- Breaking down sentencing & also we go through the handbook for the reception facility Donna is currently at & I revive and add to an older series Jail To Prison after talking to a contact I have known since childhood who is 12 years into a life sentence at a women's prison in California. She explains the universal uncomfortable truths that await Donna as she begins her life sentence for the murder of Dan Markel.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
What's you know?
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Alibier's Welcome to another episode of Pretty Lies and Alibis.
I'm Jigi. Good to have you here. It's Wednesday, October fifteenth.
This month is flying by, y'all. I didn't do an
episode yesterday. I took the time to kind of catch
up on some sleep I've been missing, and it was great,
rare and to go. Today, we're going to go over
my thoughts on Donna Adelson's sentencing, and for those of
(00:23):
you that are newer to the channel. In the past,
I have done some episodes in a series called Jail
to Prison, which is what inmates can expect when they
are making that switch from county jail to the big house.
I have a contact who I've known since childhood, who
is a lifer in California, so clearly very different states
with different circumstances. But what we're going to cover today
(00:46):
about her experiences in the over ten years she has
been incarcerated in prison and what she's seen is pretty universal.
So just starting out with sentencing, y'all, there's just no words.
I'm not sure between dumpster fire and hot mess express,
which phrase adequately describes Donna adelson sentencing. Maybe a bit
(01:07):
of both, but I've never seen anything like it in
my life. And just to reminder, Donna is the fifth
person to be sentenced for the murder of Dan Markel,
and as expected, she was sentenced to life without parole.
The defense did ask for a downward departure on the
lower counts. Those lower accounts were conspiracy to commit murder
(01:29):
and solicitation to commit murder.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
What is a downward departure?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Judge Everett had the discretion to sentence Donna to a
term of imprisonment below the range that's recommended by the
state sentencing guidelines, and they based that on specific mitigating circumstances.
This is often considered when the defendant has a minimal
criminal history or minimal participation in the criminal conduct. But
Judge Everett was like, Nope, not gonna do it, so
(01:57):
she was sentenced to thirty years on counts two and three.
The first person that spoke was doctor Graeber. He's a
former congressman, he's an obgyn, and he loves to toot
his own horn because the first five minutes of his
statement was just self serving rambling, telling everything that he's
accomplished in his life. But a couple of little key
(02:19):
pieces of things. He said, I believe she's innocent of
these three counts, and we believe her. Good for you,
doctor Graeber, but a jury did not believe her. He
also said that Charlie exploited his mother. Another friend took
the podium and said that he and his wife are
still in shock of Donna's current circumstances and that Donna
did not receive a fair trial in Tallahassee. He said,
(02:40):
had the trial been held elsewhere, she would have been
found not guilty. There were a couple of letters read
from friends of Donna's that were more in tune with
what should be read at a sentencing hearing, and then
Harvey got up to the podium. He accused Judge Everett
and the jury of being biased. He accused the mark
Hells of lying about not being able to see their grandsons. Now,
(03:02):
I'm gonna tell you, guys, my blood pressure shot up
when I heard him say that, because we all know
after Dan's murder, Wendy denied Dan's parents' access to these
kids and even changed the kid's last names. They did
not go to the funeral, and later on the mark
Helles successfully had the Mark Hell Act passed in the
floor to Senate in twenty twenty two that was to
(03:23):
expand grandparent visitation rights, and that passed by a vote
of one hundred and twelve to three. This legislation allows
grandparents to petition for court ordered visitation if the other
parent has been found guilty of wrongful death or is
the victim of a homicide. So sir, please sit down
and stop lying. But back to his little blow up,
(03:44):
he said, Donna has done nothing wrong. He said he
sat in the courtroom and screamed in his mind, and
he also screamed at the podium as he listened to
the state witnesses who told outright lies. At one point,
Judge Everett did stop Harvey, asking if he's trying to
reargue the trial. He reminded Harvey, this has nothing to
do with the character of Donna. There was a brief
(04:06):
little break there where Harvey regrouped with her attorney, and
he finished up quickly by saying the judge is sending
an innocent woman to prison. And he ended by saying,
you've taken my wife and you've taken my life as well.
This is not justice, this is vengeance and it's wrong, okay, Harvey.
Donna spoke as well, and first off, she tried to
(04:28):
whip up some tears talking about Dan and how wonderful
he was, but not a single one fell that I
could see. She talked about his murder, saying he was
being hunted and she can't imagine the fear he had
seeing a gun pointed at him, and points out when
he dropped the kids off at daycare, he had no
idea that would be the last time he would see
his children. The children had no idea that would be
(04:50):
the last time they saw their dad, And when he
went to the gym, he had no idea that would
be the last time he would ever exercise. She says
she couldn't conceive of Dan's heroic effort to stay alive
after the shooting, and she said her heart was broken
when Dan died. Then she kind of took a play
from Harvey's handbook, blaming everybody but herself. Blamed the trial
(05:10):
being held in Tallahassee. She said the state switched who
they say was the mastermind from trial to trial. She
also said if she had knowledge of the plot to
kill Dan, she would have stopped it. She goes on
to ask where was the evidence of her involvement before
the murder. Again, Judge Everett's like, stop, are you trying
to reargue the trial? And he also reminds Donna the
(05:31):
court can take into consideration her lack of remorse. In
her statement, Donna said, it makes you wonder if the
jurors were sleeping when Sergeant Corbett was on the stand
saying he could not place her phone at Charlie's house,
and then she said she was never outside of Charlie's house. Ironically,
she did not bring up the text to Charlie that
they were outside of his house. But let's move on.
(05:53):
She said that the jury bought into the story that
she dropped off money, hook line and sinker. She mentioned
something about a jury saying they knew what a witness
would testify to and this was said during jury's selection.
