My name is Randal Bookout. I’m more than federal inmate # 490390177. I’m a father, a grandfather, a son, a friend, and a husband. And there is much more to my story than the government’s version. I’m hopeful that my story will resonate with you and compel you to support me in my effort to call attention to the striking injustices that permeate my case, so I can receive a sentencing commutation (which is similar to a Presidential Pardon) from the President of the United States, no small task.  

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I’m 55 years old. I’m from Dallas. My parents, who are now 82, were college sweethearts as Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. They have been married for nearly 60 years. My father was a physician, and my mother was a loving housewife who was also an avid golfer and a scuba instructor. I also have a wife, two daughters (an ER Nurse and a professional makeup artist), and a son (a student), all in their 20s. And as of July 13 of this year (2020), I am a proud grandfather. In short, my family is my life, the center of my universe. Furthermore, they have rallied around me during this time. I cannot overstate the importance of their emotional support.  

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Additionally, I spent more than 30 years cultivating my skills as a professional photographer, owning my own photography studio for 25 years of my 30-year career. My downfall: I have been plagued by addiction throughout my life. I was sober for a small period after I lost my brother to a fatal drug overdose. However, it was my proximity to methamphetamine that resulted in my near-two-decades-long federal prison sentence.

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Importantly, before receiving my lengthy federal prison sentence, I had never spent a day in prison. In 2014, I reluctantly waived my Constitutional rights to indictment by a grand jury by pleading guilty, in federal court, to a single $250 drug deal (which I told my attorney, on the record before my guilty plea, was really an $80 drug deal for personal use, not distribution), only to discover at sentencing that the court was going to hold me responsible for more than 50 additional uncharged drug deals and related activities. Just like that, my guilty plea for a single $250 drug deal was turned into more than 50 drug deals; just like that, my sentencing range ballooned from 18 months in prison to nearly 20 years in prison. I am invested in calling attention to the injustices that pervade my case and the abusive practices that produced my conviction and consequent prison sentence. 

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I’m hopeful that the injustices that occurred in my case will elicit an emotional reaction and thereby compel you to support my campaign for Clemency. Perhaps you are a friend of mine. Or perhaps you are a politician or legal scholar or law professor. Or maybe you are a legal advocate such as Miss U.S.A. (an attorney who devotes her life to helping prisoners attain Clemency), Kim Kardashian (a true saint who has nothing to gain and everything to lose by putting her life on hold to study law so she can help prisoners), Amy Povah (founder of the CAN-DO Foundation), Brittany K. Barnett (an attorney whose mom was imprisoned and who has devoted her life not to the law, but to justice), or Jessica Jackson (a legal advocate who works tirelessly to fix a broken justice system) – all people who are driven not by a career in law, but by their hearts (as well as an acute sense of compassion) to help suffering and powerless prisoners attain their freedom.

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Whoever you are, I implore you to please read about my case. I don’t want money. I want you to be my voice, to tell my story, to call attention to the glaring unfairness of my conviction and sentence. If you have a friend, tell him or her. If you know someone who has influence, tell her or him about me. For clarity, my goal in using the digital world is to shine a light on my case so I can get the attention of the President of the U.S. and receive a grant of Clemency. So, talk, please. Tell my story. Be my voice.

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Alice Marie Johnson was serving life in prison when she made a brief YouTube video. Kim Kardashian happened to come across it. And she facilitated Ms. Johnson’s release (though a sentencing commutation from the President). So, talk and share. The sky is the limit. Anything is possible. Direct friends and family and colleagues to my web page. Sign my Petition. Contact me.  

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Notably, there is no parole in the federal system. Thus, a sentence of nearly 20 years, is devastating to a man in his fifties, a crushing blow. But I am resilient. I have hope and faith in abundance. And I am asking you to help me fight for my life. With all that said, I want to call special attention to a point. I am not blameless. My hands are not 100 percent clean. I made some mistakes — many mistakes. To state the obvious, a federal prison sentence (with no parole) of nearly two decades, does not allow me to learn and move forward a better man with a fresh perspective. It crushes me, and it devastates my family, rendering my life unsalvageable. If I have to serve my full term, I will be nearly 70 years old when I am released (if my health holds up). The stakes are high. Please be my voice.