06 July 07


Lost in the System

Returning from Property, I ran into Slingblade.

“How the hell are you doing?” I asked as I shook his hand.
“Jon,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Are you from England?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Is that where Buckingham Palace is?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He remained silent.
“I’m getting out soon,” I said. “I’d like to see you get out too. What’s going on with your release?”
“I’d like to go to Florida. They’ve moved the Hope Diamond to Florida for me. It was in California.” He then started reeling off the names of famous people he hoped to stay with.
“Look, you’ve served almost twenty-eight years! You were eligible for release three years ago. It’s time you were out of here! You’ve more than paid your debt back to society. You’re stuck in here because you need some help getting your release package filed and processed correctly.”
“But John McCain - ”
“Forget about John McCain! I don’t think he’s gonna come through for you.”
“I wrote to the President of the United States and the Queen of England.”
“The Queen of England!”
“Yeah. She was here two weeks ago. I saw her on the TV, so I wrote to her.”
“To help you get out?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think these people are gonna help you get out. You need an organisation that has some legal expertise in getting prisoners released, and we need to establish a place that will take you. Look, when I post stories about you on the Internet, I’m gonna mention that you’re stuck in here, and see if we can get you some help. Would you like that?”
“Yeah. Do you know my name and number?”
“Yeah. I know who you are. And if nobody helps you, then when I get out, I’ll be able to contact organisations myself.”
“Gee, thanks.”

Email comments to writeinside@hotmail.com or post them below

Copyright © 2006-2007 Shaun P. Attwood