Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Our Story Part 2

Why my husband is in prison?
I understand the curiosity about my husband being in prison, though for future reference and I didn't know this till I was in the situation, its extremely rude to ask someone what their SO is in for and some women will go apeshit about it. So I'll share, but if anyone gets rude with me I'll delete it. And I ask that you read the entire post before making judgements.  His charges are armed robbery and a probation voilation. He has been in trouble before for fighting, my husband has a temper, but has never raised a hand to me or the girls, and I have never once been afraid of him. At the end of 07 (November), I had to quit working b/c my pregnancy was kinda rough and the drs thought it was better, which wasn't a huge deal b/c the company was shutting down anyway, I did get unemployment, only 75.00 a week. My husband lost his job too, we had some money saved up, sold our bronco, kept the little car, moved to a two bedroom place, defaulted on a trailer we were paying on but we couldn't afford it once everything started crashing...I couldn't get assistance b/c I had used it 2 years previously, but we did get food stamps. He couldn't find another job, not even fast food, at the time, We were literally out mon-fri from 10-4 looking for him a job. We had to cancel the layaway for the baby's stuff in January...Savings went quicker than we thought. We were beyond broke, like having to take toilet paper from public bathrooms to use at home broke. Our car started acting up. One night I wasn't feeling good but I was craving a fudge round, we had a drs appointment the next morning so he was like I'll take the car put some gas in it get you  a fudge round..Okay he calls back saying the car is broke down and he can't handle this I wasn't (he called from the stores phone, we had long since gotten rid of cell phones). I told him to just find a ride home and I'll call my dad to borrow some money in the AM.  That was straw that broke the camels back..He went back into the store and robbed them, with a steak knife (hence the armed part of the charge), the knife was in the car. He freaked out immediately after doing it and left the money behind the store. He told me and the police, that he just thought if he could get  a few hundred to get us by till the lumber company called him back we could get back on our feet. He got a total of 8 years and 10 months at 85%, which is the best you can hope for in VA with a "violent" crime. VA doesn't do good time, they only add time to it if they mess up while on the inside. But my husband is a good man, who had a snapped lapses in judgement and he is making the best of his time, he has gotten his GED, going to college and taking apprenticeship classes for electrical work.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My bf is serving a 213 yr sentence for armed robbery (more on the federal laws he's sentenced under: www.helprightawrong.com) so I completely understand the judgment. Not only have I learned not to ask what anyone's SO is "in for" I don't ask how long they have in or how much time they have left. Usually, I wind up consoling people who don't know what to say or do when I tell them he's a lifer...for robbery. Thank you for sharing your story, I'm so glad I found your blog.

kt moxie said...

Thank you for sharing. No judgements here; sounds like you were both between a rock and a hard place. We all make bad decisions; I'm sorry his had such a long, hard consequence.

Lana Midnight said...

I think going a crime to save your family from starvation is Nobel. I support you both 100%, Jody is a good guy that I am honored to know and you are one strong woman.

Anonymous said...

I truly admire you for putting this out there. I'm new to this process as well(8 months now)...and quickly realized that NOBODY wants to talk about why their LO is incarcerated.
The hardest part for me is the knowledge that there are GOOD MEN (mine is a good man) in there who made some very stupid decisions. But we all suffer for them.
I just started blogging, myself, about this experience. If you'd like to link to me, I'd be happy to link to you:
http://ntbc23.blogspot.com/

Khris said...

Well done to you for putting your story up. What a situation to be in. And yes, we can all do silly things in tough situations...it's a shame the system can't take each situation and see it for what it is or was meant to be....good luck to you and your hubby/partner. Hugs Khris

JessicaM said...

I just stumbled across your blog and have been reading it for hours. I am impressed by the courage you and Jody are able to display daily. Thank you for sharing your story with the rest of us!