Boot Heel of Misery

[TheRocketSurgeon]

I was just sitting in front of an open fire, under the stars and I suddenly thought of you and hoped you'd had a chance to do this since you got out. :-)

Eh?

[houseofcantor]

I was just sitting in front of an open fire, under the stars and I suddenly thought of you and hoped you'd had a chance to do this since you got out. :-)

Eh?

In front of an open fire under the stars, sitting? Done this, have you? Asks my inner Yoda.

[TheRocketSurgeon]

Ahh, I follow the question, now. I thought this person was telling me they knew me from before. Wow, total miscomm.

Yes, I make an effort to do a lot of the things I missed a chance to do. I have taken my son camping, and I often ride the motorcycle out into the middle of nowhere (which isn't far from my house!) just to look at the stars, since the prisons were surrounded by floodlights that blocked out the stars, and I missed them terribly, while I was in.

I also got a chance to go see the Perseids, last month.

[Kingpin]

Greetings from the Boot Heel of Misery (otherwise known as southeastern Missouri).

I've just come over here from "The Thinking Atheist" forum, after frustration with uncontrolled trolls there, after seeing that this forum seems to keep better control of the kind of spammers which so annoyed me, there. Glad to see a lot of names I recognize.

I'm a half-Cajun (on mother's side), from south Louisiana, though my father is an engineer which meant we moved all over the Deep South, where most of the USA's engineering plants are located, growing up. Attended the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs until illness knocked me out of the military, at which point I studied BioChem (with a minor in History) at McNeese State University in southwest Louisiana. Mom is a professor at LSU, dad still an engineer. I am engaged to be married to a fellow biologist, a genetics lab tech, who works with C. elegans, and we have a son who just turned nine. After college, I worked as an environmentalist and field biologist for a state regulatory agency (akin to federal EPA) for several years.

I grew up evangelical Christian, my parents being Southern Baptist and Biblical literalists/fundamentalists, so much so that our household TV was not plugged into anything but a VCR so my folks could "keep Satan out of our home", meaning they could make sure that we only watched Christian programs and approved movies. Unfortunately for their worldview, it meant I read a lot of books, including both science books and theological apologetics materials that taught me how to debunk other faiths, a practice I put to good use on my own faith after I learned enough about science to notice that my church was lying to me about what science's actual claims were, concerning the origins of the universe and the evolution of life on earth. At age 17, I realized I could no longer in good conscience continue to attend my parents' church, and was given the option to continue or to leave home... I took the latter course, and it took another decade before my folks and I were on good terms again. They really did love and care for us, but their worldview was just too narrow and bigoted to be tolerable to rational thinkers. Rather than anger, they could not understand why I felt so much pity for them, especially after my other two siblings became non-believers and fled the religious insanity as well. Once the final sibling cut ties, they finally realized it might be their religion and not the kids who were to blame, and have moderated many of their views, though they remain fundies.

Finally, I just got out of prison in April 2015, a victim of the Drug War, after almost a decade behind bars on false charges that were finally overturned when the high court allowed exonerating evidence that had been wrongfully blocked by the trial judge to be introduced on my behalf, and am trying to rebuild my life. Since I can no longer work in the field of science, realistically, without going back to school (still considering that option), I have taken up my old hobby as a custom motorcycle builder to earn a living, and am trying to rebuild my life. Being an open atheist in prison is a very lonely proposition, as there are very few nonbelievers in there, and even fewer people with decent educations or vocabularies, but I had learned enough law in my own self-defense attempt that I managed to do a lot of good fighting against a crooked system on behalf of other inmates, and thus survived and even thrived in that environment. I am happy that I am free at last, especially considering I'd have had at least another decade to serve, had I not won my appeal, but rebuilding is a lot harder than it might sound, and I have some difficulties socializing for long with "normal" people before I start wishing for isolation, so I appreciate the existence of forums like this one, where I can connect to a community without the unwritten social rules that govern interpersonal relationships in the real world to worry about. If I seem awkward or step on toes inadvertently, please be patient with me. 

Though I am no longer a working scientist, I do enjoy the topics of ecology, evolutionary biology, and genetics, which are of course really just one thing. My apologies for the length of this post; as those who already know me from The Thinking Atheist forum know, I can be a bit verbose. For those who made it through the TL;dr of this post, my thanks!

-Rocket

A HUGE Welcome dude.  Sorry i missed your intro.  So glad to have you!

[Exian]

Hey! I missed your intro, too.

Interesting story. I wouldn't know how to go on if a decade of my life was stolen from me.

[rexbeccarox]

It's good to have you here, Rocket. I hope, when your attorney clears you, you'll share how compensation works out for you. I totally understand if you don't want to do that, but it would be very interesting.

I can't imagine what effect being wrongfully accused and imprisoned had, but I'm SO impressed with your good attitude. I can't believe they could put someone like you in solitary for three years with any kind of good intentions. It reminds me how horrible humans can be.

[TheRocketSurgeon]

It's good to have you here, Rocket. I hope, when your attorney clears you, you'll share how compensation works out for you. I totally understand if you don't want to do that, but it would be very interesting.

I can't imagine what effect being wrongfully accused and imprisoned had, but I'm SO impressed with your good attitude. I can't believe they could put someone like you in solitary for three years with any kind of good intentions. It reminds me how horrible humans can be.

The odds of getting compensation aren't even 50/50. You have to demonstrate to a civil jury, who comes in there believing in the essential fairness of the system, that not only were you wrongfully incarcerated, but that the prosecutors knew or should have known (that's the exact wording of the statute) that you were in fact innocent. "Oops" is quite literally a defense for the state.

My lawyer says we have a good case, but it's far from a sure thing. 

As far as the solitary goes, it's actually close to the standard  method of breaking guys who want to insist on a trial. The other is "upping the ante" (which they also did to me), by stacking on more and more charges so you'll plead down to the original charge rather than getting 30 years if you lose at trial, as I did. Calculations of how many are innocent in prison (depending on the groups doing the estimates, it's between 2% and 10%) never take into account the people who pled Guilty, because they are presumed to be guilty, but a Guilty Plea doesn't mean actual guilt-- it means the person has no faith in the system to fairly try them, and the see going to prison (which is far less cruel than jails are) as a relief, after they have broken by the interminable wait for "speedy" trial. There are dozens of ways for the state to get around the Constitutional requirement for a speedy trial, and even in the best of circumstances, a "speedy" trial is 6-8 months.

[SofaKingHigh]

I thought I'd come and find your intro after enjoying your work on the boards, harsh story man, I'm really very sorry to have read that.  I actually have a similar tale...well, it's not similar at all actually, but I did a stretch back in Blighty many years ago for drugs. That weren't mine.  Only a 6 month term, so pales into insignificance really, but the drugs weren't mine and I was....well, I wasn't set up, I was a fucking moronic 19 year old that didn't realise immediately saying; "They're not mine, I'm holding them for someone else." is, technically, an admission of intent to supply.

After reading your story, I'll hold back on releasing the book, just yet.

Welcome to the boards.