Freedom Date + 2 Years

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

I Need Your Help--Letters of Support

The Florida Parole Commission changed their name to the Florida Commission on Offender Review (FCOR), removing "Parole," perhaps because only fourteen people were paroled last year, out of over 4,300 people in prison under the authority of FCOR. At that rate, it will take over 200 years to release us all. I don't think we will make it.

Where we are right now: At my April, 2017, prison interview with parole examiner Mr. Z. C. Rowan, he recommended a July 4, 2017, parole release date, based on my excellent parole release plan and acceptance to the "Prisoners of Christ" faith-based residential transition program in Jacksonville, Florida. My trial judge's letter to FCOR approving my parole played a large role. FCOR administrators in Tallahassee also accepted my parole release plan. My wife, Libby, and I were ecstatic, as you can imagine, with the upcoming Independence Day being my first day of freedom after 39 years of wrongful captivity.

It was not to be. Due to the political tampering and conflicts of interest of two corrupt politicians with a personal vendetta against me (another long story), at the May 24, 2017, Tallahassee hearing, the parole commissioners, who owed their cushy jobs to those politicians, refused to sign my parole papers, for vague, contradictory reasons. We went to another hearing on July 19, 2017. Before the hearing, my then-lawyer, Bill Sheppard, was given a copy of FCOR'S "Final Order" denying my release and suspending my July 4, 2017, parole date for seven years. The Final Order was signed and pre-dated, "August 1, 2017," and we got a copy thirteen days BEFORE the final order was supposedly signed, effective August 31, 2017. Obviously, the decision had been made prior to that day's hearing, and nothing we could say that day would have any effect. When attorney Sheppard stated on the record that the decision had been predetermined, Commissioner Davison, who had skipped the previous hearing, denied it.

Although FCOR suspended my date seven years (an "ex post facto" violation), we do have options. Lawyer Sheppard bailed out when the money ran out, although he'd vowed to fight my wrongful imprisonment as a "good cause," leaving us to continue the fight on our own. It took us a year to get all my legal documents from the lawyer.

We are preparing a new parole release plan, in accordance with Florida parole law, seeking a "subsequent hearing" based on new information. As part of that effort, we need letters of support from friends and family, showing that there are reputable, law-abiding citizens (voters) aware of my case, and urging FCOR to right the wrong, grant me a new hearing, and release me on parole. If no one cares if I am not released, why should FCOR care if I am?

It's a numbers game. If only one person wrote a letter of support, they wouldn't feel sorry for me. If a thousand people wrote letters, that would get their attention.

I teach a weekly Parole Planning Workshop for old-timers like myself, most of whom are clueless about the parole process. I asked for a show of hands: "How many of you have no person in free society who would write a letter on your behalf?" Half the class raised their hands. Most of them have outlived their families and supporters. They have no resources or any place to go. They are "The Forgotten Ones."

I don't want to be forgotten. It has been over 41 years of imprisonment in some of Florida's worst, most dangerous prisons, yet I have survived, by the Grace of God. If you want to help, and will write a letter of support, I would greatly appreciate it. If you reach out to others, tell them about my case, refer them to the website and blog, ask them to write letters of their own, that would be great. If you need more information, or help with your letter, please contact Libby, and she will send you the information needed. She has copies of previous letters that might be helpful.

You can email your letter to FCOR Chairman Melinda Coonrod, melindacoonrod@fcor.state.fl.us  or write a letter to:
Melinda Coonrod, Chairman
Florida Commission on Offender Review
4070 Esplanade Way
Tallahassee, FL  32399-2450

RE: Charles P. Norman, DC#881834

### Important---please copy your email or letter to Libby---we have to have a copy to include with the new parole release plan:

Libby Norman
11475 Americana Ln.
Jacksonville, FL. 32218

email: freecharlie2001@yahoo.com...ph.: 904/269-0966...website: www.freecharlienow.com. blog: http://charlienorman.blogspot.com

I am grateful for any help you can offer. Please keep in touch. We should be celebrating two years of freedom on July 4th. Instead, Libby and I will be together in the prison visiting park inside Tomoka C.I., Daytona Beach.

Sincerely,

Charlie Norman

"Prisoners of Christ" Visits Parole Planning Workshop At Tomoka C. I.

Dateline: Thursday, May 23, 2019

  

