2. Think through the Process
This lesson gives you two sets of questions that connect where your case stands today with the life you want to build. Working through them early helps you spot decisions ahead and start building a credible record for future requests.
7 min video · 2 min read
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A comprehensive mitigation strategy connects the stage you face today with the life you want to build. The questions below can help you examine each part of that journey, recognize decisions that may lie ahead, and identify work you can begin now.
- What should I expect from the judicial process, and what do I need to understand to help my attorney represent me best?
- If I’m convicted, how should I prepare for the consequences that will follow?
- How can I prepare for the presentence investigation and help counsel review the presentence report, or PSR, for accuracy?
- If prison becomes part of my sentence, how can I prepare myself and the people who depend on me?
- What administrative relief may be available if I go to prison, and how can I begin preparing now?
- How can I use my time today to prepare for the challenges I may face after prison?
- How can I recalibrate my plans, rebuild my earning capacity, and resume a life of contribution?
Preparation can serve you at each stage of the process. As your circumstances develop, opportunities may arise to advocate for different forms of relief. Starting early gives you more time to build a credible record and develop strategies for pursuing the highest level of liberty, at the soonest time. Consider the goals you may pursue and the requests you may eventually make:
- What should I know about programs that may result in administrative time cuts from the sentence my judge imposes?
- What seeds can I begin to sow now that may influence where I serve my time?
- In what ways can I influence possibilities for community confinement or a non-incarcerative sentence?
- What can I do today to become a better candidate for a higher level of liberty while on supervised release?
- How do I build a better campaign for early termination of supervised release?
- What can I do today to strengthen a clemency application that I intend to make later?
- How can I begin rebuilding my career prospects or preparing for the job market after release?
- What can I do to minimize the damage to my online reputation, given the situation I’m in?
The free lessons and courses available on PrisonProfessors.org will give you ideas to consider as you develop your answers to the questions above. Every day, you’re making decisions that can influence the results that come your way. Your responses and the work you do going forward can create opportunities and improve your prospects for success, as you define it. You can begin these exercises now, continue them throughout any sentence, and adapt your plans as your circumstances develop.
No one can change the past, but we all can work toward a brighter future.
Key takeaways
- A comprehensive mitigation strategy connects the stage you face today with the life you want to build.
- Starting early gives you more time to build a credible record for future requests for relief.
- Think ahead to requests such as community confinement, early termination of supervised release, or clemency.
- You can begin these exercises now, continue them through any sentence, and adapt as things change.
Check your understanding
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prisonprofessors.org/playbook/think-through-the-process