I recently met an inmate here who has a pretty interesting
story he'd like to share. His name is Patrick Grosse and he's a native of
Singapore. His number--is 113229. I'm not sure how long his sentence is but
he's been incarcerated for over 9 years.
Patrick is a very friendly guy. He's short and extremely
muscular. He was in the Singaporean Special Forces. I've never asked him what
his crime is (generally I consider this to be a rude thing to do), but Patrick
said he felt so bad that at his sentencing hearing he stated that he would
gladly lose an arm for what he did.
Later, he discovered that the courts had found him
"unremorseful."
Curiously, Patrick came upon a story about a man with a
similar name and who is in a similar situation to him. Alan Gross, the man who
Patrick read about, is serving a 15-year prison term in Cuba. Alan Gross is an
American citizen.
Here is what Patrick wanted to write to the public at large
[he talks just like this :)]:
"Good day to you all, I have never gone on a blog
before. In fact, I just looked up the word "blog" on the
Merriam-Webster dictionary and it's not there. :) Anyway, I'm now wishing to
air about an article that came up on the Washington Post and how this blog
would be understood for the very reason why I'm doing this and also that it
would fall upon the very people that could assist me, to assist us all.
"My name is Patrick, I'm 50 years old and I'm a foreign
national inmate currently doing TIME in this State of Colorado. I'm from
SINGAPORE.
"Just----recently-the Washington Post aired an article
about an American citizen held in prison in CUBA. 'A Mr. Al Gross, 62 years
old, sentenced to prison for 15 years.' He has been confined for 19 months now.
"Mr. Gross now seeks assistance from the U.S. for his
release. He will meet or has already met the parole board and is needing
assistance so he can return home for his daughter, his own health condition and
also for his aging, ill mother that he wishes to see and hold
while she's alive.
"The Washington Post and the Obama administration has
called it "plenty of humanitarian reasons" to release Mr. Gross.
"The Obama administration too made it clear that only
improvement in relations with CUBA is on hold pending Mr. Gross' release.
"My point is......When I met this State of Colorado
parole board 11 Oct 2010, I had been confined for 9 years, followed all
required programs, classes of the prison system and kept and stayed with a
no-write-up report all those years and for that, I met the, parole board as
projected by my sentence, of the system.
"I mentioned very clearly on the health condition of my
own mother in Singapore. She's aging, has recently undergone a heart bypass and
is in a nursing home for over 8 years now.
"She is only holding on daily for my release, so we can
see and hold each other while she's alive. I am also with high blood pressure.
"It is my very duty as a son to come for my mother now.
I'm returning back to a country with strict laws. I'm not setting foot on
American soil -- due to my deportation hold upon me and I shall not be in
American society at all.
"All my case managers I had while in prison always said
to keep a good clean ,report to meet the board sooner. Even my public defender
told me before my sentence, not to fight my deportation with ICE if I wished to
be returned soon.
"Well, the parole board didn't parole me to ICE, but
instead gave me a 5 year setback. I'm to meet the parole board again in 0ct 2015.
The board did not state I was a public risk, for reasons given in not getting
parole approved.
"Isn't my plea to return home also a very humanitarian
reason!
"But now the U.S. is hoping for CUBA to act with
humanity and release an American citizen in their country -- why isn't the U.S.
acting with humanity too? Why isn't this State of Colorado acting with humanity
too?
"I strongly hope and wish Mr. Gross gets all the
assistance and gets to return home sooner -- to his family, to his mother. From
one foreign inmate to another -- I wish him all the best.
"I just wish we inmates here in this state— in this
country will also receive humanity to return to our families -- as what the
U.S.A. is asking of CUBA and other countries to do and act on.
"Thank you for your time and please understand our
plea.
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