Emmitt Compito: Sentenced to 84 Years
Sup, y'all? Welcome back. Thank you again for joining us here on one day and a wake up. This is a show where we touch on a little bit of incarceration, but mainly like to highlight on a lot of post incarceration, the struggles, and, you know, the progression that people make being on paper, coming off, all the obstacles it takes to be successful. If you didn't know, this is a Colorado Radio for Justice production.
Herbert Alexander:I am your humble, formerly incarcerated host, Herbert Alexander. Today, we're in for a treat. I'm here with a very, very good friend of mine. I've known him over fifteen years. If I was to describe my man, I would call him a ball hogging, dribbling, Don't like to pass the ball.
Herbert Alexander:Did I say ball hogging on the fast break, three on one, three v one? I'm not gonna pass it to nobody, My partner. My partner Emmett, man. Emmitt Compito. What's up
Emmitt Compito:with you, bro? What's going on, man? I appreciate you having me, man.
Herbert Alexander:Oh, and we and we got my man's cash right here too. Got a a man's cash. Cash. Money. Alright.
Herbert Alexander:So, again, just to touch on things like we're gonna what this show is about is it's called one day in a wake up. And as you know that in prison movie, you'd be like, what do you got left? You know? I got five in a wake up. You know?
Herbert Alexander:But we wanna touch on that time when it was only one day in a wake up. How did that feel that night?
Emmitt Compito:You know
Herbert Alexander:what I'm saying? Yeah. So I just wanna start off with, you know, you were incarcerated. How long were you sentenced to?
Emmitt Compito:02/2004, I was sentenced to eighty four years in prison. Approximately about 2014, I started working on my case to get back in court. During that time, a couple of people in my case brought back some evidence and stuff, and I went back to court. And for pretty much not getting in trouble throughout my time, they cut my sentence in half to forty four years. So after eighteen years of seeing the parole board for the first time, they paroled
Herbert Alexander:Blessings. Did you get it back on a 35B, a reconsideration?
Emmitt Compito:Reconsideration, pretty much. Went back on reconsideration. And like I he looked at my record as my first time being incarcerated. During my time being incarcerated, I was in a lot of trouble, like, having any violence or anything like that. So I just kept my sense of have.
Herbert Alexander:That's dope. And pay I mean, yeah, pays if you wanna go home, it seems like that pays, you know, pays dividends.
Emmitt Compito:Absolutely.
Herbert Alexander:If you're trying to go home.
Emmitt Compito:Yeah. Well, you think I was 23 years old when I went away. Mhmm. So at that time, sad to say, probably it took about eight about seven or eight years before I realized, like, I probably never, never get out of here. Like, gave me a life sentence.
Emmitt Compito:It didn't say life sentence, but eighty four years, I can't live that long. And so I really, I had kids, I don't know, they were teenagers at that time and they're teenagers that go through that little phase And I'm already incarcerated, so that's hard to kind of parent and try to lead them in the right direction, tell them what they shouldn't do while I'm incarcerated. But I just at that at that time, I just wanted to be the best version of a father that I could, which means I couldn't really be a hypocrite in a lot of stuff that I wanted to give him. So I had to make a conscious choice to really just kinda change my life around.
Herbert Alexander:When do you think, if you would go down your line of history, that you made that change, when you decided to make that change?
Emmitt Compito:Honestly, for me, when I started, like, questioning my spirituality, honestly. Like that's like for most people who got spiritual beliefs, they have certain core values. And in my opinion, for the most part, most of us believe like they're just humane things, how to be a good human being. You know what I'm saying? Just good character type stuff.
Emmitt Compito:So once I started to really question things about my faith and look at myself in an environment of prison, hard to be humane. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's it's a savage place. So, like, if you're just a regular nice guy and cool, you won't get it you might get taken advantage of.
Herbert Alexander:Yeah. You know
Emmitt Compito:what I'm saying? So that's always a concern. But at that point in my life, I really I'm fortunate, you know, that I had good friends around me. You know what I'm saying? Good, solid people.
