How to Respect the Law

Will incarceration promote respect for the law? I immediately recognized this was going to be an interesting conversation about mitigating our marriage when my wife rolled her eyes. I was fearless, shrugged my shoulders and asked the obvious, “Would you like to take this one?” She didn’t hesitate, “Yes!” This is how we mitigated:

Wife: “Do you respect the law?”

Married Felon: “I have always respected the law, and I’ve always obeyed the law. I thought I was obeying the law when I applied for the SBA loans. It wasn’t clear to me how I could be breaking the law at the time.”

Wife: “Prove it.”

Married Felon: “I followed the rules to the best of my ability. The SBA didn’t offer much guidance at the time. I gleaned some guidance from the frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the SBA website. I read the rules, FAQ and double checked my work at the Rocketlawyer website. Every indicator suggested I qualified. I used the ‘Schedule of Liabilities’ form provided by the SBA to help me identify qualified expenses. I applied for a loan for each of the businesses hoping a few would get approved, and then I waited on the SBA to make a decision. I never imagined apply for a loan at the SBA could morph into a criminal prosecution. Especially, after the government said we couldn’t evict anyone.”

Wife: “What were the qualified expenses?”

Married Felon: “It was payroll, paid leave, mortgage and rent, business debt and increased costs due to disruption. The approved costs were expanded later by the SBA, but I’ve already pled guilty.”

Wife: “You told me what you did, but how do you respect the law?”

Married Felon: “I don’t have anything to hide. I’ve been fully cooperating the whole time. I’ve answered every question the SBA asked me, I gave them all the information they asked about including proof of insurance, I even cooperated with the Secret Service when they ambushed you. I’ve been fully cooperating with the prosecution, the court, the probation office, the marshal office and most important I put my money where my mouth is by paying every penny of restitution before I 'm sentenced.”

Wife: “Do you think your actions speak louder than words?”

Married Felon: “It’s unmistakable. I think it’s a bad idea to owe money to the government that wants to send me to prison. The best way to respect the law is to obey the plea agreement I signed. I will show respect to the judge, prosecutor and all the officials in prison. I never imagined I would be forced to defend myself against criminal charges, but I will because I believe in the rule of law.”

Wife: “Do you think prison will promote respect for the law?”

Married Felon: “No, I never stopped respecting the law in the first place. I believe prison is a huge waste of precious government resources, destructive to you as the wife of a married felon, your parents who trusted me to take care of them, vendors I’ve been working with all these years, tenants that had to move out, our church that won’t get my tithe, the local community that won’t get sales tax, the neighborhoods that won’t be improved, the crime that may increase because I’m not preventing blight anymore, and me, the married felon, who won’t add any productive capacity to our society. The biggest tragedy is the negative impact this is having on our marriage. Our marriage is where we get to serve God together. I will find a way to keep this blog alive from behind bars.”

Wife: “Why should the judge believe you?”

Married Felon: “I can only hope the judge will agree my actions speak loudly, that I’ve moved heaven and earth to make this right, but, in the end, I will do the right thing no matter what the judge believes. I will keep serving God, be the best citizens I can, even from prison if I must, and continue to obey the laws of this country far into the future. I don’t have a way to prove any of this to a judge except to let my actions do the talking. I can focus my energy on our marriage, and prepare for the tough times ahead.”

Wife: “How can you respect the law in prison?”

Married Felon: “Same strategy, my actions will not betray me. I follow the rules, obey the guards, keep educating myself about the system and prison procedures, confront my abuse of alcohol, learn new skills, stay connected to you, and keep our marriage alive.”

Wife: “Will you respect the law after you’re released from prison?”

Married Felon: “I have no prior criminal history, and I’m not a criminal mastermind. I believe in this country, and I will always obey the laws. I have always supported our system of three branches of government. I will pay the price; I will remain a proud citizen, I will report to the BOP without complaint, and will rebuild my business enterprise after I’m released from prison.”

Wife: “What about respecting the law in your marriage?”

Married Felon: “My wedding vows trump any law the government may pass. My wedding vows were spoken before God and in front of our family and friends: ‘In the name of God, I take you to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, until parted by death. This is my solemn vow.’ It is the most important promise I’ve ever made, and I made it to God. It is a promise I am not willing to break. I will always honor those words.”

I am continually surprised how effective the sentence mitigation questionnaire has become at rekindling the happy marriage between a felon and his wife.