Next Stop...Delta, Colorado

After one long but memorable night in Cell House 5, I was excited to find out that I was leaving the facility. There was a total of 8 guys leaving. They fed us hard boiled eggs and then put us back in belly chains and loaded us onto a bus. It was snowing and I couldn't help but slow my walk down and try to get some snow flakes on my tongue. It has been an underlying theme while I have been in prison has been how many little things I miss and took for granted. I miss seeing the sunrise and sunset every single day, I miss kissing Sallie and making her smile, I miss hugging and teasing my kids, I miss good food and a comfortable bed. I miss the times when I didn't have to be treated like a dangerous prisoner of the State of Colorado. While I am on my high horse here, let me just share one of the things I feel most guilty about-my phone. I've now been without my phone for 35 days and over this time I've realized just how stupidly attached to my phone I was. I have this vivid memory of my baby girl Lizza coming up to me to tell me about something that happened at school (this was about a week before my sentencing) and I just happened to be on my phone (just like the other 23 hours of the day). I can remember her  sweet, beautiful voice full of excitement telling me whatever she was saying and I pretended I was listening but was 100% immersed in whatever I was reading on my phone and I just kept saying, "uh huh, uh huh, uh huh". I want everyone who is reading this how much it breaks this Dad's heart to sit here today and have no idea what she told me. I would give anything to be able to have the memory of her cute, little voice telling me what she was so excited about. Apparently, something on that phone was more important than that lost conversation with my beautiful Elizabeth. From someone who now surfs memories instead of the internet to pass time-PUT DOWN YOUR PHONES! 

Back to the prison bus. We were able to ascertain from the 2 armed guards on the bus that we were headed to Delta, Colorado. This narrowed the possibilities of my final destination down to 2-Delta or Rifle. The trip to Canon City to Delta was actually very pretty-even with the window bars on the bus blocking the views. The inmates on the bus were segregated into medium and minimum security-unlike previous times, there were not any maximum security inmates on this bus. We took the bus to Buena Vista, CO where there is a medium security facility. We dropped off some inmates and also switched buses and were consolidated into a white school bus that was not as prison looking. As we were loading onto the smaller bus, they removed all of our hand and ankle cuff and let us know that they would no longer be required (due to everyone on the bus being minimum security inmates). It was an amazing feeling to no longer be in cuffs. After we loaded up, they gave us sack lunches (meat of unknown origin) and we began the drive from Buena Vista to Delta, Colorado.

It became immediately apparent that the heaters on the bus did not work. We were going up a very steep pass in a snowstorm with absolutely no heat. It was so so cold. My seat mate was just a little feller who was extremely skinny, probably 20 years old. The needle scars on his arms told the story that he was a heavy drug user. As the bus continued to get colder and colder (we could see our breath) I noticed that the young man kept moving closer and closer to me. He could see a big blob of warmth and he was going to get as close to me as possible. As he kept scooting closer, I kept scooting closer to the window-but obviously I had a finite amount of space. By the time I was out of space, it was so cold that I didn't care anymore and so we both leaned shoulders against each other.

By this time, most of the inmates had formed "couples" to stay warm. I started to fall asleep and had 2 thoughts

1) Do I have hypothermia and this is my body shutting down?

2) Do I dare fall asleep on a prison bus with another man in my arms?

As I didn't want to know the answer to either question, I stood up and walked up to the glass door separating us from the driver and the guards and knocked. The guard opened up the conversation hinge (small door) and I could immediately feel the warm air coming from the cab (I may have called them a name under my breath) and the guard said, "You alright? You look cold." I look cold huh, what gave it away? The blackening of my fingertips? The dead tissue on the end of my nose? He whispered something to the driver and I saw him reach down and flip a switch. Immediately a motor kicked on and warm air began flowing into the main part of the bus. I heard the driver say, "why didn't they tell us the heat wasn't on?" Touche I thought as I walked back to my seat.

