Noe: Out of "The Hole," Headed to Atlanta
5/10/2007UPDATE
THURSDAY
8:01 AM
After getting Bernadette s email this morning (see original post, below), I fired back a few questions: When did Noe tell her he d been told he d be on the first bus out, and did she have any better idea which prison would eventually house her husband? Her response from a few minutes ago:
He told me about being on the first bus during our visit last weekend. [She traveled to South Carolina to see him.] From Atlanta, he goes to Tallahasee and then on to Orlando. It feels like we are playing "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" -- Tom Noe style.
And now this 8:15 AM email, in response to my follow-up question to confirm that Orlando will be Noe s home prison:
Orlando is really the best we could have hoped for. The flights from Miami to Orlando are really cheap. Spirit Airlines has a special right now -- $8 each way. With the price of gas, how could we go wrong flying? It's about a 4 hour drive on the turnpike...
We have no idea how long it will take him to arrive in Orlando. He has to go to Tallahassee first via bus, before being bussed to Orlando. I wonder how long it will take?
Tom says you can quote him: "I'd just like to get to my final destination before my entire sentence is served." It's been over 6 months!
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THURSDAY
7:30 AM
For those of you playing along at home, you can add a new push-pin to the national map where you re marking the federal prison saga of Tom Noe. He s apparently been moved from South Carolina s Edgefield Prison, where he was reportedly banished to the hole, i.e., solitary confinement.
In an email time-stamped at 6:52 this morning and sent to an undisclosed list of recipients, his wife, Bernadette, writes:
Here is the inmate locater page that I found this morning telling me that Tom has made it to Atlanta. They told him he would be on the first bus out of Edgefield (we think, because they didn't like the media inquiries). All of your prayers have helped so much. Praise God for getting him out of the "hole." This means I should be hearing from him today or tomorrow. He is back to getting one phone call a day while in Atlanta.
I am so happy for him. Even though his says in Atlanta the rats are as big as cats, and they slide under their doors in the middle of the night, he much preferred Atlanta to the "hole" in Edgefield.
As soon as I hear from him, I will give you all an update. Let's offer our prayers of thanks to today to our Loving God!!
If indeed Noe is outta solitary, he spent far less time there than his wife initially feared. After speaking with a "prison consultant," Bernadette was advised not to hold her breath:
He basically told me to circle the Fourth of July on my calendar and not to look for anything getting any better before [then].
Still not immediately clear where Noe will finish out the remainder of his 27-month federal sentence. Stay tuned, I guess.