Well, I hate to sound like a big crybaby but I figure it's better for me to vent here with my fellow Alabamians than go writing scathing letters to the powers that be right now...

As February looms closer I am just in a major snit about this whole thing with the parole board being so backlogged. Brian was supposed to be up for review in February; his cellmate was supposed to have been up in January. As y'all know we've (Brian's family and I) have been warned that it could be closer to the end of the year due to the parole board being so backed up.

I just can't understand how they are getting away with this, why it's "okay" for them to be taking their sweet time getting around to these parole reviews. Don't these folks realize they are literally playing with people's lives here?

And here we've got this new governor in office giving so much lip service to relieving the overcrowding problem. Gee, maybe if the parole board was forced to DO THEIR JOB and review potential parolees ON TIME, that would help the overcrowding situation, ya think? My four year old godson could make that logical connection!!!

I am just really, really annoyed right now. We've been sitting here for three years now waiting for that magical date given us for Brian's next review, February 2003, to come around, and here it is. I don't understand, again, why it's okay for the board to be so backlogged, and I don't understand why we're all supposed to just have to sit back and take it.

I hate to be spiteful but I really hope one of these days at least one person on that board winds up with a son or daughter or other relative in the same position as ours, maybe in another state where the parole board situation is even worse... if one of those people would have to walk in our shoes they would understand why it's so important to those of us who are waiting. Granted, even if Brian is denied parole again, I'll wait the next seven years or whatever it will be for him... but the not knowing NOW, whether it will be this year or seven more years, is driving me nuts.

I know, I know... I know what we're all dealing with. I've just been getting myself so worked up about it as February loomed closer and had to get it out of my system so I wouldn't explode. :)

The parole board is made up of an ex-cop, a politician, and the survivor of a violent crime who has had a movie of the week made about her. Not the most compassionate group in the world. Check their bios - they have a website and it's true.

When Wayne was extradited to Alabama, it was on March 14, 2002. I hired an attorney for him. That attorney called the parole board to check on his hearing date. They did not know he was in the state, much less have a date set for him. The attorney begged, pleaded, and sweet-talked to get Wayne an April hearing and it worked. His hearing was in April - we received the results in June. 10 weeks later - after the board had taken a week-long trip to Colorado to a convention.

On a positive note - a friend's husband came up for parole last week. He had done 5 years on a 15 year and a day sentence. He was paroled! I am so happy for them - this was his first time up.

Ugh. I hadn't checked on the BOP website in a while so I went over there and read. Two of the three have been appointed since Brian's last hearing, I don't know if that's good or bad... tho I suspect in the case of the violent crime survivor that would be negative for us.

They've also added something else since the last time I was on their website - the list of scheduled hearings. Right now they have them up and listed thru I think 03/14/03. Of course neither Brian nor his cellmate, who were supposed to have been reviewed in Feb. and Jan., are on the list. You bet I'll be checking that sucker for updates now that I know they've got it there.

That's fabulous on the friend's husband!! Always good to hear a good story like that. Give her my congratulations!

PS Let us all know the latest 411 on Wayne AND how your new job has been going when you get a chance girl :)

Not sure if you noticed but you can check on the site and see who is up for a hearing that address is as follows I have went to a couple paroles and I can tell you, you better be there bright and early, the entire hearing last maybe 15 minutes. They give two people 5 minutes each to say what they have to say. I can also tell you that they don't want to hear that the person didn't do it... they want to hear how they have talked about their crimes and that they regret it ever happened. It doesn;t matter how good or what training or classes that they have taken either. Have your ducks in a row .. I would suggest that you start a petition and have people sign it that says that they will support your inmate and that they know that this person has changed. It can't hurt. I seen many victims come with petitions in hand against an inmate and that alone stopped the inmate from being released. In my opinion they have really already made up their minds but after each side speaks you will know before leaving the room if the inmate made parole or not


http://www.paroles.state.al.us/sch-hear-dt.html

Vicki

Hi Vicki, yeah, I happened to drop by the parole board's site for the first time in a long time the other night and saw that they are now listing the hearing dates. Right now it's thru March 14th and not surprisingly neither Brian nor his cellmate are on the list. Although this will be my first time dealing with it his parents are now experts, now having gone through it three times, and his file full of letters on his behalf is probably two feet thick. We have someone working with us this time around who is sort of a liaison to the board so we have a little more hope this time, but as you know, who knows what they'll decide.

I just want them to set the date... to me it's inexcusable for them to be so behind on hearings. These are people's lives we're talking about, for them to treat the hearing dates so carelessly is just pathetic...

I haven't been to that site in a while, so the list was new to me. My friend's husband was listed - the one who actually made parole. She told me she got there a 6 o'clock a.m. and sat all day long to get her five minutes. I'm just glad it worked for them.

Keep us updated - cause when April 2005 rolls around, I sure as hell want a date! Grrrr...