Emmitt Compito:You know what I'm saying? We all made mistakes, and we're trying to do right. We wanna get home to our family. So when you surround yourself with good people in an environment like that, man, that is major. You know?
Emmitt Compito:And I have people like you. Like, you come in there, you wasn't a person who could be led by other people. You know? A lot of people come to prison. They could be led in different directions and persuaded and stuff like that.
Emmitt Compito:You know what I'm saying? But when you you had the ability to be able to stand on your own a little bit and people around you kinda respect that, it makes that type of environment that much easier. You know what I'm saying? So just being a human being and and looking at everybody else's people who made mistakes, necessarily based off of how they might lay their life in there or what their case is and stuff like that. You know?
Emmitt Compito:So just trying to be a better human being. You know?
Herbert Alexander:Alright. So when you get your sentence back, when you give your half the time back, what was that feeling like? Was it was it would you was you excited, or was you like it's the work still isn't done?
Emmitt Compito:I was very excited. You know, it was half of my sentence, but at the same time, forty four years, you don't know how that's gonna play out. At that time, I think I probably was down 15? Maybe about fourteen, fifteen So I'm like, man, I still got some time to go see the parole, or, you know, anything can happen in those environments circumstances. But once I get that time back, it actually opened up the door for me to be involved in other programs and stuff to help me get time off, to kind of just learn.
Emmitt Compito:Because when you have a whole bunch of time, a lot of doors are shut as far as, like, elevating education and stuff like that.
Herbert Alexander:Yeah. I'm hoping that I'm hoping that they work on that because I went through the same thing where I couldn't get, you know, just certain programming that I wanted to get into that even even your program your case manager would assign you programming. But when you go to, you know, when you go to fill out the application for that programming Sure. To do that course or sign up for it, they tell you, hey. You know, this isn't this is from guys with five years.
Herbert Alexander:Man, see the parole board within five years.
Emmitt Compito:For sure.
Herbert Alexander:So that's how they treat it. But now you go to the parole board, it took you how long before you were able to see to hear a to hear a answer?
Emmitt Compito:Man, so I did a total of eighteen years. Seventeen, about seventeen of those years were in linemen. So my last year when I'm supposed to see on the parole board, they sent me to Sterling to Lowsides. That's a whole different environment in life. But COVID had hit.
Emmitt Compito:COVID had just hit. And Oh, you left before COVID? Yeah. COVID COVID hit when it was in when I was in Sterling. And it was kinda crazy because people were speculating like, man, they wanna get people out of here or nah, they don't want to send people out to the public.
Emmitt Compito:So you kind of unsure what you're trying Yeah. So it was kind of scary. Have my hopes up because I have been keeping myself straight, really just working on myself. And I had made I had a lot of support. Had a lot of support.
Emmitt Compito:So I had high hopes. I've seen a boarded tick, jeez. It felt like at least like three months or so. Felt like a Really? Yeah.
Emmitt Compito:A while. Think it probably was like a month and a half or something like that before we heard back.
Herbert Alexander:Oh, So during that time, you was pretty much, you had that anxious feeling.
Emmitt Compito:Yeah. It was definitely an anxious, anxious feeling. And I was trying to parole to a new area other than when I caught my case in Colorado Springs. I was trying to go to Denver. I don't have family out in Colorado.
Emmitt Compito:My family's from New York, so that was another concern. But the people I did have around me, everything worked out and I'm paroled.
Herbert Alexander:Yes. Paroled always helps.
Emmitt Compito:For sure. For sure. Now
Herbert Alexander:the night that you find out you're gonna get paroled, now they come with your date, What was that like that night?
Emmitt Compito:I was happy, but anxious because I didn't like I don't have nothing.
Herbert Alexander:I don't got no
Emmitt Compito:family out here. Don't got no clothes. I'm like, damn, I get out. I'm be on parole. I had to get a job.
