Journal entry 1-16-26, Letter to my future parole officer

Had a tumor removed from my nose 1-14-26. I stayed awake for the procedure, cracking all of the appropriate jokes. The doctor and his assistants were nice. They gave me Funions, a juice box, yogurt bites and a granola bar between cutting sessions. The transport officers were empathetic and professional, only tasing me once while I was in belly chains–when I accepted the food from my surgical chair (jk). 

I have another, less dramatic procedure ahead of me, and I expect to heal well.

1-10-2026
Dear Noel,

My name is Patrick Irving. I am 46 years old, have been incarcerated for 11 years and become parole-eligible in 2029. You may remember me from the thousands of letters I sent out from [the Idaho Maximum Security Institution] though the [South Idaho Correctional Institution] mailroom during your time as warden. Those letters were part of a prison project/social experiment that I launched with my father in 2019 (bookofirving82431.com), and have since used as a platform to advocate for our corrections community.

I write this letter, too, as part of that experiment–and on the advice of prison professor Michael Santos. Among other things, Michael is a reentry specialist. He suggests that one in prison should write a letter to their future parole officer to communicate their long-term goals and commitment to forming a healthy PO/client relationship. I couldn’t help but to worry that someone at the District 4 office would misinterpret such a letter, and I figured it better to write you, now the Deputy Chief of Probation & Parole, instead.

What I would most like for you to know is that I remain focused on strengthening the information networks used by criminal justice researchers and writers–emphasis on those who work from incarceration–and supporting prison peer-mentor groups across the globe. I have earned credentials as a journalist and speaker and am now building experience in video production and broadcast to better perform this work.

The enclosed articles are what I’m moving through the mailroom this legislative session. [“Who Should Care for the Elderly In Prison?”, “The Value of Mentors In Prison.“]

I appreciate being able to include you in this exercise, and I hope that you’ll not mind me sharing this letter with others as a template.

Kindly,
Patrick Irving 82431