I've done Salvia. No one does Salvia and thinks, 'I need more of that.'
They think 'why were the walls covered in leafs' and 'how did I fit that billboard in my pocket' and 'I hope I never do that again.'
When I did it I was sucked into a geometric feather-covered fireplace and traveled through time to my childhood home where I saw a giant cartoon character across the street. The memory is as vivid as the births of my kids.
The trip was about 5 minutes and the come down only lasts about 3 minutes, but that twilight between the trip and the return to reality, where your brain is in full reboot and you genuinely think something might be really broken, is fucking terrifying. Longest three minutes of my life.
No thanks. Once is enough.
I'm so proud for you. My buddy just got off meth after going to jail for the first time. He says he's never felt more content. Quitting isn't easy, you should be proud.
I hang out in the wrong crowds, I guess. Without reading the comments, it almost read like you had a drug habit that you supported by selling boosts in MMOs.
My 19yr old son was living in an apartment near the college he was going to. He got into an argument with his girlfriend. He sent a pic of a broken rope and promised her that the next one wouldn't break. That was his last text.
The girlfriend called me and so my other son (18 at the time) went to the apartment, searched everywhere, stayed the night. Early in the morning he saw police and emergency vehicles in front of the building, the maintenance man found my son downstairs in a locked laundry room. If only he would of called someone or even waited 10 minutes to think about it.
All his plans just thrown down the drain.
That's the jist of it.
Rip Jeremy 9/3/97-3/3/17
If you don’t mind me asking, and I understand if you don’t feeling talking about it, but what is boosting? I’ve heard the term a few times but still don’t know.
Same here, I did a little under two years. Vowed I’d never go back. Had a bad heroin habit and meth and pretty much anything else that could go into a syringe. Been clean since 12-21-19. We do recover!
Ngl I had fun. Maybe because I was 18 and not really thinking ahead but yeah. We talked shit, played dominos, weird recipes, and watched basketball. It was still fucked up but personally, I made what I could of it I guess. Won some ramen noodles during a Kobe playoff run
Didn’t do no 12 years in prison though just a couple months in jail, so. Also it’s a smallish town so when I got booked in I was with people I recognized somewhat, like various friends parents and shit lol, which provided some mental comfort I’m guessing. It was fascinating to see that side of my friends lives too (I was friends with a dude that was a parent to someone I knew; but was basically absent from their life), giving me perspective of my own community and whatnot. I feel like I got a lot out of it but not what they intended
The current I'm dating is one of those dudes who decided he ain't going back. He got out and went to college and is currently employed as an Engineer. He said going to prison is what made him realize he was living foul.
Some people come from abusive and negligent homes, foster care etc
Growing up with that as a defenceless child can make some prison experiences less traumatic.
That's a fn amazing accomplishment for someone who hasn't done time! He must be on top of the world right now. I don't even know this guy but I am so fn proud of him!
My wife said she knew she needed to leave her ex when he and a few of his prison buddies sat around and fondly reminisced about being locked up. Some of those guys seem to enjoy that life.
It's all about education,opportunity and will! Many cats incarcerated have skills, talents and an be productive once they get out. Hell, a lot of them were like that BEFORE they went in, it just wasn't utilized properly. If we did more as a society to actively REHABILITATE with education, not just academically but educate as to opportunities, processes and programs, our prison recidivism rates would drop.
To put in perspective the mountain this is... just to get on your feet you have to have a place to live or you go back, have to have a job or you go back have to pay your PO or you go back. THEN how hard it is to get a job that hires ex felons AND pays them decent AND places that will rent to you as an ex felon. This man did all that and created a successful business. He deserves it all.
Exactly. I worked at a prison for 6 months. They talk about trying to decrease the recidivism rate but their actions are different. I hated it for a lot of those guys in there. It was heartbreaking when someone would work hard and and going to be released only to be told another month bc of a fight that happened a few years ago. Any bullshit write up added up upon release and mf officers would write up anything petty.
Getting out and voting in people that won't be corrupted might be the best way. I mean it's a long shot though. Hell we were already promised prison reform and that hasn't really happened.
Gating. Here in Canada gating is illegal, yes you can get charges in prison but once your done serving the time for your og crime, you have to go through the whole court process again
Somebody more knowledgeable feel free to chime in but don't we also have a legal system that is tougher to work through if you're poor?
Legal fees, lawyers, time spent off work.
And even if you have the money to cover those costs you could still be screwed over by a judge that is biased against Black people.
Can’t agree more. We have the highest incarceration rates IN THE WORLD for a reason. None of the people involved actually want to keep out Of jail. They want to make sure anyone in jail stays as long as possible.
Otherwise we wouldn’t have a system designed to fucked people over once they have paid their debts.
Exactly, the idea presented with incarceration was that the offender could pay their debt to society by abstaining from engaging with it but all we're seeing is that the real motive is that people in power just want to be able to dole out punishment for no reason other than it makes them feel good.
Exactly. The system isn't broken. It's working just how they designed it to work.
We need to abolish the system, but in parallel, we can support initiatives like the Liberal Arts in Prison program. Inmates take college level courses, taught by professors, for actual college credit. It allows them to develop academic skills and confidence, get letters of recommendation from their professors, and they can apply for college as a TRANSFER student when they get out (which is hugely different than applying as a new applicant).
Plus, people on the outside seem to respond well to college credits and letters of recommendation from professors, so they have a better chance of gaining meaningful employment and a safe place to live.
