Background Richard Walker
Tuesday October 25, 2022, my 41st birthday. Whether it was luck, tragedy, or divine intervention, Tuesdays are the day visitors are allowed to visit FCI Jesup inmates in the SHU. Having had zero communication with my wife Joanne for the past 30 days, something told me she would be showing up for this visit, rather I knew she was.
Born and raised in Central Florida, everyday was fishing, hunting, baseball, football – anything outdoors. My father quit school in the 8th grade but valued seeing me get what he wasn’t able to do. The deal always was – as long as the grades are “good” then we would do all the outdoor activities I wanted – even if it meant skipping school. At the age of 12 we began clay target shooting and quickly that consumed all of our time. My father unfortunately passed away in my early teenage years, but not before I began to excel within the industry. At the age of 13 I won my first Major event and within a few years I was on Team USA traveling the World competing in the largest events.
My father taught me several principles. He was always a staunch defender in “the little man” – he couldn’t stand how he perceived the Government and its excessive overreach – he stressed to stand for what you believe in – and if you were going to do something, you better do it with all your dedication. To this day, I still can hear the radio playing Rush Limbaugh and Paul Harvey from his truck.
I became fully immersed within the clay target industry. From age 13 to 35 I won countless State, Regional, National, and International Events. I wanted every aspect of my life to revolve around the industry. I saw the financial value of building the facilities and supplying the products in the industry. My Undergraduate degrees were in Environmental Science and Public Administration; followed by Masters’ in Urban and Regional Planning and Nonprofit Management – all selected to provide the insight and knowledge needed to work with the Government and their regulations to open facilities. I obtained an ATF Form 6 for the importing of munitions and firearms and by the age of 21 I was developing, managing, supplying, and competing at facilities within the industry.
Indictment and Sentencing
Within my industry, my days off were Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday November 19, 2019 I realized I had forgotten a few papers at the office and mentioned to Joanne I would be back in 20 minutes. Halfway to the office a local police officer pulled me over and while walking up to my vehicle confirmed my identity. Within seconds three black SUVs pulled up to my vehicle, weapons drawn, and ordered me out of my vehicle slowly. Handcuffed and in the back of one of the SUVs I had no clue what was taking place. Over the next two hours I was questioned about finances and assistance I had provided to a former in law’s business. As time went on, Joanne feared I was in an accident so she drove towards the office and arrived at the vehicles terrified and confused. We were both informed I was to see the Judge at 3pm and afterwards I would be released.
At the courthouse, with Joanne in attendance, we learned I was facing 16 counts of Bank and Wire Fraud totalling $1.2 million dollars and punishable by up to 20 years in Federal Prison. A trial would be tentatively scheduled for March of 2020 – only 5 months away and if I were hiring a lawyer I needed one on file immediately. I hired a Defense Attorney within two weeks that focused solely on Federal Defense – who offered assurances that his firm could “remedy” my charges. The first conference after paying close to six figures for their services, my wife and I were advised my best course of action was to take a plea deal to minimize the amount of prison time I would receive – we were advised I did have the option to go to trial, but that would be an additional expense with severe downsides if I lost – none of which was mentioned to me before hiring the Defense Attorney.
I was adamant that I wasn’t going to take a plea – as was Joanne. In February while still contemplating what to do, Covid entered the scene. Court proceedings were delayed and my date to plead guilty or go to trial moved to August of 2020. From February to August my fraud amount was reduced from $1.2 million to $700,000 with evidence I was able to provide, but the Prosecutors were not willing to accept proof on the remaining $700,000. Finally on the day before my deadline the Prosecutors gave my Defense Attorney an ultimatum, plead guilty to 1 count of bank fraud and 1 count of wire fraud, with the Prosecutor recommending a maximum sentence of 41 months, as well as the ability to self report OR they were going to pursue additional charges with a recommended 15-20 years – I had til 5pm to let them know.
Out of options, and begrudgingly I accepted the plea agreement. My Defense Attorneys stressed that I wouldn’t get 41 months, with my case, my clear record, and their argument for the Judge, I was going to receive 20 months at the most, with a high probability of house arrest only. In addition, I would be sent to Coleman which was at the time 2 miles from my house, making visits easy on Joanne.
Sentencing was scheduled for October 8, 2020. A week before sentencing I heard from my Attorney who advised me to have a few letters for the Judge and that we needed to figure out what I was going to say. A few letters from members of local nonprofits that I sat on Boards with as well as a few friends forwarded the letters to my Attorney for submission. The afternoon of October 7, 2020 I sat with my Attorneys and we wrote an apology letter to the Judge and victim of my case.