Donna asked, how was this person allowed on the jury? Again,
Judge Everett stopped her and said that she could take
this up on the appellate level, but this has nothing
(06:14):
to do with the allocution. At this point, Harvey's phone
starts ringing and the judge is like, turn that phone
off or you can leave. He was over it done
trying to find his ners in. At that point, I
think Donna says there were two crimes, Dan being murdered
and the taking of her life, the life of an
(06:34):
innocent woman. She said Dan would be appalled at the
lack of justice in her case and would have been
embarrassed to have his name associated with any of it.
And then she swears up and down she's innocent, as
if the judge was gonna say, yeah, you know what, Donna,
You're right, go home. And how gross for her to
even throw what she thinks Dan would think about her
(06:55):
trial in there. Ugh, it was quite the show, y'all.
If you haven't watch, I do have that up on YouTube.
I have Donna and Harvey's statement separately, so you don't
have to watch the whole sentencing if you don't want to.
Prosecutor Capelman asked Donna to pay restitution for the cost
of her prosecution. The estimate for that is more than
seven hundred and twenty three thousand dollars. The defense is
(07:17):
asking for supporting documentation for that amount once they do
set a number for restitution, once Donna's in prison and
starts having money put on her books, or for phone calls.
They could take a percentage of each deposit to start
paying that restitution back. Georgia Kapelman took a break from
a grand jury meeting at the Leon County Courthouse just
(07:39):
yesterday to talk to the Tallahassee Democrat about the sentencing.
Her thoughts was, she thought it was unusual. I heard
it referred to as a goat rope, which is a
pretty good description now. Goat wrote that is an expression
that refers to a chaotic, confusing, or disorganized situation, oftentimes
with too many people involved, and the name comes from
when people would.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Try to rope goats at fairs.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Kapelman went on to say, I thought she was helping me,
and I appreciate that, but she's not doing herself any favors.
If she thinks she's gonna get her life sentence reversed
and is lobbying the court to give her a lesser
sentence on counts two and three, she didn't do herself
any favors by shooting arrows all over the courtroom, including
to the judge. Prosecutor Capelman in State attorney Jack Campbell
(08:25):
would not comment on the grand jury, which started yesterday.
They didn't say what cases the grand jury might be considering,
and Prosecutor Capelman also said she could not answer questions
regarding Wendy Agelson, but we'll definitely be watching this space,
not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I've got like fifty alerts set up.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
On my phone, and in my opinion, I think if
it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen sooner than later. We
are over eleven years into this case, and the prosecutor
has been very methodical in how she has arrested people
and taken them to trial, So I think if it's
gonna happen, hopefully soon. Donna has requested to be as
close to Miami as possible. There are concerns that if
(09:07):
she is placed at the same facility as Katie mag Vanawah,
they would definitely need to be kept separate, but the
defense also says that it doesn't necessarily mean that people
who are familiar or friendly with Katie would not be around,
and they do have concerns about that now. Donna was
released from the Leon County Jail at five forty eight
(09:27):
am yesterday, October fourteenth. She's currently at the Florida Women's
Reception Center. You know for me I said this yesterday
in a YouTube short. But it's kind of like the
Florida Welcome Center. You know, if you're driving there and
you cross the state line, you go in, get some
delicious oj continue on your way.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It's kind of like that, except this is.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
For prison, and instead of orange juice, you might get
like a spork and a plastic cup and a really
thin mattress. This facility has the capacity for one thy
two hundred and thirty five inmates. It's very likely she
could be here for a f weeks before being moved
to her final destination. She did request a facility close
to Miami so it would be easier for Harvey to visit,
(10:09):
and the judge had no problem with that recommendation. But
in the end it will be up to the Department
of Corrections to decide where she is placed. So I
have the inmate Orientation Handbook for the reception center. Later on,
when she is permanently placed, we will get that handbook
and go over the specific rules of that facility. It
(10:30):
says this handbook is to help you understand the general rules, procedures, requirements,
and routines of the reception center and your permanent institution.
So this is a combination of the reception center and prison.
Over the next few days, you will receive both written
and verbal information that will be very important to you
during your incarceration. The following is a list of several
(10:53):
events that will take place on your first day as
you're being processed through the Transfer and receiving section. The
verification of commitment information, inventory of personal property, your money
deposited into the inmate bank in your name, the issuance
of a Department of Corrections ID number, a brief medical exam,
(11:14):
a haircut and personal grooming, a shower, an issue of
state clothing, electronic fingerprints taken. You will have a state
photo identification issued, and there will be an orientation on
day to day living and working activities. Donna's not allow
visitors until she reaches the permanent facilities she will spend
the rest of her life at. Visits are typically scheduled
(11:36):
for Saturdays and Sundays. In prison, she will be given
written and verbal instructions on the discipline, the grievance policies,
and protection procedures. She will also get a number of exams,
including physical, psychological, a spectrum exam, educational and substance abuse screening.
(11:56):
She'll be interviewed to gather information about her background, her education,
her employment, criminal history, and then other information. Donna will
complete this spectrum assessment, which asks her questions such as
her thoughts, her feelings, and the dynamics of her relationships.
