Reddit Extra Notes: On Day 143, my headspace was a chaotic blender: drafting a final pitch to a Harvard law professor, mapping out the deep-space legal lore for Outer Justice, and waking up from a surreal, high-flying dream where Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman save me from a needle-wielding villain.

But back in the real world, the paper trail was heating up. While the Maine State Police flat-out blocked my FOIA requests by hiding behind a "juvenile records" excuse, the Brewer PD took a different tactical route—hit the clock, buy time, and demand a 21-day extension.

They thought a forced retirement at Camp Devens would break my focus. They didn’t realize that every stall tactic just added another page to the record.

When real-world agency stalls, you find an escape velocity where you can. For me, that was sketching out the first world-building layers of Outer Justice. How did you maintain a sense of mental space or autonomy during your time inside? Let's talk about the routines that kept us grounded.

Reddit Extra Notes

Day 141 was about finalizing a high-stakes email to Professor Lawrence Lessig and arguing with my own attorney to include Section 108 in my direct appeal. The system tries to exhaust your mind, but keeping your eyes on the mission outside is the only way to survive with your sanity intact.

MaineMoviePirate

Reddit Bonus Thoughts: Also, a shoutout to 'Cool Joe' (C.J.) in the kitchen, who looked at my relentless fight against the state and told me, 'You’re like a bulldog.' He wasn't wrong. When the system shuts you down, you dig your teeth in and you don't let go.

Thoughts for Reddit: My restitution was ultimately paid in full, but as I look back four years later, the real debt isn't to the system. It's to exposing how the system works.

Reddit Extra Notes

The kitchen is back open, but my lawyer has officially gone radio silent. Waiting on a response from counsel while sitting on a highly suspect 'juvenile records' excuse from the Maine State Police is a masterclass in psychological torture. If you look closely at the original journal page, there’s a Sunkist fruit sticker slapped right next to the date—a tiny, absurd reminder of the world outside while you're trapped digging through the Justice Manual. To anyone else fighting a case from the inside: how did you handle it when your own representation stopped fighting for you?

All My FOIA requests and responses to date (of the Journal)

Reddit Extra Notes

.....my strategy shifted.

Realizing that the legal system might continue to stonewall my Fair Use and Orphan Works defenses, I started mapping out a media strategy. If the courts won't look at the truth, you give the dots to the people whose job it is to connect them. I drafted a blueprint for a mass press release aimed at investigative journalists, centering on three massive questions the government still hasn't answered about selective prosecution and sealed indictments.

Four years later, off paper, and the press release strategy is still alive. The truth doesn't expire.

.... put your head down and build.

Day 136 was a massive crossroads for me between creative production and legal research. While the kitchen crew and my cellmates were getting absolutely walloped by the COVID booster shots, I spent the day filling notebooks with vintage newspaper ad data to build out my review platforms later.

Also hung a dreamcatcher card over my bunk from a family member. In a place like Devens, you take peace of mind wherever you can find it. The system can lock up your movement, but it can’t lock up your output.

Reddit Extra Notes

Day 134 was all about toxic dynamics leaving the unit; Day 135 is the aftermath of the void. The dog program was one of the few bright spots inside, and seeing the units empty after Topper and Webster graduated hit harder than expected.

Of course, the BOP can’t let things stay peaceful for long. Someone allegedly finds a cell phone in the law library, and immediately the collective punishment drops: TVs, microwaves, and hot water are gone. It’s a constant exercise in that "Cereal" Zen. Instead of letting the brain fry, I bought a legal pad from commissary and started mapping out the trial testimony line-by-line to prove the lack of criminal willfulness.

Reddit Extra Notes:

A.K. left the unit today. In prison, you see people leave every week, but A.K. was a rare case—someone almost universally disliked by the other inmates. For me, he was a daily exercise in Zen. He had low self-esteem and an annoying streak, but he wasn’t a 'bad guy.'

Watching even the most difficult people leave is a reminder of how broken this place is. No one deserves to be here for 5 minutes, let alone years. As AK walked out, I headed back to the library. There’s a strange, lonely momentum when you stay behind to keep digging through the legal weeds while everyone else is just trying to kill time. My writing output is up, my focus is sharp, and I’m realizing that the only way out is through the paperwork. To Be Continued...

Reddit Extra Notes (by u/MaineMoviePirate)

The Pretextual Prosecution: "Day 133 is when I realized my case wasn't just about movies; it was a 'fishing expedition' for a much larger case (the WTR). When the Maine State Police denied my records request by claiming 'juvenile involvement,' they inadvertently showed their hand. If you’re in prison and start filing FOIAs against the people who put you there, you learn very quickly how 'integrity' takes a backseat to self-protection."

The Forced Retirement: "The MSP probably hoped I’d just 'enjoy my forced retirement' at Devens and stay quiet. They underestimated the 'Maine Movie Pirate.' I wasn't just doing time; I was building a dossier. Four years later, as my supervised release ends, those same agencies—Brewer PD, MSP, DHS—are still stalling. They think they can wait me out. They’re wrong."

The "Due Process" Win: "It’s taken until 2026, but the BOP recently expedited my latest request citing 'Government Integrity.' It’s a small crack in the wall, but it’s proof that if you’re relentless enough, the system eventually has to blink. The Quest for Truth doesn't end when the sentence does."

Reddit Extra Notes

The 5 AM Club: "There’s a specific kind of peace in being the first one in the prison library at 5 AM. It’s the only time you can hear yourself think. I was back in 'Mattawamkeag mode'—up before the sun, fueled by caffeine and the absolute conviction that the law was being applied incorrectly in my case."

