, plus I have NO earthly idea how long after that is done before it gets put into the TDCJ system. I'm expecting a call from his lawyer today, as my husband and I both have faxed him. As for you getting another attorney, all I can say to that is if he/she is doing what you tell them to than fine, and it has to be done in a timely matter (which Odie's is not being done timely). Just remember.THE LAWYER WORKS FOR YOU!! Keep in touch..ok? Carla