They do encourage the inmate to answer honestly to best
(12:19):
help design a plan specific for her.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
She would be.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Given outer clothing, underwear, socks, and shoes or clothing can
be exchanged twice a week. Upon arrival, she would have
been assigned a specific housing area. She's required to keep
that area clean, including her bunk, the floor, the wall,
or foot lockers. She cannot have any perishable items, so
(12:42):
I'm not sure what happens to her commissary that was
perishable that she brought. She can create a list of
telephone numbers and can make collect calls. They do not
have the tablets here at this transition facility. For a
personal hygiene, her hair has to be groomed and she
cannot alter her appearance by changing her hair color. And
general population inmates shower once a day.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
If Donna's in restricted housing, she would be allowed to
shower three times a week, just like in jail. When
in prison, if she needs to be seen by a nurse,
she will fill out a sick call form.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
There is a copay to be seen.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Once in prison, she'll have access to a law library,
and she can take academic courses and if approved, she
could also tutor other inmates. For personal properties, she can
have publications that are on the approved reading list.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Years ago, I did a series called Jail to Prison
or Life as a Lifer, And since we have a
lot of new listeners and it's been a while since
I've done this, I pulled some of the old information
and also talked to my contact just recently about what
Donna can expect when she does make that move from
the intake facility to prison. I explained Donna's case and
(13:54):
situation to her and ask her opinion of how she
might be received in prison. Because she has seen this
for over ten years. She said that Donna's age and
her wealth will make her very vulnerable. Some will get
her to let her guard down and then they'll try
to get money from her. If Donna is smart, she
can use her money to build a comfortable life in prison.
(14:14):
She just has to watch out for predators, she said.
For example, a new elderly lady at her facility was
taken for nearly one thousand dollars before she realized. She
was in no position to make anybody honor their agreements.
If you loan people money or try to buy a
package in someone's name for an agreed amount, it makes
(14:35):
you vulnerable. There is nothing beyond the honor system for
them to repay you or give you items that you bought.
Most people have additional vulnerability to prison hustle. Donna will
learn who to trust and who not to trust. She
probably won't need to hustle for money since I'm sure
Harvey will fund her life behind bars, so that will
help her in some ways. And since she is used
(14:56):
to comfortable living, it is possible she could seek out
people to do her laundry, get extra boxes for commissary canteen,
extra food from the mess hall, and other tasks that
she doesn't want to do. These people may charge her
more than the standard going rate, and they also might
steal her clothes and her commissary. She doesn't think Donna
(15:18):
will be a very high risk of physical harm because
Donna's not going to be a fighter. She did say
interestingly enough with Charlie being a co conspirator who's been convicted.
Fellow prisoners may send Charlie fan mail. She has seen
that there at her prison with high profile inmates.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
She says, what.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
You've seen on TV shows and documentaries about prison life
is really sensationalized and it's not really reality. She said
for documentaries with real inmates, they always put on an
act for the camera. The only way to really know
how it is on the inside is to live it.
She said, when you leave County jail for prison, you
have no idea how to play the game once you
(15:56):
get to prison. While awaiting your transfer to prison, you
can only replay regrets and build your fear of what
is to come. And in her case, she had a
cell mate who had been incarcerated in prison who tried
her best to prepare my contact for prison. She said
it was helpful in some respects, but the reality is
there's just no preparing yourself in jail. You do have
(16:18):
some hope while you're awaiting trial. In the back of
your mind, you think you're gonna be acquitted and then
you're gonna leave jail and just rejoin the world. And
we all know that's probably what Donna was thinking, but
after conviction and sentencing, a kind of numbness sets in,
and she said, this has been true for most of
the women I've lived with and spoken with. You just
(16:40):
want to get the transfer over. The hours on the
transport bus is surreal, and the fear and the numbness
take turns being in control. For her, there were metal
shackles on her waist and ankles for the duration of
the ride. Once the bus opens the doors, your shackles
come off and you were placed in a group holding cell.
(17:00):
You are strip searched altogether in one room. People are
also questioning each other about their cases, how much time
they have, gang affiliations. You can't bring anything with you
except the clothes on your back. If you have prescription
eyeglasses and a list of medications that you take that
are prescribed by a doctor. Again, just a reminder, this
is specific to California, but from everything I've read very
(17:23):
general in terms of prisons all over the country. You're
given a life wash, and she said that smell lingers
for days. Intake is to the point with staff asking
point blank, if you die, who do we call. After processing,
you're given a bedroll and then you're sent to your
building and yourself. For the most part, the first few
days and weeks can be at a temporary building with
(17:45):
other new intakes as processing continues. She says, the minute
that you walk inside the prison, everybody stares and they're
trying to size you up. You feel like you are
on display.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
She said.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Prison is scary, humiliating, and very humbling. You are not
in control of a single element of your life except
your private thoughts. One inmate describe going to prison as
being in a hostile country and you don't know anything
about the language or the customs.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
She said.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Newbies almost always make two mistakes, asking someone what they're
in for and how long they have on their sentence.
She says, those first few days and weeks in prison,
your body releases a lot of stress hormones and adrenaline
on a constant basis, which can cause all kinds of
mental health issues. She went through that herself, and now
(18:34):
as these new arrivals come into her facility, she sees
them constantly on edge, jumping in fear with every loud
noise or anytime an argument breaks out. The adrenaline is
just your body's natural way to prepare you for fight
or flight. She said she has seen fights break out
with new arrivals that never would have happened if those
(18:54):
defense hormones coupled with stress were not at play. You
have zero privacy, none, You use the toilet, you shower,
somebody is always nearby, y'all.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
I would explode. Wouldn't be able to do it, she said.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
On average, it takes new inmates who have never been
in prison a couple of years to really start to
feel comfortable. First timers frequently fall into a very consuming depression.
The first few months in prison is a jolt to
every sense you have, and jail just does not prepare
you for prison. It is two completely different worlds. Prison
(19:27):
overload is something that first timers frequently experienced, which is
the overwhelming feeling of helplessness or lack of control of
any area of your own life. The rules, the people,
the overcrowded conditions, the heat, the substandard food, the pettiness
of other inmates, the drunk idiots that are raising a ruckus,
(19:49):
grown adults acting like immature children. People are cold, and
the environment itself. The days seem endless and the nights
even more endless. There is a consuming loneliness. There is
a smell that is very unique to prison, the sounds
and the fact that it feels like it's never gonna end.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
She says.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Sometimes is so chaotic in prison from sun up to sundown.
It fills the air so bad you feel like you
can taste it. And prison is constantly loud. You never
have pure quiet in jail. It can be quieter at times,
prison not so much, and that adjustment can drive you crazy.
