509 inmates are positive for Covid / Coronavirus

I have been checking the BOP website every day multiple times per day and watching the numbers of positive inmates at Carswell go up and up and up. Yesterday the website said 509. They only have approx 1200 inmates so that is approx half. Think about that for a minute. Half of the people in the entire prison have tested positive. From what I am hearing, they were retested yesterday but it takes days to get the results. This is not acceptable. The job of the BOP is to keep the women and men in their custody SAFE. This is an epic fail. These are the most vulnerable women in the entire federal prison system. These are the women who are medically vulnerable to this virus. They should have been testing every officer and worker DAILY. The only way this got into Carswell was by one of them. One of the guards or workers went to work with the virus. Maybe they should track down who it was and charge them with accessory to murder. One inmate died last week because of the virus. Make no mistake, the women are terrified. They see bunks being piled up in the tv rooms that used to belong to the positive inmates. They see people taken out of the unit who are not heard from again. They are scared to death and I fully understand why. This virus is scary enough in the outside world but in a place that is run so incompetently like Carswell - the fear is hitting an all time high.

University of Central Florida Graduate Admission Solely Denied Based on Felony

This past Spring, I decided to go back to school. I found a program that I would be perfect for me at the University of Central Florida. I wanted to attend the Themed Experience Master's Degree program at UCF.

I have already have two degrees. A Bachelor's degree in communications and an associate's degree in digital media motion graphics. The later degree was obtained with a 3.8 GPA so my academics were good.  I wrote an excellent entrance essay, had three recommendations and past work experience in the creative department in one of the world's most prominent theme parks.  I had the experience as well as the academics to be accepted. Unlike fellow applicants, my application to the university was not ever sent to the department for academic review. Had it been sent, I believe I would have been accepted into the program. Instead, it was stopped by a department called the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.  The following details my experience with UCF:

Timeline:

March 26, 2019 - My application is officially submitted through their online portal

April 9, 2019 - I am called by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to setup an interview

May 2, 2019 - I complete a phone call interview with Michael from the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities

May 8, 2019 - An official decision letter from Dana -  Assistant Dean of Students and Executive Director, Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities is received

May 10, 2019 (10:45 am) - I write an email to 3 recipients: Graduate Admissions, Peter (person I believe is in charge of the actual themed experience program) and the coordinator graduate studies for the theatre department

May 10, 2019 (2:30 pm) - Multiple emails received by this time - one from Peter and Graduate studies. I also receive an official letter from Graduate Studies that they support the decision of the OSSR.

May 12, 2019 - I decide to write this blog post

Here is the wording from the OSSR "I have reviewed your application for admission to the University of Central Florida. Due to the seriousness of the incident and not being completed with your felony court ordered requirements, I cannot favorably recommend your clearance through this office. Your file is now closed in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Please note that this is only a recommendation and the College of Graduate Studies will make the final decision as to your admission to the university. I sincerely wish that this action was more favorable to your circumstances and I do wish you well in your future endeavors."

Here is the wording from the Graduate Admissions "As part of your graduate application, you provided affirmative response(s) asking about your disciplinary and criminal background. As per our regular business practices, this information was provided to the University of Central Florida's Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSRR). They conducted a further review and the College of Graduate Studies supports their recommendation to not clear you for admission. Please note that your application will not proceed forward in the admission process or be sent to your graduate program for their review. Your application to the university has been withdrawn. "

Its plain as day to me, I was never even given the opportunity to be considered for admission solely due to the felony.

Jails to Jobs article is posted!!

I am happy to announce that I was featured in an article on the website jailstojobs. Here is a link to the article:

https://www.jailstojobs.org/if-you-have-a-criminal-record-and-are-looking-for-work-dont-ever-give-up/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Just an update - YES I am still employed by that same company. I am super challenged every day by my work and still absolutely love it. I am so incredibly thankful that they trusted me and hired me on. I am now past my 90 days point (actually 120 as of tomorrow). I am a permanent member of the team. I was the right person for this job. I believed in me enough to NOT give up.

Never let anyone else define you. Your past does not make your future. All it did is shape the person you are becoming. Always persevere even when you don't want to. CONTACT me if you would like to chat..

Great Article on Criminal Unemployment

Although I am happily employed by a wonderful company, not many of my fellow felon brothers and sisters can say the same thing. While researching photos for work (I am a graphic designer putting together a presentation), I came across this thought provoking article:

https://talkpoverty.org/2016/04/28/how-criminalizing-unemployment-creates-bad-jobs/

It took me almost 200 applications to obtain employment. Even then, I had to go above and beyond to convince my employer to trust me. I am one of the lucky ones and I am very grateful.