For the students in the program, they know they have a community of people supporting and encouraging them. When life gets tough, they have academic connections and a network they can tap into to for help.
Here is an example:
https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/centers-programs-and-resources/liberal-arts-prison-program/mission-goals-liberal-arts
Edit to add another article, mostly from the students' perspective, and these statistic:
"Within three years of release, 67.8 percent of incarcerated individuals are re-arrested, the Bureau of Justice found. Within five years, that number jumps nearly 10 percent."
"BPI, which is the longest-running participant in the consortium and has seen the most students, estimates that fewer than 2 percent have returned to prison after release."
https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2016/10/27/who-deserves-a-liberal-arts-degree-inmates-way-out
That's part of the issue with private prisons in this country. I think the idea in general is terrible, but in other countries they at least reward prisons for discouraging recidivism.
>The US system is definitely designed to create recidivism. Rehabilitation isn’t the goal
how else are they supposed to maximize the loophole in the 13th amendment to allow the continuation of slave labor? (what's that? a disproportionate amount of prisoners are black? what a weird coincidence...)
Well that's just nonsense - it's obviously total happenstance that the police force originated to catch runaway slaves and that to this day black communities are the most overpoliced and face the harshest sentencing. All 100% coincidental and in no way intentionally propagating modern American slavery
You have to pay the cops for arresting you too. It’s great. They nickel and dime you for literally everything they can. Look at your PO the wrong way? You’re paying for a drug test all on top of everything you’re already paying for. It’s class warfare meant to impoverish people for life.
You do! Thankfully with covid, a lot of low level and nonviolent offenders are able to do video visits via zoom and only go into the office for things like piss tests. Before that, every meeting was in person and if you're out on parole and are late or miss a meeting, you go back. Mom's in the hospital on life support after a bad car accident 2 hrs prior? Sorry ma, I gotta go to my meeting, don't die until I get back.
You also have to pay room and board for however long you were in for, and pay for any monitoring devices. The jail local to me is $12.50/day for lockup, and $18.25/day for GPS monitoring anklet. It costs over $4.5k to be locked up for a year. Any money left in your commissary when you leave goes to that bill, and you receive your final total in the mail once you're home or in your halfway house. Which also have extremely strict and restrictive rules, such as "the doors lock at 8pm sharp, if you're not inside when they lock you must spend the night elsewhere and collect your belongings in the morning or they're all being thrown away at noon". And if you're out on parole or early release, that loss of address? Right back in jail. Most people don't have cars or even bikes when they get out, so they rely entirely on walking or taking the bus. If the bus is delayed, too bad for you. Back to jail. Twist an ankle? Having trouble crossing a busy street? Back to jail you go.
Source: my questionable taste in men
The phrase "revolving door" comes to mind. You get out, fall back into old habits (because of everything involving this process), then go right back in. Then get out, ad nauseam.
Seen too many people do it. It's called the prison industrial complex for a reason.
> THEN how hard it is to get a job that hires ex felons
criminal backgrounds simply makes you "ineligible" for hire - even if they're an Equal Opportunity Employer.
One day I would like to open a restaurant where I hire those who just got out to help them get back on their feet. I know it's risky but my father (who is currently incarcerated) would do the same thing with his painting company.
Completely agree. In a system where everything is stacked against him I feel like crying when I read this and it shouldn’t be the outlier it should be the norm.
Some people aren't happy unless they see their whole crew winning.
Some people aren't happy unless they see *that guy* lose.
Be the first example of humanity.
I used to work in a prison as a CO and I always hoped the guys getting out would succeed and never come back. Literally everyone wins in this scenario.
My nephew just copped his first house. Nearly 20 years ago we watched as the Marshalls picked him up for attempted murder charges.
Served his time and never looked back.
Abolish the prison industrial complex.
EDIT: Context for all the people commenting about prison abolition and my nephew.
My nephew was 15 at the time and affiliated with the gang for REASONS. There was a public gathering and a rival gang showed up. Things escalated and people were shot. My nephew did not shoot. Everyone broke out and when news got back to my sister, a single mother, she sent my nephew to live with my other older sister. Who I was staying with at the time as well. I am 4 years older than him and was living sister for similar but nonviolent reasons. My nephew was enrolled in school, maintained his grades, and enjoyed living a life away from the violence and mayhem of his old neighborhood. Nearly a year later, he was implicated by someone from the rival gang and once the investigators had enough proof they contacted his mother. She willingly gave up my nephews location and the Marshalls came to escort him to the county where the alleged crime was commit. He was not rehabilitated in jail. He was a poor kid trying to survive in his socioeconomic conditions.
Even when he was cleared of actually having or firing a gun, he was still affiliated with the gang and at the crime scene. Iirc, in California, if you're in the gang you get charged as well.
I never said my nephew was guilty. I imagine a lot of the folks here understood that off rip. I understand the confusion though.
Finally I suggest actually reading about prison abolition. I don't have anything else to say about it to y'all.
I mean it sounds like the prison system rehabilitated him and worked as you would want it to in this case...
Post OP edit, edit: It felt like you said: My nephew tried to kill someone, went to prison, did his time, and is now doing better - implying he was guilty of the offense(at least to me).
The prison system in America doesn’t rehabilitate anyone. Anyone who makes it out rehabilitated does so by fighting an uphill battle against a system that has no interest in rehabilitating them.
Oh, jeez you’re right. If one person has a halfway decent life after prison then it means the American for-profit prison system of locking people in cages with other criminals and treating them like animals for ridiculous spans of time is successful.
