Ted's injury

I’m currently waiting for more letters from Ted.

Ted called me on Monday and told me he had burned his right hand. He was lifting the cover off a steaming pot of potatoes and the steam caused first-degree burns. He told me his entire hand was red (like a really bad sunburn) and hurt a lot. He was given Ibuprofen for pain and cream. He told me tonight on the phone that his hand is better. He did manage to write some more entries and sent them out in the mail this morning.

About three or four weeks ago, I noticed on the Florida Department of Corrections site that Ted’s custody level was dropped from minimum to community. Ted will be eligible to go to a work release camp. A work release camp is different from a work camp (where he is now). He is able to choose two work release camps near his home in Pinellas County. When a bed opens up at one of them and he has been processed, he will be moved. The whole process takes between 30 and 60 days.

In a work release camp, Ted will need to find a job and will be able to leave the compound to go to work. He will return to the compound each day after his shift. Ted doesn’t know much more than this. He doesn’t know if the camp officials help in obtaining a job and if transportation is provided, or if he must take public transportation to the job.

Ted also tells me he’s been written up four times in the past three weeks. Each write-up delays his transfer to a work release camp between 10 and 20 days. So right now, he doesn’t know when he will be transferred. In Ted’s words - “the more I try not to be written up, the more write-ups I get.”

Ted was also issued a subpoena as a witness in a criminal case in Pinellas County which will take place in early March for three days. He tells me that he will be transferred to the Pinellas County Jail for probably three weeks for this three-day trial. While in the Pinellas County Jail, he will not be able to earn any gain time. After the trial is over, he will return to Lancaster Work Camp to await his transfer to a work release camp back in Pinellas County. Ted will then be about 30 minutes from his home, rather than three hours away as he is now.