Job Update - Good News

It's official - I have been offered a job. Actually, I fought for the job that had decided to go in a different direction. After I received the email on October 30th from the architectural company that I had interviewed with and who ran the background check, I decided to do something different. With my record, I realized I was going to have to be more aggressive to get someone to take a chance on me. I decided to write to the company and the people I interviewed with and asked them to give me one last consideration. If you want to read the entire email, go to the end of this post. Briefly stated, here's why you should still consider me. I sent it on Friday near noon time and on Monday morning, I received an email that stated they really appreciated my well written email and that they were in fact giving me consideration. I interviewed with the owner of the company and he reiterated that my email was well written and appreciated. So much in fact, that I went from being no longer considered to their new graphic designer. I start on Wednesday! While I cannot say that this will work every time or even any time again, I can state that my perseverance worked for me. I am extremely fortunate to find a company who is willing to overlook my past and see the value I can bring to their organization. I am blessed that I have talent and education unlike many of my fellow released inmates. I didn't have to overcome a troubled job past or no education. I am fortunate. All I can say is that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and finally getting back to normal life. 9 to 5 boring office life sounds like just about the best thing on the planet.

Here's the email I sent (if you are a ex-inmate who needs to copy and paste some of the verbiage for your job quest, please go ahead and I wish you well):

While searching for employment on Indeed.com, your graphic design position showed up as reposted. I would like to ask you to please give me one last consideration. I understand that my background makes me a questionable hire. I assure I am not. I am someone who has a record due to a huge misunderstanding. Please read my blog which details exactly what happened: https://fmccarswellthetruth.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-i-ended-up-felon.html

Up until that incident, I have never broken any law or had any interaction with law enforcement. While in prison for the 6 month sentence, I actually tried to be productive and help people. I obtained a job in the education department as an employment resource clerk. In that position, I helped other inmates with finding resources for their needs when they began to reintegrate into society. I wrote and taught Adult Continuing Education classes to fellow inmates. I taught classes including US History, Impressionism, and African American History. I helped women to get their GED and get into apprenticeships. In my spare time, I helped motivate people to take part in healthy activities like yoga and exercise classes. All of this reflects my character. Even in the worst circumstance, I succeeded in achieving some personal goals and helping people to achieve theirs.

By hiring me, you are not putting XXX at any risk. The Federal Bonding Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, serves as a tool to secure the job placement of ex-offenders and other high-risk applicants by issuing Fidelity bonds to businesses who offer jobs to workers in "at risk" groups. These bonds are business insurance policies that protect the employer in case of any loss of money or property due to employee dishonesty.

The bonds are a "guarantee" to the employer that the person hired will be an honest worker. The Fidelity Bonds issued are insurance policies from the Travelers Property Casualty insurance company. The McLaughlin Company in Washington, DC is the agent for Travelers in managing the program nationwide. 

The bond is given to the employer free-of-charge, and serves as an incentive to the company to hire a job applicant who is an ex-offender or has some other risk factor in their personal background. The employer is then able to employ the worker without taking any risk of dishonesty on the job. It insures the employer for any type of stealing by theft, forgery, larceny, or embezzlement.

You will also qualify for tax breaks and or credits for hiring me. You can speak with my probation officer, XXXXXXXX. His phone number is (407) 555 - 5555 and his email is XXXXXXXXX. He can reassure you as to my character and his expectations of me. My probation conditions will not interfere with work.

I would make an excellent addition to your team. I am looking for a long term, stable position. I will work harder and be more loyal than any other possible candidate that you could hire. All I am asking is for you to give me a chance. I promise your risk will be rewarded.

Thank you for the consideration.

Have a great weekend.

Kindest Regards.

California Wildfires: Inmates Are Risking Their Lives Working Alongside Firefighters for $2 a Day

I applaud the men and women inmates who are courageous enough to do this work however they should be compensated wages that are not equal to indentured servitude / labor. This is taken from the Newsweek publication website:

As California firefighters work to contain the largest wildfire in state history, they find themselves working their 24-hour shifts alongside a group of unlikely partners: 3,400 inmates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The groups work in unison, but while salaried California firefighters earn an annual mean wage of $74,000 plus benefits, inmates earn just $2 per day with an additional $1 per hour when fighting an active fire.

Inmates without histories of arson, sexual crimes, kidnapping, gang-affiliation, escape attempts or facing a life sentence are allowed to volunteer for the firefighting program and are trained for two weeks in fire safety and field conditions before taking a physical exam. Once the exam is passed, prisoners are sent to live in one of 43 low-security field camps throughout the state. Juvenile delinquents are also eligible for the program, at least 58 youth offenders are currently fighting active wildfires.

“In an active fire, Cal Fire makes the determination for all crews based on the conditions, and the safety and security of all firefighters. In other words, inmate firefighters are not treated differently in the work they perform at the camps,” Vicky Waters, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Newsweek on Tuesday. “I just want to emphasize that we absolutely recognize the incredible job these firefighters are doing, particularly when lives and properties are at stake.”
An inmate also earns extra time off of their sentence for good behavior, typically two days off for each day served. These low-cost firefighters save California an estimated $80 million a year.

“Look, the biggest, most important thing is putting out the fires,” Lisa Graybill, Deputy Legal Director at Southern Poverty Law Center told Newsweek. “And in my experience, prisoners are so eager for the chance to work and chance to demonstrate their rehabilitation that they’ll accept any work conditions. But they shouldn’t be exploited by the state. They’re putting their lives on the line like other California firefighters, and they should be paid fairly for a fair day's work.”