They don't have earplugs in prison. Her go to is
(20:31):
to wet some toilet paper and shove it as far
down in her ears as she can to try and
drown out all the noise.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
She said.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
The homesickness is consuming. You can't prepare for it, and
you can't avoid it. She said she has seen most
people lose their religion as opposed to gaining it. If
you come in with a chip on your shoulder or
you act high mighty, you're going to be its target. Inmates,
we'll do things very early on into your sentence to
deflate every bit of that my contacts facility. The first
(21:01):
month in you do not get commissary yet, you only
get what is issued to you when you arrive. You
do not have a tablet, no TV, no radio, no clock.
Could be very different for Donna and Florida, but you
guys get the point, she said. Prison is full of
manipulators and they are going to prey on the vulnerable,
perhaps a seventy something year old grandmother. A lot of
(21:24):
people enter prison thinking they have the advantage if they
were good at something on the outside. But on the
inside you are likely to be so inexperienced and terrible
at manipulating other inmates because some of these inmates have
been in since they were juveniles, in and out their
whole life. When you come in with an attitude, the
older inmates will strip you bare on that level. You
(21:48):
have to earn respect in prison, and nobody cares how
powerful or successful you were on the outside. In prison,
you are in there with severely mentally ill inmates, home
willless inmates, blue collar and inmates who are super wealthy
on the outside. If you let it be known you
come from money, you are targeted for many reasons, especially
(22:10):
favors in the form of having your family on the outside.
Put money on books for inmates speaking of being in
debt to someone. The new arrivals are often desperate to
find a group to hang with quickly. Those are the
ones that get preyed upon. The smallest acts by other
inmates may seem kind, but they often come with a
price to pay in return for that favor. It could
(22:33):
be as simple as doing their laundry or as big
as assaulting someone or being a drug mule. The person
who loaned, whatever it is, will be the one giving
the terms for repayment. She's seen physical violence or doubling
up on what you owe. People get very jealous. If
your case made you known far and wide, brace yourself,
Donna sue. Breaking that persona is one of the first
(22:55):
things to happen to new, more infamous inmates. However, some
high profile while inmates will find a group that offers
them physical protection, but the verbal and emotional abuse never stops,
causing the inmate to constantly expect something to happen to them.
There's always going to be people that are jealous. Your
(23:15):
case was far and wide. Prison seems like you're trapped
in the drama of high school, but you don't get
to go home at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
She said.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
A lot of new arrivals initially lose weight, but once
you're more comfortable that weight gain is almost a given
in prison. We know the food available and the commissary
isn't healthy, and we have seen that weight gain with Donna.
Tends to be worse if you stay in your cell
and don't exercise much at all. And just because you're
guaranteed so much time out of your cell every day
(23:44):
doesn't mean it's going to happen. If there is a
staff shortage, you could be on lockdown for days or
even weeks. When you're in a cell with several women,
you can't move. Every move is almost coordinated when everyone
is awake and on lockdown. When somebody on your block
is having a mental health episode, it can keep everybody
up all night long. There is no white noise you
(24:07):
can turn on to drown it out, and newer inmates
tend to struggle to adapt to these situations on top
of it being absolutely frightening for them. If somebody gets
unruly and needs to be pepper sprayed on the unit,
you are likely to get a whiff of it, and
you're gonna feel it at her facility. When there is
a fight in the cell block common area, everybody gets
on the ground until the nurse comes to check for
(24:29):
injuries on the ones that we're fighting. Sometimes this can
take thirty minutes or more for a nurse to even
get up there. She said friendships risk financial, emotional, physical, psychological,
and freedom dates, which doesn't apply to Donna because she's
never going to be free. But she says, yet human
nature compels us to make friends even in prison. But
(24:49):
those prison friendships are mostly convenient because you're forced to
live together. You're hanging out with people you would have
never hung out with on the outside, but on the
inside your thickest thie because you have no choice, and
it's mostly based in survival. Prison friends fulfill the needs
of the moment. You are part of the game, even
if you don't want to play. She's found most inmates
(25:12):
do not lose sleep over their crimes, but they see
themselves as the victim do their incarceration in that is
what makes them lose the most sleep. She said, unlike
on TV, it is not a daily fight or survival
from other inmates. It's a daily fight with the boredom,
the homesickness, knowing everything you're missing, knowing that people will
(25:33):
pass away and you will never see them again, and
a million other self inflicted things you think about from
sun up to sundown, but the potential for violence is very,
very real, and that adds a constant layer of stress.
She says, prison is like a de evolution. You slowly
shed the outside and things get more primitive inside. In prison,
(25:56):
you battle the people inside you, the individual, and then
the pr Some days, all you can do is just
be human. She has seen people in for a couple
of years who just slowly descend into madness and change personalities,
and by the time they've been there for a while,
they are completely unrecognizable from the person they came in.
As she said, their bunks are hard with thin vinyl mattresses,
(26:18):
and a lot of inmates have physical pain on a
daily basis due to this. I asked her if she
has seen somebody in their late seventies come in and
thrive and do great and she says and she says
not really, it depends on if they are people who
were frequent flyers or people who have been in and
out of the system their whole life. Her opinion of
(26:39):
just seeing people like Donna Adelson come into prison very
late in life for the first time is that they
do not thrive. A lot of times they give up,
start getting plagued with health issues and struggle just on
a daily basis. And you know what, that's what happens
when you have a man murdered for just wanting to
be a dad, and you wanting those kids down in
(27:00):
South Florida for your own selfish reasons. So I have
a lot more of this jail to prison. I've got
four new emails from my contact going a little more
in depth, So I'm going to go through those. You know,
we watched her sentencing and we know she's headed to prison,
but there is a whole new reality awaiting Donna Sue Adelson. Then.
