Five to Twenty

Pre-Sentencing 2009–2011

This chapter captures the harrowing journey from arrest to sentencing—a liminal period where life hangs in the balance between freedom and imprisonment. The stories within chronicle the isolating secrecy, psychological unraveling, and the relentless machinery of federal prosecution: plea talks, polygraphs, character evaluations, and sentencing guidelines that impose decades-long punishments for first-time, non-contact offenses.

Featured Stories

Curated Collections

All Stories

Pack It Up : The Last Days of Freedom

Apr 21, 2011
Confessions of An Addict : How Pornography Led to a 12-Year Prison Sentence

Apr 12, 2011
The Judgment : A Sentencing Summary

Apr 11, 2011
The Sentence : Inside A Federal Child Pornography Sentencing Hearing

Apr 1, 2011
The Response : Prosecutors Push for Maximum Sentencing

Mar 29, 2011
The Memorandum : A Defense Attorney's Strategy

Mar 25, 2011
The Last Month : Waiting for Federal Prison

Mar 22, 2011
Sentencing Disparity : Why CP Crimes Get Harsher Punishment Than Contact Offenses

Mar 19, 2011
The Polygraph : A Pre-Sentencing Character Test

Mar 13, 2011
The Results : What Psychological Research Says About CP Offenders

Mar 6, 2011
Normal Homosexual Male : The Pre-Sentencing Evaluation That Changed Nothing

Mar 2, 2011
The Guilty Plea : The Court Process and Booking Experience

Feb 28, 2011
Preparing : Advice from a Probation Officer

Feb 25, 2011
The Evaluation : Psychological Testing for Sex Offenses

Feb 22, 2011
The Resignation : Termination and the End of a Career

Feb 20, 2011
The Time Does You : A Former Inmate's Survival Guide

Feb 17, 2011
Coming Clean : A Son's Confession to His Father

Feb 15, 2011
Misquote : Misrepresentation in Legal Proceedings

Feb 13, 2011
The Therapist : Psychological Screening Before Sentencing

Feb 10, 2011
Family Dinner : Last Meals Before Incarceration

Feb 6, 2011
PSI : The Math Behind Federal CP Sentencing

Feb 5, 2011
The Target Letter : When Criminal Charges Become Real

Feb 2, 2011
Denial : A Year of Silence and Survival

Jan 30, 2011
Portrait of a Sex Offender : An Unlikely Criminal

Jan 28, 2011
Five to Twenty : The Disparity in Sex Offense Sentencing

Jan 27, 2011
The Interrogation : My Hour with FBI Agents

Nov 22, 2009