Hello everyone I am sure you all know me I am always on the Texas thread and have some very strong opinions, but today I wanted to say hello and that I have 2 brothers and a very close cousin in the Michigan prison walls. Both of my brothers got very long sentences they are 3 time offenders so My oldest brother who raised us since our parents passed away. And got involved in easy money just recently recieved a 75 year sentence for drugs. And my other brother for tagging along and helping got a 25 year sentence and of course I have my husband here in a Texas prison on a 45 year sentence so times have been tough. I also have a close cousin who just recieved a 15 year sentence I hope to hear from other sisters and brothers who have their loved ones locked away . It is very hard for me because the 3 most important men in my life are gone. And trying to write and send money to all three has definetly become a task but I love them and I will continue to be there for them. Well thanks for listining and all of you are in my prayers. Inmates are people too.

Well Hello there! I too have a brother in the system. He also has at least 8 years left. It never gets easier I can say that!

(((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))) to both of you i wish i could say some comforting words to make your journey easier but i don't think thats possible but my hats off to both of you and i hope you can find someway to have a merry christmas and i will pray the new year gets easier for you.

Ditto on what dr has said, My prayers go out to you..

Thanks you guys it is very hardme and my 14 year old daughter were just talking about it she was crying and telling me that she really did not want to celebrate the holidays my oldest brother just went in in May this year. Until than he had been uncle,brother,and dad to her he really loves her and they are very close he was there for her while she went thru all of her chemo and radiation and he was always doing something with her. And now he wont become elgible for parole until 2020 and she is really hurting it is heartbreaking plus her dad is in prison too. You know I love all of my family but we are all victims in this system. And this is going to be a really hard holiday I wish all of you a wonderful holiday and you are all in my thoughts and prayers as we enter another year of the system.

Hey there thanks for sharing and welcome to pto. I Have been here for a little over a month now and I know that you find the support that you need here. I aslo have siblings in the prison System, A brother in Groveland and A sister in Albion. And to all the other members here thanks for the support u have given me.

I hope you can have the best day possible under the circumstances. Just when i thought i had it bad i read about someone else thats worse off then me . I give you credit for the strenght that i can see in your words

Merry Christmas

My son also has two sisters . I am encouraging the one that lives with me to come to this site. If there is any way I can help just pm me. I will do what I can.
dannysmom

Hey..I'm new to this thing..prisontalk.com I dont really know what to say. I'm sorry about the 3 men in your life being in prison..and for so long. My sister is in prison 2 states away..in WA..only gonna be in there for a year and couple of months all together..has a year and 2 months to go. And i just found out the other day..my cousin(by marriage)..is doing 13 years in Prison in Idaho. Its really hard dealing with my sister being in prison..but i'm sure i'll get threw it. hope to talk to you soon..

Hello everyone!
My sister started her 2 yr sentence this past July at VSPW Chowchilla. I have been doing everything I can to support and help her while she's been there. I had no idea what a toll it would take on me. The good thing is that when I visit, I see she is doing well and it makes it all worth it. Hopefully she'll be out in early June, hope I can hang in till then!

My brother is in too. WTSP 14 yrs.

Well it is great to hear from so many of you who have brothers and sisters in the system. It is a very hard situation it pulls at your heart, I know for me it has been very difficult because we have grown up together and we had to help each other after our parents passed away so young. This has been a very difficult year for our family but we pray alot together and keep God in our life. I write to my brothers alot and try and send them money for their commisary. Both of their wives have left them so it is up to my sister and me to soppurt them right now. I am lucky My husband is very understanding and he is also in prison, but it has taken a toll on my sister's marraige and of course our kids are taking it hard. I am so glad so many of you responded it feels so good to know that so many of you are standing by your siblings.You know we are victims too and sometimes people look down on us because we have a loved one locked away but all we can do is stay strong you know I used to be imbarresed before to even say where my brothers an d husband were at. But after coming on P.T.O. I realized that I am going to be accepted no matter what my situation is. And that we can not control what our loved ones do, All we can do is love them and stand by them. Thank all of you for responding I know that things will get better soon.