I'm not sure Donna realizes what she's in for just yet.
(27:23):
But that is it for now. I hope you guys
have a good rest of your evening and we will
see you soon.
What's you know?
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Alibier's Welcome to another episode of Pretty Lies and Alibis.
I'm Jigi. Good to have you here. It's Wednesday, October fifteenth.
This month is flying by, y'all. I didn't do an
episode yesterday. I took the time to kind of catch
up on some sleep I've been missing, and it was great,
rare and to go. Today, we're going to go over
my thoughts on Donna Adelson's sentencing, and for those of
(00:23):
you that are newer to the channel. In the past,
I have done some episodes in a series called Jail
to Prison, which is what inmates can expect when they
are making that switch from county jail to the big house.
I have a contact who I've known since childhood, who
is a lifer in California, so clearly very different states
with different circumstances. But what we're going to cover today
(00:46):
about her experiences in the over ten years she has
been incarcerated in prison and what she's seen is pretty universal.
So just starting out with sentencing, y'all, there's just no words.
I'm not sure between dumpster fire and hot mess express,
which phrase adequately describes Donna adelson sentencing. Maybe a bit
(01:07):
of both, but I've never seen anything like it in
my life. And just to reminder, Donna is the fifth
person to be sentenced for the murder of Dan Markel,
and as expected, she was sentenced to life without parole.
The defense did ask for a downward departure on the
lower counts. Those lower accounts were conspiracy to commit murder
(01:29):
and solicitation to commit murder.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
What is a downward departure?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Judge Everett had the discretion to sentence Donna to a
term of imprisonment below the range that's recommended by the
state sentencing guidelines, and they based that on specific mitigating circumstances.
This is often considered when the defendant has a minimal
criminal history or minimal participation in the criminal conduct. But
Judge Everett was like, Nope, not gonna do it, so
(01:57):
she was sentenced to thirty years on counts two and three.
The first person that spoke was doctor Graeber. He's a
former congressman, he's an obgyn, and he loves to toot
his own horn because the first five minutes of his
statement was just self serving rambling, telling everything that he's
accomplished in his life. But a couple of little key
(02:19):
pieces of things. He said, I believe she's innocent of
these three counts, and we believe her. Good for you,
doctor Graeber, but a jury did not believe her. He
also said that Charlie exploited his mother. Another friend took
the podium and said that he and his wife are
still in shock of Donna's current circumstances and that Donna
did not receive a fair trial in Tallahassee. He said,
(02:40):
had the trial been held elsewhere, she would have been
found not guilty. There were a couple of letters read
from friends of Donna's that were more in tune with
what should be read at a sentencing hearing, and then
Harvey got up to the podium. He accused Judge Everett
and the jury of being biased. He accused the mark
Hells of lying about not being able to see their grandsons. Now,
(03:02):
I'm gonna tell you, guys, my blood pressure shot up
when I heard him say that, because we all know
after Dan's murder, Wendy denied Dan's parents' access to these
kids and even changed the kid's last names. They did
not go to the funeral, and later on the mark
Helles successfully had the Mark Hell Act passed in the
floor to Senate in twenty twenty two that was to
(03:23):
expand grandparent visitation rights, and that passed by a vote
of one hundred and twelve to three. This legislation allows
grandparents to petition for court ordered visitation if the other
parent has been found guilty of wrongful death or is
the victim of a homicide. So sir, please sit down
and stop lying. But back to his little blow up,
(03:44):
he said, Donna has done nothing wrong. He said he
sat in the courtroom and screamed in his mind, and
he also screamed at the podium as he listened to
the state witnesses who told outright lies. At one point,
Judge Everett did stop Harvey, asking if he's trying to
reargue the trial. He reminded Harvey, this has nothing to
do with the character of Donna. There was a brief
(04:06):
little break there where Harvey regrouped with her attorney, and
he finished up quickly by saying the judge is sending
an innocent woman to prison. And he ended by saying,
you've taken my wife and you've taken my life as well.
This is not justice, this is vengeance and it's wrong, okay, Harvey.
Donna spoke as well, and first off, she tried to
(04:28):
whip up some tears talking about Dan and how wonderful
he was, but not a single one fell that I
could see. She talked about his murder, saying he was
being hunted and she can't imagine the fear he had
seeing a gun pointed at him, and points out when
he dropped the kids off at daycare, he had no
idea that would be the last time he would see
his children. The children had no idea that would be
(04:50):
the last time they saw their dad, And when he
went to the gym, he had no idea that would
be the last time he would ever exercise. She says
she couldn't conceive of Dan's heroic effort to stay alive
after the shooting, and she said her heart was broken
when Dan died. Then she kind of took a play
from Harvey's handbook, blaming everybody but herself. Blamed the trial
(05:10):
being held in Tallahassee. She said the state switched who
they say was the mastermind from trial to trial. She
also said if she had knowledge of the plot to
kill Dan, she would have stopped it. She goes on
to ask where was the evidence of her involvement before
the murder. Again, Judge Everett's like, stop, are you trying
to reargue the trial? And he also reminds Donna the
(05:31):
court can take into consideration her lack of remorse. In
her statement, Donna said, it makes you wonder if the
jurors were sleeping when Sergeant Corbett was on the stand
saying he could not place her phone at Charlie's house,
and then she said she was never outside of Charlie's house. Ironically,
she did not bring up the text to Charlie that
they were outside of his house. But let's move on.
(05:53):
She said that the jury bought into the story that
she dropped off money, hook line and sinker. She mentioned
something about a jury saying they knew what a witness
would testify to and this was said during jury's selection.
