We are seeking supporters of our petition, one that supports rehabilitation over incarceration in Louisiana, America's prison capital of the world.

Please help us free Stephen and get him the help he needs! 30 years is to long of a sentence for an addiction!
Hi there and thank you for taking the time out to hear my story and for signing my

petition if you so see fit, My name is Stephen James Hagin # 44775-177

and I am serving a 365 month sentence in the federal system, I am not

even 365 months old. This is a first for me so if I jump around please

excuse me. I'm currently living in Pollock, LA incarcerated at the

Pollock Federal Correctional Institute. I was born May 20th, 1984 in

Oklahoma City, OK then moved to Jacksonville, FL were my little brother

was born, Soon after my father moved to Ft.Worth, TX were he was

arrested I guess, But he died in 1991. I had tried to wake him up but it

didn't work. It was my first time seeing a dead person let alone it

being my father. So my wonderful mother Gail was left in this world with

her two sons who she loves and has done everything she could for us. I

had an excellent childhood, I never went without nor did my little

brother Eddie, Fast forward a few years to when I started using drugs,

the downfall of my life. I started just as all the books say marijuana

in middle school with neighborhood kids. I played sports growing up,

mainly football. Once i hit high school things really turned for me. My

childhood best friend Chad Riffle and I were high on xanax and that led

to many lost days, nights and months. I went from smoking pot to

drinking and popping pills. Then onto snorting coke and smoking crack.

Which lead my mother to sending me far away to Georgia with family to

get me away from everything, hoping my family could help straighten me

up. But I wasn't ready to be done yet. My drug addiction took over there

too so after 6-9 months I was forced to move back to Texas. I still

don't know why but I ended up quitting using coke. I assume it was the

meth. That is were my life took the ultimate turn and what I thought was

heaven. how could something so little last so long? I first started

using hardcore in 2002 and when i was using it wasn't no one night

stand. I went peddle to the metal. I went 2 1/2 years of using before I

was busted by the police. were i had started to really get s**t for

people to supply my habit. I've always been the middle man, trying to

get high for free, well the first time turned into a domino effect cause

I was busted after several other times, With small amounts, no more

than a couple grams, I finally hit rock bottom and went to prison for

the first time, My lawyer told me "Son do I have a hell of a deal for

you. How does 5 years sound?" I thought great, it was the least I could

get. He fed me some papers thru the slot and I signed, So I went to

prison ands did 23 months and came up for parole, I asked the officer if

they could assign me to a drug treatment program and she actually told

me no I didn't have enough time. So 3 months later I was set free. When I

got out the old friends came around and life re-writes itself. I'm back

to using meth, 155 days later I am locked back up and once again my

lawyer spits the same story to me, 5 years. So this time i do 48 months

and still no drug treatment ever in my life, even after asking for it

multiple times. Once again I don't qualify and I am released again back

into the public. I found a job, had an amazing support system behind me

and i still was dragged back into this crazy life of addiction. Now I

don't know if I would have been cured by getting treatment or if it

would have changed me at all. But I do know that after being sentenced

to 365b months, Ill never know if it would have helped me because of

what the judge gave me. So after I was arrested on my current charges on

1-5-12 I went to county because it was a state case, there were NO feds

involved at all. They discharged my sentence and I was awaiting to make

bail on my parole violation and then 2 weeks later the feds showed up

and took me away. For what i do not know, still don't understand. Why

did they wait so long? Why me, and here I now sit with a 365 month

sentence for being a career drug user and no help in sight still. The

rest of my story is yet to be wrote. I am appealing to the courts to get

my sentence reduced and be put into a drug treatment program so I can

get help and learn to conquer my addiction. Please help me raise

awareness that maximum mandatory sentencing is wrong and when you ask

for help but get denied that no one can change on their own, Everyone

needs a helping hand sometimes, If we did this then there wouldn't be as

many drug users in prison as there are now,

Thank you for your time and compassion, Stephen James Hagin