PRISON PANDEMIC UPDATE # 8

Thursday, April 30, 2020, 11:27 a.m. Tomoka C. I., Daytona Beach, FL

Not good news. Around 9:30 a.m., this morning, the guard came in and told five of us to pack up, we were moving next door, to dorm K-1, which had previously been emptied. All five of us had been COVID-19 tested yesterday. The nurse told us then that we would know the results in two days, but the sergeant said those of us who were moving all tested POSITIVE. The other seven men tested negative, apparently.

When the five of us moved into dorm K-1, we found around forty inmates from other dorms moving in with us. All had been tested yesterday. I know about half of them, old timers who have been around as long as I have, and all had apparently tested positive. Comparing notes, none of us have exhibited any symptoms whatsoever. What that means, I don't know. I'll keep you informed as I learn more.

Before I moved next door, I was able to call my wife, Libby, and Aunt Alice. I'm not one to hold back information, so I told Libby about the positive test. We have been together over twenty years, through thick or thin, and our mutual faith has sustained us. This is a new challenge, a virus that threatens the world, and no one really knows how to respond.

Our hopes and dreams revolve around my eventual vindication and release from prison, so we can live our remaining years together, in freedom. I know this is going to be a tough time for Libby and my family, and I pray that other friends and extended family will offer their emotional and spiritual support over the coming days and weeks.

As a believer, I can't abandon the belief that God has a plan for my life, and He is not finished with me yet. Perhaps I was meant to go through this as a witness, to report to the world from inside prison. I pray that all of us fighting this virus will emerge from this dark tunnel alive and well.

A sergeant is about to make a speech, then they are going to serve lunch. I will file another update when I know something new. All the best.

Charlie