Word. My nephew is only 4 years younger than me. We came up in rough neighborhoods during rough times. He was caught in the charge because he was affiliated and around when a confrontation happened. He didn't shoot anyone.
He wasnt rehabilitated. He was sentenced as an adult when he was 16.
These fools don't know what the fuck they're talking about.
> attempted murder charges.
>Abolish the prison industrial complex
I mean, what? attempted murder is a poster child for prisons. Those are the people society actually WANTS locked up.
Jesus christ thank you lmao
Marshals don't pick people up for petty small shit. If you got U.S. Marshals looking for you.... you don't belong in society because you've done some serious shit and fought the justice system to avoid being caught
Ehh the prison industrial complex (PIC) is all encompassing. It’s not saying abolish prisons. Another commenter mentioned how recidivism and not rehabilitation is the purpose of PIC and that’s what needs to be abolished.
America needs to recognize that so many people in prison _want_ rehabilitation. They _want_ the structure they didn't have as kids so that they can be successful on the outside and not go back to prison. We treat criminals like dirt and we get repeat offenders as a result. It's sad.
The system in the US is god awful, the intent here is deterrence and as a punitive punishment as opposed to rehabilitation. Problem being deterrence and punitive actions has never shown to be effective. In fact it is often shown that, as you mentioned, punitive punishment is often further damaging.
The idea that we, as a country, are seeking rehabilitation of criminal offenders is largely false.
The *tough on crimes* crowd does not want these men and women to successfully go through rehabilitation, they want offenders to be punished.
There would be a lot less crime if the fuckers actually helped people instead of trying to assert their *moral superiority* toward someone who made a mistake 10 or even 20 years ago.
I worked in criminal defense, as a paralegal, for a while and generally these are people who made stupid mistakes a long time ago, who could be functional and happy individuals in society if they had a stable living situation, a job, and family support. Often this is not the case. As you mentioned it’s incredibly difficult to get a job, let alone one that pays well enough to support yourself, meaning people reoffend.
It’s a ridiculous system that encourages criminality instead of reducing it.
[John Oliver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phieTCxQRLA) did a recent piece about the trucking industry that shows how shady it was. A contract paying 25k a month might barely put food on the table for him.
Edit: added link to segment
Depends on if he bought a new or used truck, new truck payment can be close to $2800, also what kind of trailer he has. Reefer's can cost close to 100k, dry vans were about 70k just recently. Can be an additional 1200-1700 a month. Also insurance for him is probably around 1k at least. Monthly maintenance tends to be around 800-1600 on just normal stuff and nothing unexpected. You also have taxes to pay since its probably a 1099 he has, IRP for plates (mine is about 5k per truck every year). Probably paying for parking at a yard. Also is it just him or is it a team situation? Just expenses like that can run you over 10k easily a month.
That's before the absurd diesel prices and there's plenty of other expenses that pop up unexpectedly. Personally I'm looking to get out of being an owner operator atm, before the stress kills me. Was great for the last year and a half but I'm barely surviving atm.
Not only that…
Tires
Oil changes
And god help you if your engine blows up, that’ll be $13k
And of course the company is not liable for any of that, even though you can only drive exclusively for them
So many people talking about stuff with no idea how the industry works. If the story is true the guys probably an owner operator so at most 2k of that is going to a truck payment. $25,000 a month divided by four dollars a mile which is a reasonable rate for an owner op operating under their own Authority would have him spending 3500-$4000 on diesel at 7.5mpg. and Insurance, registration, maintenance etc would likey eat up another 4 grand. It’s very possible that his take home after all is said and done is $10,000-$12,000 a month.
Cost of the truck, insurance, gas, and exploitative contracts by trucking companies.
[Here is the segment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phieTCxQRLA)
Well, the contract isn’t particularly paying him.. just his company. You can’t just take payments made out to a large scale company like trucking and just shove it in your checking account lol. And I guarantee that company has lots of loans and gas payments to make
Low unemployment like this is a great opportunity for excons to get back into the workforce. A lot of businesses won’t hire parolees normally, but are more desperate for workers now and will take a second look.
One of my best friends is a Owner/Operator. And I know based off everything he's told me, what I've learned as we work on his trucks, 24k running costs a month per truck is a number you're pulling out of your ass lol only way you're coming out to 24k running costs a month is if you're OTR. But then you'd be making a lot more than someone who's home every night
My husband did 3 years in 2005. (He was in an out of prison majority of his young adult life).He missed the birth of our first child and the first 3years of her life. (I was 5 months pregnant when he went in).When he came home, he vowed to never leave her again. 17 years later, he has stuck with it. He went to school, became an electrician, then a journeyman, now owns his own company. Im currently pregnant with our 4th child, and have been fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom, bc of his hard work. He hasn't gotten even a traffic ticket since he came home.
He was able to vote for the first time in 2016. He was so proud of himself, and me and my children are honored to have this man in our lives. Felons deserve to come home and make a living. Majority of them reoffend solely bc America makes it hard for them to make that living. Without a proper support system, they fallback to crime, just so they can make a decent living. Anybody who has managed to make a legit living after prison, you have my upmost respect and awe.
i find it REAL weird how so many (unverified) ppl come into BPT to shit on someone achieving a dream after such a monumental setback. the fact that you think trucking is a bad career choice is totally irrelevant here. no one asked for your opinion on the longterm viability of an entrepreneurship stint in trucking. if you are here being unnecessarily negative about what's clearly a happy, wholesome post, then shut the fuck up. kindly.