October 8, 2020 I actually felt calm and excited to get this over with. It seemed basic from what I had been told and my Attorney’s statements seemed to make sense to me. As I sat listening, my attorney explained to the Court that I made a mistake and was terribly sorry, I didn’t do anything intentionally, we were going to “right my wrong” with a proposal to pay my $700,000 restitution through earnings from my business (since my attorney was telling the Judge to put me on house arrest), and that the full amount would be paid within 3 years. The prosecutor kept to their agreement and recommended 41 months, and to be able to self report to prison after the holidays to wind down business dealings and personal matters.
Still feeling confident, it was the Judge’s turn to speak. Quickly my confidence and calm vanished. I had to read the transcript from my sentencing to remember exactly what was said, but in short the Judge told me I showed no remorse, accepted no responsibility, I should have received additional charges, and offering to make payments now was an insult to the entire system. I was handed 24 months above my sentencing guidelines for a total of 65 months and self reporting after the holidays was not acceptable – I would report to Federal Prison on December 7, 2020 – my Pearl Harbor date so to speak – “a date which will live in infamy.” On December 7, 2020 I reported to FCI Jesup – 200 miles away from home – not FCI Coleman – 2 miles from home.
The Unknowns
From Indictment to reporting to prison, I lacked knowledge of the entire process. I never knew any investigation was taking place, I never knew that my case was handled by a Grand Jury, I never knew I left my house 3 minutes before the Feds surrounded it to arrest me, I never knew any processes, things to expect, or mitigating factors that could help. With my Defense Attorneys, what wasn’t explained to me, was no fault of theirs. I’m confident they felt like they did what they were supposed to do. I wish I knew what I know now, during all those unknown times.
As a passionate sports fan, I came to realize that I was in the position of the underdog going up against an opponent that had an overwhelming home field advantage. They had a head start on investigating, on telling a narrative, a larger budget, controlled the timeline of events, it was in their building (their very large and intimidating building), and all the different individuals from prosecutors to judges to clerks to PSI Investigators to probation officers all felt like they were on the opposing team. Terms like presentence investigation, sentencing guidelines, and character reference letters were foreign to me. I was clueless to good conduct time, earned time credits, Cares Act, Second Chance Act, and First Step Act – I never even heard of any of them until I reached the camp at FCI Jesup.
Why didn’t I get to go to FCI Coleman instead of FCI Jesup, well it turns out the camp at FCI Coleman was all female – something nobody knew. Apparently I was at a camp, except I had no idea that was better than a Low, Medium, or any other custody. I had to quarantine for 21+ days upon arrival, where did that come from?
The unknowns kept coming. Stand up counts, Administrative Remedies, BP Forms, fog count, email and phone setup, getting mail at the Prison, education counselor, case manager, unit manager, cell phones, work detail….. Clueless on all of it.
During the process I never hired a consulting service. Why? I didn’t know anything about them. Why didn’t my Attorneys explain any of this to me – it’s not really their position and focus. The day after my sentencing I spent another large sum of money on an Appellate Attorney with the advice that they would correct my sentence – the sentence wasn’t reduced and it was another letdown.
Incarceration at FCI Jesup
For the first time in 25 years I wasn’t fully invested in my career. Prison brings every single aspect of your life to a screeching halt – at least that’s the perception. Within minutes my mind began thinking of what is next. I had grown to hate my profession. I “retired” from competitions 4 years earlier, I was working 14 hour days every day, it was highly stressful with guns, ammunition, environmental factors, and the Government involved. Joanne had wanted me to step back and change paths for years. I realized I had my first goal while in prison – what would be the next phase of my working life – it could be anything I wanted to focus on – I was more excited than I had been in years.
After 25 days in quarantine I made it to the camp. There were no cells, no bars, no fence, we could come and go inside and outside as we pleased, there was a gym, track, softball, basketball, bocci ball, horse shoes – not what I was expecting. My second day my Appellant Attorney had a call with me. To my surprise I was informed that with Covid and the 11th Circuit being behind schedule we would have my case heard in 18-24 months – another unknown and letdown.
In the following days I learned about good conduct credits, Cares Act, something called First Step Act, Second Chance Act, home confinement, halfway house time – I was stunned – I wasn’t going to serve 65 months, I was going to serve less. I now had my second goal – I was going to serve as little as possible of my 65 months.
