Interjector/Supporter (6:51)

Right?

Todd (6:52)

So I'm going to make sure that I follow through and that I'm going to tell you now, Mr. Cheatham, I want to speak to you. Albert Cheatham, three time cancer survivor. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. You are an ass, you're an abuser, you're foul mouthed. And I'm going to report you via this podcast to Beth Reese, the head of oia, about you putting your hands on an inmate that you had no business doing. And you did so in the presence of Rick Stover of the regional director of Christy Beshears, myself, my wife and multiple other staff members and inmates that was in that room. And I'm going to call for your resignation or your outright termination. So I'm glad that I have this platform to look you in the face and tell you, because you don't. You and I, we're not going to do this out here in the street because you'd have a different outcome. I promise you that you ain't gonna Run up on me and run your mouth on the streets to me like you did in that prison. So I want you to know that you will either resign or you will be fired. Because I'm putting together now a website, and we are going. I'm going to initiate a class action lawsuit against you. Dennis Profitt, Mandy Ramsey Richardson, the warden, the AW And Janet Genilant. So I want to make that very clear to you now. You don't have to hear it through the grapevine anymore. You ain't got to call an inmate into SIS and say, what did Chrisley say? Chrisley said it to you. So we then leave after this is over, and we're told that Hackett had made a threat that he was going to slap the shit out of me.

Interjector/Supporter (8:56)

Right.

Todd (8:57)

Oh, God.

Julie (8:58)

This is. As we were trying to leave.

Todd (9:00)

Yeah. Oh, my God. Please. Why couldn't that have happened? Why couldn't that have happened had that happened? Oh, my God.

Julie (9:12)

Well, I'm glad that it didn't. And we were ushered out the back door instead.

Todd (9:17)

Yes. Staff walked us out the back door to our car. We left. And before I can even get to the plane to get home, my phone. Was my phone blowing up?

Interjector/Supporter (9:29)

Yeah.

Todd (9:29)

Was it blowing up from staff members? Yeah, staff members hitting me up, saying, dude, you killed that. You killed that speech. But just so you know, before I got there, what was staff members telling me to do when I got there with this speech, to be truthful and.

Julie (9:46)

Let them have it?

Todd (9:47)

And how many times. How many times did I get people sending me text messages saying, burn it down? Staff members saying, burn it down. Because they're tired of the corruption and the abuse as well. And so I have to give credit to Director Marshall because after he looked into all of this, he chose to go ahead and shut that prison down. Now, keep in mind, Colette Peters was going to shut down seven facilities, seven camps. He stuck with Pensacola to shut it down, but he decided to keep some open. He decided to keep several of them open. Duluth and another one in Virginia, Morgantown.

Julie (10:28)

Morgantown, West Virginia.

Todd (10:29)

Yeah, West Virginia. So he decided to keep Morgantown and Duluth open, but he chose out of those seven, to keep those two open, but to stick with the other five, Pensacola being one of them. So this man is doing his work and his team is doing their work to know that that facility was corrupt from the top all the way down. When you have staff members coming in and saying, I want to shake your hand, congratulations, man, I'm glad you're home. I'm glad you're out of here. But because you were here, you're going to make change.

Julie (11:05)

So it was a stressful day.

Todd (11:07)

It was a stressful day.

Julie (11:08)

It was a stress. I'm glad it's over. And it wasn't even really stressful for me because I didn't have the emotional attachment to it that you have.

Todd (11:17)

Well, I think what you said, you said, oh, my God, there was. We didn't have this kind of drama.

Julie (11:25)

No, I'm so grateful because I did not have any of that, like, that drama. It was. It was crazy. I'm glad it was over. I was. But I was emotionally spent from it. I mean, by 8:30 last night, I was sound asleep. I was so.

Todd (11:38)

And at 10 o', clock, I was sound.

Julie (11:40)

It was crazy. And I am glad it's over. I think we had said you were going to do this, move on now.

Todd (11:48)

I said I was going to move.

Julie (11:49)

On still with your reforms, deal with everything. But you're going to try to let some of the anger within you go and put it on more positive things of making change, of doing what you're doing in the bureau. And I think that's important.

