Not sure how MySpace locked me out for two weeks, I tend to focus blame on the system and not any individual. I will note that my ex wife is well aware of my email address and my password schema, but I think it more likely she would file a lawsuit then mess with the account.

            On the day MySpace locked me out, I heard from the Corrections Department that the Parole Board would not meet on Patricia's case in March and she would not be released from the prison on April 4^th.

            Bureaucrats, the Parole Board would not release Patricia because she did not have an approved parole plan. Without an approved parole plan Patricia would begin her parole at the prison beginning on April 4^th. Yes, fans, you read this correctly, she would begin her parole while still in jail. What does that mean? Does it mean that they will not lock the door at night?

            I proved a little skeptical and went on the Department's website to determine Patricia's status.   The website is:  http://corrections.state.nm.us/offenders/search.php . Simply put the name Patricia Long in and you will ascertain her current whereabouts and be able to access a lovely picture of her.

            To my surprise, the website indicated that the Department moved Patricia to the Central facility. Grants is the only women's prison in the state, so why did they move Patricia to Los Lunas (initially I thought the central facility was in Santa Fe, but it is in Los Lunas)?

            I called the Department back and was told that there were only two reasons for Patricia to be in Los Lunas – Hospital or Mental Health.

            Next, after alerting family and friends, I contacted Patricia's mother. She subsequently called me back while I was on the phone with Steph.

            Patricia's mother Edna told me that Patricia called Edna on the 23^rd of February with the following story. Patricia was being sent to a hospital for surgery that the Department would not explain.

            Yes, yes, visions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest flew around my spinning skull but I agreed with Edna that it was extremely unlikely that they would operate on Patricia without Patricia knowing what was going on.

            It was more likely that The State sent Patricia to the Los Lunas mental health ward and that Patricia did not wish to admit this to her mother.

            For the first time in four years, I saw a glimmer of light. Maybe, maybe Patricia would receive the care necessary to assure the safety of the children, myself, and herself. Maybe our life might move forward.

            My checks on her status became a daily check instead of the once a week prior to these events. A week later the website reported that Patricia returned to the women's' prison in Grants.

            Now I am completely clueless about what is going on. I create the following scenarios in my mind:

1.      Patricia did go in for some type of surgical procedure and they discharged her back to Grants

2.      The Department sent Patricia to the Mental Health Treatment Center (MHTC) for a complete psychiatric and even neurological evaluation. The Court first ordered this type of evaluation back in January of 2003 but Patricia and her mental health advocates (you know them – they are the guys that labeled me a rapist) fought against this. Some of the people believe that there is actual brain damage that would explain Patricia's behavior. After this evaluation, the Department returned Patricia to Grants

Another reason for getting sent to the MHTC is a mental health crisis, typically a suicide attempt. I am aware of three possible suicide attempts by Patricia while in prison and losing the parole hearing would likely trigger a crisis, but the telephone call to her mother makes even less sense in that context.  Additionally, if Patricia went to Los Lunas after a suicide attempt, her fourth, why would they send her back? Please do not tell me they cured her in a week.

No, the evaluation makes sense, especially on a bureaucratic level. Look at the following sequence:

1.                          Bureaucrats decide to release Patricia and ignore all of the mental health provisions found in her sentence

2.                          Additionally, they decide to release to her imaginary father that the ex-husband and the victim of her crime just won a restraining order against for fronting himself as a new hit man.

3.                          Ex husband/victim finds out about the planned release and throws a fit. Local television station runs several stories on the subject.

4.                          Ex husband/victim confronts the Parole Board and the Department of Corrections and tells them that their crime is not getting Patricia, the mother of their three children, the mental health treatment she needs and the Court ordered.

5.                          Ex husband further files with the Court, setting up the possibility of judicial review of the Department's actions.

6.                          Due to the media highlight and the inarguably stupidity of the planned release to the new hit man, the Department and the Parole Board back off

7.                          Coincidently? State Senators and other media make public criticism of problems with the Parole Board and Corrections Department at the women's prison, noting that the return rate to that prison is four times the national average

Then what is a good bureaucrat to do when faced with these events. First, they wait for the media to focus attention elsewhere. What are the odds that the ex-husband can generate the media attention twice?

Second, they get their paperwork in order. They send Patricia to Los Lunas for a complete mental health evaluation that refutes the findings of the initial one that placed the extensive mental health treatment requirements as part of her sentence. Patricia is now officially 'cured' and safe for release. They have the paperwork to prove it.

Why not, they did it before. Shane Harrison received a favorable mental health evaluation and release from prison just a few months before slaying five people in Albuquerque's Hollywood Video Murders. I know, I placed the evaluation in a safe deposit box wondering if it would ever be subpoenaed.

I could be wrong. They could be developing a new treatment plan that would reopen that glimmer of light. Lord, I hope I am wrong. It is always a better day when I am wrong.