Jason has been moved

Jason has moved. A hard hard realization for me and our family, even though we knew it was coming.......it stills hits me hard, bawled the minute I found out..... but, he was looking forward to a better place than where he was, he lives for books and there is no limit on how many I can have sent to him :) I hurt so,not being able to talk to him through this,but it causes me to pray more,rely on the Lord to hold Jason up..the new place is 1 1/2 hours away, we only get to visit via a television monitor which is hard,but "live" so it is better than nothing and we dont have to bend over and talk through a tiny bunch of holes......I will miss the face to fave albiet through glass, one hour visits, so that is longer than we had... His letters will go directly to him :) Soon he will be able to go to library,or at least request books and any reading material he would like, hoping he gets to feel the wind on his brow, breath fresh air soon.... the pod he is in was in lockdown the day he got there and that is tough so please pray for him the next few days ! He should be able to call soon, I look forward to hearing his voice. There are religious services too :)

I thank you all for all of your support through prayer,monies and encouragement,you will never know how that holds us all up...... he knows he is not going through this alone......and we are praying and hoping for a retrial in 8 months :) To God be the Glory in all that happens.

UPDATE

I just wanted to make a quick post and update about Jason. He was transferred from county jail 2 weeks ago and was sent to Lawton Prison. He wrote 2 postcards while he has been there, saying he was healthy and okay. He said they did not give him towels, toothbrushes, deodorant..nothing. He is struggling with that a lot right now, because if you know Jason, those are the things that keep him grounded....sane. He called my mother tonight to tell her he would be transferred again to the prison he will be at indefinitely on Tuesday. He does not know where yet...very uneasy feeling. I think he is ready to get where he will be going and get all the intake and transferring over with. Hard not talking to him or seeing him these last few weeks, and likely many more weeks. What prison he goes to depends on what protection he has and what amenities he is able to receive. I want him to be safe, but I also want him to have visits, have time OUTSIDE, and be able to call and write as much as he wants.

I haven't been thinking about it all because I don't like it to become overwhelming...the past 3 years have been too overwhelming to even comprehend, so this moment is a lot more to wrap my head around. Please just pray for him, think about him, whatever you do to send love his way, please do. Thanks to everyone following this blog. I love you all and appreciate you taking time out of your day to read what we have to say.

Catherine

Most Recent Visit

I got to see Jasn Thursday evening for 1 1/2 hours. Thank goodness, I needed a nice long visit with him before he was tranferred to "camp", as my mom calls it. lol. The word prison makes it harder to comprehend somehow, so we try not to say it a lot...coping mechanism I assume.

Jason and Lily played around a lot and I got some good advice from him. He is probably most like me and the way I think than anyone in my family. He's just as non-judgemental and logical as I tend to be. Wish we had more talks like that...hard to when your not sure if you get a 15min visit or 1.5 hours.

There was another family visiting that evening as well that Michael started talking to and found they were in a earily familiar fight for their family member as we were. He was sentanced just last week and might be transported with Jason the week of March 10th. I am so glad we can connect with other people about the "justice" system and all the people wrongfully convicted, especially in child death cases where the medical evidence wasnt there. Times like this just remind you how your not the only one going through something like this...there are SO many other people and stories out there. People fighting for a loved one, the system failing them. I really hope we can be a strong support community for people in these situations. This is our goal, to spread the word of the injustice thats happening in th system and all the lives it affects.

I will let everyone know when Jason is transferred, at that point there will be minimul communication between us and Jay. Thank you everyone for the continued support and I am glad we could connect Johnson family, we are here for you when you feel alone in your fight.

Catherine

Been A While

So, it's been a few weeks since sentancing/my last post. This is the part that makes me feel guilty. Always so much emotion and thoughts about Jason and this whole thing, but to sit down and write about it seems impossible sometimes. Maybe it is the simple fact that writing about it makes it come to the surface, and I am very good about NOT letting things come to the sufrace..at least not very often.

I havent seen Jay since court either. Im hoping I am scheduled for next week. Lily asks about him every time we head down the road in his direction, lol. She says " We go see Jay Jay Momma?." There are so many times I am thankful for the fact that she is so young and there is only so much she will ask and understands. Still, she is so much smarter and understands so much more than we think!

As of now there are 17 followers. I changed the settings on the blog so that you could all leave comments anytime you wanted. I didnt know you couldnt until my mother informed me, lol. So, comment away, and thanks for following.

