BACK TO PRISONERS
BACK TO PRISONERS
Back to prisoners
Part One

It all slipped away

"The company I owned went down the drain and over a dozen employees who depended on me were left out of work with families to feed. Addiction has a way of crumbling lives."
- Reflections of David Rostan

My name is David Rostan. I have been in federal prison for the last 22 years. My sentence is mandatory life without parole. I got a life sentence for crack. It is hard to explain what a life sentence is like. It is your worst nightmare.

I grew up in a loving family. My father was a Navy Lieutenant and physics professor. My mother worked for the local hospital in South Florida. I tried cocaine for the first time when I was 26. I was wandering and experimenting. I started using crack in 1994. I used cocaine on a daily basis. My drug use was like an earthquake that hit my life. Two years after my first hit, I got a life sentence for crack.

I hurt many people. I threw away a beautiful marriage to a loving wife because of my decision to break the law. My family watched as I was carried off to prison for life. I broke my mother's heart. She has since died while I've been in prison. The company I owned went down the drain and over a dozen employees who depended on me were left out of work with families to feed.

First strike
SECOND
strike
THIRD
strike
Age 21 - In 1974, David was convicted of selling a hallucinogen.
Sentence:
5 years
Part Two

Earned Trust

"I have worked as a suicide companion in prison. I sit with guys who were feeling suicidal, sometimes throughout the night, to make sure they had someone to talk to and wouldn't hurt themselves. Prison can drive a man to the brink of despair."
- Reflections of David Rostan
-Letter from David Rostan

I keep myself busy and focused on improving my life and others. I have proved myself to staff and have been assigned to several trusted job assignments. I have worked as a suicide companion, sitting with guys who were feeling suicidal, sometimes throughout the night, to make sure they had someone to talk to, and so that they wouldn't hurt themselves. It was a rewarding experience where I learned a lot about human suffering and despair. I had the privilege to help in this position for 6 years.

Presently, I am the clerk for our unit's counselor, where I assist her in helping over 150 guys in our housing unit. I have never wanted to break the trust I have worked so hard to create with staff. And I have no interest in destroying that trust now. I value their trust in me.

First
strike
SECOND strike
THIRD
strike
As a drug user, David was convicted of several cocaine charges between 1980 - 1995
Sentence:
probation & 122 days custody
part three

I still have hope

"I have obtained several college degrees during the last 22 years of my life without parole sentence."
- Reflections of David Rostan
-Determined to win back his freedom, David handwrites his own court filings.

I also have been assigned as the law clerk helping guys understand their cases and explaining the prison. I also earned my paralegal certificate.

Besides working in these trusted jobs, I have taken more than 1,400 hours of continuing education classes and I sign up for any new opportunities that become available under the Release Preparation Program (RPP). I do this despite that my release date literally says "LIFE," and I know I will probably never get out of prison. But I still have hope.

First
strike
SECOND
strike
THIRD strike
David possessed with intent to distribute 186 grams of powder cocaine & 866 grams of crack cocaine. He declined a plea deal to 17 years in prison.
Sentence:
LIFE
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