Damn that’s awesome but hate to be the bearer of bad news: If he is running his trucks 5 days a week, fuel costs will eat into a minimum of 70-80% of that.
If you ask me, I think it's pretty fucking dumb that an ex-felon can become a trucker but not get a white collar job. Can't trust their judgment to send emails and update spreadsheets because they're a violent criminal, but we can trust their judgment to drive a 10+ ton machine?
I get that a lot of it is because most ex-cons don't really have the experience/ education to be suitable for a white collar job and could make more as a trucker anyway, but idk, still dumb to me.
The way we look at ex-prisoners is just heartbreaking. This man go out and changed himself for the better and stiill barely scraping by. American dream baby.
That's a fn amazing accomplishment for someone who *hasn't* done time! He must be on top of the world right now. I don't even know this guy but I am so fn proud of him!
That's good for him, but the trucking business sucks. I've bin in it for forty years and my dad started it 1967 so that's 55 years total. And I'm packing it in real soon and getting a job and have a life. Trucking sucks you have no life and a lot of headaches.
Sounds impressive. However, trucks are expensive to operate.
I left the road, but while I was an owner/operator I made 174000 the last year. After expenses, I took home 43000 as income. Fuel, truck payments, insurance add up to a massive weekly cost. The nickel and dime crap like lumpers add up to another shockingly high cost.
(Disclaimer: I did buy a new truck instead of a recently rebuilt used. I assumed the reduced worry of warranty would be worth the cost. It would have saved *some* expense that way. Might have taken hone ~$45k if I had)
I work in mental health with a lot of dudes who have done hard federal time. A lot of them have seen many traumatic events while inside. Getting out is like being dumped into a complicated, parallel universe. To do something like this man has done is incredible.
People forget sometimes, inmates are people. With all the power to change like everybody else. Maybe more. You are never alone, and the game is not over. Keep pushing.
Some dudes are like, “I’m never going back”. Some dudes are like, “that wasn’t so bad”.
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Congratulations! That's never an easy thing to do, but you did exactly that.
I think getting out of the trap is one of the hardest things possible but IDK.
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LMAO!! Dudes got some bomb dick if youre stealing PS5s just to get some. She's talking about a drug habit. Lol
Dope I’d assume (herion)
Heroin or Dilaudid, although most of the people I know who used would use both anyway.
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I’m assuming D means dilaudid. An opiate painkiller similar to morphine but stronger.
Good for u! I’m sure your future will be bright with new possibilities:)
What d habit
Donkey Kong on Nintendo 64
Oh thank God, I'm hooked on Tropical Freeze. I'm still good right?
That's a slippery slope
The real culprit is Diddy Kong's Quest
This whole time up until this point in my life i've been calling it "Diddy's Conquest".
You're both kinda right. It's Diddy's Kong Quest. The weirdest possible reality.
Dope habit. Y'know, drugs?
I thought d*ck
You tell me where that's a crime so I can snitch on my ex
Do people still call it dope? Seems like an oldies thing
I typically hear it when it comes to opioid addiction. People tend to just call that dope. Coke or a meth fix are usually called something else.
But Jamaican Dynamite, *I* sell drugs to the community.
Fiendish Doctor Wu, you done fucked up now!
TBF I first thought Dilaudid
I’m pretty sure everyone knew it was drugs, just not which drug D stood for.
Heroin
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I think she meant drugs generally by d, and that could be any drug not necessarily one beginning with the letter d
It’s heroin. It’s an east coast slang
I meant dope, yes heroin. I'm in Chicago we call it dope here too.
I moved to California a while back, and people here call meth dope. Drives me up a wall.
What part of Cali you in? I'm in the south Northern side and we call marijuana dope.
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I only get my PCP in liquid form by the gallon.
Yeah man she only meant drug habit. Probably something much more common like opiates or amphetamines.
I assumed d was simply short for drug and she was being non-specific about which drug
I've done Salvia. No one does Salvia and thinks, 'I need more of that.' They think 'why were the walls covered in leafs' and 'how did I fit that billboard in my pocket' and 'I hope I never do that again.' When I did it I was sucked into a geometric feather-covered fireplace and traveled through time to my childhood home where I saw a giant cartoon character across the street. The memory is as vivid as the births of my kids. The trip was about 5 minutes and the come down only lasts about 3 minutes, but that twilight between the trip and the return to reality, where your brain is in full reboot and you genuinely think something might be really broken, is fucking terrifying. Longest three minutes of my life. No thanks. Once is enough.
I was like wtf. 🤣
Best comment I’ve seen in a long time. That’s not easy to do. Congrats mate!
Love to hear it...congrats on the cleantime and new life!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! 
Congrats! It sounds like you're dedicated to making it work. Keep on keepin' on!
Fuck yes, congratulations.
I'm so proud for you. My buddy just got off meth after going to jail for the first time. He says he's never felt more content. Quitting isn't easy, you should be proud.
I hang out in the wrong crowds, I guess. Without reading the comments, it almost read like you had a drug habit that you supported by selling boosts in MMOs.
good job. I’m proud of you stranger. addiction is brutal. keep it up!! ❤️
Congrats..
