Eduardo L Valdes
02499-506
FCI Miami
Release Plan
September 9, 2024
I am putting together this release plan to better prepare myself throughout my time in prison for the day I am granted a chance to reenter society and have the possibility to show I am a transformed person and will never allow myself to commit another crime. I want to start by thanking Prison Professors for building this profile and guiding me through steps in which will help me live a better crime-free lifestyle.
Though I am not currently eligible for any credits beyond “GTC” (Good Time Credits), I continue taking advantage of any course available to me and retain that knowledge for my future.
From day one of my arrest, I was not only ashamed and embarrassed but also disgusted with myself. I knew I was guilty from the start and provided all evidence to law enforcement showing that I accepted any and all responsibility for my mistakes. I know this remorse was not enough for anyone involved to forgive me and now my family and loved ones are unfairly suffering due to my actions. Since arriving at FCI Miami in mid 2023, I have been very grateful for being assigned to my Unit Team and thank God continuously for it, as they are the first positive support I need to succeed while incarcerated.
I am preparing this release plan as a tool that will provide information on how I am preparing for a successful crime-free lifestyle upon release. This release plan will include the following information:
1. Identifying Information 6. Financial Obligations
2. Projected Release Planning 7. Risk and Needs Assessment
3. Making Amends 8. Personal Plan
4. Community Support 9. Advisors
5. Medical Needs and Substance Abuse
Identifying Information:
Name: My name is Eduardo Luis Valdes and my prison registration number is 02499-506.
Date of Birth: I was born on April 16, 1986, and I am currently 38 years old.
Today’s Date: I began writing this plan on November 11, 2023, but have updated it and am sharing it as of September 9, 2024.
Sentence Length: United States District Judge Jose E Martinez, sentenced me to serve a 240-month sentence, followed by Lifetime Supervised Release.
Arrest Date and Location: I was arrested on September 15, 2021 in Hialeah, FL and was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Miami, FL.
Projected Release Planning:
As I grew as a professional in my career, I learned to always prepare a plan before going forward with anything in life. From the first few weeks of incarceration, my mentality has been to plan ahead and prepare myself to live a crime-free, successfeul lifestyle upon my release. I have a loving, caring family that needs me as much as I need them, and by creating this plan it will help me show them and others how I have used my time in prison successfully and taken the time to prepare myself for better things. Once arriving at my designated prison, FCI Miami, I learned that I am currently ineligible for any time credits outside of good conduct time, which is 15% of my total sentence, and possibly unable to do the end of my sentence at a “Halfway House”. Everything I was promised by my attorney before signing my plea deal, that I would help me reduce my physical time inside prison. That does not stop me from pushing forward and progressing in a positive manner and helping others along the way. As of today, September 9, 2024, I am scheduled to serve another 169 months.
In my initial classification, twelve days after arriving at FCI Miami, I signed my FRP (Financial Responsibility Payment) plan and show a General risk level of LOW with 17 points, and a violent risk level of 9 points. I completed my Admission and Orientation on May 24, 2023 and had already been working as a library clerk for nearly 2 weeks. As of June 23, 2023 I was hired on by Unicor as a sewer with possibilities for more pay, and within a week I was promoted over to the Quality Assurance team. In July 2023, I was promoted to the position of Material Handler and was responsible for the inventory and movement of material for the Hand Grenade Pouch project. Starting October 30, 2023 I was promoted to work with the group in the material cage, handling the inventory and preparing material in accurate quantities for each upcoming project. I was also assigned to the work detail “Suicide Companion” from August 2023 until July 2024 and was there to help support and watch over several inmates in their worst of moments.
On October 19, 2023 I had my 6 month program review with my Unit Team. My General Risk Level continues to show as LOW but the points have dropped from 17 to 10, and my Violent Risk Level dropped to a MINIMUM, from 9 points to 4 points. Still I am considered to be ineligible for any credit time beyond good conduct time but that does not stop me from pushing forward and continuously doing the right thing and prove to myself and others that I am no longer, and will never again be the person I was when I committed my offense, especially as I am following a new path in life, living by the word of God, translating in the chapel for the Christian services, which has also allowed me to learn more and more from the Bible.
As of today September 9, 2024, I am incident free, working in the chapel, enrolled in 5 courses throughout the compound, building my relationship with God and with my family, staying away from any negativity and/or problems.
Making Amends:
I understand I have a responsibility in my life to find a way to make things as right as possible. During my time in prison, I will make amends by staying humble, practicing honesty, follow rules, stay away from conflicts, respect others and continue finding ways to better myself. Using what I learn from programs and mentors like my Unit Team, Psychology and the Chaplains, I know I will reenter society as a transformed, law-abiding, productive citizen and patriot to this great country.
Living in society, I thought I could have been the perfect citizen, paying taxes on time, helping others in need without ever asking for anything in return, and working hard, but being in prison, it has given me the time to think about everything I could have done differently to help me stay away from hurting others the way I have.
I want to make things right, I know I can, I know I will. I am very fond of a Bible verse, in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for human beings”. If I live my life according to that verse, and others, I know I will be a better person than I ever was.
