ID: re-entry

A good series of articles about the challenges of being on the outs, by Melissa Davlin of the Twin Falls Times-News:

A new deal: Part one - Preparing for parole: Is this chance different for convicted meth dealer?

At 48, Daniel David Arnold didn't have a lot to his name... "I'll be 49 in July and I've wasted over 25 years of my life on drugs and alcohol," he said in February, sitting in his blue prison uniform... He wants more from his life, and there's a chance he could get it. On April 9, Arnold was released on parole from the work center, given another opportunity to live a sober life...

The first freedoms - Former inmate encounters obstacles, joys of life on the outside

Snow fell quietly on Dan Arnold as he stood outside US Bank... He had been a free man for less than an hour. He had no cash, no phone, no car of his own - just a check that was no use if he couldn't cash it. Arnold put his hands in his pockets, shifting and looking at the ground. He had spent much of the past decade incarcerated, and now he was on his own...

Safety in routine - Parolee remains wary of people, places with potential to drag him back to drugs

Dan Arnold is on parole after spending four years in prison and in jail for dealing meth in Canyon County. After his release from the Twin Falls Community Work Center in April, he decided to stay in Magic Valley. Make a life here. Try to stay clean. It hasn't been easy, but he has had some help. So far, he is on the right track...