Ned Roscoe Goes To Federal Prison Today

So, today is the day. Last week, Ned sent an E-Mail to his friends and supporters. Here is a selection:

Preparation: If you’re interested, examine the course materials for SERE. Read Slavery by Another Name, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner by Douglas Blackmon. The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has been called the most important nonfiction book of the last hundred years. There’s a lot to be learned from William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, from the Manzanar literature, and from Cullen Murphy’s recent book on the Inquisition, God’s Jury. When Governor Blagojevich was incarcerated, the Chicago Tribune gave him excellent advice.

...Appeal: Notices of appeal have been filed for the sentence and the restitution. The next step is that transcripts are made and appellate counsel is appointed. I expect to have very little participation in that process. Don’t expect the cavalry to ride in or for justice to be done, any more than you should expect the tides to stop at the king’s command. When I was sentenced, I tried to correct some of the obvious points that were wrong in the record without getting huffy. If you’d like a copy of my allocution, send me an e-mail. It is good to tell the truth in all matters.

Going to camp: From Scouts, I know, when going to camp, concentrate on camping. Boys who call home really suffer. Boys who have parents visit lose the entire benefit of camping. What I know about setting up refugee camps is that one must begin with an initial assessment before services are delivered, no matter how pressing the need. I know from my time with the Nation of Islam that people should be treated like the kings and queens they are. Scouts may have heard me say A positive mental attitude is essential to success.

Coming Back: I’ll see you in 2016 if not earlier. If you want a biblical parallel, read Acts 20. The Lord is not done blessing me, or you either. Now, as the ship sails out of the harbor, think of Henley: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” I hope that you’ll be able to say “I know the happiest man in the federal prison system. He is my favorite felon” and about my family “best thing that ever happened to them.” I am confident I will speak with pride and admiration about you and your deeds.

Tennyson wrote:

“Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Ned

I asked Ned about his allocution. Allocution is defined as:

Generally, to allocute in law means "to speak out formally." In the field of apologetics, allocution is generally done in defense of a belief. In politics, one may allocute before a legislative body in an effort to influence their position on an issue. In law, it is generally meant to state specifically and in detail what one did and for what reason, often in relation to commission of a crime.

Allocution is sometimes required of a defendant who pleads guilty to a crime in a plea bargain in exchange for a reduced sentence. In this instance, allocution can serve to provide closure for victims or their families. In principle, it removes any doubt as to the exact nature of the defendant's guilt in the matter.

Because of the complicated nature of crime Ned is convicted of, and the references to other people and documents, I find it impossible to fully understand. Nevertheless, here is a sampling:


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