You will be relieved to hear that once the heat was on, all the couples went our separate ways and all agreed never to talk about it again...but I never agreed not to write about it. :)

We arrived at the Delta Correctional Facility around 5 pm. It was obvious from the moment we approached the facility that it was unlike any of the other facilities that I had been privileged to visit. For one, there wasn't a kill fence or razor wire (the previous places were surrounded by massive fences to electrocute or seriously hurt anyone insane enough to try and escape) This place didn't have any fences at all. It kind of looked and felt like we were pulling into a small college campus. There was deer all over (I found out later that the inmates feed them so they are always hanging around). The problem with that is that deer are not supposed to eat chicken patties, beef stroganoff and wheat rolls. (Now that I write this, does the deer eating this food make them carnivores?  I digress.)  

Anyway, this wasn't really a prison in the traditional sense. They loaded us into a waiting room and had us get in line for the "sqough" on human vault inspection. I passed with a straight A-no pun intended- and we were taken to our rooms. The rooms are laid out just like a dormitory at any college. Instead of the bunk beds and sink/toilet that a traditional prison cell contained, there were 2 beds side by side, a desk and 2 closets. The doors are lockable with keys they give us-there was no computerized locking or slamming of cells. The "campus" if you will, contains 5 dorm units with a total of about 500 inmates. There is a library, gym, pool hall, barber shop, running track and softball field. Inmates are allowed to be out of their rooms for most of the day. You can buy TV's for your room and each room has basic cable. They gym has a full court basketball court, 20 xbox stations, and an outdoor weight set and a female cheerleading squad. There is a cafeteria where we eat all meals-complete with a fountain drink machine. The library has 2,000 books. After taking a tour of the facilities we were taken to the library for an orientation. I was informed that would be a "temporary" resident at the Delta Facility as sometime in the next 1-3 weeks I would be moved to Rifle, Colorado- I was excited to hear this because Rifle is only 3 hours from Denver vs Delta being 5 hours. I would be closer to Sal and the kids.

The minimum security "camps" are actually pretty well organized. They are setup in such a way that allows inmates to get their GED, Associates Degrees, job specific training, like welding, equipment operator, waste-water management, fire-fighting and BLM. As much I hate everything to do with being here, I can be objective enough to say that the Department of Corrections is at least trying to make inmates more prepared for life on the outside.

I've had alot of questions about what my typical day looks like. Because I am not at my final facility, my schedule is different than my fellow inmates. All inmates are required to have jobs during the day ranging from kitchen duties to laundry. Once I am in Rifle, I will also have a job, but for now, here is my current daily routine-

6:00 am-Wake up/headcount

6:30-Breakfast

7:30-Workout

9:00-Library-read/write

11:30-Lunch

12:30-Library-read/write

3:00-Workout

4:30-Free time (TV, phone)

5:30-Dinner

6:30-Gym (basketball, weights, xbox)

8:00- In room (reading, TV)

10:00-Lights out

I'm sure that if you could go back and ask teenage Brandon about this schedule it would have looked like Heaven. And although I'm grateful to not be locked in a cell anymore-I am so BORED! You can only workout and read so many books a day. But I do get to use the phones as much as I want. I love being able to call Sallie and the kids as much as I do. I'm also able to talk with Bouk and Bevin about Spartan and how it is doing so that makes my days pass a little easier.

I want to thank everyone for all the support that you have given me and my family. I have received over 100 letters since I have been in here (Yes, most have been from prison groupies that want me in their life after I get out)- even the guards have commented on how they have never had an inmate get so much mail! I have loved reading the letters-they have gotten me through some of the darkest days in here. I only get 2 envelopes a week from the prison so I have not been able to respond to everyone-and that kills me! I want to respond to all of you-but please know that just because I haven't responded does not mean I don't want too! Please keep writing, it means alot to me and Sal. 

I love you all-B  

Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas