Shawn Phase
im very sorry to have to make this group guys, but as some of you might know, joe is in jail awaiting trial for aggravated arson. this is a very stiff crime, a class x felony, and he is being held on $100k bail. it seems that they are going forward with sentencing very quick as well as he is due to appear in court again on the 10th. i made this group for people to be able to keep in touch with joe, no doubt others should be added to the group as well. i didnt want to make a general facebook message about this to spread the word, rather to make an effort to bring everyone together so that people can get in contact with joe. if anybody has any questions or information, feel free to discuss. and most importantly, keep joe in your thoughts guys.


Anne Misra Miller I will try and clear up details for you guys as I can release them to you. As friends of Joe, you guys all know how he has changed over the years that you have known him. The change has been drastic and has left many of you confused and feeling uninformed I guess. Joe did not post about his condition much, not because he didn't want to tell his friends, although his was constantly frustrated that he had changed in his mind so much, but because he wasn't sure how to tell you guys and maybe didn't fully understand it himself. He went from fully functioning, stable job, apt., mind, my big brother, to having trouble living on his own, being in and out of hospitals, losing friends who couldn't be there for him, and changing a lot mentally. He is now like another little brother. He is still Joe deep down, but thinks differently then we would at times and sometimes his cause and effect perception becomes temporarily blurry. This was one of those times. It was one of those times when it seemed like a good idea at the time, but upon closer inspection, IT WASN'T. And he is paying dearly for it. My heart goes out to all of those affected by the fire, those who lost their belongings. And I am thankful no one was hurt. But I do not believe my brother needs to go to jail for it. He needs to go where he can get the help he needs, that SHOULD have been given to him this whole time, but was shortened each time he asked for it. And he's not the only one. There are a lot of people that have similar conditions that can't get the help they need or the support.

At this point we are NOT looking to post bail for my brother. He is getting the structure he needs right now with structured activities, sleep time, meals etc. It is a safe place for the time being. Although jail is not the place he belongs it is allowing him some time to have more supervision and stability temporarily until he can go on to the next step. Hopefully a treament facility that will give him the care he needs. He even said himself that they watch him and make sure he is eating. It is a level of constant structure that is actually helping him right now as weird as that sounds.
He was told about the Facebook page you set up and thanks you all for it. He appreciates everything you guys are doing. Letters and postcards are welcomed but bail money is not neccesary at this time.

Julia Carro
I talked to Joe today. He sounded in decent spirits, considering. He just recently bought a calling card. He had tried calling me a couple times before but I was busy and my phone was on silent, so I missed the calls.  They are weaning him off his anxiety medicine so he's been rather uncomfortable due to that. He knows it's a one day at a time process and that it'll get easier. He's still not in the block he is supposed to be in. He's in the overflow block which doesn't have some of the same "amenities" like TV etc. It wasn't a very lengthy conversation since he doesn't get much phone time for how much the calling card costs. It was really good to hear from him though.

Ben Misra 
I wanted to take a minute to try and give everyone here a little insight on why Joe is in jail right now. To do this I have to use a movie reference.
In "My Cousin Vinnie " the preface of the movie is that 2 guys go into a grocery store and steal a can of food. When they get pulled over, Ralph Macchio says " WE DID IT", not knowing that they were pulled over for a robbery at the same grocery store where the clerk was killed.
That statement was all they needed to put the guys in jail and start a trial for murder.
In Joes case, someone asked him why his hair dyed blue. He said "I WAS BORED".
They took that statement as why he started the fire, Joe told me that he never made that statement directly to the police, it was just overheard.
So now Joe has to wait for the system to move forward to where Joe can clarify the statement he made.
His lawyer was just handed the case on Monday the 5th and immediately asked for a continuance.
Joes next court date is June 16th. By that time his attorney will be able to see the evidence that the prosecution may have. We feel that they are hanging on the statement Joe made about being bored.
I have talked to the apartment manager she said there is no way Joe meant any harm and it was an accident. Joe would not hurt anyone she told me, they like Joe.
Joe in the past had talked to all his neighbors to make sure that his music wasn't too loud. That is not a sign of a dangerous guy.
Joe tried to put out the fire by stomping it out with is foot. He had to be taken to the hospital for the burns. An arsonist would not have tried to stop the fire.
These are things that will come to light when Joe gets his day in court.
Joes illness caused a house of cards to happen. He left all the cardboard boxes from moving ( around 20 )in a big pile by his stairway. He had all music equipment and computers in the same area. He was writing some music when he was playing with his lighter and lit a piece of packing tape on fire. All the boxes went up and Joe tried to stomp it out with his foot. ( That was the statement he made to the police that "he didn't think it would all go up like that" , he meant the boxes, not the building )When he couldn't put out the fire, he went around to his neighbors and banged on the doors to get everyone out. He then stayed around until the firefighters got there. When the police arrived , they asked where the person living in the apartment was, ( the one on fire), and a neighbor pointed out Joe. When the police approached Joe . Joe explained what happened.
They used the statements of others to arrest Joe.
We all understand that Joe has a mental illness, and the medications we are sure made his reaction time slower, but jail is not where Joe needs to be.
I talk to Joe every evening, he is in good spirits and is getting the meds , food, and sleep he needs, he is becoming clearer as the days go by.

I talked to Joe this evening. He said that he has good news and bad news.
Good news, his attorney is not a Public Defender, he is a well known attorney in Springfield and is known for being a bulldog.
His attorney took this case pro Bono .
Bad news. The attorney has never seen the case until this morning. He asked the court for a continuance until June 16 so he can review the case and see what the prosecution has for evidence.
Joe feels that this case will take a long time. We will keep everyone here up to date as we get info.
Also , Joe is now on a floor that allows him letters, so please write him.
Lets just hope that Joe get a fair and speedy trial and the courts see him as just a casualty of a simple accident.

Sue Misra 

I talked to Joe tonight. He was able to talk longer using his prepaid phone card. The block he's in now has a TV but Joe doesn't watch it much. Most shows on are ones he wouldn't watch. He reads. He traded with someone for a digital radio. It doesn't get many stations but does get NPR. Being able to buy things in the commissary has been good. Joe lost ten pounds but the Hershey's peanut butter cups are really good  so he hopes he won't gain it back. Many guys in there walk around, do push-ups, etc. and he wants to start some exercising. Joe jokingly compared the common area to a high school cafeteria because they sit around eating snacks, drinking coffee, writing, talking, and watching TV. So far he's had no conflicts with others and they're leaving him alone. He's learned he can't 'trust' everybody which goes against his nature. Trading items is common and Joe has learned to guard his stuff.
There are quite a few men in that jail with mental illnesses. The large number of mentally ill inmates is a well documented failure in our nation's health care system. Several of you have talked about that in your posts.
"To learn more about the advocacy and public policy issues that affect adults and children living with mental illness and their loved ones, and how NAMI is providing a strong voice on these issues," check out the advocacy link at http://www.nami.org/
We need to advocate for those who often can't speak for themselves.