Work release should be expanded

Please join the fight

To whom this brief message may concern, my name is Terra Noble. I am convicted under the name Terri Campbell. I am currently incarcerated at Shakopee Prison for first-degree assault. 

I am a very firm believer in second chances given the circumstances and also being successful in any endeavor of your choosing. However, being a felon comes with many obstacles. Mine being homelessness and addiction. 

Despite my many obstacles, I had a lot of support in the community. 

While on probation I worked with an organization called the F.A.C.T Team. These people had patience and compassion and believed in my growth and worth. I participated in groups and treatment for my mental health. At that time, housing was a more difficult hurdle for me to get through because I was a felon. Homelessness is vast, and that struggle alone left me vulnerable to very dangerous environments. 

I value my life and I hold my children and grandchildren’s future close to my heart. I want to be a role model for the younger generation coming up today. Despite my crime, I have always been a leader and an influencer in any environment that I’m in. 

Since being incarcerated, I have obtained a certificate in paralegal. I’ve taken advantage of many groups to identify life barriers and tools on dealing with them. Finally, I am currently writing a memoir about my life in hopes that I can reach anyone who is struggling out there. 

It is to my understanding that Minnesota Statute 244.065 allows for inmates to be released on work release after serving half their term of imprisonment. Had I gotten out at half my time, I would be an author and a major positive influence in my community. 

We should follow the law and support people in prison, like me, following their dreams. I am doing my part here in Shakopee, working with all of the women alike, and taking steps to make a change. I am asking for grace from anyone who is reading this.

Please join in the fight. I have contacted numerous organizations and individuals who believe in expanding work release in an effort to make our communities safe. I strongly believe that there is power in numbers. 

The D.O.C. in my opinion needs to reevaluate the policies and not base its decisions on money and politics. This is at the expense of public safety and a major cost to taxpayers; also it increases crime and homelessness. 

I strongly believe in restorative justice. Statistics show that 70-90% of participants who go through this program are successful. Please do your research. Numbers don’t lie. Transformative justice should also be an option instead of locking many away with a lot of untreated mental health conditions and trauma. 

Since being here in Shakopee, I’ve witnessed MANY women that have left the facility and have overdosed and died. Many. Prison is not the solution for MOST. 

I’m speaking for every individual that has loved ones in prison or any incarcerated individual to whom this message applies. Please join in the fight.

I go as I came. In peace.

Terra Noble is a Shakopee Prison inmate.