LafayetteLady
Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Northern New Jersey
Status: offline
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When a warrant is issued on a probation violation, a nationwide APB isn't issued. The person typically gets picked up because of a traffic stop or something else and when they run the wants/warrants check they get a hit. Should your friend have been in a van for 28 days touring the country, probably not. But she still shouldn't have violated her probation. When you get a VOP (violation of probation), typically you have to serve what your sentence would have been, in full. There are some odd things going on here with the GED program, but an attorney should be able to deal with that. For the record, sex offenders don't get minimum security, unless they are transferred towards the end of their sentence. I'm sorry to say, but the information you have is the information she gave you, unless you were in court with her, spoke to her attorney, etc.
Is the system perfect? Of course not. Is it wholly corrupt? Only to conspiracy theorists. Do there need to be some changes made? Yes, but both ways. At present, most prisoners are ENTITLED to things that the poor of this country aren't. They have access to weight rooms, education, cable television and extensive law libraries. Prison is a PUNISHMENT. I'm sorry, but I don't care if they don't have comfy beds, designer clothes or gourmet meals. There is a sheriff out west (I believe AZ) who has cut the costs of keeping prisoners to a minimum. They live outside in tents. No A/C, no television, they grow their own food. A sheriff in NC has male prisoners in pink jumpsuits and has painted the walls of the prison pink. We live in a society that allows a burglar who gets bit by your dog while stealing from you to sue you for damages. They rarely win, but have the right to sue. There is a county in Georgia with nearly a ZERO crime rate. Citizens are permitted to carry sidearms, and it is obviously a deterant that is working.
I worked for the Department of Corrections in Florida. Of the 170-200 felons I saw EVERY DAY, most were for minor offenses. But when a guy reports to probation complaining about how long he has been there because he is the sole support of his family and he is there on a heroin charge, your sympathy goes out the window. A young woman has been caught numerous times driving while suspended and each time she gets busted for it, it is because she had an accident, but still doesn't understand she needs to stop driving (and this was in the Tampa Bay area where mass transit was readily available). In NJ at present, deadbeat parents are held over in jail in only extreme circumstances. Modifications to the system are made EVERY DAY. Those modifications are based on the needs of our society. Some are for the good, some are overkill.
For the record, prison and jail are two VERY different things. Jails are in counties and are typically "hold overs" until trial, or for short term sentences. An offender goes to prison ONLY if the sentence is longer than 365 days.
Far too many people do something wrong and then still can't follow the rules. Continuing to slap them on the wrist doesn't help. I sympathize that your friend is going to go through a tough time. You think that everything is wrong, hire an attorney to help her. Even if she refuses, in the end if the attorney helps, she will be grateful. But keep in mind that what he can do is limited. He can probably get her out of the GED classes as they would clearly be a waste of the state's money. But I don't believe that she deserves to take college courses on the tax payers dime either. I still fume over the fact that Amy Fischer earned a bachelor's degree in prison at no cost to her, while I struggle to pay my tuition costs. Maybe she can TEACH the GED courses, who knows. Prisons are highly structured to maintain control. Trustees (those people who are "beneath" her on the outside socially, have earned their position.
The concern over the way the extradition occurred, an attorney can be consulted on a "cruel and unusual" issue. Again, I'm sorry for your friend's problems, but she isn't a victim. And just so you know, my teenage son is currently on probation and is facing a VOP because he thumbed his nose at completing his community service. He is going to have consequences for his actions, which may include some time in a Juvenile Detention Facility, which with his special needs will be a bad thing. But he knowingly violated probation and while I'm going to fight to try to get the judge to minimize it as much as possible, he knows that I have zero pity for his situation. He brought it on himself, just like your friend.
The majority of people love to complain about the system. Many are "bleeding heart" liberals who want to give felons the best of everything. Very few have a real concept of how the system works, only their perception which is usually far from reality. It's very easy to complain about the system and say it is corrupt, inhumane and horrible. It's also pretty easy to get involved with groups that are trying to change things. If you aren't willing to take part in instituting change, your opinion has little value. I worked for years as a paralegal in the family law sector, and I had a lot of problems with the way some of the statutes were written. I didn't just complain about them, I positioned myself to be part of a group that instituted change. It is one of the most fufilling, satisfying things I have ever done. I'm able to see the things I helped to create used every day in family court. So I feel that I have earned the right to say that if you aren't willing to find a way to work to change a system you don't like, just shut the fuck up.
As for your friend....be there for her. Do what you can to keep her from feeling isolated. Help her get an attorney who will speak on her behalf. But always remember, that in the end, she did something wrong, and then broke the law all over again and has no one to blame for that but herself. She needs to accept that too. Help her to use the time wisely. She may not be a substance abuser but she can probably get something out of the program. Help her make a solid plan for what she will do upon her release. Do what you can to brighten her day with amusing letters and visits. And if you really, really think that the system has failed, find an advocacy group to join and work towards making changes.
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RE: Prison visitation - 
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