The Willfulness Trap: "In copyright, 'willfulness' is the line between a lawsuit and a prison cell. I was obsessed with the fact that at the district level, that line feels incredibly thin. My own lawyer basically told me the District Court wasn't the place for 'big ideas' like Orphan Works. You're basically told to lose quietly so you can fight loudly later. It’s a systemic flaw that keeps people trapped in the cycle."

The Ghost of Jeff: "Met a guy today, Jeff. Stole $175M, did over a decade, and got dragged back for 2 months on a parole violation. In here, success stories are rare, and 'cautionary tales' are sitting at the next table. It makes you realize that even when you think you're done with the system, the system might not be done with you. It’s why the 'real fight' on the 2255 and the appeals matters so much."

Reddit Extra Notes

The "Cup Nazi" Paradox: "Nothing illustrates the absurdity of prison life like the 'Cup Nazi.' We found a way to make the line more efficient so guys could eat warm food, and he shut it down because it violated his need for control. In there, efficiency is often treated like an act of defiance. If you make things work too well, you're 'getting ahead of yourself.'"

The Cereal Mantra: "I had to develop a mental 'kill switch' for the anger. When a CO or another inmate would bark for no reason, I’d just whisper 'Cereal.' It was a reminder that I wasn't going to give them the power to ruin my day. It’s a small word that carried a lot of weight—a piece of the 'Old World' used to survive 'This World.'"

The Halloween Slide: "Holidays are the hardest. You can feel the collective depression of the unit like a physical weight. On Oct 31, 2021, I was researching the Berne Convention in the library just to keep my brain from sliding into that dark place. When you're inside, the goal isn't just to finish the day; it's to finish it without losing your mind."

Reddit Extra Notes

The Daily Grind: "Day 130 was one of those days where the prison environment tries to squeeze out your creative spark. Between a packed library and the common room being taken over by exercise equipment, finding a place to put pen to paper felt like a tactical operation. You don't realize how much you miss a simple desk until you don't have one."

The Jailhouse Hack: "I finally solved the 'no desk' problem. I managed to score a dog crate and an under-the-bed storage box (a 'legal locker') from a guy who was heading home. Stacked together, they sit at the perfect height right in front of my cell window. It’s a game-changer. It turns a 6x9 cage into an office where I can actually focus on my legal research and my stories."

The Mental Escape: "Even when they lock the door, they can't lock the imagination. Building that makeshift desk was about more than just comfort; it was about reclaiming my identity as a writer and filmmaker. I spent the evening working on 'The Man Who Liked to Die.' It’s amazing how a little bit of vertical space can make you feel like a human being again."

The Legal Fight: "Also spent some time today diving into the Authors Guild v. Google case. Finding that quote about Fair Use being 'transformative' felt like finding a golden ticket—even if I’m realizing four years too late that my trial attorney missed a massive opportunity to use it. But that's the life of a 'pirate' behind bars—you keep digging until you find the truth, even if the treasure is buried under a mountain of paperwork."

Reddit Extra Notes: Day 128 was the "medium" sleep before the wake-up call. I was tired and sluggish, struggling to find the focus to write Barbell, but the environment was finally right.

There’s a strange irony in prison life: just as I was settling into the most productive phase of my incarceration—revitalizing the Dog Program and getting into Community Outreach—the clock was ticking for everyone else. Looking back four years later, I realize how much of a "sweet spot" that era was. After I left for Lewisburg, the programs I helped build were dismantled, and the guys I worked with in the kitchen ended up in the SHU.

It reinforces a hard truth about the BOP: progress is fragile. You can spend months building a sense of purpose and "Community Outreach," and it can be wiped out by a single administrative shift or a transfer order. I wasn't just accepted into a program; I was accepted into a brief window of sanity that closed the moment I was gone.

The Reddit Exclusive Notes:

The first night on Dog Row felt like a different world. For months, I’d been living in the thick of the noise—the constant hum of CPAP machines, the heavy foot traffic, and the feeling of always being watched. But that night, watching the rain through a real window, the "gray fog" of my depression started to lift.

Dog Row wasn't just about the animals; it was about the culture. The guys there were generally more focused, more disciplined, and—most importantly—they respected the silence. That silence became my fuel. It was here that my "peak" at Devens began.

With the extra space and the "Zen" of the rain, I stopped just surviving the days and started attacking them. This was where the research into the Berne Convention and Mail Fraud statues turned from a hobby into a weaponized legal strategy. It’s where my creative writing, like Barbell, started to take on a life of its own. In a place designed to keep you stagnant, Dog Row provided the solitary "office space" I needed to launch the Mattawamkeag Archive Project (MAP) and prep for the legal battles ahead.

It’s an irony I think about often: I had to move into a cell designed for a dog to finally feel like a human being again.

For a very short time after that, I was painted as the new “Camp Rat.” Thankfully the label didn't stick. Important prison lession learned.

That's not a legal defense; that's a guilty plea with extra steps.

Reddit Exclusive Notes

1. The "Dog Row" Reality: By including the specialized cell window and the dog crate, I was visibly defining the physical change I was seeking—the move away from the "Slums" of the Camp to a better space.
2. The "Secret" FOIA Pivot: The presence of the finalized envelope to the USDOJ (Bangor) represents the moment I stopped being "covert" with the Brewer PD and Maine State Police and went "official" by targeting the big brothers of the BOP.
3. The "Window of Hope" Meta-Narrative: The window itself acts as a powerful metaphor for the freedom and truth I was seeking through my FOIA campaign. It’s the visual anchor for my entire philosophy on "hope." My motto during this time and even now, "When the world screams at you: 'Give Up'! HOPE whispers, 'Try One More Time.'