             After months of false starts and failed attempts to address our Parole Planning Workshop, Greg Seymour, Re-Entry Director for the "Prisoners of Christ" faith-based residential transition program in Jacksonville,, Florida, finally returned to his roots as a free man. Decades before, Greg had been a prisoner at Tomoka C.I., Daytona Beach, Florida, working as a chapel clerk before attending the F. I. U. Lifers Program at Everglades C. I., eventually being released on parole.
             Originally scheduled to make the trek to Tomoka on March, 16, 2019, Greg had made it as far as Highway 92, right down the road, when his car was rear-ended by one of our Florida drivers, resulting in having to deal with Florida Highway Patrol officers for hours. Such are the complications parolees must deal with. Thankfully, everything turned out all right. Wellness Supervisor Officer C. Johnson made the calls and obtained the approvals needed for our speaker to try again.
             Before turning the floor over to Greg, I asked each of the men to stand up, introduce themselves: their names, where they were from, how many years they'd been in prison, what their parole dates were, starting with myself.
             "My name is Charlie Norman, this past April 5th marked my forty-first year of imprisonment on a murder conviction from Tampa. My parole release date remains July 4, 2017, although the parole commissioners refused to sign my papers, suspending my date."
             As we went around the room, it was a humbling experience to hear each man's story, as brief as it was. A few of the men had known Greg Seymour when he'd been here as a prisoner, albeit now they were much older, grayer, balder, and bent by the time they'd served.
             On this day that Greg had accepted our invitation to return to speak to twenty-two parole-eligible prisoners gathered in the Wellness Program building, looking out at the seated men, one could tell that he had been affected by the short testimonies. Patting the concrete block wall behind him, Greg explained why he didn't need directions from the front gate to the Wellness building, in the shadow of the gun tower overseeing the prison recreation yard, even after all these years.
             "Another inmate and I laid these blocks over twenty years ago. We built this building and the library," he said, smiling, patting his handiwork again. "We must have done a pretty good job. It's still standing. It's holding up pretty well." He could have said the same thing about himself.
             Greg Seymour has a strong Christian background, and his advice to men seeking parole is infused with his faith.
             "What is parole?" he asked. "Grace, man. Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve. Mercy is when God doesn't give us what we deserve. That's what happened to me when I got paroled. I didn't deserve it."
             On the subject of parole, talking to a number of men whose parole dates had already passed, in legal limbo with arbitrary parole "suspensions" delaying their earned releases, Greg had some advice.
             "It may seem like a hopeless situation. You may be listening to that man whispering in your ear, but you better make sure he's telling you the right thing.
             "What's behind you is behind you. You can't dig it up.
             "I learned to think for myself.
             "Prior to God I was a mess. I had a bad mindset."
             Greg shared more examples and analogies from his life experiences to illustrate to the men how to prepare for parole, for when they are finally released into free society.
             "Prepare for parole now. You gotta get your eyes off the next man, and look in the mirror.
             "Keep your heart seasoned. Do you know what that means? My daddy was a Bahamian. He was a great cook. It all came down to the seasonings he used. You gotta season your heart. Hatred, bitterness, murder, bad seasonings, come from the heart. Like a garden you gotta pluck out the weeds.
             "Prepare--make your preparations now--for parole. It's easy to violate. Some of ya'll can't wait to get outa here and get you a woman. You gotta get the right woman.
             "I'm just like you--I make mistakes. But God doesn't make mistakes. Some of us, we're harboring all kinds of stuff in our hearts, negative thoughts, hatred. Keep your heart seasoned with the right thoughts.
             "Pick the people you associate with. Watch out for those smiling in your faces. Prison does give you a lot of advantages. You can see those types of people coming before they get there. You gotta avoid them.
             "There was a man on my job--he was a hater. Back in the day, we would have handled it differently-break his jaw. I'm not gonna harbor any ill will. I have not reverted back to my old ways. God took care of it. He doesn't need my help."
             Greg talked about what he's doing right now, besides his job as re-entry director at Prisoners of Christ, working with other parolees.
             "Prepare to be successful while on parole. Give back. Joe Miller and I work in a juvenile program. Don't quit, just because you have setbacks. I'm sharing with you what worked for me. God saw into my heart."
             The time went quickly. After a question-and-answer session, handshakes and a few hugs ended the session. I watched Greg walk up the road toward the front gate and freedom, like most of the other men, wondering when we'd follow him to freedom.
             Thanks, Greg.

Charlie

PRISON LOCKDOWN FOR THE HOLIDAY

Dateline: Friday, May 24, 2019

Friday morning, during breakfast, two prisoners slipped into another housing area and brutally stabbed another sleeping prisoner multiple times. Fortunately he survived. The culprits were captured live and in color on the multiple video cameras mounted everywhere. One cut himself during the attack, marking himself. America's dumbest criminals.

The victim went to the hospital and his attackers went to lockup. They won't be seen in these parts for a long time. Although the case was easily solved, an isolated incident of rivals, in an act of brilliance the people in charge declared a 72- hour lockdown, no movement, no yard, no work, no canteen, no TV's, no phone calls, all 1300 other prisoners who'd done nothing wrong but exist, punished arbitrarily. They let us buy these little tablets last year to send and receive emails, and haven't shut down the WiFi yet, knock on wood, so I am able to send this out. They did permit visits, and this morning Libby rescued me from several hours of forced sitting quietly on my bunk, to spend time with her in the air conditioning. It seemed only minutes had passed before I was trudging down that back road in the scorching 95° heat, back to the sweltering building I live in.

Perhaps someone higher up will have mercy on us and call off the lockdown, but that's unlikely. All these testy, overheated men crowded together with nothing to do is a prescription for trouble. At least I have a good book to read. Please pray for sensibility.

Best to you, and hope you all have a nice, peaceful Memorial Day.

Charlie

Norman Easter Visit

Easter Sunday  April 21, 2019
I hadn't had an Easter Sunday visit from my mother, brother, Dan, and niece Tammy, for over thirty years, until this past April 21st, here at Tomoka C. I. We took four photos, which I've asked Libby to include with this brief message. It meant a lot to us to be together on this special day.

We hope your Easter was filled with love, too.

All the best, Charlie