Hi, I have my baby brother in jail too over here in Cali. We are still fighting his court case and so he has yet to be sentenced but I pray that I won't bee that long but according to the prosecuter he wants my brother to face a min. 0f 45 years what a meanie:argh But we do have a good lawyer and God on our side so I hope and pray for the best also cause he's only 22 so he has his whole life ahead of him and I would hate for him to have to spend the rest of his life in there.:( N.E.ways I good to know that there are others like myself and I fell for you all.Just trust in God because he's the only one who can help any of us.
:wave: Rebecca

I have a brother thats in for drug charges hes in a texas prison.

My brother will be going in on Monday. This is a very difficult time for our family. I guess we don't have it so bad though.
He will be serving 5 months if all goes well.
Many blessing to everyone.

Hi Pat!

Welcome to PTO from another Marylander (and federal system).

Sorry to hear about your brother but do hope you feel the support PTO and its members have to offer!

Diane

My brother is in prison for drugs for 4 years he started serving time in July . hes only 18 but i hope he learned his lesson. i mean i know this stuff is very hard to get through but i am only 15 and my home was raided in march of last year and my mom her b/f and my brother were all takin out in handcuffs and placed in jail till they got bond then my brother got picked up in ks and thats where he is at now him and my mother went down hill after my father passed away in 1999 but my mom has cleaned up now shes going through NA and i only hope i can say that my brother will clean up when he get out!!! well lets all hope for the best!!!!

Welcome to you shayshay and to you also "M". Wow I can only imagaine what it is like for both of you. My duaghter is incarcerated and she has 2 sisters and 2 brothers and they all deaql with her incarceration in different waqys. She was caught after coming back into the state at her oldest sister's house along with her husband(he started it all) and a 15 yr friend of the hubby's. This was back in '99. each one of these kids deal with it diffferently, the oldest took the baby into her home when it went down when he was only 3 months..they now have full custody of him. In Feb of 2000 my daughter had another baby and i now have that precious little girl. (let me tell you these baby's while inutero remember things) This child is deathly afraid of loud noises, the dark and being by herself. She was never tramatised when she came to us at the tender age of 3 months as she was with only her mother right after birth and had loving babysitters while MOM worked prior to going back to jail!
The youngest girl take her sisters jail time personally and has anxiety attacks ( everytime she talks to her on the phone)as she feels she put her sister there becuse she told(they forced her) the police where her sister was staying..no one knew they were in town(a victim caught them in the house after church and got a license plate # and it went right back to my daughters stepgrandmothers house). Her youngest brother takes things with a grain of salt, writing her sporadically..I threaten death if he doesnt....LOL and her oldest sister just wont write even tho she has the childs son..you'd think she would at least send pictures..grrrrrr..
The oldest brother lives out of state and has not spent too much time with her since they were seperated by DHR over 13 yrs ago. He asks about her when I hear from him, bless his heart its hard to keep track of him as he flits from place to place thnak to the Illustrious traing given him my Department of Humna resouces in Florida...LOL and they said I didn't have the education to teach him right from wrong...A lot of good they did..
Sorry to ramble ..just giving you a perspective from their side too. Hope this lets you know you are not alone and i am so sorry your soulmate has had to go too.
Stay with us on PTO and you will always find comfort and support all over the place.
No one judges you and most of us are in the same place you are just a little diferent case.

Prayers going out to all of our loved ones includign their loved ones!

GSPack

Hello All
My brother is in prison he has 1 1/2 years before he is eligible for parole. I lost touch with him for 10 years and recently I found him (in prison). I have just been to visit him for the first time new years eve and I realized how much I really have missed him.

Thanks you guys It is so good to hear from so many of you. And it feels good to know that so many people care.I got some bad news from my brother today my younger brother was stabbed and is in the hospital. He would not talk and give up his older brother so he was stabbed 6 times in the chest he is in I.C.U and I cant afford to go there so I have to just sit here and wait for the phone calls and wonder whether he is going to die. I love my brothers so much but it is times like this that I get angry and wonder why they put themselves and all of us in this position. I dont sleep at night very well and when the phone rings I get nervous and scared to answer I dont know if either my two brothers or my husband are safe and well and everytime I answer and it is someone else even a bill collecter I take a deep breath and Thank God that they are still well.I just dont know how I continue to stay so strong but I do and I know that God has sent all his angels to sorrund me thru these tough times. Both of my brothers are involved in Prison gangs so it makes things 10 times harder. I just continue to pray and hope that God keeps them safe and keeps me strong. Well everyone thanks for all of your responses. I hope that all of your loved ones are safe and healthy and that God is sorrunding all of you with his love,strength and faith.