Emmitt Compito:Like, it's it's a lot of anxiety because I don't know how I'm gonna take care of any of stuff. And even though I had saved up some money and I did have good family support, I really didn't wanna you know, I didn't wanna be a burden. Like, they helped me. They took care of me pretty much my whole time being locked up. So to have an opportunity to be able to come home and stand as a man and take care of yourself, like, I'm like, oh, man, this is kinda it's a lot to deal with.
Emmitt Compito:But it was a cool process. I I was blessed to be able to get out and Seth Seth gave me my first job, man. I didn't know nothing about flooring,
Herbert Alexander:man. That's how Seth ready. Big Another
Emmitt Compito:good friend of mine who's who had got out, he was down as a juvenile, Jensen. Mhmm. Eric Jensen. He was a super, super instrumental. He actually introduced me to set.
Emmitt Compito:I told him, I was like, bro, I need a job, man. I need to get working as soon as possible. And This is when you got out? Yes. Is when I got out.
Herbert Alexander:Okay. So you were tripping because you were like, I'm going out to the world with nothing.
Emmitt Compito:Yeah. I'm going out. I don't I don't know nobody. Like, I I know people out there, but they're just getting out there, getting their self together. I don't know where to go.
Emmitt Compito:I've never been in Denver.
Herbert Alexander:So they gave you parole. They didn't give you a halfway house or anything.
Emmitt Compito:Went out. I was on an ankle monitor for thirty days.
Herbert Alexander:Ankle monitor for thirty days. Whoo.
Emmitt Compito:I was blessed to have a a good friend out there. She was a social worker, and she allowed me to parole to her and get my life started.
Herbert Alexander:Cool. Alright. So you said Seth gave you your first job?
Emmitt Compito:Seth gave me my first job.
Herbert Alexander:Alright. And you met Seth through Eric Yep. Okay. So, like, people are like, who are these people and everything? Like, Eric Jensen is a friend of ours.
Herbert Alexander:We were locked up with him. Seth Reddy. Y'all know Seth be on Monday in a wake up. Seth is Colorado ready for justice. He's the other co director.
Herbert Alexander:One of three co directors. Okay. So you were working with Seth. How was that? How was that?
Emmitt Compito:Man, it was a great experience. He was he told me about his journey of getting out and, you know, really having a hard time, like, keeping finding good workers. Mhmm. He had built a business of his own, and he's very, very talented at what he do. Mhmm.
Emmitt Compito:And just he's very dedicated. You know, he has a passion for the work that he does. So, you know, to have a helper and to need a helper, they gotta come along. They gotta be into it like he into it it's not gonna come out how it's supposed to. So that was definitely one of his concerns.
Emmitt Compito:Be on time, you know, be ready to work and be ready to learn. And I had never did florin in my life. Never. Like, I ain't gonna go
Herbert Alexander:on now. When I
Emmitt Compito:was looking at the stuff that had to be done, he walked me through, I'm like, oh my goodness. I don't
Herbert Alexander:What did I get myself into?
Emmitt Compito:Oh my goodness, but he taught me so much in such a short timeframe. And it actually, it gave me a lot of confidence within myself. Being thrown in an arena, I know nothing about and actually being able to pick up a tool and
Herbert Alexander:a skill. You know? It was real good. That was dope. Alright.
Herbert Alexander:So y'all are you off parole now?
Emmitt Compito:Off parole.
Herbert Alexander:You're off parole. So did you have any stumbles through the way or anything? No stumbles?
Emmitt Compito:Oh, I had a lot of stumbles. I can honestly say it wasn't that I did all the right things or I didn't end up back in You know, I just had good people around me, and I was blessed and humble. Like, it's crazy. You'd be incarcerated for a very long time, and you really don't see no way out. Then you see all these guys coming in and coming out, and, you know, as you're still doing your time, it's easy to get in your mind like, oh, man, I I would never do that.
