My name is David COPAS, inmate number is A649-307 and I am was given a total of 85 years to life. The Judge said I would get out after 30 years. I get to CRC and was told I had 85 mandatory years, so I would not get out in 30 years. I talk to the legal aide and he told me that my case was not done right, he had someone to get in touch with me and they did my first appeal. Here I am sitting here in prison for a crime I did not do and had 85mandatory years to do before going in front of the parole board. I was 40 years old and had faith in the system, boy was I wrong.
I was sent to LECI prison on 9/7/2011. I spent seven years there. On my first appeal I was order back to court for fact finding and resenting. The judge ask me if I want the jury or him to do the fact finding, I told him I want the jury. He ask me several times and every time I answer him the same way the jury. He deny me the right for the jury to do the fact finding. So he gave me 40 to life this time and he said I will fix your wagon. He knew that I was going appeal again. He gave me a lawyer out of Cambridge, she would not do what I ask. She still have some of my discovery and will not mail it to me. I am stuck for now.
My mother and uncle Joe pasted away in 2014, they was trying to help me as much they could. My mother would put $200 on my books every six months, I did not know she was using her money for her medicine, instead of buying the medicine she need. So now I feel that I help to kill my own mother. People do not understand what help mean in here. My sisters said they would help me, one has help me a little. Inmates would tell their love ones show me the love, which means give me money. I have seen inmates get up to $500 a month from their family to buy drugs and other things in here. Here I sit wanting help to get this paralegals course that cost $800 so I can be a certified paralegal and maybe $20 to buy hygiene and little bit of food. Yet I can not get the right help.
I see guys who family give them so much money and they waste it on things like drugs and gambling. Here if I would get some money I would use it to do courses to learn the law and to help me to make a better life on the outside. I do like to help others also. I can see that money help to keep people out of prison, if I had money for a paid lawyer I would not be here. There is a lot of people in here that should not be here. The system did not just fail me, it has failed everyone. For the system failing is mine and everyone fault, we let it to get this way. We need to fix it and it will be hard work, we should not allowed it to continued to happen.
I would like to THANK SUZIE JENNINGS for doing this blog website. This give us the opportunity to reach out to the community. By doing this blog I can informed the public about all the wrong that is going on in the judicial systems. I am going to do many blogs from what is wrong to how the prison life effect me and my love ones. My goal is to become a certified paralegal, so I can help my self and others. By me helping others I can give back to the community. I just filed my first motion on my own and the court granted it, the motion was community service in lieu of court cost and finds, and it save me $11,000.00.. Again I want to Thank You Mrs. Jennings for given us this opponent to do these blogs. May Allah bless you and your family. I also want to think everyone who has help me out also.
DAVID COPAS #A649-307
SCI
5900B.I.S. ROAD
LANCASTER, OHIO 43130
