THE PERSONAL ACCOUNT AND SHORT BIO OF MR. JOSHUA D. FULLER
Handcuffed to a stainless steal bench inside of a frigidly cold detox tank inside of the Madison County Jail, Marshall NC, I had an epiphany that made me realize that I could no longer live life in the fast lane. It was time to park the car, take another look at the map and figure out where my life was headed. It finally dawned on me inside that ice cold jail cell that I had spent all 26 years of my life flying by the seat of my pants and that is was time to make a plan for my life.
I am the son of a well known evangelist named Martin Fuller. I was ten years old when my dad decided to leave our home in Conroe Texas and go on the road full time to sing gospel music at churches, tent revivals, and other venues all across America. Growing up on an R.V. with four other children and a Mom and Dad is difficult for most people to imagine, but I must say that I gained unfathomable amounts of life experience at a very young age. I learned many beautiful and positive things as a direct result of our travels.
About the only negative result that came as a consequence of this unique life was that it created a difficulty for me to build and cultivate long lasting relationships and friendships due to the fact that we rarely stayed in one spot longer than one week.
By the age of eighteen years old, I had yet to realize that I had an issue with relationship building and shortly after my eighteenth birthday, I jumped head over heals into a relationship with a woman who later became my wife. Sadly, my discovery of drugs and alcohol combined with my poor relationship building skills rapidly transpired into our marriage creating a hostile environment in our household that ended with our separation in 2014. During that time she unfortunately committed suicide. I was 25 years old at the time of her death. After she made that choice, my life, which was already on a slippery slope because of our unsavory lifestyle, quickly collapsed into utter chaos.
Immediately following her death, I went into self-pity mode and quickly used up all of my resources on purchasing drugs and alcohol and club life. I allowed the small tree removal business that my wife Deborah and I had spent seven years building to self implode. My entire life’s work at that point could be boiled down to a vast collection of tree stumps.
One year and six months after Deborah passed away, I made the utterly absurd decision to rob a bank. I was so drunk when I walked into that bank that I could barely walk. I fired a round from a .22 caliber revolver into the ceiling, took money from two tellers, fired one more round as a warning not to call the police, and then left in a getaway car. I was pulled over 11 miles away from the bank I had robbed. it was March 1, 2017. Shortly thereafter I was sentenced to 166 Months in Federal Prison.
I am far from proud of my actions on that day. Leading up to my incarceration, I left a long trail of hurt, destruction, and chaos. I feel that I deserve the consequences I am dealing with. I truly brought this on myself. I accept the consequences. That being said, I look forward to the possibilities of restoring broken relationships with my family and my friends, and trying to make amends with the individuals I have wronged.
Looking back on the past eight years of my incarceration, I can see milestones that mark profound personal growth: For example, reading a book entitled “The Power of Consistency” that was written by a former Federal Inmate named Weldon Long. “The Power of Consistency” was an absolute game changer in my personal growth and helped boil down some very complicated information into laymen’s terms to help me understand how to take the initial steps to build a plan for my life; which I now refer to as my “Prosperity Plan”. It also helped me to understand the human condition and is a huge part of the recipe I am using to achieve excellence.
In addition, I am also currently enrolled in an extensive drug treatment and rehabilitation program called DDRDP. (which you can learn more about on BOP.gov). I am also enrolled in the vocational training program for Horticulture here at FMC Lexington. The Horticulture program is an excellent program taught by a gifted professor. I am learning by leaps and bounds. It is incredible to see the book work come to life as we apply the knowledge we are being taught in real time inside the greenhouse.
I am proud to announce that I am pursuing a career in Horticulture with a specialty in Pomology. immediately following my release from prison, it is my desire to continue my education in this field by earning a bachelors degree while simultaneously working at a location where I may receive OJT in the area of Tissue Culture Propagation. Eventually I would like to have my own business again, only this time I would like to build a business that only does one thing, plant trees!
My accomplishments prior to my incarceration can be summed up by a collection of tree stumps, broken hearts, and dishonorable business negotiations. It is my desire to use many creative and productive ways wo right the wrongs I have committed against society, my family, and friends by staying laser focused on becoming a man of honor and integrity. The prosperity plan I have created for my life begins and ends with the realization that “relationships are more meaningful and satisfying than accomplishments.”
