Holy and Happy Holidays!__
HARDTIME VIRGINIA, Vol. 9, No. 3 December, 2024
an occasionaol newsletter by and for Virginia prisoners
Sadly, Not Many Will Be Home For Christmas
Charles Zellers at Deerfield CC writes: "I’ve been away from my family for 31 Christmases. Not being with my loved ones never gets any easier. I miss them very much. They used to visit me on holidays and we would eat sandwiches and snacks from a vending machine in the visiting room, but the DOC no longer permits that. Anyone used to be allowed to visit, but now my children are not even permitted to bring my grandchildren to visit me because of my offenses nearly 32 years ago. I have been parole eligible since July 30, 2005. I've not had a write-up March 1, 2000, but I'm continually being denied. How many times am I going to be punished for the same offenses?"
Jonathan White at Lawrenceville CC laments that here have been only 16 releases granted by the Virginia Parole Board from January through October of 2024, as follows: Discretionary parole, 4; Geriatric parole, 7; Dual parole: 2; Terminally ill medical release: 3.
Two Organizations Accuse Parole Board Of Policy Violations
In a letter dated October 14, 2024 the Virginia ACLU alleges the Virginia Parole Board is in violation of Va. Code § 53.1-136, which states they are to “Convene a public meeting . . . when conducting the final deliberation and vote regarding whether the Board will grant parole to a prisoner. The prisoner being considered for parole or his attorney shall be permitted to attend such meeting either, in the Board's discretion, in person or via video conference…”
The letter goes on to say, “Further, whereas the Virginia Code previously required the Board to conduct a thorough investigation into each person being considered for parole, HB 2169 / SB 1361 provided that: All information collected through such investigation shall be made available to the prisoner or his attorney, provided that (i) neither the prisoner nor his attorney shall further disclose, reproduce, copy, or disseminate such information in any way and (ii) the Board shall redact all personal information of the victim. Va. Code § 53.1-155.
Also, according to Karen Morrison, founding member and president of Fighting 4 Freedom, there have been 140 parole eligible applicants from August to September who have had only two Board members voting on their cases, specifically those who are serving life for homicide crimes. Given the fact that some members never grant parole releases in such cases, this is not likely to affect the outcome, but it is nevertheless contrary to official Board policy.
Wise and Encouraging Words From Two Men at Lawrencevillle
“Why do we spend our whole lives running from problems, sadness, hurt, and pain? God has promised all of us PEACE, JOY, and HAPPINESS, as we keep FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE in our hearts. Jesus himself went through misery.” - John Crider
“Unlike people who waste their time being miserable... build and renew your character within you, because today is the day you can be your very best YOU, even when Christmas in prison seems to be no more than a gift in a empty box.” - Jonathan White
The Startling Story of the Stolen Stihl
I gave myself the gift of a brand new chain saw back in 2009, a smooth running Stihl 250.
Some months later, just before Christmas, we had one of the heaviest snow storms ever. Soon thereafter, on a cold day while I was at work, a friendly stranger came to our door and asked my wife if he could shovel out our lower drive--for a modest fee. Among other things, he explained, he had just been awarded visitation of his ten-year-old son and needed some extra cash to buy him some things for Christmas.
While my kindhearted spouse had never met the man before, he seemed pleasant enough, and we did need more parking space cleared for holiday guests. So why not have him remove the snow, she thought, to surprise me and to do a needy person a favor?
“Just return the shovel to the utility room when you’re finished,” she said, “and I’ll have your money waiting for you there in an envelope.”
Meanwhile, she went about her work and only occasionally checked to see how he was doing. A phone call she received near the time he was finishing prevented her from actually seeing him leave, but when she checked everything out, she found the lower driveway clean, our shovel back in its place and the payment gone, so she felt satisfied that all was well. She also excused herself for the extra generous payment she had left for him. After all, it was Christmas.
When I came home that evening and learned about my wife's surprise move, I assured her it was fine. Whether or not his story was entirely true, I figured, it's always better to err on the side of generosity.
It was not until the next morning that I discovered my new chain saw, stored in the aforementioned utility room and with the word "stihl" emblazoned on it in bold letters, was missing. Just plain gone, nowhere to be found.
My wife was devastated, in spite of my assurances that a chain saw was quite replaceable, and that she needn’t be hard on herself. I also promised I would report the missing saw in case it showed up in a pawn shop somewhere and could be recovered. “Maybe I just loved my new toy a little too much,” I joked.
Much to our surprise, the sheriff’s deputy assigned to the case showed up with the stolen Stihl the very next day, Christmas Eve Day. “Here’s your saw,” he said, “Merry Christmas. And just to let you know, the gentleman who took it will be spending his holiday in jail.” Which seemed fair enough, on one hand, but we couldn't help feeling sorry for anyone having to be behind bars at this special time of the year.
But the story doesn’t end there. Over the next year we had a series of conversations and an exchange of letters with our unexpected friend. We learned he had earned the position of “trusty” in his jail pod and was scheduled to be released December 24, 2010, exactly a year after being locked up for stealing my Stihl.
In one of his letters he wrote, “Yes, it's a blessing to be leaving here on Christmas Eve. It makes me feel special to know God has plans for me.”
Among those plans was to spend his first months of freedom at Gemeinschaft Home, a local recovery and re-entry program for ex-offenders, Upon release he, like so many others who have ever been incarcerated, faced the daunting task of finding a job, a decent place to live and the kind of treatment and support network people need to remain free of their addictions.
I say, "God, please bless them every one."
Harvey Yoder, editor
