March 12, 2009 - Thursday
"A convict's point of view of Dave Burgess"
I am writing this part of the story because it is a part that needs to be told along with all the other parts. I also feel that it is a perspective that only few can give. First, I will explain why I am one of those few. I am a 37 year old half Italian, half Irish man who has been in prison for roughly 10 years and if all goes well, soon to get out. In my prison life, I have seen just about everything there is to see and dealt with about every situation imaginable. So as they say, I know prison life like the back of my hand, unfortunately..
Previously on another compound, I was in a position that gave me the responsibility to make decisions concerning our particular group of people, and to represent our status on that compound. Some of you out there in "Dave's World" will know what that position was, and for those who don't, you will have to figure it out because I won't speak on that any further. On another compound, I was a representative of our particular group, and for those of you who don't know what that is, well, it is a step down from the other position I spoke of. Let me say that for all the people who are unfamiliar with prison life, these two positions are taken extremely serious, and again that is all I will say pertaining to that. I have a very, very interesting story myself, but this is not about me, but I will tell you that because my friend David has been able to witness exactly what the government is capable of inside, and he is currently living with what they are capable of on the outside. Now I will give you my assessment of my friend David Burgess, but strangely it seems to be the same assessment of everybody else, oh, except the government..
Unfortunately, during my prison time, I have had to deal with pedophiles and the fact that nobody in prison wants to live amongst these people. Decisions have to be made about these people but before that can happen, you or whoever has to be 100% sure that this particular person is indeed a pedophile. This is not hard, it may be difficult for a person in the free world, but in prison these people are very easy to recognize. They wear there sickness on the outside, just as much as they deal with it on the inside. These people are put into an environment where extreme hatred is shown towards them, and doing bodily harm to these people is always a hot topic. So along with their sickness they also wear fear. So as I said, not hard to recognize and I am sure that those out there who do know about prison life will totally agree with me on that. So with the amount of years that I have been dealing with these particular people, I would like to think that my experience and my instincts are pretty accurate, they have not failed me yet dealing with this particular issue, oh, and I was not in the position that afforded me to be wrong. So, now let me tell you that David Burgess does not and I will repeat DOES NOT possess one single characteristic of a pedophile. How do I come to this assumption? Well, I have been in a cell with David for fifty some odd days, and it didn't take me that long to figure that out. I knew that the minute I walked in the cell, because I have to know that. Once again, those of you who know about prison life understand what I mean and hope will help me clarify to those who don't..
David and I live in a cell together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, fifty some days of that is like living with somebody for a year, trust me, but I tell you this because David and I have been lucky enough to have found a friendship out of this mess, and in those fifty some days it has accelerated quite rapidly. My answer to that is that GOD works in mysterious ways, because the environment that David and I live in right now is not fun, not fun at all. I am sure David can attest to that. When David and I first became cell mates he was quite grouchy but I guess he had a right to be. He had just suffered a fall in the shower, but his true character soon showed when I was dealing with some issues of my own. Remember I have a story too. His immediate reaction was to help me through it. From that point on our friendship has grown and I hope that I have been able to help him as well. I am witness to the amount of mail and support this man gets that also is not normal for someone with his charge. People write in to him expressing how much he helped them in the past, again not normal for this situation. I feel as though I know his family as I'm sure he feels that he knows mine. So to his family, to his brothers and to his supporters, know that he is remaining strong but also know that it is all of your support that keeps him that way. Also, know that he has gained a new friend, as I'm sure he does everywhere he goes in this life, because of the man he is. I myself consider it an honor to call David Burgess my friend..
If anyone wishes to contact me further, please do so through David. He has my information and I look forward to hearing from you. One final thought. I often tell David that I have been doing this to long not to know what's what. David Burgess is not what the government says he is. That's that..
Christopher