Donna asked, how was this person allowed on the jury? Again,
Judge Everett stopped her and said that she could take
this up on the appellate level, but this has nothing
(06:14):
to do with the allocution. At this point, Harvey's phone
starts ringing and the judge is like, turn that phone
off or you can leave. He was over it done
trying to find his ners in. At that point, I
think Donna says there were two crimes, Dan being murdered
and the taking of her life, the life of an
(06:34):
innocent woman. She said Dan would be appalled at the
lack of justice in her case and would have been
embarrassed to have his name associated with any of it.
And then she swears up and down she's innocent, as
if the judge was gonna say, yeah, you know what, Donna,
You're right, go home. And how gross for her to
even throw what she thinks Dan would think about her
(06:55):
trial in there. Ugh, it was quite the show, y'all.
If you haven't watch, I do have that up on YouTube.
I have Donna and Harvey's statement separately, so you don't
have to watch the whole sentencing if you don't want to.
Prosecutor Capelman asked Donna to pay restitution for the cost
of her prosecution. The estimate for that is more than
seven hundred and twenty three thousand dollars. The defense is
(07:17):
asking for supporting documentation for that amount once they do
set a number for restitution, once Donna's in prison and
starts having money put on her books, or for phone calls.
They could take a percentage of each deposit to start
paying that restitution back. Georgia Kapelman took a break from
a grand jury meeting at the Leon County Courthouse just
(07:39):
yesterday to talk to the Tallahassee Democrat about the sentencing.
Her thoughts was, she thought it was unusual. I heard
it referred to as a goat rope, which is a
pretty good description now. Goat wrote that is an expression
that refers to a chaotic, confusing, or disorganized situation, oftentimes
with too many people involved, and the name comes from
when people would.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Try to rope goats at fairs.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Kapelman went on to say, I thought she was helping me,
and I appreciate that, but she's not doing herself any favors.
If she thinks she's gonna get her life sentence reversed
and is lobbying the court to give her a lesser
sentence on counts two and three, she didn't do herself
any favors by shooting arrows all over the courtroom, including
to the judge. Prosecutor Capelman in State attorney Jack Campbell
(08:25):
would not comment on the grand jury, which started yesterday.
They didn't say what cases the grand jury might be considering,
and Prosecutor Capelman also said she could not answer questions
regarding Wendy Agelson, but we'll definitely be watching this space,
not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I've got like fifty alerts set up.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
On my phone, and in my opinion, I think if
it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen sooner than later. We
are over eleven years into this case, and the prosecutor
has been very methodical in how she has arrested people
and taken them to trial, So I think if it's
gonna happen, hopefully soon. Donna has requested to be as
close to Miami as possible. There are concerns that if
(09:07):
she is placed at the same facility as Katie mag Vanawah,
they would definitely need to be kept separate, but the
defense also says that it doesn't necessarily mean that people
who are familiar or friendly with Katie would not be around,
and they do have concerns about that now. Donna was
released from the Leon County Jail at five forty eight
(09:27):
am yesterday, October fourteenth. She's currently at the Florida Women's
Reception Center. You know for me I said this yesterday
in a YouTube short. But it's kind of like the
Florida Welcome Center. You know, if you're driving there and
you cross the state line, you go in, get some
delicious oj continue on your way.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It's kind of like that, except this is.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
For prison, and instead of orange juice, you might get
like a spork and a plastic cup and a really
thin mattress. This facility has the capacity for one thy
two hundred and thirty five inmates. It's very likely she
could be here for a f weeks before being moved
to her final destination. She did request a facility close
to Miami so it would be easier for Harvey to visit,
(10:09):
and the judge had no problem with that recommendation. But
in the end it will be up to the Department
of Corrections to decide where she is placed. So I
have the inmate Orientation Handbook for the reception center. Later on,
when she is permanently placed, we will get that handbook
and go over the specific rules of that facility. It
(10:30):
says this handbook is to help you understand the general rules, procedures, requirements,
and routines of the reception center and your permanent institution.
So this is a combination of the reception center and prison.
Over the next few days, you will receive both written
and verbal information that will be very important to you
during your incarceration. The following is a list of several
(10:53):
events that will take place on your first day as
you're being processed through the Transfer and receiving section. The
verification of commitment information, inventory of personal property, your money
deposited into the inmate bank in your name, the issuance
of a Department of Corrections ID number, a brief medical exam,
(11:14):
a haircut and personal grooming, a shower, an issue of
state clothing, electronic fingerprints taken. You will have a state
photo identification issued, and there will be an orientation on
day to day living and working activities. Donna's not allow
visitors until she reaches the permanent facilities she will spend
the rest of her life at. Visits are typically scheduled
(11:36):
for Saturdays and Sundays. In prison, she will be given
written and verbal instructions on the discipline, the grievance policies,
and protection procedures. She will also get a number of exams,
including physical, psychological, a spectrum exam, educational and substance abuse screening.
(11:56):
She'll be interviewed to gather information about her background, her education,
her employment, criminal history, and then other information. Donna will
complete this spectrum assessment, which asks her questions such as
her thoughts, her feelings, and the dynamics of her relationships.
They do encourage the inmate to answer honestly to best
(12:19):
help design a plan specific for her.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
She would be.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Given outer clothing, underwear, socks, and shoes or clothing can
be exchanged twice a week. Upon arrival, she would have
been assigned a specific housing area. She's required to keep
that area clean, including her bunk, the floor, the wall,
or foot lockers. She cannot have any perishable items, so
(12:42):
I'm not sure what happens to her commissary that was
perishable that she brought. She can create a list of
telephone numbers and can make collect calls. They do not
have the tablets here at this transition facility. For a
personal hygiene, her hair has to be groomed and she
cannot alter her appearance by changing her hair color. And
general population inmates shower once a day.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
If Donna's in restricted housing, she would be allowed to
shower three times a week, just like in jail. When
in prison, if she needs to be seen by a nurse,
she will fill out a sick call form.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
There is a copay to be seen.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Once in prison, she'll have access to a law library,
and she can take academic courses and if approved, she
could also tutor other inmates. For personal properties, she can
have publications that are on the approved reading list.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Years ago, I did a series called Jail to Prison
or Life as a Lifer, And since we have a
lot of new listeners and it's been a while since
I've done this, I pulled some of the old information
and also talked to my contact just recently about what
Donna can expect when she does make that move from
the intake facility to prison. I explained Donna's case and
(13:54):
situation to her and ask her opinion of how she
might be received in prison. Because she has seen this
for over ten years. She said that Donna's age and
her wealth will make her very vulnerable. Some will get
her to let her guard down and then they'll try
to get money from her. If Donna is smart, she
can use her money to build a comfortable life in prison.
