MARION C. I.-- OCALA, FLORIDA
They woke us up at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, July 28, 2025,. to get on the bus to Marion at 6:35 a.m., arriving in Ocala from Orlando an hour and a half later. The bus trip was actually the easiest part of the day.
I couldn't believe I was transferring to an incentivized prison -- the best one, rumor has it-- after a two-year sentence in the Okeechobee hellhole. Incentivized prisons are the new trend in corrections. Good behavior is rewarded. Thicker mattresses, better conditions, more programs, and better food-- ice cream twice a week. Screw up and you're shipped back to your old hellhole.
We had baked chicken and "Chip Around" ice cream tonight. The chicken was hot, the ice cream was frozen. No complaints.
Marion is actually in Lowell, next door to the women's prison, but Ocala is the nearest city, bisected by Interstate 75. It has the biggest rec yard in the system. It is huge. At Okeechobee we might get to go to the rec yard and canteen once a week if we're lucky. Here you can go to rec and canteen twice a day.
I am in E-Dorm, an "open" dorm housing 89 or so men. Built in 1954, Marion is hot, no one has air conditioning but the guards. Did I say hot? Heat index 110°.
They have family visiting Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Very little drugs, violence or gang activity.
Two more guardian angels helped carry my property, mostly heavy legal papers, on and off the bus and to E--Dorm. Young, strong Christians, we all moved into E-Dorm, where they continue to look out for me. I am blessed.
More later. -- Charlie
