I was sentenced yesterday to 10 months in Alderson. I plead to 1 count of traffics in counterfeits - cc fraud. I have been married almost 18 years and have 5 children - my oldest daughter just gradauted from marine Boot camp - and my husband is home from Afghanistan. I actually don't even know how I feel. I have been reading alot on this site - and I realize that no matter what I've done or anyone else as long as we have taken responsibility for what we have done and made peace within ourselves - and changed - the circumstance doesn't have to define who we are as people. I don't know - yesterday was so surreal.. The judge had his J&C completed prior - was initially home confinement until the victim gave a statement and suddenly he recessed for 10 minutes - called both attorneys up and told my attorney not to be surprised but he was sentencing me to prison. I knew something was up when he told me to stay strong and don't show any emotion. I just stood there waiting to wake up. What makes me so angry is not the statement - I made my peace long ago and this was a consequence for what I did - but the "victim" lied..I got a phone call today from my attorney - and also a good friend- that they have evidence that the statement was lies - and they are going to try file a stay on my reporting and file a motion to have the judge reconsider his sentence due to the fact that he was already prepared to give me H/C but due to this statement he acted out of emotion and sentenced me to prison. The problem is - victims aren't under oath and can not be cross examined. I have never been in trouble before. You know sometimes when you go through this process - the federal system is so slow - that you just get tired and weary..these people are getting ready to go down for BK fraud and quoted scripture from the bible - I feel so bitter inside - I use to be in church until I chose to compromise - but now I feel like I have been totally stripped and to stand there and know these things and hear these hyprocrites quote scripture. One of the things she said - is we haven't suffered anything - we are driving cadilac Escalades around..LOL..I have a 94 Mercury Sable..some cadilac...If a victim statement can have such an impact and isn't verified - then whats the point of the judicial system - if a judge can jsut cross out the J&C and re-sentence. I am planning on the 10 months in January..don't have much faith in the system or old senior federal judges with to much ego....jsut needed to vent..feeling like a roller coaster full of emotions..My husband goes back next week for Kabul, Afghanistan..and I feel real alone. Believe it or not I have been able to keep everything from my two kids - my oldest knew..and of course the two babies are to young - so I broke the news to them - felt like my heart was tore out of my chest. Does it get better...does time really heal..because I don't like what I'm feeling inside towards those people. I plead guilty - wasn't that enough..I was already going to be punished - was it really necessary to add the lies ????:angry:

I was sentenced yesterday to 10 months in Alderson. I plead to 1 count of traffics in counterfeits - cc fraud. I have been married almost 18 years and have 5 children - my oldest daughter just gradauted from marine Boot camp - and my husband is home from Afghanistan. I actually don't even know how I feel. I have been reading alot on this site - and I realize that no matter what I've done or anyone else as long as we have taken responsibility for what we have done and made peace within ourselves - and changed - the circumstance doesn't have to define who we are as people. I don't know - yesterday was so surreal.. The judge had his J&C completed prior - was initially home confinement until the victim gave a statement and suddenly he recessed for 10 minutes - called both attorneys up and told my attorney not to be surprised but he was sentencing me to prison. I knew something was up when he told me to stay strong and don't show any emotion. I just stood there waiting to wake up. What makes me so angry is not the statement - I made my peace long ago and this was a consequence for what I did - but the "victim" lied..I got a phone call today from my attorney - and also a good friend- that they have evidence that the statement was lies - and they are going to try file a stay on my reporting and file a motion to have the judge reconsider his sentence due to the fact that he was already prepared to give me H/C but due to this statement he acted out of emotion and sentenced me to prison. The problem is - victims aren't under oath and can not be cross examined. I have never been in trouble before. You know sometimes when you go through this process - the federal system is so slow - that you just get tired and weary..these people are getting ready to go down for BK fraud and quoted scripture from the bible - I feel so bitter inside - I use to be in church until I chose to compromise - but now I feel like I have been totally stripped and to stand there and know these things and hear these hyprocrites quote scripture. One of the things she said - is we haven't suffered anything - we are driving cadilac Escalades around..LOL..I have a 94 Mercury Sable..some cadilac...If a victim statement can have such an impact and isn't verified - then whats the point of the judicial system - if a judge can jsut cross out the J&C and re-sentence. I am planning on the 10 months in January..don't have much faith in the system or old senior federal judges with to much ego....jsut needed to vent..feeling like a roller coaster full of emotions..My husband goes back next week for Kabul, Afghanistan..and I feel real alone. Believe it or not I have been able to keep everything from my two kids - my oldest knew..and of course the two babies are to young - so I broke the news to them - felt like my heart was tore out of my chest. Does it get better...does time really heal..because I don't like what I'm feeling inside towards those people. I plead guilty - wasn't that enough..I was already going to be punished - was it really necessary to add the lies ????:angry:

EVENT: Getting in trouble and going to prison for 10 months
STATEMENT: felt like my heart was tore out of my chest
EMOTIONS THAT DEFINE STATEMENT: only you know but maybe sadness, bitterness and loneliness. Whatever they are I am sure they are strong and you do have a right to them. Many of us can directly identify with these emotions.
Facts related to event:
Going to prison for only 10 months
You have family members on the outside that love you: "I assume"
You will be aloud visits from loved ones
You will be home in 10 months
I don't know how sad bitter or lonely you feel but it's important to match these feelings against the facts related to the event. In other words make sure the severity of the feelings can be rationalized.

