Your Federal Tax Dollars at Work #1 6-18-2010

The federal government put me in the Volunteers of America halfway house while I await my court proceedings. The federal government calls this release on my own recognizance.

I arrived a bit over three months ago. I have my guilty plea hearing on July 1. Sentencing comes some time after.

This time does not count against my sentence. The plea agreement I signed is for a max of 151 months.

So where is the waste of your tax dollars?

The American taxpayer pays for my stay with the VOA and in prison. If this were an Indiana charge, the state taxpayers would get a break by my having a credit for my pretrial detention.

I know you thought it was a benefit for me, the criminal. Who do you think is for all this federal care?

You, the taxpayer.

What happens is that the $1,000 - $2,000 cost for me is miniscule for federal budget purposes. How does $6,000 do for your budget?

sch

[I would later try to get the federal court in New Jersey to give me credit for the time spent in the VOA. It was denied. You can read the opinion here. I had not enough time left on my sentence to make a timely appeal. Somehow the trial judge decided the statute's "at a minimum" was not a requirement for my release. sch 12/5/22. ]