Sorry to hear about your brother...is he doing any better?
Keep the faith.

I'm feel so bad for you as I went though an aweful experience myself last month when a prison gaurd kicked my brother in the back and twisted his arm and draged him to the hole to try to cover it up can you belive it they gave him 15 days in there for no reason luckily for me another inmate called and let us know what happened so now we have another lawsuit on our hands but we are not sure when to pursue it for my brothers sake but we do have over 40 witnesses that saw this happen so we are just waiting as always it seems for an answer but like you said we have to just trust in God that there gonna be okay.Stay strong and when you are week just pray and God will give you the strengh to continue on.

Hey everyone. This is my first time giving any input to a chat group. My brother-in-law is doing 10yrs in SC and is waiting for the feds to finish up their case. We don't know what he is going to get but if we are lucky it will run the same time as his state time. He has a year in so far. Its hard for my wife to deal with this, always wondering if she could have stopped what he was doing. It breaks my heart to see her in so much pain. Here is the real kick in the pants, I'm a sergeant at a correctional institution. I've been doing this for 18yrs. Talk about being on both sides of the fence. I've read the postings from everyone and I do feel for all of you. I guess I have an advantage over all of you, I'm inside and know what is really happening. Here are some words to keep in the back of your minds when you are talking with them, DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR BECAUSE THEY WILL PLAY OFF OF YOUR EMOTIONS. I may not be a popular guy in this group but I'm trying to deal with this too. I made sure that his kids still had Christmas and that they don't forget him. I encourage them to write. I live about 1000 miles away but I do my best. I guess thats all for now. Hopefully I don't get slammed to bad. Love and Faith will get you through.

Caveman

Welcome to PTO!

We do not allow slamming of the correctional workers around here! You are just as welcomed as the next! And...its great to have those on your level here as well! It gives us a look from anothers perspective!

Diane

Caveman,
I have to agree with Diane on everything she said. I also welcome views from the other side of the fence. You may be on the other side, but more importantly your a concerned loved one right now. I hope to see your intoduction in our intro forum real soon. I know that no matter what your connection you will receive many warm welcomes.

Tanya

Thanks caveman I agree I have to be real careful what I believe but I love my brothers so much we dont have our parents anymore and we are all we have so I have to stand by them but I agree sometimes we have to be careful on what is said. And I still get angry with them because we out here are suffering for their mistakes and it really hurts not knowing when the phone rings if I will be burying one of my siblings. I just keep everything with God and let him lead the way

I second and third all of the Above Caveman. We all here on PTO know that Not all the guards are bad, just as all the inmate are not BAD. I brought on board a close friend(online) that single me out from another website and befriended me after reading a post about my daughter being in the prison systme. He was such a loving ans supportive person..helped me beyond words before I found PTO. He is a partime guard at a North Carolina Unit along with his wife. I asked him to come here and post as I know that he would be a valuable asset to our community. His name is Wiley_Coyote.
So sorry to see you are also with a loved one in prison. It must be really hard on you and i know with the distance being so far it is like totally across the world for you. It is good that you are able to help his kids with Xmas and God Love you for it.!
McMullian..So So Sorry to hear of this stabbing. I am sending Prayers and angels your way to watch over him and hope you hear some good news soon.

|GSPack

Hi, I ditto what has been said by the other members above.
Let us know if we can help you and your wife thru this terrible time. She should join us here, we're all good people and we all have good people in prison, our fathers, mothers, siblings , spouses and other loved ones we care about. I have found a few friends here already to share my sorrows and joys with, and it's only been a little over a week since I found this site. You sound like a good man, remember everyone behind those walls have family too. I pray every day that God's light will shine on my brother and protect him.
It's a powerful thought, but it's people like you inside those walls that can make this happen.
Pat

I too have my baby brothers both in the system...One in texas on a 10 yr sentence and one in Virginia on a 5 yr...It breaks my heart and wallet...But they will be home with me one day and the letters and visits help. Hang in there and keep prayer always....Amy