I hope others will see my current circumstances and consider the entirety of my life. As of today September 1, 2024, I am 38 years old, am near to completing my Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, and am in extreme regret for my actions and the consequences that they have entailed. From the bottom of my heart I pray that someday soon, my crime-free lifestyle that I lived before these unfortunate incidents occurred be considered, and my commitment to service and loyalty to this country.
I accept the full weight of my actions as I have from the very beginning, and affirm my deep remorse, acknowledging the pain and harm I have caused. I am aware of how wrong I was and I carry all the guilt with a heavy heart.
Coming from a God fearing family, we have always had God in our hearts. Before coming to prison, a close friend of mine, (Mr. Bermudez), constantly invited me to his church, but I always made up an excuse. I know God allowed my coming to prison, as a chance to look back and see everything He has done for me, yet I never made time for Him. It is said you should not make promises to God, unless you are sure you will fulfill that promise. I have made a few promises to Him since my incarceration and I know that with His guidance and by me building the relationship with Him, I will fulfill my promises, help me refelct on life and see my time in prison as a path to redemption. While in prison, I plan to do all in my power to make amends for the wrong I have done and look for ways to use my skills and knowledge in a positive and lawful manner. I will continue to contribute to the community in prison and plan to do the same in society, to provide some measure of restitution for the harm I have caused.
I know deep down that what I have done caused loss of trust and caused harm. I hope and pray that someday I could rebuild that trust through consistent actions that prove I am a transformed person. I know that I will turn my remorse into a meaningful transformation and am assured that my future actions reflect the lessons I have learned from this painful experience.
The charge against me read: United States of America v Eduardo Luis Valdes. For that reason I feel it is up to me to apologize to every citizen of this great country. During my prison term, I intend to work toward reconciling and will continue living in service upon release.
Community Support:
I intend to live at home with my mother, step-father and grandmother once I am authorized to do so. Our home is located in Miramar, FL. We have lived in the home since the year 2000, it is a quiet community where everyone on the same street knows and cares for one another. I understand that my situation could be a bit of a conflict for some and if need be my family is ready to move wheree it will be more accepting of me.
Medical Needs and Substance Abuse:
At the age of 29 I was diagnosed with a Stage 4, Hodgkins/Non-Hodgkins Cancer Lymphoma and in 2016 underwent a stem-cell transplant. I will forever be considered to be compromised, and need to be extremely careful in not getting sick because my immune system will never again respond as a normal persons would. After my transplant it was found I have scar tissue blocking proper blood flow into the heart and therefore will need to be properly monitored, and one day have stents put in to open the veins for proper flow. I was never a heavy substance abuser, but only tried smoking marijuana after my cancer treatments and did not like it, therefore never continued it.
Financial Obligations:
Upon receiving my first program review from my Unit Team on May 10, 2023, I signed a Financial Responsibility form and am currently paying $25 per quarter towards my financial obligation of $25,500. As of November 15, 2023 I have setup to have 10% of the money I make from working here at the institution. I want to also put in writing that I have obligated myself, upon release, to save enough money to pay off any and all fines and/or restitution, plus pay back my family for whatever money they have spent helping me and supporting me while incarcerated.
Risk and Needs Assessment:
During my pre-trial time at FDC Miami, I completed a “SPARC-13” survey that is required to help staff measure 13 factors that can influence criminal behavior. From the 13 factors only 3 were assigned to me as being needed.
– Family/Parenting: Successfully Completed in August of 2024.
– Substance Abuse: EXEMPT from this course being I successfully completed the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program.
– Trauma: On the waitlist as I have suffered several traumas in my life and hope to get a good study out of this course.
Personal Plan:
Since being in prison, I have built my relationship with my parents and closest family members. I have continuously practiced being more humble and have been helpful and respectful to all BOP staff. During my near 15 months at FDC Miami I helped various inmates who are not computer literate, certain that do not speak or understand English, became a mentor to others which allowed for a positive and stress free environment in our assigned dorm. As I became a part of the chapel group, I would translate for those preaching the word of God, which helped me get closer to His scripture, understand it and help build my vocabulary.
While in FCI Miami, I have been the Chapel translator, and now am the orderly for nearly 7 months. Never before have I spoken through a microphone, let alone speak to a crowd of fifty-plus people. This has helped me build confidence and healthy casual relationships with other inmates. As of recent, I have been asked to sing in both the English and Spanish Christian services, which has been another huge fear of mine, but I have overcome it, and thankfully, I have received positive feedback on it.
In almost 17 months that I have been here at FCI Miami, I have successfully completed nearly 20 courses, am working for the chaplains, and soon will be completing my enrollment with an outside university to fulfill my Bachelors in Science in Business Administration, as I have a little over 40 credits left to be complete. I plan to take full advantage of my time in prison to better myself in all aspects of my life, to provide for a successful crime-free lifestyle upon my reentry into the community.
Advisors:
I have collaborated with my mother and father in developing this release plan. They will be my partners in staying accountable and remaining true to my plan because after release, I never again want to be considered an inmate and see the inside of a prison as an inmate. I will continue to evolve the plan as I receive guidance from my unit team.
Federal Prison: Federal Correctional Institute Miami
Unit Manager: Mr. Matthews
Case Manager: Mr. Kost
Counselor: Mr. Cornavaca
Work Detail Supervisor: Institution Chaplains
