October 10, 2003

Subject: seventeen days...

Hi There Rob Fans,

I am sorry I have not written an update in quite a while. I have been really busy preparing for Rob's move to the halfway house (in 17 days!! :)) as well as looking for work myself. (the people I work for are moving out of state). My time at the computer has been very limited and Rob's life has been fairly uneventful at Devens.

Rob never did hear from the judge about his halfway house motion. But one strange thing happened last week. Another inmate, who filed a similar motion with the same judge, received a response referencing Rob's "rejected" plea. --Yet another flaw in the system. These people (judges, wardens, the justice department, etc) seem to do whatever they want regardless of a persons legal rights. They get away with it too.

Things have been getting kind of crazy at the prison over the last few weeks. Apparently an inspection from the regional office is coming up soon at Devens. These guys (the warden and his minions) are so sneaky! For instance there are leaks in the roof which drip through to the ceiling. The inmates were ordered to remove the stained ceiling tiles and will replace them the day the inspectors are due to arrive without repairing the leaks. They are hiding faulty equipment and even set up computers (which will be quickly removed) to make it look as though they use them for the education program they are accredited for --but have never actually offered to anyone. One of the COs ordered inmates to wax the bathroom floors one day, but people were getting out of the shower with wet feet and were sent sailing across the slippery floor. So yesterday they had the bathroom floors stripped. The worst part is that they make these decisions without warning to the inmates who then have no access to the bathrooms for several hours. They had to find hiding places to relieve themselves outside. I can only imagine what would happen if anyone got caught doing that! :P

I am sure the halfway house will not be a picnic either. But it is a step in the right direction. That direction pointing to home. :) Rob and I are both nervous and excited about it. I will be picking him up at the prison on Tuesday morning, November 4. We will have about two hours to get from Ayer to the halfway house on Coolidge Street in Boston. Hopefully we will get to Boston quickly so that we can have an hour or so to sit in a restaurant someplace and have a meal together. (Just typing that puts a smile on my face. :) )  Unless something unexpected happens between now and then, that will be the day of the next update.

Thanks and have a great weekend!!
Shannon