(14:14):
She just has to watch out for predators, she said.
For example, a new elderly lady at her facility was
taken for nearly one thousand dollars before she realized. She
was in no position to make anybody honor their agreements.
If you loan people money or try to buy a
package in someone's name for an agreed amount, it makes
(14:35):
you vulnerable. There is nothing beyond the honor system for
them to repay you or give you items that you bought.
Most people have additional vulnerability to prison hustle. Donna will
learn who to trust and who not to trust. She
probably won't need to hustle for money since I'm sure
Harvey will fund her life behind bars, so that will
help her in some ways. And since she is used
(14:56):
to comfortable living, it is possible she could seek out
people to do her laundry, get extra boxes for commissary canteen,
extra food from the mess hall, and other tasks that
she doesn't want to do. These people may charge her
more than the standard going rate, and they also might
steal her clothes and her commissary. She doesn't think Donna
(15:18):
will be a very high risk of physical harm because
Donna's not going to be a fighter. She did say
interestingly enough with Charlie being a co conspirator who's been convicted.
Fellow prisoners may send Charlie fan mail. She has seen
that there at her prison with high profile inmates.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
She says, what.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
You've seen on TV shows and documentaries about prison life
is really sensationalized and it's not really reality. She said
for documentaries with real inmates, they always put on an
act for the camera. The only way to really know
how it is on the inside is to live it.
She said, when you leave County jail for prison, you
have no idea how to play the game once you
(15:56):
get to prison. While awaiting your transfer to prison, you
can only replay regrets and build your fear of what
is to come. And in her case, she had a
cell mate who had been incarcerated in prison who tried
her best to prepare my contact for prison. She said
it was helpful in some respects, but the reality is
there's just no preparing yourself in jail. You do have
(16:18):
some hope while you're awaiting trial. In the back of
your mind, you think you're gonna be acquitted and then
you're gonna leave jail and just rejoin the world. And
we all know that's probably what Donna was thinking, but
after conviction and sentencing, a kind of numbness sets in,
and she said, this has been true for most of
the women I've lived with and spoken with. You just
(16:40):
want to get the transfer over. The hours on the
transport bus is surreal, and the fear and the numbness
take turns being in control. For her, there were metal
shackles on her waist and ankles for the duration of
the ride. Once the bus opens the doors, your shackles
come off and you were placed in a group holding cell.
(17:00):
You are strip searched altogether in one room. People are
also questioning each other about their cases, how much time
they have, gang affiliations. You can't bring anything with you
except the clothes on your back. If you have prescription
eyeglasses and a list of medications that you take that
are prescribed by a doctor. Again, just a reminder, this
is specific to California, but from everything I've read very
(17:23):
general in terms of prisons all over the country. You're
given a life wash, and she said that smell lingers
for days. Intake is to the point with staff asking
point blank, if you die, who do we call. After processing,
you're given a bedroll and then you're sent to your
building and yourself. For the most part, the first few
days and weeks can be at a temporary building with
(17:45):
other new intakes as processing continues. She says, the minute
that you walk inside the prison, everybody stares and they're
trying to size you up. You feel like you are
on display.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
She said.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
Prison is scary, humiliating, and very humbling. You are not
in control of a single element of your life except
your private thoughts. One inmate describe going to prison as
being in a hostile country and you don't know anything
about the language or the customs.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
She said.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Newbies almost always make two mistakes, asking someone what they're
in for and how long they have on their sentence.
She says, those first few days and weeks in prison,
your body releases a lot of stress hormones and adrenaline
on a constant basis, which can cause all kinds of
mental health issues. She went through that herself, and now
(18:34):
as these new arrivals come into her facility, she sees
them constantly on edge, jumping in fear with every loud
noise or anytime an argument breaks out. The adrenaline is
just your body's natural way to prepare you for fight
or flight. She said she has seen fights break out
with new arrivals that never would have happened if those
(18:54):
defense hormones coupled with stress were not at play. You
have zero privacy, none, You use the toilet, you shower,
somebody is always nearby, y'all.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
I would explode. Wouldn't be able to do it, she said.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
On average, it takes new inmates who have never been
in prison a couple of years to really start to
feel comfortable. First timers frequently fall into a very consuming depression.
The first few months in prison is a jolt to
every sense you have, and jail just does not prepare
you for prison. It is two completely different worlds. Prison
(19:27):
overload is something that first timers frequently experienced, which is
the overwhelming feeling of helplessness or lack of control of
any area of your own life. The rules, the people,
the overcrowded conditions, the heat, the substandard food, the pettiness
of other inmates, the drunk idiots that are raising a ruckus,
(19:49):
grown adults acting like immature children. People are cold, and
the environment itself. The days seem endless and the nights
even more endless. There is a consuming loneliness. There is
a smell that is very unique to prison, the sounds
and the fact that it feels like it's never gonna end.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
She says.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Sometimes is so chaotic in prison from sun up to sundown.
It fills the air so bad you feel like you
can taste it. And prison is constantly loud. You never
have pure quiet in jail. It can be quieter at times,
prison not so much, and that adjustment can drive you crazy.
