JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process: Henry: Upon my arrests, I had violation of probation
charges. I was denied bond. I couldnt afford a
private defense attorney, and had to wait over
90 days for a public-defender. I recieved very
little information regarding my cases while
incarcerated. Bob: I did not have a pre-sentencing as I was
incarcerated for a misdemeanor DUI charge. I had
a private attorney plead me guilty at my
arraignment having already made arrangements with
the prosecutor for the sentence (which the judge
accepted and imposed). Cory: It was a long process that took 8 months of trial
b/c I didnt take a plea. If I wouldve taken the
plea bargain I probably would've been sentenced
right away instead of dragging the process on. I
knew I was innocent but theonly witness was the
guys girlfriend and she lied in his favor by
saying he was jumped, pulled out of his car n
robbed.
JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested. Henry: No. I was arrested at the scene of my crime both
times. Bob: No - the police never came to my home. Cory: No police came to my home. I was out in public at
a movie theatre with 2 of my boys and one of them
got into a fight with a random guy over a girl.
The guy lost the fight but said he was jumped by
me and our friend and that he was robbed. We left
but the cops stopped us at a traffic light and
surrounded our vehicle and took us in.
JM: What was court like? Please give as many details as you recall. Henry: I had 4 court appearances over a 15 month span.
I was shackled and belly-chained. I was
transported in a van with very very little room
to move, let alone breathe clean air.
Bob: I had a bond hearing the day after my arrest. The
bond hearing was conducted through a video link
between the jail and courthouse. My arraignment
was conducted in the same manner (via video
link). It took approximately 18 days from the
date of my arrest to my arraignment date and
considering I had my bond revoked at the bond
hearing, it was the longest 18 days of my life. Cory: I was not given a bail/bonded out so court was not a
good experience as I had to be transfered from the
main jail to the court every month for my hearing. i
was on a bus with othe rinmates and we were all
linked together and shackled like animals.
JM: What were your original charges? What did you end up being convicted of? Cory: The original charges were strong armed robbery,
burglary with assualt, which are all punishable by
life (PBL) so no bail was granted.