Todd Patterson, the author of The Testimony, The Message, and The Victory: Deliverance from Evil, continues his conversation with rolling out. In part two, he talks about his arrest and time in prison:
What happened that led to you being incarcerated?
The next day when I came home from work I found her drinking and using drugs, something she promised never to do again after a year of sobriety and while taking care of our newborn son. I didn’t quite know what was going on but I proceeded to pack my music equipment and clothes to leave. That’s when she grabbed my phone and ran out to the front yard, calling the police saying, “911, he’s hitting me, he’s hitting me.” After all, I had done for her. Police responded and I was arrested.
What were you charged with?
I didn’t quite understand why I was arrested. But I was charged with cruelty to children and simple battery, and my journey began. I later found myself facing five felonies. I made bail a few times and each time I was put back in immediately on false charges of terroristic threats, aggravated stalking, stalking, tampering with evidence. I later found out that she was told by the pastor that if she didn’t have me locked up he would kill her mother and her sister. I have all of this on tapes, police reports, documents … everything!
How did prison change you?
When I went to prison, I knew that I was innocent. I was surrounded by bars and I had to talk to God to keep from going crazy. Reading the Bible allowed me to grow spiritually and kept hope within in me. But I also began to become my own lawyer. Over the year that I was incarcerated, I wrote to the judge, lawyers, GBI and others involved with my case. In the end, I wound up writing what would become my book.
What happened next?
Finally, I had my day in court and was able to present all of the evidence and what I had gone through. The judge dropped the felony charges and I was free.
I later had to battle with the foster care system to get my son back from the state. He had a series of health issues from birth and I used to sing him to sleep. During our first visit, which lasted 45 minutes, I saw him come through the door and he looked just like me. I promised him I would never leave him again and took all the necessary parenting classes and drug tests to get him back. When I got before the panel for custody, I told my story and the judge said: “Give this man his son and leave him alone.”
I received a standing ovation in the courtroom. A year after being released, I later found that while I was in jail I had a daughter. I was given a double blessing like Job. All the time that I was worried about one child and God gave me double. My daughter and I have been together for nine years.
