Federal Prison Consultant Offers Thoughts Before Georgetown Law School Lecture
While walking to Georgetown Law School today to lecture, I received an interesting phone call. The call was so interesting I decided to film a short impromptu video only minutes before my lecture at Georgetown was due to begin.
Federal Prison Consultant Justin Paperny
The call was from a current federal prisoner at Lewisburg Federal Prison Camp. I learned on our call he was calling me from an iPhone – an iPhone, of course, he is not allowed to have in federal prison. The consequences, if he were caught, is a significant disciplinary infraction. There is no doubt he would go from a minimum security prison to a low-security prison. He would also lose his good time. Lastly, he would spend a considerable amount of time in segregation also known as the hole.
On our call, I listened as he complained about his sentence and experience through federal prison. He lamented that is friends and family didn’t want to visit him and he was utterly lost on the inside.
I can certainly empathize with me. Regardless of the length of a federal prison sentence is hard.
In many cases the prisoner gets angrier in prison–not all find meaning and perspective. That said, all federal prisoners should understand how this experience will impact those who continue to stand by them. If they do, perhaps, they will make better and more informed decisions on the inside.
As you would expect I encourage him to give up his iPhone immediately. Further, I encouraged him to reevaluate his daily federal prison routine and I reminded him it is a horrific–and potentially violent–idea to complain about a nine-month federal prison term, especially when good men around him are serving significantly longer sentences.
If you will go to federal prison, I know it is not easy. But I encourage you to avoid these two horrific mistakes this federal prisoner made.
First, never use an iPhone and second do not complain and make matters worse for those that love and support you.
Thank you,
Justin Paperny