They don't have earplugs in prison. Her go to is
(20:31):
to wet some toilet paper and shove it as far
down in her ears as she can to try and
drown out all the noise.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
She said.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
The homesickness is consuming. You can't prepare for it, and
you can't avoid it. She said she has seen most
people lose their religion as opposed to gaining it. If
you come in with a chip on your shoulder or
you act high mighty, you're going to be its target. Inmates,
we'll do things very early on into your sentence to
deflate every bit of that my contacts facility. The first
(21:01):
month in you do not get commissary yet, you only
get what is issued to you when you arrive. You
do not have a tablet, no TV, no radio, no clock.
Could be very different for Donna and Florida, but you
guys get the point, she said. Prison is full of
manipulators and they are going to prey on the vulnerable,
perhaps a seventy something year old grandmother. A lot of
(21:24):
people enter prison thinking they have the advantage if they
were good at something on the outside. But on the
inside you are likely to be so inexperienced and terrible
at manipulating other inmates because some of these inmates have
been in since they were juveniles, in and out their
whole life. When you come in with an attitude, the
older inmates will strip you bare on that level. You
(21:48):
have to earn respect in prison, and nobody cares how
powerful or successful you were on the outside. In prison,
you are in there with severely mentally ill inmates, home
willless inmates, blue collar and inmates who are super wealthy
on the outside. If you let it be known you
come from money, you are targeted for many reasons, especially
(22:10):
favors in the form of having your family on the outside.
Put money on books for inmates speaking of being in
debt to someone. The new arrivals are often desperate to
find a group to hang with quickly. Those are the
ones that get preyed upon. The smallest acts by other
inmates may seem kind, but they often come with a
price to pay in return for that favor. It could
(22:33):
be as simple as doing their laundry or as big
as assaulting someone or being a drug mule. The person
who loaned, whatever it is, will be the one giving
the terms for repayment. She's seen physical violence or doubling
up on what you owe. People get very jealous. If
your case made you known far and wide, brace yourself,
Donna sue. Breaking that persona is one of the first
(22:55):
things to happen to new, more infamous inmates. However, some
high profile while inmates will find a group that offers
them physical protection, but the verbal and emotional abuse never stops,
causing the inmate to constantly expect something to happen to them.
There's always going to be people that are jealous. Your
(23:15):
case was far and wide. Prison seems like you're trapped
in the drama of high school, but you don't get
to go home at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
She said.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
A lot of new arrivals initially lose weight, but once
you're more comfortable that weight gain is almost a given
in prison. We know the food available and the commissary
isn't healthy, and we have seen that weight gain with Donna.
Tends to be worse if you stay in your cell
and don't exercise much at all. And just because you're
guaranteed so much time out of your cell every day
(23:44):
doesn't mean it's going to happen. If there is a
staff shortage, you could be on lockdown for days or
even weeks. When you're in a cell with several women,
you can't move. Every move is almost coordinated when everyone
is awake and on lockdown. When somebody on your block
is having a mental health episode, it can keep everybody
up all night long. There is no white noise you
(24:07):
can turn on to drown it out, and newer inmates
tend to struggle to adapt to these situations on top
of it being absolutely frightening for them. If somebody gets
unruly and needs to be pepper sprayed on the unit,
you are likely to get a whiff of it, and
you're gonna feel it at her facility. When there is
a fight in the cell block common area, everybody gets
on the ground until the nurse comes to check for
(24:29):
injuries on the ones that we're fighting. Sometimes this can
take thirty minutes or more for a nurse to even
get up there. She said friendships risk financial, emotional, physical, psychological,
and freedom dates, which doesn't apply to Donna because she's
never going to be free. But she says, yet human
nature compels us to make friends even in prison. But
(24:49):
those prison friendships are mostly convenient because you're forced to
live together. You're hanging out with people you would have
never hung out with on the outside, but on the
inside your thickest thie because you have no choice, and
it's mostly based in survival. Prison friends fulfill the needs
of the moment. You are part of the game, even
if you don't want to play. She's found most inmates
(25:12):
do not lose sleep over their crimes, but they see
themselves as the victim do their incarceration in that is
what makes them lose the most sleep. She said, unlike
on TV, it is not a daily fight or survival
from other inmates. It's a daily fight with the boredom,
the homesickness, knowing everything you're missing, knowing that people will
(25:33):
pass away and you will never see them again, and
a million other self inflicted things you think about from
sun up to sundown, but the potential for violence is very,
very real, and that adds a constant layer of stress.
She says, prison is like a de evolution. You slowly
shed the outside and things get more primitive inside. In prison,
(25:56):
you battle the people inside you, the individual, and then
the pr Some days, all you can do is just
be human. She has seen people in for a couple
of years who just slowly descend into madness and change personalities,
and by the time they've been there for a while,
they are completely unrecognizable from the person they came in.
As she said, their bunks are hard with thin vinyl mattresses,
(26:18):
and a lot of inmates have physical pain on a
daily basis due to this. I asked her if she
has seen somebody in their late seventies come in and
thrive and do great and she says and she says
not really, it depends on if they are people who
were frequent flyers or people who have been in and
out of the system their whole life. Her opinion of
(26:39):
just seeing people like Donna Adelson come into prison very
late in life for the first time is that they
do not thrive. A lot of times they give up,
start getting plagued with health issues and struggle just on
a daily basis. And you know what, that's what happens
when you have a man murdered for just wanting to
be a dad, and you wanting those kids down in
(27:00):
South Florida for your own selfish reasons. So I have
a lot more of this jail to prison. I've got
four new emails from my contact going a little more
in depth, So I'm going to go through those. You know,
we watched her sentencing and we know she's headed to prison,
but there is a whole new reality awaiting Donna Sue Adelson. Then.
I'm not sure Donna realizes what she's in for just yet.
(27:23):
But that is it for now. I hope you guys
have a good rest of your evening and we will
see you soon.
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