Emmitt Compito:I would never do this until you find yourself in some circumstances, in certain situations, altercations. You know, when you when you're incarcerated, just simple stuff. Like, there's I realized in prison, there is such a high respect level. You know, you don't just walk around disrespecting people, cutting people off, like, you know, it's it's it's based off of respect. In society, the respect level is very low.
Emmitt Compito:A person that cuts you off, cuts you out, anything at any given moment. And, like, how do you really respond to that? Mhmm. You know? So I had a few situations.
Emmitt Compito:Some I handled well, some I didn't handle well, you know? But thankfully, I had good family support around me that when I fell, I didn't fall too low. You know, I had people around me to kinda help me get back
Herbert Alexander:on track. I've seen some families where they'd like, I didn't have enough of this. Like, I'm done with you.
Emmitt Compito:Man, support. Support is everything. Support is everything. Like, just genuine love. You know, you're not gonna always agree or do what they want you to do, but them just being there when you fall down.
Emmitt Compito:And I learned a valuable thing from Seth. You know, it's when I got a job after I was working with him, you get into an actual job sector, just learning how to work with other people, you know, stuff like that. And one thing I learned from Sev is I wanted to be in a position to be like my own boss, to have my own company. He's actually Mhmm. Was an inspiration to me starting my own company.
Herbert Alexander:I'm proud to be his friend. Oh, absolutely. Straight up. Was there anything that that gave you problems adjusting after being locked up that long to the road?
Emmitt Compito:Being around people. I remember, I'd never been to Denver before. When I paroled, I paroled to Westminster. And I went to the mall, the young lady I was with. And we're walking through the mall, were just shopping, and we went into a hat store.
Emmitt Compito:And you know, I saved up money and stuff like that. Like, we're about to go shop by shop, nice amount of money on me. And I'm in there looking at some hats and I put out my money and I turn around and it's like three or four dudes in there and they're kinda like arguing with you, kinda like side eyeing me. And it was crazy. I legit thought they were gonna try to rob me or do something, and the lady I was with, she was with me.
Emmitt Compito:And so I don't want no altercation there because it looked like they was about to fight, and I didn't know if they was trying to, like, target towards my area. So I was I was instantly worried about her, and I'm like, yo, go to the car. Go to the car. And she's looking at me, I was like, just go to the car. And she leaves and goes to the car, and I'm turning around, and then I guess they really wasn't paying me no chance.
Emmitt Compito:They were about to fight amongst themselves, but they just trying to look around the area, they had went out of the store, and so I lagged behind them, and they were arguing, you know, And I just went out the mall and went to the car and my heart's beating all fast and I'm like, yo, what the So now I'm feeling bad for her because she don't know what's going on. Like, man, go to the car. And that was one thing I was like, because for a long time being in prison, in my opinion, I tried my best to not be institutionalized, you know, not to go to the stereotypical guy locked up. And that was the first time I realized I was institutionalized. And I was like, yo, this is crazy.
Emmitt Compito:Like, I'm I'm looking around, ain't no security. You don't got nothing. Like, you know, I'm on parole. Like, I was I was very
Herbert Alexander:had You're
Emmitt Compito:like crazy moment.
Herbert Alexander:They're like, there's because there's like, there's nobody here to stop nobody from doing anything. So you're just like, you feel naked. Yeah.
Emmitt Compito:Yeah. So that was a that was a struggle for me. So at that point, they sent me a mob surrounding me and get into areas where mobiles, large crowds, people just walking through. You know? Because people, when they walk through, they don't say excuse me.
Emmitt Compito:They don't say nothing. They just Oh, man. And so I'm like, it's a rather I would rather not be in those situations than not knowing because you never know that. You think somebody's gonna plunk you, push you, anything, you know, and they especially if you got your family with you, you know, it's it's just it was a very, very uncomfortable situation. So it took me a while to be able to get to the point where I could go to the bar and just be like a Yeah.
Emmitt Compito:Person.