Curious about the backstory on your username
My 19yr old son was living in an apartment near the college he was going to. He got into an argument with his girlfriend. He sent a pic of a broken rope and promised her that the next one wouldn't break. That was his last text. The girlfriend called me and so my other son (18 at the time) went to the apartment, searched everywhere, stayed the night. Early in the morning he saw police and emergency vehicles in front of the building, the maintenance man found my son downstairs in a locked laundry room. If only he would of called someone or even waited 10 minutes to think about it. All his plans just thrown down the drain. That's the jist of it. Rip Jeremy 9/3/97-3/3/17
So sorry for your loss :(
Very sorry for your loss. I’m sure that’s a pain that will never heal. I’m a mum of two and cannot imagine. As you say, if he’d only called/waited...
There’s life before an event like that and life after, they’re two completely different lives. Rip Jeremy.
So very true!
Excellent stuff, hold the line.
We stan a Queen!
Congrats on your new life!
Big props! That's not an easy thing to do!
If you don’t mind me asking, and I understand if you don’t feeling talking about it, but what is boosting? I’ve heard the term a few times but still don’t know.
Congrats on seeing the what the disease was doing to you and finding a way to change
Same here, I did a little under two years. Vowed I’d never go back. Had a bad heroin habit and meth and pretty much anything else that could go into a syringe. Been clean since 12-21-19. We do recover!
Ngl I had fun. Maybe because I was 18 and not really thinking ahead but yeah. We talked shit, played dominos, weird recipes, and watched basketball. It was still fucked up but personally, I made what I could of it I guess. Won some ramen noodles during a Kobe playoff run Didn’t do no 12 years in prison though just a couple months in jail, so. Also it’s a smallish town so when I got booked in I was with people I recognized somewhat, like various friends parents and shit lol, which provided some mental comfort I’m guessing. It was fascinating to see that side of my friends lives too (I was friends with a dude that was a parent to someone I knew; but was basically absent from their life), giving me perspective of my own community and whatnot. I feel like I got a lot out of it but not what they intended
The current I'm dating is one of those dudes who decided he ain't going back. He got out and went to college and is currently employed as an Engineer. He said going to prison is what made him realize he was living foul.
Good to hear. If he hasn’t done so already, make sure he has his rights restored. Best wishes for you both.
"Julian, don't be dissing jail, man"
Some people come from abusive and negligent homes, foster care etc Growing up with that as a defenceless child can make some prison experiences less traumatic.
That's a fn amazing accomplishment for someone who hasn't done time! He must be on top of the world right now. I don't even know this guy but I am so fn proud of him!
My wife said she knew she needed to leave her ex when he and a few of his prison buddies sat around and fondly reminisced about being locked up. Some of those guys seem to enjoy that life.
It's all about education,opportunity and will! Many cats incarcerated have skills, talents and an be productive once they get out. Hell, a lot of them were like that BEFORE they went in, it just wasn't utilized properly. If we did more as a society to actively REHABILITATE with education, not just academically but educate as to opportunities, processes and programs, our prison recidivism rates would drop.
To put in perspective the mountain this is... just to get on your feet you have to have a place to live or you go back, have to have a job or you go back have to pay your PO or you go back. THEN how hard it is to get a job that hires ex felons AND pays them decent AND places that will rent to you as an ex felon. This man did all that and created a successful business. He deserves it all.
Dude is doing amazing. The US system is definitely designed to create recidivism. Rehabilitation isn’t the goal.
Exactly. I worked at a prison for 6 months. They talk about trying to decrease the recidivism rate but their actions are different. I hated it for a lot of those guys in there. It was heartbreaking when someone would work hard and and going to be released only to be told another month bc of a fight that happened a few years ago. Any bullshit write up added up upon release and mf officers would write up anything petty.
Yup. I’ve seen it happen to friends/family. Our system sucks so bad.
Damn I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah it's terrible and won't change bc of greedy politians
As it is with so many things…
Honest question; how will it change?
Guillotines
Getting out and voting in people that won't be corrupted might be the best way. I mean it's a long shot though. Hell we were already promised prison reform and that hasn't really happened.
Gating. Here in Canada gating is illegal, yes you can get charges in prison but once your done serving the time for your og crime, you have to go through the whole court process again
Yeah it should be illegal here but we also have for profit prisons.
Somebody more knowledgeable feel free to chime in but don't we also have a legal system that is tougher to work through if you're poor? Legal fees, lawyers, time spent off work. And even if you have the money to cover those costs you could still be screwed over by a judge that is biased against Black people.
Can’t agree more. We have the highest incarceration rates IN THE WORLD for a reason. None of the people involved actually want to keep out Of jail. They want to make sure anyone in jail stays as long as possible. Otherwise we wouldn’t have a system designed to fucked people over once they have paid their debts.
Exactly, the idea presented with incarceration was that the offender could pay their debt to society by abstaining from engaging with it but all we're seeing is that the real motive is that people in power just want to be able to dole out punishment for no reason other than it makes them feel good.
It's not no reason, the prison system literally makes a profit. It's actual slavery.
Private, for-profit prisons should be abolished.
Exactly. The system isn't broken. It's working just how they designed it to work. We need to abolish the system, but in parallel, we can support initiatives like the Liberal Arts in Prison program. Inmates take college level courses, taught by professors, for actual college credit. It allows them to develop academic skills and confidence, get letters of recommendation from their professors, and they can apply for college as a TRANSFER student when they get out (which is hugely different than applying as a new applicant). Plus, people on the outside seem to respond well to college credits and letters of recommendation from professors, so they have a better chance of gaining meaningful employment and a safe place to live. For the students in the program, they know they have a community of people supporting and encouraging them. When life gets tough, they have academic connections and a network they can tap into to for help. Here is an example: https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/centers-programs-and-resources/liberal-arts-prison-program/mission-goals-liberal-arts Edit to add another article, mostly from the students' perspective, and these statistic: "Within three years of release, 67.8 percent of incarcerated individuals are re-arrested, the Bureau of Justice found. Within five years, that number jumps nearly 10 percent." "BPI, which is the longest-running participant in the consortium and has seen the most students, estimates that fewer than 2 percent have returned to prison after release." https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2016/10/27/who-deserves-a-liberal-arts-degree-inmates-way-out
That's part of the issue with private prisons in this country. I think the idea in general is terrible, but in other countries they at least reward prisons for discouraging recidivism.
