Scram see? (in best mobster voice)

So far the bracelet is more of a mild  annoyance than a painful sort of thing. However the social and psychological ramifications are far greater.

So far, so...

Sleeping with it last night wasn't as much on an annoyance as I thought it might be. I find I notice it more when I take my clothes off, like to get in the shower and it feels weird not being physically able to remove something from your body. It reminds me of some medieval punishment like the Iron mask or something. "I wear the bracelet, THE BRACELET DOESN'T WEAR ME!!!!" Thats the man in the iron mask, incase no one gets the quote. I might have messed up earlier by spraying febreeze around the house because I am supposed to avoid contact with any products that contain alcohol, like most shampoos, body washes, deodorants, which is basically everything. I looked on the label and it doesn't list alcohol but I'm still ridden with anxiety about the hole thing. If it registers, then I have to go explain what made it register and basically my staying in compliance with my probation agreements are in the hands of some employee that gets to decide my fate at the drop of a hat depending on how his or her day is going and what mood their in  et cetera. Basically, I'm just scared to death of violating probation by coming into contact with some obscure source of alcohol and right now that part feels far worse than the actual wearing of the bracelet.

Freedom for sale

Freedom is not for everyone as we are lead to believe, but instead only a privilege for those who can afford it. To avoid a DUI charge (which in the state of TN, remains on your record permanently) I was offered the lesser charge of reckless-endangerment and in exchange, I have 250 hours of community service, a year of unsupervised probation, and to wear the SCRAM bracelet for a year.  I have no problem with this plea bargain except that the scram bracelet costs $100 to put on and $300 a month for as long as you wear it. So for a year that puts the total cost at $3700. As a country that hosts 5% of the worlds population but 25% of its prisoners, their is no wonder why the scram bracelet is alluring to court systems. It cuts down on the prison population while making the injustice system money instead of burdening the budget. After all, why budget the state when they can budget out-of-work class? After going to the city county building (knox county court) so many times, one begins to get a generalized picture of those who find themselves in front of a judge. In my experience with the division of criminal court I was in, more often than not it seems like most are hardworking people who have had a lapse of judgement, probably caused by the stresses of survival--the stresses of trying to simply exist while supporting the ones we love. I count myself very fortunate to have a family that is helping me pay for some of these costs, but for most people, an extra $300 a month simply isn't in the budget and could even keep food off the table. the makers of the scram bracelet list on their website that the typical length of wearing one of their units is 90-120 days yet Knox county routinely assigns sentences  of 12, 18, or even 24 months. I don't know what their true motive might be although, I'm sure we can all imagine what their pre-prepared politically correct statement might be, but from where I'm sitting it looks like they are just making money. Anyway, until next time...

It's on like genghis kahn wearing sean jon in bouton

Yes I'm an Office fan but I got it on now and it's okay.

New to blogging

I should have figured that it would post the date with each post, but now I know and with that knowledge comes freedom for expressive titling. So my appointment to get the scram on is in about an hour and I'm not really looking forward to it. After last week's debacle I'm afraid this will not go smoothly which is the last thing in the world I want. Anyway once I get it on, I'll post a picture on here showing how bulky this damn thing is.

June 23, 2011

To begin with I'm pissed because I went today to get the bracelet put on but they did not have one to put on me, despite knowing for a week that I was coming. With as much attitude as they could muster they told me to come back monday or wait for an hour and half while the only person capable of putting a different unit on returns from lunch in kentucky. Why would they schedule my appointment during her lunch, while she has left to kentucky, I don't know. Obviously it's a cottage industry, supported by the court system, and is ripe for abuse because nobody cares. So I ask for it in writing that I was there and they begrudgingly agree--it takes them a half hour to type up four sentences. I can hear them behind the door asking how to spell "apologize!" These are the fools whose jobs determine if I go to jail or not. Sure, some might say that I got myself into this mess otherwise I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. But what about those who have learned their lesson and are simply trying to repay their debt to society? After nearly $15,000 in fees and fines, 250 hours of community service, and a year of scram, when is enough enough? All I want to do is wear this thing for the time and put all of this behind me but they seem to make it as difficult as possible.

June 23, 2011

Hello, my name is Hunter and I am writing this blog to keep day to day tabs on what it's like to wear the SCRAM Bracelet. For those of you who don't know what that is, SCRAM is a continuous alcohol monitoring system (http://www.alcoholmonitoring.com/index/scram/the-scramx-system) to be worn around your ankle that reports having so much as one drink. I'll skip the sympathy plea associated with the BS that now has me wearing one of these devices and simply report my daily thoughts on it. Ideally, I will try to post a picture each day to monitor the effects of wearing such a clunky device on my ankle 24/7 for a year--Thats right, a year. I expect some bruising, possible rash, and all around smelliness because I will not be able to wash the skin under the unit. I go this afternoon to have this thing put on. I will report back later.

Peace
Hunter