Jennifer Bigham - North Carolina
#0468315
State: North Carolina
Sentence: 5 years 10 months to 7 years 11 months
Offense: Forgery; Habitual Felon
Court: Union County
Date of Sentencing: 8/8/03
Date of Birth: 6/16/75
Projected Release Date: 2/3/09
Habitual Felonies: Jennifer’s three triggering felonies were all nonviolent forgery convictions (5/13/96; 5/12/97; 11/5/99) that resulted in probation.
Nature of Offense: Jennifer (on the right in the picture) is in prison for forging checks. She was a drug addict for most of her life and forged checks with her former husband to help supply their addiction. She reports that most of these checks were from family members that she often endorsed with her own name. Although her parents brought charges against her, they never intended for Jennifer to serve a long jail sentence and were more worried about her welfare since she was often missing for days at a time. They now regret having filed the charges.
Jennifer’s triggering conviction involved forged checks that mostly belonged to her boyfriend at the time, her uncle, and a married couple that knew Jennifer well. She wrote the checks in May 2002 and charges were filed two months later. The total amount of restitution she owes is $1,605, including repaying a business for items she stole for which she was never convicted. She has since paid $800 to her boyfriend, and according to Jennifer, he too wishes he hadn’t pressed charges.
Other Priors: Jennifer has a misdemeanor Common Law Forgery conviction on 10/27/94 and a DWI in 2000. In addition, she has a Failure to Appear (5/2003).
Guideline Sentence: In North Carolina forgery is a class I felony and warrants a maximum penalty of 12 months. Comparable class I felonies include bingo and displaying false lights on seashore. The habitual felon status elevated Jennifer to a class C felony on par with 2nd degree rape and malicious castration. With a prior record level of III in the mitigated range, Jennifer was sentenced to 70-93 months.
Personal Background: Jennifer grew up in North Carolina with her two sisters and brother. Although her parents were loving and supportive, Jennifer was a rebellious child. She began abusing drugs and alcohol at the age of 14 when she met her eventual husband and father to her children. After running away and a short stay at a drug treatment center, Jennifer left home for good when she was 16. The next year, her husband introduced her to crack cocaine and she became addicted. This same year Jennifer became pregnant with her first child. Three years later in 1997, she had a son. Jennifer says her 10-year relationship with her husband was tumultuous, filled with drugs and abuse. It ended in 1999 when he died of alcohol-related causes.
Jennifer’s addiction has ravaged her life and her family. Although she has attended treatment centers in the past, her stays typically lasted about a month before returning to her husband, to his drugs, and to his physical, mental, and emotional abuse.
While in prison, Jennifer has participated in the few drug rehabilitation programs available, attending AA and NA meetings and is on the waiting list for an intensive treatment program after the Mary Francis Center, a rehabilitation center run by the NC prison system. She has also completed the Drug Alcohol Recovery Treatment (DART) program and become a substance abuse peer counselor. With the hopes of deterring others from making the same mistakes she has made, Jennifer participates in the Think Smart Program and speaks to teens and other groups about the realities of addiction and incarceration.
Jennifer’s mother currently cares for Jennifer’s two children—ages 10 and six. In a letter to FAMM, her mother reports that its impossible to put into words how Jennifer’s sentence has ravaged her family. She writes:
“I cry at least once everyday. Usually, it’s more than that. We miss her so much. Everywhere I look, I see something or someone says something, especially the children, that tears my heart out. I know Jennifer has to answer for the things she’s done and I expect that, but her sentence is entirely too harsh. The sentence doesn’t fit the crime. I sit here and watch the news at night and see people convicted of killing someone that only get a few months more of a sentence than she got. It really makes me mad … She’s not a hardened criminal. She’s a really good person that needs help, not a long prison term.”
Unless Jennifer receives clemency from the Governor she will serve 100 percent of her minimum sentence and be released at the earliest in 2009.
Complied from inmate information, Judgment and Commitment form, Prior Record Worksheet, and NC DOC Public Access Information System.
3/17/04 JC