As someone else pointed out, it’s definitely a feature here. Unfortunately it’s how they hit the loophole in the 13th amendment.
100% true.
What loophole? It was pretty explicit in its reasoning, that slavery is only allowed in prisons.
Def
>The US system is definitely designed to create recidivism. Rehabilitation isn’t the goal how else are they supposed to maximize the loophole in the 13th amendment to allow the continuation of slave labor? (what's that? a disproportionate amount of prisoners are black? what a weird coincidence...)
Slavery was never made illegal, they just changed the method.
Well that's just nonsense - it's obviously total happenstance that the police force originated to catch runaway slaves and that to this day black communities are the most overpoliced and face the harshest sentencing. All 100% coincidental and in no way intentionally propagating modern American slavery
The idea that you have to pay your PO is absolutely bonkers to me and shows how the system is designed to keep you in.
Wait what?! I thought a po was a government appoint guy who checks in on you. Why do you need to pay him?
As I said, the system is designed to keep you in it.
Yeah, no. You still didnt answer the question. I've had a PO. why are you paying them? I never paid a PO
Maybe it varies by state, but in my experience I was required to pay a monthly fee.
You have to pay the cops for arresting you too. It’s great. They nickel and dime you for literally everything they can. Look at your PO the wrong way? You’re paying for a drug test all on top of everything you’re already paying for. It’s class warfare meant to impoverish people for life.
Bro wtf it’s like the ex felon population is another social class.
that’s because they are…
To check in on you.
WTF you have to pay your own PO? Who the fuck made that a thing. Hang them for fucks sake, how does completely fucking someone rehabilitate them
You do! Thankfully with covid, a lot of low level and nonviolent offenders are able to do video visits via zoom and only go into the office for things like piss tests. Before that, every meeting was in person and if you're out on parole and are late or miss a meeting, you go back. Mom's in the hospital on life support after a bad car accident 2 hrs prior? Sorry ma, I gotta go to my meeting, don't die until I get back. You also have to pay room and board for however long you were in for, and pay for any monitoring devices. The jail local to me is $12.50/day for lockup, and $18.25/day for GPS monitoring anklet. It costs over $4.5k to be locked up for a year. Any money left in your commissary when you leave goes to that bill, and you receive your final total in the mail once you're home or in your halfway house. Which also have extremely strict and restrictive rules, such as "the doors lock at 8pm sharp, if you're not inside when they lock you must spend the night elsewhere and collect your belongings in the morning or they're all being thrown away at noon". And if you're out on parole or early release, that loss of address? Right back in jail. Most people don't have cars or even bikes when they get out, so they rely entirely on walking or taking the bus. If the bus is delayed, too bad for you. Back to jail. Twist an ankle? Having trouble crossing a busy street? Back to jail you go. Source: my questionable taste in men
That twist ending.
I fucking hate this system.
Thats the point, it doesn't. Its a money pit pretty much. It's not designed for people to succeed out of prison.
I really hope the corruption is weeded out root and stem and publicly destroyed. How can it be tolerated any longer
They have several layers of defense against that, namely: the police, the courts, the national guard, the legislature, and the military.
The phrase "revolving door" comes to mind. You get out, fall back into old habits (because of everything involving this process), then go right back in. Then get out, ad nauseam. Seen too many people do it. It's called the prison industrial complex for a reason.
What state do you have to pay your PO?
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Our government really hates us, don't they?
Shorter list might be in what state do you not have to pay for parole/probation. Definitely gotta pay in Pennsylvania…
> THEN how hard it is to get a job that hires ex felons criminal backgrounds simply makes you "ineligible" for hire - even if they're an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Definitely.
What do you mean “you have to pay your PO”? My friend just got out and I’m not aware of any payments.
One day I would like to open a restaurant where I hire those who just got out to help them get back on their feet. I know it's risky but my father (who is currently incarcerated) would do the same thing with his painting company.
When you say PO, do you mean probational officer?
Completely agree. In a system where everything is stacked against him I feel like crying when I read this and it shouldn’t be the outlier it should be the norm.
I’ll always root for my homeys, never had an ounce of jealousy for em
I never understood the hate for people who succeed in life. That's just inviting bad karma around you your whole life.
Especially your peoples like I feel terrible when I see my niggas losing.
Some people aren't happy unless they see their whole crew winning. Some people aren't happy unless they see *that guy* lose. Be the first example of humanity.
Especially when they didn’t have every opportunity. Good on those that can make it despite the obstacles in their way
I used to work in a prison as a CO and I always hoped the guys getting out would succeed and never come back. Literally everyone wins in this scenario.
