Set May Way Free Ministries, Inc.
Fixed Address: 221 North Hogan Street, #141, Jacksonville, FL 32202
General Correspondence Address,: 428 South Shelton Beach Road, Eight Mile, AL 36613
Web Site: http://setmywayfreeministries.com

E-mail Address: www.setmywayfree87@gmail.com
Fax Number: (904) 355-4195
Message Phone: (904) 355-4190
Thomas Parnell, Executive Director James Gossaid, Administrative Secretary
Rev. Thomas Parnell, Director of Ministries
Please No Collect Calls Unless Previously Authorized By Our Director



GENERAL GREETINGS:

Dear Reader,

We are forwarding this basic information in hopes that we may make reference to your readers, our ministry, religious services, and inmate services. We hope that we may make a difference in your current plight and situation, but you the reader must understand that we are not in the miracle business, but can only do what the law allows, or what our resources may permit.

We provide all our ministry and religious services, free of charge, with the exception, we ask for a donation for production of our Eternal Flame, newsletter, which costs printing, mailing and handling. We, Set My Way Free, are not a non profit, we exist from our own funding, which we the staff and volunteers pay towards as, and this is our main focus, the ministry to those who need a hope for tomorrow!

We produce an inmate resources guide, have pen pal resource lists, all which we do ask a donation be sent to cover printing, maintaining the accuracy of these resources, and providing a small stipend to those inmates who help us maintain the accuracy of these resources.

If we are not able to assist our readers, or their families, we refer them to others who can, or if we have received any funds, we refund these less actual expenses. We also have an active complaint board to resolve any and all complaints or dissatisfactions. You may write us for any questions you may have!



Sincerely yours,
Dean Campbell
Executive Director

OUR MINISTRY THEORY

Today, confinement and long-term sentences are the norm for prisoners who are either not guilty or guilty of a lesser-included crime. It is estimated, now, that over 2.5 million citizens of the United States are behind bars either in jails, state correctional facilities, or federal prisons.

The initial process, the criminal justice system sets forth, every person accused of a crime, was entitled to quality representation and a proper workable defense. In fact, in the 1960’s, the US Supreme Court, under the holding of Gideon vs. Wainright, said every person accused of a criminal act, was entitled to have an attorney appointed to him for proper representation!

Today, in many states, defenseless, sometimes poorly educated citizens are convicted, while their appointed counsel does nothing to help them! The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution as well as the 14th Amendment, which covers state police powers, entitles an accused to a fair and impartial trial process.

The criminal process begins with an arrest, indictment, and goes from a preliminary hearing, to a certified indictment and a criminal trial, if one doesn’t go for a deal first!

In our society, a person stands before a bar of justice, innocent until proven guilty, unless a confession of guilt is made in open court! If the accused lacks quality representation, where is justice served? When is the public vindicated? Where is their public well being?

In many states, the number one state employer is the correctional system. In many states, like Texas, for example, there are many small towns on a waiting list, waiting for a prison to open so it can employ the town’s folk. Studies in correctional management have found warehousing of former citizens does nothing to reduce or even eliminate crime, if anything, it enhances it! State statistics shows many repeat offenders offend simply because they have no outside resources to keep them clean!

The death penalty is also a major mover in which justice is seldom served. In some states, people are killed who are innocent, always maintain their actual innocence, and usually are proven innocent after serving many hard and terminal years behind bars!

Many families when they loose a family member in death, they grieve their losses for a short period and than move on with their lives! When a family looses a family member to confinement, they simply don’t know how to react, many just give up!

There are few places a family can turn for counseling or have a place where their hopes are restored, hoping their loved ones will soon return to their families and friends.

Besides, the initial trial, many prisoners endure the appellate process, and many years of higher court scrutiny which either reduces their sentences or just simply affirms what already, the injustice was done in lower courts!

In like manner, many prisoners, who receive a short or intermediate sentence, become eligible for parole. Parole is a contractual commitment between the state correctional authority and the prisoner, that upon release, he or she will abide by a certain set of rules, a written two party contract.

Probation is a contractual commitment between the court, the prosecutor, and the prisoner, that upon release, he or she will abide by terms and conditions preset by the court, for his or her release. In many instances, neither works because the authority demands more than the prisoner or his families are able to give, and thus a relapse, revocation!

In many states, prisoners return to the Courts, upon violation of probation, or to prison, upon violation of parole, because no one would work with them or give them an opportunity for change or a chance for employment!

A HOPE FOR TOMORROW


Set My Way Free, A Hope for Tomorrow, wants to help. The reader must understand, we can’t make promises nor work miracles. We are not lawyers, but volunteers who want to help because we care! Since we aren’t attorneys, we can therefore, not give legal advice.

Many prisoners today have no hope. Hope is something we take for granted, but a loved one in prison, frequently forgets after serving a little time, or a long-term sentence.

Many prisoners serve their time a day at a time, not either a month or a year at a time. Many write letters receive many promises, but little action. So our first premise, we don’t make promises, or promises to work miracles.

We simply say, we will try and help! We want to provide any help we can, we always strive to make a brighter future, and a better tomorrow. We provide ministry services, which help the prisoner take a look at himself, provide an avenue to vent off their respective anger for placement in a penal system.