Love Catherine

So.... sentencing is done..it was a hard day. Jason looked so sad. But we all came and showed our love and support..So did the news....I loathe the news anymore, we just cannot believe what we hear on it. They said over and over we showed no emotions...I sure wish they could know the pain and agony we faced with Jason and the countless tears we have all shed in the last 3 yrs. But ,whenever I think on those things, I quickly stop myself and turn to my God and ask for peace and strength for all of us, but especially for Jason, He is afterall the one facing the hardest of times now... He is strong, I am amazed on how well he has done in the situations that face him daily. He remains positive and alive and well and most of the time in good spirits. He has done so well and I couldn't be prouder ,considering NONE of us know the nightmare he faces day in and day out. He even remains positive about the possibility of getting a new trial someday. That is where our hope lies also. I am looking forward to holding him in my arms again,for him to be able to touch his neices , he never has been able to since they were babies. To be able to hug him will be the best thing since this has happened. Can you imagine not touching another human being for 3 yrs..... I cannot..I have locked myself in my bathroom in the dark to try and "feel" as he does daily.....and I cannot handle it for more than a few minutes.. sounds odd,but I so want to feel how he does to know how to pray....then the Lord leads me in my prayers,isnt that amazing...I am grateful for the challenges in this life that have brought me to my knees, and I have learned so many things of how God works and how he wants us to rely on Him in every little thing ,not just the big ones... He is an awesome God and has carried us through this...and carried Jason . I am so grateful for those who comfort us,support us,pray for us and fight with us... it will be a long hard battle for Justice 4 Jason,but we will never stop !

Whats Next...

So, sentencing was at 1:30 today. The judge gave Jason the maximum sentance of Life in prison WITH the possibility of parole. This is what was expected, so now we move on to the next step. There is an appeal against the judge over wrongdoing during trial (without going into too much detail online ). What this means is that it will take 6 months to just start the appeal process, then it will take 6 months to  year from then to determine if there was wrongdoing on the judge's part. After that decision has been reached, we appeal the decision of the jury. So, appeal after appeal. This is how we fight the system.

In 11 months we will be back in court to appeal the decision on sentencing and ask for a lighter sentence. So, its all a waiting game, like it has been for the pat 3 years. It will be a few more years before we either re-trial or go back to trial for the appeal. In the meantime we gather information, hire the best people we can, take care of eachother, and PRAY.

Jason will be tranferred to a prison in Oklahoma within 40 days of today. He will go to Lawton for processing in which time we cannot speak or see him for 2 weeks to month. From there he will be transferred to a prison of their choice. The lawyers wrote a letter requesting he go to a minimum security prison given his background and his behavior in the past 3 years at county. There is no telling what will happen and where he will go. What we do know is we will get to touch him, hug him, and be in his presence. I am so glad he is leaving that nightmare of a place, county. He can take classes, go outside, be productive..not sitting in a cell for 3 years not seeing sunshine or feeling the wind..crazy how they can treat people in the county jail BEFORE they even go to trial!

So, thank you all again for being a part  of this journey and thinking of us and Jason. This isnt the end, just a different chapter.

Catherine, aka: His Little Sister

Sentencing

Tomorrow, Friday February 10th, 2012at 1:30pm is Jasons sentancing. It's a strange feeling. I am trying to stay unattached as much as possible because I do not want all the emotional and overwhelming feelings of trial to come back, but I can only be so disconnected. My brother says he doesnt want to come with us, and I don't blame him at all. Why go back to that place, see those DA's, and the judge and all those people who help put my brother in jail...what is the point? To see Jason? To be there for his support? I think its ALL about supporting him. Showing him he is not alone in ANYTHING he will do from now on in all of this. I am considering bringing Lily, my 3yr old daughter. She has never seen Jason out from behind the glass of the county jail. I dont want her in the courtroom, just to be there and let him see her for the first time outside of County since she was a week old. Who knows how long it will be before he is sent to prison and we can see him in person and hug him and everything else that comes with being able to be phsyically with someone. I think we all take advantage of that at times...

Even though we basically know the outcome of the sentancing, it's still weighing heavily...sort of finalizing this 3 year nightmare. Im actually excited for him to go to prison. I WANT him to go there instead of staying at county for another 3 years. I can be with him, we can have visits longer than 15 min...He needs fresh air, to be outside...I am ready for the next part of this "journey" with Jason..The Battle part. They have no idea what my family has in store.