difficult child was sentenced this morning

mstang67chic

Going Green
For three counts of felony burglary, the final sentece is.......drumroll please:

Five years with 2 suspended. Of the remaining 3 between time served and (assuming) time off for good behavior, he'll do a year (ish).

Now we just wait to see where he will be serving his sentence. His lawyer is working on having him stay in county lock up but the judge could pick anywere.

We'll see.
 
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HaoZi

Guest
I hope his placement is somewhere you're agreeable with, that he doesn't get damaged in there in any way, and that once he's out he never does anything to get back in. *HUGS*
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
I'm fine....it's about what I expected if not a little less. What will get me is if they send him to PRISON. He'll be a walking bullseye.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
So sorry Stang. I know how difficult it is having no control or power over the "system". I sincerely hope that he is placed in a county facility. Fingers crossed. DDD
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I am sorry that it had to come to this. Hopefully his stay will be just enough to convince him that it is worth all of the hard work to play by the rules as long as it keeps you out of prison.

I hope and pray for his safety and health and that this experience has a very positive impact on the rest of his life.

I don't know enough about prison vs county jail to say if one would be better. I just want him to be safe while he is there. Lots and lots of hugs and support for you and husband. This is a rough thing for a parent to have to handle.
 
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HaoZi

Guest
Mstang, hopefully if they don't have room in your county they'll have room in mine. The guys I know that work at this one are pretty nice.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Well at least it was along the lines of what you expected would happen, which is good. It's when they pull those surprises that tend to knock you flat. Hopefully they'll let him stay where he is. And I hope this is a big learning experience for him.

((hugs))
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Stang, there is usually a level between the county jail and the regular state prison system. Its for people who are county time around a year'ish. Here they cant keep you in county lock up for more than a 90 day sentence unless you are in there waiting for trial. Even then sometimes they send them over to the longer term placement.

The more prison type placement is actually a better place to be than the unregulated time in county jail. In prison they actually have things to do like jobs, educational opportunities, libraries, mental health, recreation. Also he is a minor offender. That will play into where they send him. He wont go in with the hard core criminals. I live right down the road from a minimum security facility and its barely a prison. Every Sunday the families go in with their picnic baskets...lol.
 
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toughlovin

Guest
Hugs.... I think it is one of the hardest things for a parent, to see your child go to jail. My son was only in jail for 2 weeks and then he got a plea bargain which included rehab. In a way I was glad he was in jail because he needed that wake up call, but still it is just an awful feeling as a parent. It is heartbreaking. Sounds l like you are resolved with it though. My hope is that this is the wake up call your son needs to turn his life around. A year is a long time but it is not forever.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Hey sweetie... HUGS!

I hope this is his wake up call... And just like Janet, here you can only stay for 30 days in the county jail before they send you to a minimum security facility. Even so, that's not "prison" per se. We have one of those about 45 minutes away, too. LOL!

As for time off for good behavior... How do you think that'll go??
 

elizabrary

Well-Known Member
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I worked in the prison system in the past, and although there are many negative things about it there are also positive opportunities. Hopefully your son will take advantage of the many good programs offered and use his time to work on himself. In general the prisons were safer than people think- in my state it was nothing like in the movies, and usually inmates that wanted to avoid trouble were able to. Hang in there!
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Are the charges from the State? I'm not sure how that would work because it's not the same in all areas and depends on a lot of different things. Usually, if someone has a relatively short sentence, a year or less, they would do that time in the county jail, especially a young first-timer, but you never know. But they are still the State's responsibility. If the county jail has the room, the State pays the county a set rate per day to house these inmates. We have a new, bigger jail here and we have quite a few State inmates, and also house a few from other counties whose jails are over crowded.

But don't bet on it! Although he may end up actually doing only around a year IF he earns all the credits he's eligible for, they're not going to assume he'll get them before he earns them and take that off the top. His sentence would be the three years minus time served minus any other credits he's already eligible for. In a State facility the credits they earn are strictly up to them. They are given sentence credits monthly - they get behavior credits only if they have had no write-ups or disciplinary problems. And these credits can be taken away by a Disciplinary Board for very serious infractions. And they receive sentence credits for working at a prison job. In our system all inmates were assigned to a job, and any that did not have a HS diploma or GED were assigned to the prison school as their "job" assignment. Their work supervisor could give or withhold work credits according to their job performance. They also receive a very small stipend for working which they can spend in the commissary for soap, toothpaste, junk food, etc.

And Janet is right. There are many more opportunities and actually a lot more "freedom" in a State prison than in a county jail, and a lot more opportunities to earn those sentence credits! In a county jail, the number one problem is usually idleness and boredom. A State prison is more like a small self-contained town with a school, library, post office, hospital, chapel and dining hall. The one I worked in had two big factories where the inmates worked, educational opportunities, a good library, a gym, art and music programs, several clubs and organizations, and recreational programs like basketball and softball. They even had several vocational schools where they could learn the skills to get a good job when they got out. We had programs in culinary arts, cabinet making, wood work, HVAC and horticulture. We even had a cosmetology school where they could actually get their State license before they got out! Plus in a State facility, the inmates are very carefully classified and separated by security levels so the axe murders are not in with the guys who wrote too many bad checks!
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
Hey, stang, I have missed a little here. I have been in lurker mode, but just wanted to add a bit of support. Sometimes it is better for them to get out of the county to do their "time". There is more to do in the bigger places than just sit and watch tv. Don't know your county rules, but more than likely they will send him to CIF first. They will keep him away from the hard core guys, but it won't be fun for you, imagining what might be going on. Frankly it might have been better to serve longer since they tend to not get the shorter term guys into programs that might help them. They will also try to get them back into their community with probation/parole (never could quite get the difference), but that means wearing an ankle bracelet and paying fees to the county. Trying to get a job with a felony conviction will not be easy and trying to pay the fees justs puts you back to square one, so more than likely they will encourage you to take him back in to live with you. If you get a choice and he wants to live with you and be on parole DON'T do it. Let him serve his time and come out not with payments to make to the county...... just my two cents..... He will live thru this, just hope it does change him for the better and he knows he doesn't want to go back there......
 

Steely

Active Member
Offering many hugs - I have no other advice - as I do not have much faith in the judicial system. However, sometimes, every once in a while, people get out of there, and change their lives. I am praying you son is one of them.
 
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