Life After Prison

The reality of surviving as a felon

I walked out of prison for the last time in 2013. I had just served over 2 years for possession and delivery of methamphetamine, a drug I was very addicted to. I was also charged with possession of a firearm.

Unlike my previous arrests, this took place in the state of Arkansas. I am a New York native and my experience in Arkansas was eye opening to say the least. These two states seemed worlds apart in every way.

In New York if you are arrested, the laws are clear. They have specific sentencing guidelines for everyone. They are easy to understand and once sentenced you know exactly how much time you will serve in prison. In Arkansas, not only is it confusing but it is very inconsistent.

Someone sentenced to 20 years in New York will serve 80% of that time. Those sentence to 20 years in Arkansas will serve 1/3 of that time. Or perhaps they will serve 50% of that time. Or they may be released early on something called an EPA. In Arkansas you might get 20 years with 10 suspended, meaning you can not commit another crime for 10 years after your release date or you could go back for 10 years. That is called revoking a suspended sentence. Confused yet?

As a New York native, I sat in an Arkansas county jail cell confused, alone and desperate for anything that would help me…