I was able to get a job working at Unicor as the shipping and receiving clerk. Maybe a logistics career would interest me? I enrolled with a Paralegal Certification program. Maybe a career within that field? FEMA offers free certification programs. Joanne would print and mail me the course material and online test. Then I would mail back the answers for her to input in the online exam. Each course counted as productive activities on my transcript – I finished over 40 FEMA certifications. Maybe FEMA would be an option? I enrolled in an advanced real estate law course. Maybe real estate was my next career? I participated in over 30 different religion based correspondence courses through the mail. Maybe my next career was something religious based? I enrolled in every ACE class and EBRR program offered at the camp. By early 2022 my Education Transcript documented over 13,000 hours of programming.
I wanted as much knowledge as I could get. I read history, self help, Indian gaming laws, autobiographies, Faulkner, Hemingway, Aurelius, Seneca, Kant, Nietzche, and many more. In all I would estimate I read over 250 books.
Despite being Law, the First Step Act credits were not being applied. I watched as others should be done with their sentences, or at least Cares Act eligible, it was delay after delay with longer incarcerations for most. In early 2022 I knew I was going to pursue my release with a 2241 in the District Court, so I began the Administrative Process. My BP 8, 9, 10, and 11 all came back stating they were not going to award me any credits. With my Administrative Process complete I filed my 2241 in the Southern District of Georgia which became Walker v Fikes. Each mailing I would send home to Joanne and she would then overnight and require a signature for proof of delivery. After several filings back and forth with an Assistant U.S. Attorney, the Judge ordered my release to home confinement within 48 hours. The 2241 provided for my credits to be calculated and applied correctly reducing my 65 month sentence to 43 months. The U.S. Attorney informed my Unit Team on Friday April 21, 2023 that I was to be released on Monday April 24, 2023 to home confinement – my second goal had been completed – I was released 27 months after my incarceration – I was home 38 months sooner than expected.
Realization of Goal 1
On September 21, 2022 an officer walked into my cell area and proceeded to pack my belongings, handcuff me, and have me escorted inside the FCI compound to the Special Housing Unit. Almost 24 hours would pass before I was informed that I was being held in the SHU as a potential witness to an argument involving two officers at the Unicor warehouse. I had no phone or email permissions, all of my belongings were taken, and the commissary was restricted, preventing me from buying stamps and sending mail to Joanne. Joanne would call and nobody would explain anything – only that “Inmate Walker is under investigation.” The week prior to my birthday, staff inside the SHU announced that visits would be allowed on Tuesdays from 8am to 10am. Sure enough, as I suspected, Joanne was calling everyday and heard about the visits opening – and it would be on my birthday.
That morning as I walked into the visitation room Joanne was crying. I kept telling her I was fine, but she was upset because she could hear the shackles being removed from me on the other side of the door. Over the next two hours I explained everything that was going on, what the SIS Officers were questioning me about, and that once they finished their investigation they would be sending me back to the camp. During our visit we both came to a realization of what we wanted from this entire ordeal – I never wanted someone facing my situation to struggle through the unknowns – she never wanted a spouse, children, or family of someone going through this situation to struggle with their unknowns. After 51 days in the SHU I was released back to the camp on November 11, 2022. Turns out going to the SHU was divine intervention.
Before going to prison and during my time incarcerated I would always tell Joanne that this is not going to break me, defeat me, or damage me – I’m going to take this on the chin and move forward. As the experiences continued, it built a stronger energy and motivation within. Joanne and I were excited that the “old me” was a thing of the past, and a new exciting adventure awaited.
The foundation of my life is built on Christianity. We are to offer assistance to those in need, we are never given too much that we can’t handle, we will be rewarded double for what has been taken. Within this foundation of Christianity I’ve always applied concepts from Eastern Philosophies and Stoicism. Happiness is found in virtue, not things; we don’t control events, only our decisions and thoughts towards them; we need to eliminate fear and anger; always continue to progress; essentially “the obstacle is the way.”
I was released under the Cares Act, approximately 3 weeks before the conclusion of the program. If my Judge would have allowed me to report to prison after the holidays, I would have missed the Cares Act deadline. If I had waited to file my Administrative Remedies or 2241, I would have missed the Cares Act deadline. If the prosecutors didn’t establish their deadline to plead guilty, I would have missed the Cares Act deadline. If I would have gone to trial, the delays would have caused me to miss the Cares Act deadline. Missing that deadline would have kept me in prison until November 2023 at which time I would have been sent to a halfway house to reside for several months.
The answer to my first goal is clear: to offer assistance with prison reform in every capacity that is available. Whether it is pre sentencing, post sentencing, during incarceration, policies, BOP related, law related, programming, training, staffing, I am going to fully dedicate my efforts. For 25 years my priority was to chase the money, now it is time to make the priority to chase the cause. Joanne would tell me over and over “this is all happening for a reason, a good reason” – and she was right.
As Paul Harvey would say “And now you know…. The rest of the story.”