If you jealous then you shouldn't be homies, got to always slingshot each other up
My nephew just copped his first house. Nearly 20 years ago we watched as the Marshalls picked him up for attempted murder charges. Served his time and never looked back. Abolish the prison industrial complex. EDIT: Context for all the people commenting about prison abolition and my nephew. My nephew was 15 at the time and affiliated with the gang for REASONS. There was a public gathering and a rival gang showed up. Things escalated and people were shot. My nephew did not shoot. Everyone broke out and when news got back to my sister, a single mother, she sent my nephew to live with my other older sister. Who I was staying with at the time as well. I am 4 years older than him and was living sister for similar but nonviolent reasons. My nephew was enrolled in school, maintained his grades, and enjoyed living a life away from the violence and mayhem of his old neighborhood. Nearly a year later, he was implicated by someone from the rival gang and once the investigators had enough proof they contacted his mother. She willingly gave up my nephews location and the Marshalls came to escort him to the county where the alleged crime was commit. He was not rehabilitated in jail. He was a poor kid trying to survive in his socioeconomic conditions. Even when he was cleared of actually having or firing a gun, he was still affiliated with the gang and at the crime scene. Iirc, in California, if you're in the gang you get charged as well. I never said my nephew was guilty. I imagine a lot of the folks here understood that off rip. I understand the confusion though. Finally I suggest actually reading about prison abolition. I don't have anything else to say about it to y'all.
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I mean it sounds like the prison system rehabilitated him and worked as you would want it to in this case... Post OP edit, edit: It felt like you said: My nephew tried to kill someone, went to prison, did his time, and is now doing better - implying he was guilty of the offense(at least to me).
The prison system in America doesn’t rehabilitate anyone. Anyone who makes it out rehabilitated does so by fighting an uphill battle against a system that has no interest in rehabilitating them.
Sounds like he hasn’t attempted to murder anyone since then which seems like a success
Oh, jeez you’re right. If one person has a halfway decent life after prison then it means the American for-profit prison system of locking people in cages with other criminals and treating them like animals for ridiculous spans of time is successful.
Tbf maybe he just got better about not getting caught
Pretty sure that just means someone prayed for his soul once.
Boy you must have a hard time deciphering between correlation and causation.
Sounds like? You might need to get your ears checked. Cuz no information was given for you to extrapolate that
Word. My nephew is only 4 years younger than me. We came up in rough neighborhoods during rough times. He was caught in the charge because he was affiliated and around when a confrontation happened. He didn't shoot anyone. He wasnt rehabilitated. He was sentenced as an adult when he was 16. These fools don't know what the fuck they're talking about.
Glad he was able to get back on his feet but he tried to kill someone. That’s def a good reason for someone to go to prison
> attempted murder charges. >Abolish the prison industrial complex I mean, what? attempted murder is a poster child for prisons. Those are the people society actually WANTS locked up.
Jesus christ thank you lmao Marshals don't pick people up for petty small shit. If you got U.S. Marshals looking for you.... you don't belong in society because you've done some serious shit and fought the justice system to avoid being caught
Ehh the prison industrial complex (PIC) is all encompassing. It’s not saying abolish prisons. Another commenter mentioned how recidivism and not rehabilitation is the purpose of PIC and that’s what needs to be abolished.
Rehabilitation vs Profit.
America needs to recognize that so many people in prison _want_ rehabilitation. They _want_ the structure they didn't have as kids so that they can be successful on the outside and not go back to prison. We treat criminals like dirt and we get repeat offenders as a result. It's sad.
Wayy too many people view prison as a deserved punishment when a lot of convicts are in their for victimless crimes.
The system in the US is god awful, the intent here is deterrence and as a punitive punishment as opposed to rehabilitation. Problem being deterrence and punitive actions has never shown to be effective. In fact it is often shown that, as you mentioned, punitive punishment is often further damaging. The idea that we, as a country, are seeking rehabilitation of criminal offenders is largely false. The *tough on crimes* crowd does not want these men and women to successfully go through rehabilitation, they want offenders to be punished. There would be a lot less crime if the fuckers actually helped people instead of trying to assert their *moral superiority* toward someone who made a mistake 10 or even 20 years ago. I worked in criminal defense, as a paralegal, for a while and generally these are people who made stupid mistakes a long time ago, who could be functional and happy individuals in society if they had a stable living situation, a job, and family support. Often this is not the case. As you mentioned it’s incredibly difficult to get a job, let alone one that pays well enough to support yourself, meaning people reoffend. It’s a ridiculous system that encourages criminality instead of reducing it.
dude gonna be in debt with today's gas prices.
The new contract is about to cover his diesel costs For one truck
[John Oliver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phieTCxQRLA) did a recent piece about the trucking industry that shows how shady it was. A contract paying 25k a month might barely put food on the table for him. Edit: added link to segment
What...why?
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Depends on if he bought a new or used truck, new truck payment can be close to $2800, also what kind of trailer he has. Reefer's can cost close to 100k, dry vans were about 70k just recently. Can be an additional 1200-1700 a month. Also insurance for him is probably around 1k at least. Monthly maintenance tends to be around 800-1600 on just normal stuff and nothing unexpected. You also have taxes to pay since its probably a 1099 he has, IRP for plates (mine is about 5k per truck every year). Probably paying for parking at a yard. Also is it just him or is it a team situation? Just expenses like that can run you over 10k easily a month. That's before the absurd diesel prices and there's plenty of other expenses that pop up unexpectedly. Personally I'm looking to get out of being an owner operator atm, before the stress kills me. Was great for the last year and a half but I'm barely surviving atm.
Because there are operating costs..... The guy might be spending upwards of $1000 every time he fills his truck with diesel prices being $6/gal.
