A nice p.o.?

Now that I have completed house arrest, I will be on probation for the next two years. I must admit that I was less than excited to meet with my probation officer.

During the course of any criminal case, the presiding judge orders what's called a pre-sentencing report. Well, the person who completed mine was less that objective. Keep in mind prior to the accident, I had no prior criminal history. I had been on my job for five years and I had several people writing letters on my behalf. In spite of that, she recommended that I received the maximum sentence--8 years! Fortunately, the judge completely disagreed. What I did receive was 5 years. Three suspended, serve two. In Indiana we have a 2 for 1 program, so in essence as long as I behaved myself I would only serve 12 months.

Well, I served 9 of the 12 months in prison and the last 3 were completed on house arrest. My probation officer was surprised that I received any time at all, given my lack of criminal history. She is not the first person to make that statement. Long story, short; she was very personable and encouraged me to pursue correcting a blatant wrong. More on that later.

I was so floored that the experience went as well as it did, I'm still not sure it happened. It was a pleasant twist in a humbling experience.