Those Prison Facebook Blues

From the Alabama Department of Corrections Prisoner Handbook:

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION A CELLULAR TELEPHONE, SIM CARD, BATTERY CHARGER, OR OTHER MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT; OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, ETC) WHILE INCARCERATED IN ANY ADOC FACILITY. 

POSSESSION OF CELL PHONES / OTHER MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, OR PARTICIPATION IN ANY FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA IS CONSIDERED A CLASS C FELONY AND PUNISHABLE UP TO TEN (10) YEARS INPRISONMENT. 

A Class C Felony? Ten extra years? Sounds serious. Yet few seem to care.

We recently mentioned an inmate in the state system, an inmate who had come to the attention of one of our regular readers. While we didn't mention the inmate by name at that time, we will now: Jerry Don Crowden. The Florence man is currently serving a 20 year sentence in Holman Prison.

After our blog, the same reader again contacted us. It seems he had previously turned Crowden over to authorities, but our bad boy is still using Facebook to communicate with friends. Or is he?

A "sister" seems to do most of the communicating, but our reader tells us that he went to school with Crowden who had no siblings. We're not able to verify this one way of the other, but a contact did believe Crowden may have had one or more half-siblings via various relationships of his father. Still, if anyone should be charged with aiding Crowden, the story of a faithful sister attempting to ease her sibling's burden while in prison would garner some sympathy votes.

If you're not familiar with Crowden, here's a few lovely casual snaps:

A life dotted with jail time, escapes, and prison sentences would seem to take its toll. Crowden began his first trek down south at the age of 19; here's a brief rundown of his crimes that actually made it to court:

1992-1993 - Second Degree Rape and Second Degree Theft of Property

1996 - Second Degree Theft of Property

1999-2000- Second Degree Escape, Second Degree Theft of Property, First Degree Theft of Property

2007 - Violation of the Sex Offender Act, Second Degree Theft of Property, Third Degree Burglary, First Degree Promoting Prison Contraband

2013 - Second Degree Theft of Property x 2, First Degree Promoting Prison Contraband, Second Degree Receiving Stolen Property, Third Degree Burglary, Third Degree Escape

Yes, Jerry Don Crowden is currently three years into his fifth prison stretch. Some felons never learn.

This is Crowden's FB page: Jerry Crowden. Check out the updated cover from July 6th. Whether Jerry Don has a smart phone or just a SIM card, he's in violation of DOC rules. Somehow we doubt that this Bad Boy Florence native cares.