Day 71 - 9/1/21 - Wed
- mainemoviepirate
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Journal Entry:
“Very little sleep. Then again, I drank coffee right up till 7 PM. I think I’ll move the caffeine cut-off back to 3 PM. H/L/R drink, meds. In the Library, working on this Journal, Walking Distance, and today start on Compassionate Release (CR).
LUNCH: Burgers. Made a double burger with Cheese. No Reserve. Tater tots, salad, bread pudding (Still excellent). Left a little of everything.
I worked on the CR motion, made notes, got quite a bit done after lunch. Probably too detailed with the medical. But what the hell, the Warden is going to deny it anyway. It is how you start the process of getting to court. It’s all about the process.
CR Notes:
I have limited self-care, as someone helps me manage my medicines, cleans for me, does my laundry, prepares my meals, and shops for me.
I am in a chair or bed for more than 50% of waking hours. That percentage is higher back at home because I am able to control when I use my prosthetic there.
Some days are better than others. The extreme heat, for example, causes the skin on my leg to become irritated easily. If my leg is particularly sore one day when I am not in prison, I can stay off it until it heals. That is not possible here.
Since being incarcerated, my stump has had constant skin irritations in two locations. If I were to be on it for more than four hours a day (for my job) and one hour to use the bathroom and outside recreation, the irritations would cause unbearable pain, open sores, and possible infections.
As it stands now, I have daily pain just using my prosthetic.
My PSR (Pre-Sentence Report) was correct when it said, ‘Prison is going to be difficult for Mr. Gordon.’
If I was completely confined to a wheelchair or bedridden, my quality of life would suffer more, for mobility and psychological reasons. End Notes.
SUPPER: Nachos, ate a couple, kind of gross, really.
Worked more on CR request to the Warden. Finishing it up so I can type it up tomorrow (or try to).
No outside, so watched movies in the dining room:
‘You’re in my Seat’ The first one, which I watched most of, was Fallen, with Denzel Washington, John Goodman. I liked it better this time than the first time I watched it (when it came out). I think because it came out roughly the same time as The Horror Show, which was more of a horror movie, lower budget, but very similar in theme and, in my opinion, a better movie. Someday I’ll do a comparison review.
Also watched some of Wanted, with Angelina Jolie. I also had seen that before. I’d forgotten what a fun movie that was. Watched the first half hour. Someday I’ll do a comparison review for the comic/Graphic novel vs. Movie thing. Director?
Notes for Day 71 (Four Years Later)
Since I reported to prison during the height of COVID, I quickly latched on to the evolving Compassionate Release (CR) law at that time. I mainly wanted to study and learn general law and particularly Copyright Law. But all these things are not learned in a vacuum; they involve Criminal Law (especially in my case) and laws concerning incarceration.
But what I quickly learned after the first couple of months is that I could not count on anyone on the outside to assist with my appeal, which was the very reason for fighting my case in the first place. My own Lawyer, despite all his faults and possible other motivations, was right about one thing: When he said, “Doug, you are not going to win this on the District Court level. On a higher level… maybe.” At the time, that was good enough for me, but I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to mount not only a solid appeal but a campaign to tell my side of the story.
So that is why I started pursuing the Compassionate Release. And "pursuing" might be an understatement: I filed at least three CR motions for myself and countless for other inmates. Once a reply (denial) came back, I would immediately start on the appeal or re-consideration.
Navigating the entire Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) bureaucracy was another level of battle, as well. In some ways, it was more complex than the Court System. I think I, like most first-time offenders/incarcerated individuals, was under the impression that the BOP was some kind of long-lost step-child of the D.O.J. But they are closely knit in this aspect: “Anyone in there is guilty and they deserve whatever punishment they are getting, and maybe a little extra for what they didn’t get caught doing.”
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