Herbert Alexander:Like you said, there was a time where I would just be walking and people would bump into you and you're just like
Emmitt Compito:was crazy. I went through therapy and that's actually what led me to having a Service dog? Having a service dog, because it literally like an hour ago, in place, would feel like people were watching me, attention is on me. And that was something, as having him, especially his breed, like no matter where I go, he has the attention, you know. So it kinda made me feel a little bit more comfortable.
Emmitt Compito:Even when people are looking my direction, something like that, I'll automatically think, well, they're looking at cash. You know? So that kinda helped me to be out in public a little bit more.
Herbert Alexander:Maybe I needed one because I mean, I just started eating out of silverware at restaurants. I'm literally gonna be like, hey. You guys getting plastic back there?
Emmitt Compito:It's it's definitely a testament. You don't realize it, like, being in culture, especially if you whatever your life was prior, you were pushed out in public and stuff like that. Don't think you think you would just automatically go back to that, but it it takes a while to obsess.
Herbert Alexander:So one of our staple questions on one day to wake up is if you saw some younger gentleman coming out of prison, you or even a woman coming out, you know, just hypothetically, what advice would you give them to help them become successful, not to go back? Because you didn't go back, did you? No. You never went back to prison? No.
Herbert Alexander:So like, yeah, what is what the, you know what I'm saying? What's the blueprint? What are these, what is the blueprint
Emmitt Compito:these cats need to Follow directions.
Herbert Alexander:You have to, when
Emmitt Compito:you get out, if you're in parole, you're assigned a parole officer. And I think a lot of times we're intimidated by their position. Some of them say like, the attitude of a parole officer is not the best, which I mean, you gotta look out for both sides. You got a parole officer who's dealing with, I don't know how many people, different personalities, different lifestyles, know, he probably being cussed out, all type of stuff. So like, they never always had the best attitude.
Emmitt Compito:Like, I'm never always had the best attitude. I know they are authority figure. And I just follow directions. I ask questions. A lot of time, you know, when I was on parole, I was scared to ask questions.
Emmitt Compito:I was scared to ask because I go out to see my I was scared to, you know, different things. I was on the ankle monitor for thirty days. I was having a hard, hard time when I was incarcerated. Certain period of time, I was on medication for sleeping. So now I'm out, super anxiety, hard to function.
Emmitt Compito:I gotta go to work with Seth. Struggling bad. I had to figure it out because guess what? I figured it out for eighteen years in prison. Why do I think now that I'm out Yeah.
Emmitt Compito:I had a luxury of not following rules and regulations. Following rules and regulations is what got me the opportunity to get out. So I don't care what. I wanna know all the rules and regulations. I'm a follow them if I got questions, if I got issues.
Emmitt Compito:I'm a bring it to the attention. Whatever they say from here, that's why I'm so disrespectful. Some people think it's unfair. We think we like, every parole officer is different. We handle people different.
Emmitt Compito:That's just what it is.
Herbert Alexander:I think when you go because I understand that. I go to a parole officer, and they see my file. They see my affiliations and everything, and automatically thought I was on some BS from the beginning. So it kind of gave me, like, you know, it was like the side eye treatment, like another one of you. You know?
Herbert Alexander:Just like you when I was when I got to that point that I didn't get in any trouble, you know, nothing crazy. I kept a good record when I got to the halfway house. I handled my business there. Clean record. You know what I'm saying?
Herbert Alexander:Now I get to I get to, parole. Parole within six months, I don't even say six months, four months, I was on what's called low custody parole. And you do all you do is call in once a month. And, you know, they had already said told me earlier, he was like, hey, man. If you keep doing well, don't catch no cases.
Herbert Alexander:Don't catch no cases. We'll go ahead. Not saying that I you can catch technicals, but, yeah, don't cap just don't put yourself in situations where they can send you back. You know, do what you gotta do, and they will take you off parole. They're like, we'll put you in for early release.
Herbert Alexander:I got put in for early release. A month later, they were like, hey. You're off parole as of today. I was like, bam.
Emmitt Compito:That's crazy. We got filed lice for two different people. And same thing with me. I was on ankle monitor for thirty days. I had a five year parole.
