Hi, my name is Nicholas Kloepfel, but my friends call me Nick.Washington state is where i call home.Im 42 years old and this is my third prison sentence(hopefully my last).I did a few years in the state system in Washington, but this is my second federal sentence.My current sentence is for firearms, and i was given an upward departure based on my being in prison for 15 years and that being the reason my criminal history was lower, as well as my refusal to cooperate in a case I wasn’t even involved in, not because the crime i committed was so agregious or my history is any different then others similarly situated.But my previous federal sentence was for drug trafficking, which i was given 17 years.I served 15 years total on that sentence, mostly in U.S.P Pollock and U.S.P. Florence, I was even there with Ross Ulbright. I was released to the halfway house in 2022 and to supervised release in 2023. Unfortunately i use to be affiliated with a gang/organization and i wasted most of that sentence being involved in prison politics and the misguided belief system of “do your time, forget the streets”,not thinking about my future, and if I’m being honest not believing i had much of a future anyways. Near the end of my sentence i made a step in the right direction and walked away from the gang life.I didn’t tell on anyone, I just walked away.This was a decision i believe to be one of the best I’ve ever made in my life.But what I wasn’t prepared for or understand was the mental health struggles i would encounter from a decade in a half in prison.I didn’t even know how to use a phone! So i definitely didn’t know how to get help or how to overcome these overwhelming struggles.On top of that i was an addict but didn’t believe i was, I thought i could control my addiction, that it wasn’t a problem. I was wrong! I used drugs essentially to self medicate and i ended up allowing my addiction and my mental health struggles to direct my life. So even though i walked away from the gang and made a step in the right direction, I didn’t fully commit to changing my life 100%.Which ended me back where I’m at today.But since I’ve been incarcerated this past year and a half I’ve made a commitment to wholeheartedly change my life and making real progress towards a positive and productive life for me and my family.I started taking mental health counseling ,got properly medicated, and started attending a/a meetings weekly with outside volunteers.Which helped me understand my addiction.I also started taking correspondence course through Stratford career institute for social work/psychology. Because I’m planning to work towards helping at risk youth and others like me who have struggled through poverty, addiction, and street life. I believe i have a lot to offer kids who may be at risk to falling victim to street life, and id like to use my experiences and life to guide them and help them find a different path, show them that there is a better way. Ive also completed the preparing for success after prison course and many others through edovo. My next goal is to acquire an associates degree through a college correspondence course, so i can have the education i need to succeed in helping the youth and others. Im very much committed to making this my last prison sentence and using this time to prepare for a new life. After all those years of my last sentence, I was lost and unprepared for the real world without the structure of the penitentiary. I refuse to make that mistake again! So thank you again to prison professors and Micheal santos for giving me this opportunity to share my story and allowing me to be a part of your community!
