Reginald Clytus, a truth in sentencing prisoner

Reginald Clytus #

Reginald Clytus, OCI 

485952


GBCI; PO Box 19033

Green Bay. Wi 54307



My name is Reginald but everybody calls me Reggie. I'm 23 years old. I'm Milwaukee, Wisconsin born and raised in the North Lawn housing projects in the north side I'm the youngest of three boys. I'm from a single parent home, raised by my mother in a two bedroom unit. My mother tried her best to keep me and my brother out of the street life. But as it is well known, fast money, cars, and girls is always going to look better that the hard work. My mother was determined not to lets us fall through the cracks and become victims of the streets or "another number in the system " To make a long story short, both my older brothers have graduated high school, one is in college now and the other is managing a small business. As for me, I was a friend with the wrong people. My name come up in some investigation in some gang stuff and as a result of that I got locked up my senior year of high school with 7 months left till graduation. Kind of funny when you think about it? I been trying to build up my spirits and find my self since the day the handcuffs locked on my wrist. But I can't help but see the lost souls that are around me and the people that just gave up on their life. This is the hell I encounter on a day to day, basics: outside of small food portions, two showers a week, and the heating on here only 6 hours a day on segregation. This isn't for me- this life behind bars, never seeing family, never choosing when I want to eat or what I want to do with my days.

I tried out these so called jailhouse lawyers and was scammed out of my money. Crime doesn't stop when you go to prison. I stay to myself and have been trying to put legal cases and things together ever since and I'm not very good at it. I was forced into signing a statement, my rights were violated and I was railroaded every step of the way. The first so called lawyer never told me when I had a hearing coming up, never talked to my people about where I was at the time of the crime. He advised me not to testify on my behalf at the Miranda good child hearing because it would hurt me at trial. He did everything in his power to destroy me and I paid for him. I got on to what he was doing so I wrote the bar association and fired him. Well, the next lawyer took over my case and said she could get none of those hearings back and we would have to go to trial like that. A month later she came to me with a plea from the DA and said I was getting 10 years in prison and 5 years out. At first I didn't want to take the deal because I know you hear this alot but I didn't do it, I wasn't there. But she said because of the statement I can't get my hearing back I took the so called deal. That was anything but what I received- 25 years in prison and 10 years out under the truth in sentencing law. I didn't know about capped deals , appeals , motions, or anything like that . I don't know the justice system because I don't break the law.. But come on, because of who I know and the side of the town I live on makes me another worthless kid from the ghetto. Not true.



We are transferring this story from another blog > Here are Questions and answers for that blogs comment section:

“ if you agreed to 10 how you get 25? how much of the 25 do you have to serve before release? what was the crime you pleaded guilty to?

Answer:

1) I found out later that the judges didn't have to agree to a plea because there was no cap on it. A cap is when all parties come together and say "we are going to do this"... Without one, the judge can do what he/she feels. That's how I got 25 when I agreed to 10.

2)I pled guilty to 2nd degree reckless homicide.



Further comments :TO further explain how this works, I have to do 25 years of 25 years. That’s how truth in sentencing works . Have you ever heard of 25 to life? That means you have to do at least 25 before you get out. The only difference is that it is not parole when you get out.



I know I answered your questions for the most part but there is more to the story and more to me. . I was not putting out my story as a sad story trying to get sympathy, I was trying to show how the justice system works. Not everybody is innocent but not everybody is guilty either. . Get back at me , I am good people.



I was 18 years old when I came to prison. This is my 5th year. In Milwaukee 17 is the adult adage so I wasn’t waived from one court to another. I went straight to adult court.