We provide many resources such as pen pal resources, prisoner references which provide a multitude of places a prisoner may write to find help for whatever he believes will help him make his time go faster, and provide an avenue for resource once he is released.

We have contracted with many prisoners who help maintain our resources, and act as guides for other services which they believe would become effective in assisting the prisoner do his time, and look for development upon release.

Our primary goal in providing ministry resources is to ensure the prisoner keeps himself busy, complete his time, and prepare for his eventual release should that become possible, or to assist long term prisoners deal with the prolong time in the penal environment.

Our primary focus is supporting the Gospel of Christ to those who will receive our ministry. Our primary reason for providing our inmate services is the concept Jesus used when he conducted his ministry upon the earth.

In many cases, before He could tell others about his ministry, He had, in many cases, had to heal the sick, before the people were receptive to his ministry. Our concept is followed along those lines.

We try to help the prisoner or his family with the services we provide this may or may not open an opportunity for ministry. To that extent, we do charge for our inmate services, to help offset our ministry goals. We don’t force our beliefs upon others, but make them available for those who would care to share our concern for their souls!
HOW TO USE OUR SERVICES


When you want our support, you need to write us, and specify what department you are writing to, and if you are seeking religious or ministry services, that should be distinct and separate from any requests from the Inmate Services Bureau.

If we believe you are just fishing, not really looking for assistance, as outlined above, we will write and inform you that, and you may receive a preprinted form letter, which will direct you to some other provider!

We read carefully each letter we receive and try and ascertain what, if anything we can do to help the writer, or his family. If we determine that we can’t assist you, we will so reply, sending you a return letter, along with any exhibits or attachments you may have sent us.

Our primary address where you should send your subsequent replies are: 221 North Hogan Street, #141, Jacksonville, Florida 32202. When replying please be sure to address the respective department or ministry you wishing help from.

In Closing


We hope we have expressed ourselves in a proper and efficient manner. If you want and can take advantage of our services as outlined here and in our separate attachment, please write, tell us your needs! However, if you are looking for legal advice or representation, we are sorry we can’t provide these services. May God richly bless and keep you!

Sincerely yours,
Dean Campbell
Executive Director

Ministry Needs, Prisoner Restorational Services, Write us, we want to help you make a difference!

Today parole is a very critical step in the post release plan. In order to have an effective parole plan, it is very important that the planner begin early in his confinement to consider where he will live, what he will do, and how he will enter act with society, after release.

The parole board, or it’s equivalent, has an outlook of you from your institutional file, but they don’t know you by face or by record, until their representative actually sees you in person.

When that person, whom ever they may be sees you it is too late to have an effective parole plan. That is why early planning is very important if you the parolee are to have an equal consideration.

We have enclosed, a couple handouts, which explain the importance about having an effective parole plan. We must first, say, that we can’t guarantee to you that with our assistance the board will immediately grant you parole or some other post release plan!

That would be very foolish of anybody to claim or even guarantee. What an effective parole plan does guarantee is that you will have another view, which the whole board may consider upon voting, or the board may consider if they physically visit and consider you for parole in your institution.

What we do is to provide you assistance from society to prepare you for release and to ensure you have an effective plan for the board to consider.

Many prisoners want to relocate to another jurisdiction within their state, or to have an interstate transfer considered if they are granted approval for release. We will work with you, your family to ensure that you have at least two favorable places to be considered by the board for parole release.

A very important part of the parole plan is where are you going to live, what type of job are you considering, and what other steps are you going to take to ensure a complete success and not returning to prison.

Most boards use a voting process and they must determine from what they read whether you have served enough time on your sentence, will you commit another crime upon release, whether you will reintegrate back into society with very limited fan-fair.

Our Inmate Services will work with you to determine what steps you must incorporate into your plan to ensure you have an effective plan. In addition, we will work with you or your family member, or outside resource to locate a suitable place for parole planning, potentials for jobs, employment and what agencies are available for you upon your release.

Just approval by the board, only begins the process, which can last for months, or even years, depending upon your sentencing order, institution recommendations or even your parole or probation officer upon release.

Quite frankly, there are very few agencies which will assist a returning parolee without some initial notification of your release and what services you will need upon release.

Our Inmate Services will work with you from initial parole consideration until you have the tools, which will ensure that you have at least a fighting chance in society.

There are many costs involved with this process, as we must act as your Administrative Agent until your release when you can begin to make your own decisions.

With recent changes in the laws, society has now deemed it important that verification processes be considered when assisting a returning parolee. We can’t make these processes work, until you’re actual release, but we can obtain a general power of attorney and assist you with many of these processes.

In light of the Patriot Act, we can’t open bank accounts for you, nor secure a driver’s license for you. But we can assist you in obtaining social security records, birth certificates if necessary, just to name a few services we can assist you with.

For fees, we have included our Inmate Services pricing guide, which covers all the services we provide though this service. Each prisoner considered for parole has a unique situation, and every one will have the same or similar requirements. Each is determined individually, and nothing in these processes are taken for granted or begun with written permission each step by the prisoner, family member, or outside agent or resource.

Sincerely yours,
Dean Campbell
Executive Director