Bking: Anyone who was sentenced yesterday has a right to any and all uncensored feelings. The process of being charged through being sentenced is a draining and exhausting one and PTO should be a safe place to express those feelings without judgment. Bking, please feel welcome to express yourself.

Bking: Anyone who was sentenced yesterday has a right to any and all uncensored feelings. The process of being charged through being sentenced is a draining and exhausting one and PTO should be a safe place to express those feelings without judgment. Bking, please feel welcome to express yourself.
Sometimes these strong emotions can be self destructive. I know in my case they almost were. For me rationalizing them or at least putting them into the right context helped. That's not to say I don't have these feelings anymore but the severity of these emotions now match the event. This makes my situation much easier to deal with.

Thank you to all who replied - I'm not feeling those emotions because of being sentenced to 10 months for what I did. I aknowledge what I did - the pain I caused. I deserve to be punished for what I did and I know better than anyone what I have done to try and correct what I've done - but my frustation comes from this: Two wrongs never make a right - we no longer live in a world where an eye for an eye is justice. What I am angry about is that an individual can walk into a United States Federal Court Room and make a statement - not under oath - that is packed full of lies and a Federal Judge can take a 10 min. recess and change the sentence and disregard the facts and make a decsion based on an emotional statement. I accept my fate - I refuse to allow this to destroy me - I plan to funnel my emotions into something positive and view it as a setback and that I will be able to get on with my life. My attorney called and had the statement transcribed and had me provide documents to validate what I claim. Its hard for me to grasp why the truth wasn't bad enough - I did plea - I did take responsibility - I did set up a restitution account before I was required to - to add substance to my sincere efforts to try and correct this. Emotions are hard to tame - huh? I don't want to be selfish - I know some would take 10 months - hands down..I just feel scared - actually..not for me...but for my family..

Is it possible to locate someone in Alderson once I get there? I don't know her - only by her name. I know this sounds really odd but when I got in trouble - I wanted to learn as much as I could about the federal system so I knew what to expect and I got a pacer acct. which I spent hours reading cases and if you get on pacer and the case isn't sealed you can read all the documents. Long story short - this lady's case just touched my heart..I knew her attorney - personally and always wondered if she really got a good representation but she had the same judge as I did - I don't know..even before this happened with me - I never was judgemental of people -- I love people for who they are not by what they did or did not do and since I got in trouble - that seems to be something that is extremely important to me. She may not even want to be bothered but I just wanted to let her know - that her situation touched me.And who knows maybe we can just talk and get through our time together - I don't know what to expect from prison- I jsut want to do what I'm suppose to - keep to myself and get it over with.

Alderson is the judicial recommendation at this point, the BOP has to make the designation and it could be somewhere else or it could be Alderson. You won't know until you get a letter from the BOP.

Yeah, I understand what you are saying - but the prosecutor as well as my defense attorney already advised that I would be going there - I asked what my chances were of going somewhere else because of topics posted on this - and I was told that is where I would go??? My attorney put me in contact with a lady that did 27 months in Alderson and appeared on the Bill O'Riley show to discuss conditions there...My question to you is this: If Alderson is the only minimum security prison for women - why would they just put you in a higher security prison? No criminal history - low level offense - chances of re-offending were none..I don't know - I'll go whereever I have to but my question was locating an inmate if I went to Alderson - impossible or not?

Als, I am 2 hrs away from Alderson - is there anything you can appeal to if I wouldn't get Alderson? Five kids (18,13,11,3, 22 mo.) Or doesn't it matter?

but my question was locating an inmate if I went to Alderson - impossible or not?

You will be able to locate and communicate the person. We have been able to have incoming PTO members greeted by incarcerated members within a few days of arrival, should be the same for you.

Als, I am 2 hrs away from Alderson - is there anything you can appeal to if I wouldn't get Alderson? Five kids (18,13,11,3, 22 mo.) Or doesn't it matter?

Sorry this is upsetting and i hope of course that you get Alderson designation, but the BOP and only the BOP will be making the decision. There is no appeal to designation.

Thank you to all who replied - I'm not feeling those emotions because of being sentenced to 10 months for what I did. I aknowledge what I did - the pain I caused. I deserve to be punished for what I did and I know better than anyone what I have done to try and correct what I've done - but my frustation comes from this: Two wrongs never make a right - we no longer live in a world where an eye for an eye is justice. What I am angry about is that an individual can walk into a United States Federal Court Room and make a statement - not under oath - that is packed full of lies and a Federal Judge can take a 10 min. recess and change the sentence and disregard the facts and make a decsion based on an emotional statement. I accept my fate - I refuse to allow this to destroy me - I plan to funnel my emotions into something positive and view it as a setback and that I will be able to get on with my life. My attorney called and had the statement transcribed and had me provide documents to validate what I claim. Its hard for me to grasp why the truth wasn't bad enough - I did plea - I did take responsibility - I did set up a restitution account before I was required to - to add substance to my sincere efforts to try and correct this. Emotions are hard to tame - huh? I don't want to be selfish - I know some would take 10 months - hands down..I just feel scared - actually..not for me...but for my family..

I know exactly what you mean. I just wanted you to know that. The shame, the dance(as I call it), the terror, the emotional roller coaster and then the LIES! They truly are the hardest to get over. I was sentenced on October 16th. I pled guilty. I knew I would from the moment I was arrested. I wish I had some good advice for you but I dont. I just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one feeling this same way. Good luck and I hope everything goes well for you. Take Care.