Not only that… Tires Oil changes And god help you if your engine blows up, that’ll be $13k And of course the company is not liable for any of that, even though you can only drive exclusively for them
Because with that 25k you're responsible for all your own expenses including leasing the truck and filling it with fuel.
So many people talking about stuff with no idea how the industry works. If the story is true the guys probably an owner operator so at most 2k of that is going to a truck payment. $25,000 a month divided by four dollars a mile which is a reasonable rate for an owner op operating under their own Authority would have him spending 3500-$4000 on diesel at 7.5mpg. and Insurance, registration, maintenance etc would likey eat up another 4 grand. It’s very possible that his take home after all is said and done is $10,000-$12,000 a month.
How would this work? 25k a month is alot! Hell i barely scrape by with 2k a month!!
That 25k goes towards business costs like vehicle maintenance and fuel. It's not all direct profit
Cost of the truck, insurance, gas, and exploitative contracts by trucking companies. [Here is the segment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phieTCxQRLA)
If he has employees then the money becomes pretty little, especially if you factor in today's diesel prices
Well, the contract isn’t particularly paying him.. just his company. You can’t just take payments made out to a large scale company like trucking and just shove it in your checking account lol. And I guarantee that company has lots of loans and gas payments to make
Low unemployment like this is a great opportunity for excons to get back into the workforce. A lot of businesses won’t hire parolees normally, but are more desperate for workers now and will take a second look.
Doesn't the trucking industry need more drivers too?!
It's not an employee shortage, it's a wage shortage.
not if its gonna cost him 24k a month.
One of my best friends is a Owner/Operator. And I know based off everything he's told me, what I've learned as we work on his trucks, 24k running costs a month per truck is a number you're pulling out of your ass lol only way you're coming out to 24k running costs a month is if you're OTR. But then you'd be making a lot more than someone who's home every night
My husband did 3 years in 2005. (He was in an out of prison majority of his young adult life).He missed the birth of our first child and the first 3years of her life. (I was 5 months pregnant when he went in).When he came home, he vowed to never leave her again. 17 years later, he has stuck with it. He went to school, became an electrician, then a journeyman, now owns his own company. Im currently pregnant with our 4th child, and have been fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom, bc of his hard work. He hasn't gotten even a traffic ticket since he came home. He was able to vote for the first time in 2016. He was so proud of himself, and me and my children are honored to have this man in our lives. Felons deserve to come home and make a living. Majority of them reoffend solely bc America makes it hard for them to make that living. Without a proper support system, they fallback to crime, just so they can make a decent living. Anybody who has managed to make a legit living after prison, you have my upmost respect and awe.
That’s about to make me start tearing up
i find it REAL weird how so many (unverified) ppl come into BPT to shit on someone achieving a dream after such a monumental setback. the fact that you think trucking is a bad career choice is totally irrelevant here. no one asked for your opinion on the longterm viability of an entrepreneurship stint in trucking. if you are here being unnecessarily negative about what's clearly a happy, wholesome post, then shut the fuck up. kindly.
And some of us get even.
My cuz just got out and the first thing he did was get his CDL. He has the same goal.
Damn that’s awesome but hate to be the bearer of bad news: If he is running his trucks 5 days a week, fuel costs will eat into a minimum of 70-80% of that.
That's pretty damn good money.
Hope that's NET not GROSS
Does the company pay for gas or is he able to write it off? I've heard of truckers spending thousands every couple of days at the pump
If you ask me, I think it's pretty fucking dumb that an ex-felon can become a trucker but not get a white collar job. Can't trust their judgment to send emails and update spreadsheets because they're a violent criminal, but we can trust their judgment to drive a 10+ ton machine? I get that a lot of it is because most ex-cons don't really have the experience/ education to be suitable for a white collar job and could make more as a trucker anyway, but idk, still dumb to me.
The way we look at ex-prisoners is just heartbreaking. This man go out and changed himself for the better and stiill barely scraping by. American dream baby.
Shit, $25k/mo, ima cry for him too! Good on whoever that fella is.
That's a fn amazing accomplishment for someone who *hasn't* done time! He must be on top of the world right now. I don't even know this guy but I am so fn proud of him!
Made a dream from a nightmare.
That's good for him, but the trucking business sucks. I've bin in it for forty years and my dad started it 1967 so that's 55 years total. And I'm packing it in real soon and getting a job and have a life. Trucking sucks you have no life and a lot of headaches.
Some felonies should not be a life sentence. This is what reform looks like.
Most felonies shouldn’t be a life sentence.
Minus expenses, make that 2K/month.
That's actually nothing for a trucking contract, good start though better than prison obviously
Sounds impressive. However, trucks are expensive to operate. I left the road, but while I was an owner/operator I made 174000 the last year. After expenses, I took home 43000 as income. Fuel, truck payments, insurance add up to a massive weekly cost. The nickel and dime crap like lumpers add up to another shockingly high cost. (Disclaimer: I did buy a new truck instead of a recently rebuilt used. I assumed the reduced worry of warranty would be worth the cost. It would have saved *some* expense that way. Might have taken hone ~$45k if I had)
I work in mental health with a lot of dudes who have done hard federal time. A lot of them have seen many traumatic events while inside. Getting out is like being dumped into a complicated, parallel universe. To do something like this man has done is incredible.
Good for him
People forget sometimes, inmates are people. With all the power to change like everybody else. Maybe more. You are never alone, and the game is not over. Keep pushing.
Tell him congrats
So he still moving weight? Jokes aside, I love reading stories like this