Anthony Rivera asks for sentence modification
Intro Anthony Rivera :
This is not
about parole. Anthony is a nonviolent offender. He is also addicted to drugs
and alcohol and cannot get the treatment he needs while in prison. As he
explains here, in May , he will be petitioning the court for release under a
law that allows for the release of non violent offenders who have served a
minimum of 75 % their sentences. Anthony asks that he be put immediately in a
treatment program upon release. He has strong support of family and girlfriend
, and expects a bright future if given this chance.
This is quite a story and I
recommend reading it- it tells of the failings of the entire system and I hope
the courts get a good view through it what is actually happening in our
taxpayer paid institutions.
.
Anthony Rivera 348956
WCI , PO Box 351
Waupun, WI 53963
PETITION
FOR SENTENCE ADJUSTMENT
PURSUANT TO
§973.1193 Wis. Stats .
I am
petitioning the Court for a sentence adjustment because I have served 75% of
my confinement on each of my cases; which allows me the opportunity to
request relief on my sentences under §973.195 Wis. Stats.
This
petition is a bit more than simply a request for early release, because I am
asking for more than my release from prison. In fact, I would like to make a
proposal to the Court; in doing so, I will explain certain conditions within
the prison system, along with particular issues I've personally been dealing
with insofar as my addiction to cocaine and my ongoing struggle with alcohol.
My
overall conduct history while in custody is moderate. If you take the time to
review my conduct history, you will notice that the majority of my conduct
reports are due to either the use of drugs or alcohol, or to attempts to get drugs
for my own personal use. I was in denial of my addiction for quite a long time,
but I have matured over the past several years, and come to realize that I
clearly have a drug and alcohol problem. Because of my addiction problems, I
have AODA treatment needs which I am currently on the waiting list for, I also
had educational needs, which I successfully fulfilled in November, 2011, when 1
earned my H.S.E.D at Green Bay Correctional Inst.
Due
to good behavior and the achievement of significant program needs, I was transferred
from a maximum to a medium security facility. More importantly,it was a
facility that has the AODA program which I need; unlike the maximum security
facility I was previously housed in. Once I arrived at the "medium"
facility, I spoke with the social worker about my being placed in the AODA
program because a new program was due to starting the "near future."
Unfortunately, I was told that 1 would be placed, on the "waiting list
because there were other inmates who had the same AODA program need, whose
release dates were sooner than mine. To my further misfortune, within 90 days
of my arrival I was taken to segregation for drinking, possessing alcohol, and
attempting to have cocaine brought into the facility.
Rather than offering me the help I
clearly need, I was transferred to a supermax facility, and then staffed to a
maximum facility—where there are no AODA treatment programs.
Drugs and alcohol are plentiful throughout the entire Wisconsin prison system,
and I am struggling to stay clean and avoid temptation. I feel that I am not
being offered (in a timely manner) the help I need from the Department of
Corrections. Instead, I'm being confined to segregation for years at a time,
and being shipped back and forth between prisons that can't offer me the help I
need. Frankly, I feel that the prison system is failing to help meet my AODA
needs, and to offer me the treatment I clearly need, by treating the AODA program
as if it were a privilege rather than a need.
I
clearly have an addiction, problem and I am perfectly willing to accept
help(treatment) but I've been in custody for over five-and-a-half years , and
still haven't gotten AODA treatment. The message the Department of Corrections
seems to be sending me and others is that we have-to walk a fine behavioral
line and "earn" treatment, or just quit cold turkey, to simply become
"eligible" for AODA treatment. Because once we get to a facility that offers treatment, we still have
to be placed on a lengthy waiting list, and meet a stringent set of criteria,
before we are given an opportunity for treatment. With all due respect, if I
could walk that fine a line on my own, for an extended amount of time, I
wouldn’t have a need for a treatment program. I would already have the tools and
resources necessary to successfully manage my addiction, I need a treatment
program in the very near future, not a year or more down the road.
I believe
it is in the best interest of justice, for both myself and the community, to
release me from prison on monitored-supervision, so that I can be quickly
placed in a community based residential treatment program. Or, at the very
least, be placed in a minimum security facility, where I would have almost
immediate access to a treatment program—and be released to my family upon
completion of the program.
I am not a
"violent offender," in fact, I've never been convicted of a violent
offense. I’m not a threat to either myself or the community , and my escape
history is classified as "low". I'm not a flight risk, at any rate.
By
the time I Completed the treatment program, I would have more than 75% of my
sentences served on each case. I have employment waiting for me upon release.
I have a strong support network of family and friends, including my girlfriend,
who have all stood by my side since the beginning of my incarceration. They
have changed, their place of residence (my family and my girlfriend), so that I
might have a fair chance of success upon my release—I will no longer reside in
Milwaukee.
I will be going home to my family in either Appleton or Menasha. I have yet to
make up my mind; however I will be starting fresh with either choice. I have
nine years of extended supervision, all I need is an opportunity to receive
AODA treatment for my addictions.
Quite frankly, if I'm denied early release and am kept in my current
situation, I will be unlikely to get the AODA treatment I so desperately need
prior to reaching my Mandatory-Release date in 25 months months.
The option I am proposing is in the full interest of justice for both society
and myself. Furthermore, it should be noted that both of my firearm possession
cases are,(in my opinion, at least) the very least statutory firearm possession
charges one can have. Neither case involved my being in possession of an actual
firearm; the charges were based on photographs of me holding firearms. I took
full responsibility for my actions, and I believe I have served my punishment.
Enclosed you will find written affidavits from my family members and my
girlfriend, along with a copy of my H.S.E.D.
I respectfully ask that the Court consider my request for treatment and
my release from prison; and that the Court acknowledge the fact that I am a
non-violent offender. 1 meet all the required criteria for an early release,
and I have served 75% of my confinement on each charge. Thank you for
your time and attention in this matter.
Respectfully,
Anthony Rivera
Dated this 23 day of
May,2013
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