After years of training and fighting fires, said Graybill, an inmate who is released is typically unable to put their skills to work upon release. Nearly all firefighters in California are required to be licensed emergency medical technicians, but convicted felons are typically barred from receiving said licenses. Additionally, families of fallen inmate firefighters like 22-year-old Shawna Lynn Jones, who died fighting a blaze in 2016, don’t receive compensation the way a normal firefighter’s family would.

“Many people who are incarcerated have families on the outside who are relying on them to come home and be their breadwinner again. If anything does happen to them, will there be provision for their families and will they be taken care of in any way?” asked Graybill.

Inmates do recognize that there are perks to the job. Their outdoor camps allow for more freedom. The food is better and grown in on-site gardens. Families are allowed to use barbecue pits for their visits and can often spend the night in nearby cabins.

Still, “the pay is ridiculous,’’ inmate La’Sonya Edwards, told The New York Times. ‘‘There are some days we are worn down to the core,’’ she said. ‘‘And this isn’t that different from slave conditions. We need to get paid more for what we do.’’

“These are very dangerous jobs,” Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, told Newsweek. “Anytime you see prisoners doing work, they don’t have the same kind of job security or right to complain about unsafe conditions. They can’t quit or go work for different jobs. They either do the job as they’re told to do it or they go back to regular prison. This is a captive group of workers being asked to put their lives on the line.”

It’s a tricky road to navigate, said Graybill. “The danger for litigators like me is if we sue, the state could stop this program and that would be terrible because people want this opportunity.”

But if prisoners are being trusted to put out fires, save lives, and handle potentially dangerous weapons like axes and chainsaws with minimal oversight, “maybe they didn’t need to be in prison in the first place,” said David Fathi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project.

How I ended up a "FELON"

Back in 2003, my mom passed away from cancer. At that time, I split a bank account at Bank of America (BOA) with her to make everything pass easily from her to me. She got sick in March, I was put on the account in April and she died in July. I did contact the bank that she had passed but for some reason their paperwork was not updated in all the systems. We moved from Las Vegas to Orlando in 2004 and I just left the account the way it was cause I figured it didn’t matter. Who cared if her name was still on the account? I should have. 

At the time of her death, she was receiving some government benefits that had to do with the Veterans Administration and my dad's military enlistment, etc. He had passed away in 1988 (when I was 14) and she received benefits because of it. I thought the benefits were like a pension. I did report to the VA (as well as Social Security, Nissan, the US government incl the IRS and every other place I knew) that she had died and sent all of the proper information. I figured everyone got everything. I thought (as almost anyone else) that whatever payments kept coming in, they were just a payout/inheritance. Wow was I wrong. Apparently, the VA did not receive the paperwork (and I have zero way to prove that since we had faxed everything 14 years ago) and they incorrectly kept depositing payments. I was made aware of this oversight in April of 2017 when I had 2 federal marshals at my door wanting to speak with me. I wasn't home. They said for me to contact them. I contacted a lawyer cause I started to panic. The lawyer contacted them and we all had a huge discussion about those 14 years of payments. This happened late May 2017. 

Apparently those 14 years of payments should not have still been deposited and since I had just left my mom’s name on the bank account (I didn’t but BOA didn’t process it correctly), I was in BIG trouble with the US Government. The VA decided to press charges and gave the case to the US prosecutor on a felony charge of grand theft. Grand theft of almost $180,000 from the US government.I went and pled guilty in October 2017 BECAUSE there was zero chance of winning. I had used the money - they could prove that. I didn't have the faxes that I sent to them. They have a 99% conviction rate and everyone who goes to trial ends up with maximum sentences. Mine would be like 30 months in Federal prison. Almost everyone thought I would get home confinement since I have ZERO criminal record. The judge felt I needed to be taught a lesson so he sent me to prison for 6 months. He was generous with his sentence, he could have sent me there for 30. I thank him for the shortest sentence possible. When he said imprisonment, my first thought was "like the people on tv?" That was how naive I was. I never knew anyone who got arrested or imprisoned. I had no reference for what I was about to go through.

When I spoke with BOA after I was charged, they said they could not believe that her death slipped through the cracks and that she should have been automatically removed from the account. Even if I hadn't notified them, there are processes in place that are supposed to flag when people die. BOA had no explanation for what happened and that they were very sorry. So let me understand this, the Veteran's Administration made mistakes, Bank of America made mistakes and I made mistakes. Who ended up paying? ONLY ME. Who ended up taking responsibility? ONLY ME. Who ended up with their life completely derailed? ME.

I was sentenced in January 2018 to 6 months in Federal Prison. I was ordered to go to FMC Carswell in Texas (with 4 day notice before my self surrender). I spent 6 months in prison February 6 to August 3, 2018.  I have 3 years probation. I have a lifetime sentence of "FELON".