Captain Michael F. Maraschiello

Capt. (P) Michael F. Maraschiello has been behind bars, continuously since February 16, 1995.  He began at the Montgomery County Jail, Clarksville, Tennessee, then moved to CCA Prison (Hardeman County) from 1997 to 2001.  From 2001 to 2005 he was housed at the Northeast Prison, Mountain City (East) Tennessee.  And since 2005 he has been housed at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institute (RMSI) Prison, where he is a Minimum Security prisoner and has been "non-violent" since he tragically killed his estranged wife in 1995.

 

Prison life "is what it is": removal of an offender from "society", until such time he/she is either "released" on parole or has "flattened" (served out) the full sentence.  Either way, they have "changed". 

 

Mike has a "LIFE" sentence, meaning there is no "flattening" the sentence and only the possibility of parole of which -- in few circumstances in Tennessee, release is given compassionately.  Simply put, the way the law is written about parole, no matter how "meritorious" a prisoner is -- parole is not "guaranteed" because Tennessee parole board members have "absolute discretion" and the majority of the time deny parole for "Seriousness of the Offense" as a catch-all reason.  Capt. Maraschiello is Minimum Security; first-time offender; model prisoner; respected by staff and inmates; has a "social network" of people and employer supporting him to include long-time advocates and church people.  These have helped Mike to make changes and improve his already  good social skills, work habits, and relationships so he can be an example to others -- to avoid anger and breaking the law.

 

Further character attributes:  College graduate; saving lives as a Metro Nashville Police Officer; Special Needs Teacher; Army Officer in wartime earning a Bronze Star, Air Medal, and numerous other awards, decorations and citations.  The Parole Board does NOT recognize these achievements.  Nor does it recognize the enormous "patience" and "stress/frustration" training someone -- like Mike -- possesses, having been in prison for over 20 years.  Having suffered a heart attack on July 21, 2014 he also has PTSD in the recognized violent environment of prison life.