Emmitt Compito:I got out October of twenty twenty. I was off parole before the summer of twenty three. I had cleared my bro. And the thing was, like, they are they wanted me to do drug classes. I I was mad because I'm like, I don't have a drug case.
Emmitt Compito:I don't have a drug problem. But guess what I did? I went there, had assessed the drug. Last week, he said, I don't need
Herbert Alexander:one. Mhmm.
Emmitt Compito:I gave that to my I gave that to my parole officer. So she actually had I was doing so good. She actually tried to put me in early discharge after for two years two years on parole, I got denied two times. And what I found out was after the third time she put me in, because after the second time I was denied, I'm like, why am I denied? The problem was when he looked at my file, he didn't see I had completed a drug class and that was one of my requirements.
Emmitt Compito:So then when she realized that, she went back to him and gave him the assessment that I got from the drug class place and next time I went out.
Herbert Alexander:Snap of approval.
Emmitt Compito:So just go through the process. It may not seem fair. You may not like it. Ask questions. But at the end of the day, whatever they say, it goes.
Emmitt Compito:Do what you need to do.
Herbert Alexander:Life isn't fair, bro. None of this is fair. Life ain't fair for nobody. You know? So you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Herbert Alexander:You gotta walk your lane. Do what you gotta do. Get up out
Emmitt Compito:of that situation. So many people don't understand, know, luckily for me, even though being young and the first time being a cursory person and being in trouble, I still wasn't enough where I didn't do all the right things. I I got out little trouble here and there, but, man, here here we are almost seventeen years later and they are looking at my file. When I came in at 02/2004, even the little mishaps didn't have no vines, no advice and stuff like that. All that stuff matters.
Emmitt Compito:And you don't realize that when you come in with all this time. And I've seen so many people, man, who came in, had a real bad attitude, real bad record early on. But as they grew, they changed and they became better people, but still was held to the standards of when they first came in. All that stuff matters. So I was blessed to be able to do some of the right things and really try to focus on myself.
Emmitt Compito:It don't matter about the classes and programs they give you. If you don't want to change yourself, if you don't have that in yourself, it's gonna be a bad situation. It wasn't until I wanted to change. So I looked at myself in the mirror and I'm like, bro, gotta change. Straight
Herbert Alexander:Spikes. You got anything else you wanna add, bro?
Emmitt Compito:No, I just I'm very proud of you, Seth, all you guys, man. It's not I said I didn't retangle. It wasn't that I didn't go back or get violent because I did all the right things. You know, just seeing you guys out there, y'all ready y'all ready walking and walk. You know?
Emmitt Compito:And it's not easy. It's not easy at all. Coming to y'all situation. Y'all got families to take care of, things of that nature, but y'all able to put helping really before yourself. Because I'm pretty sure you can go into a different sector and qualify.
Emmitt Compito:You're very smart. You can take a host of different jobs. You know what I'm saying? But this is something, man, that's in your heart to be able to give back. And not everybody has that strength or ability to be able to walk that type of road.
Emmitt Compito:So I'm proud of y'all, man. I'm proud
Herbert Alexander:of what y'all doing. I thank you for this opportunity, and you're definitely gonna support every other company. Appreciate it. Appreciate it, man. Appreciate everybody coming through, watching, joining.
Herbert Alexander:Remember, hit that subscribe, hit that like, show some love. Colorado Radiant for Justice. You know what I'm saying? Instagram, Facebook, follow. Show some love, baby.
Herbert Alexander:Hey. And just so you know, even when he when when I finally did get the ball, he was on the opposite side. I cooked his ass. That's why I'm missing his tooth because I cooked his ass.
Emmitt Compito:I'm sorry, bro. Alright.
Herbert Alexander:This is one day and a wake up, man. Much love to everybody, man. Cash, you're sleeping. What's wrong with
Emmitt Compito:you,
Herbert Alexander:bro. This sleep, broke. You're missing out. We thank you all for joining, man. Appreciate it.