Thanks for all the kind words. If anyone has a question I would be happy to try and answer it for you. Remember, every state is different and security levels dictate how an institution is run. For the most part they are generally the same. I have read numerous postings in other forums and I just have to shake my head. The one thing I have found is before things can get better you have to realize where the problem is. I talk to guys on my unit everyday and I get alot of insite into what they are thinking about. The point they keep coming back to is taking responsibility for the crime they committed and how they have hurt their loved ones. Some guys never get to that stage and you can tell. Until they can take responsibility they can't begin to start the healing process. My brother-in-law is having problems with that, but we still keep trying. Sometimes the in your face approach is the best thing for them. They maybe mad at first but you have to let them know how bad they hurt you and your families. Right now its all about them and how they are getting scre_ed over by the man. They should never have put themselves in the mans way. They need to know from you that what they did made you mad but you still love them and together you will get through this. I hope you all have a safe week and let god help you through this long hard journey.

Well I want to thank everyone for their replies and concerns I am so happy that all of you are standing by your loved ones, I try really hard to be there for all 3 of the men incarcarated. It definetly can be trying But I pray alot and he does pretty good at answering me. Caveman I think it is great that you are on the other side of the coin and are still willing to help. I have a hard time trusting the system but I know there are good people out there. Again I am so glad I started this thread it feels great to hear all of you who love your brothers/sisters and will do what you can for them lots of luck to all of you you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

You're right, there are uncaring people that work in the system, but for every one of them there are 50 good ones. Its unfortunate that people only hear of the bad things that happen. There are more good things going than you would believe. Its at every institution, they just have to find it. This should be a learning experience for all of us. I know it is for me. I've done this for 18 yrs and I still encounter new things on a daily basis. Stay strong and believe in tough love because they will need it to help them see the light. keep the faith.

My brother in county right now for drug violations.lookin at 16 months, he's already been in 5 months already which seems like years. He is my best friend, and now me and my husband are having problems, and i miss talkin to my brother. It would be so nice to talk to him right now. Hope the rest of his sentence goes by fast, but i won't hold my breath...

Welcome to PTO Jen...I am sorry for your home troubles and for your Brother be incarcerated. Above all write to your brother, lett him know you are there for him..Sounds like you and him have a really special bond and that he needs to count on you right now. Try not to trouble him with your hubby problems..maybe just mention it litely in your first letter and let him start the conversation. You don't want him to worry while he is locked up.. Ask him maybe for a suggestion or two but don't dwell on it. Come back often and let us know how both situtations are going, because we do care! PM me anytime you need a shoulder.
Caveman..you are an asset to this commmunity and i know that you will be better for it by helping others with their delimma's. You have a great possitive appproach to things I enjoy reading all your post.. Please do bring your wife on baord as we will welcome her with open arms!

GSPack

hi everyone-i have one brother in federal (yankton SD) has been gone for 6 years and has round 2 1/2 left...and the other brother who was just senteced to 70 months on 2/13...awaiting where he will be sent-praying that he too will go to yankton with his other brother...it is very diffucult on all of us...and i feel for each and everyone of you...i too find it very embarrassing and diffucult to tell others where my brothers are...9 times out of 10 i just say they live in Yankton and move on the the next subject...accepted them and their situations has been very diffucult but with each day i try a little harder...god bless each and every one of you....bridget

I've had the unfortunate luck to have been involved with prisons since I was a little kid. My Dad went away when I was 11, I felt like I was going to die, I couldn't talk about him without crying. The term heartbroken hit home with me, it felt like my heart was split open, it really hurt. He came out ok after about 8 years, but the time away could never be made up. It is so very important that your daughter gets a good education, I screwed up and was a high school drop out and pregnant :ha: at the age of 16. My life is better now, we as mothers have to be the ones to help our kids stay straight and out of trouble. I would focus more on my daughter, let her be all she can be. Love and encouragement from you will mean more than anything for her. Her Father and Uncle's would love to hear how great she's doing rather than how hurt she is from all this. I know it's hard I've been there, but what a great world it would be if we focused more on the children of the inmates, after all a sentence given to an adult is served by the children also.

i dont think i have welcomed you to pto, :)

Many of us sure know how u feel. God bless you

I am new to pto and m not sure how the replies work, in my last post I was replying to one of "Mcmullin's" post. She was talking about her brothers and husband in prison and how her teenage daughter was hurting over it.