Catch Up

I had a friend on FB (has known Dustin for many many years) ask what was going on with Dustin today. I replied to her message & realized that it was the most concisely I'd filled anyone in on the entire story probably ever so I decided it would work for catching up here too, for those of you who don't know the recent history. I have also been meaning to post this particular 'beginning' for some time so it worked out nicely.

Dustin & I have both struggled with drugs & addiction for most of our lives. We started using about six months after we got married. Our addiction eventually escalated to the point of daily use, our lives falling apart. We were using primarily opiates (pain pills - for those not familiar) in the beginning & heroin after our addiction got more serious.

Eventually our lives were so out of control that we did what most addicts do, turned to crime (beyond selling drugs) to avoid being sick & keep feeding our addiction. In the spring 2010 Dustin & I were both arrested on a collection of criminal charges; drug possession, paraphenilia, burglary, theft. Individually we have some that don't line up, but those are the serious charges we were/are up against.

I was in jail 4 days in March & Dustin the entire month. Then we were both arrested April 27th & I was released June 14th. Dustin finally got sentenced Tuesday (it was continued 4 times for a total of 5 weeks!). He was sentenced to serve 3 0-5 yr terms in the UT State Prison. The judge (Ludlow) waived his 'pay to stay fees' & ran the sentences concurrent, meaning that he will only serve one term verses having them consecutive (one after another - what the prosecutor asked for).

My charges are still pending. Being a first time offender it's likely I'll get into therapy (commonly referred to as 'programming') & be on probation for 18 months to 3 years.

So there you have it. That's the history of how I got in this mess. My time in jail is where I got passionate about what I want to do with my life, now if I could just get a handle on my life circumstances, my addiction & my emotional/psychological health enough to be able to do that!

Since the girl I wrote back knows Dustin I also included an offer to give her Dustin's address. It's so hard to be incarcerated & any bit of mail (even a card once a month, ANYTHING) helps SO much. If anyone is interested in writing Dustin please let me know & I'll be happy to get you his address & ID number. Its SO time consuming & VERY expensive to support inmates but the support they receive while incarcerated & after their release is the single most deciding factor in thier success (aside from their own will).

He currently considering a program at the jail in Beaver for drug treatment. Moving forward he'll be transfered to the prison in Draper, undergo R & O (Recieving & Orientation), & then hopefully be transfered to the program in Beaver. Aside from the program Beaver offers the option of full day visits - one of the main factors in his choice, aside from the treatment. There are also programs at the Gunnison (HOPE) & Draper (Conquest) prisons which he may get into as well. The prison programs are both longer term programs I believe, which I think could effect the parole date the board gives him.

I'm not sure how long the board is taking these days to process initial hearings. It could be 2-3 months maybe. The Board of Pardons operates like a new judge basically. They review his charges, file, circumstances, behavior while incarcerated, plans upon release, conduct an interview & then issue a date for release to parole (supervised almost always - becomes like intense probation for standard 3 years). So we'll hide & watch for now. He'll likely be transferred to the prison within the next week or two (assuming they don't lose his paperwork or some other silly complication like that).

I'm hiding & watching for now too as far as my cases are concerned & working my butt off to put life back together otherwise.