Todd (12:05)

But I don't want my tone to come across because I am angry.

Julie (12:10)

Yes, it's very obvious. Like, I'm exhausted from this podcast. I'm like.

Todd (12:16)

I am angry because I know what I witnessed and I know that after I left, it got worse because they felt like there was no one there to tell on them. And I want to be very clear, folks, this is not just happening in one prison. This is happening all over the country. And whether you believe in prison or you don't believe in prison, or if someone does something wrong, they should go to prison. Okay, that's okay. But they don't get to go to prison to be mistreated, to be dehumanized, to be broken.

Julie (12:48)

To have their spirit broken.

Todd (12:49)

Exactly. To have everything stripped away from them, from their loved ones to their homes, to their cars, to their children. I mean, I watched Cheatham deny an inmate because he had 11 children. He literally said, well, you're going to have four. He's literally making this man pick four children out of 11 that he can see. That's not okay.

Interjector/Supporter (13:19)

No, it's not.

Todd (13:20)

That's not reform.

Interjector/Supporter (13:21)

No.

Todd (13:22)

That's not rehabilitation. That's creating anger. And what happens when you create anger, you start creating a cycle of revenge of someone who wants to strike back. This individual was not that kind of person.

Interjector/Supporter (13:37)

Right.

Todd (13:37)

He's a devout Christian and he worked it out. And someone went over Cheatham's head. I think it was the regional office that went over his head. But I am angry.

Julie (13:49)

Yes, you are.

Todd (13:50)

And I am bitter. But I don't want to give that up, because I feel like that if I give that up, that some of the fire and the drive gets out gets away from me. And I have a lot of men, 157,000 men and women right now that are. That are sitting there, that not many of them have voices. They have a voice, but no one's listening to it. It's only by the grace of God, our daughter and Donald Trump that we're sitting here today having this. Having this conversation. Had Savannah not had the voice that she has and the capabilities of being able to move mountains and get to this location and this location.

Julie (14:28)

Alice Johnson and Alice Johnson, President Trump and everyone else.

Todd (14:31)

Yes. And not just. And not just. Not just that, but, you know, all the way from. From different congressmen and senators and things that was involved in our. In our situation, Governors throughout the country.

Julie (14:42)

We'd still be sitting.

Todd (14:43)

We would still be sitting there. And I want to be that voice. You know, it was a. It was a heavy day yesterday.

Julie (14:50)

Very heavy.

Todd (14:50)

It was a heavy day. But then we're at home this morning, you know, we're sitting there eating, and I get a text message, turn on the Faulkner Focus. Now, folks, let me explain.

Julie (15:00)

I think it's called Outnumbered was the actual.

Todd (15:03)

I always called her Faulkner Focus.

Julie (15:04)

So Harris Faulkner, but I don't think that's.

Todd (15:06)

I think that's called Outnumbered with Harris Faulkner. But we always called her the Faulkner Focus because we looked at her as being the person who was going to deliver the facts of what was going on, Right? So we focused on that. And so I get a text message, turn on the news, turn on Fox. There's a segment coming up with Harris Faulkner. I know you love her. And so Julie's in the laundry room, and I run in and I go, julie, get it on Fox. Harris is coming on. And she turns it on. And it was the. It was the nicest, most honest piece of coverage that we've seen in such a long time, Right? And coming from someone that I had never met, that I've. That I've only had huge admiration for. And then to see that, I viewed that as a God moment, Right? Because this is someone that, literally, my friend Melvin Williams and I, we used to watch Harris all the time. You know, at my busted summer camp, we would watch that. Her show all the time. And so to watch that piece today, and to hear her talk about the, you know, the. The politics that went on in our prosecution and. And how things were handled and whatever, it really did bring something to me. So I'm grateful for that. Harris, I've never met you, but I hope to meet you one day. I'm very grateful for that. I'm grateful for Tomi Lahren, who was on there today, who was. Who spoke, and, you know, I've always loved her because I always said this. This girl right here is brilliant. Even when she was much younger, she was doing all this stuff, and I would watch Tommy and I'd say, my God, this child is brilliant. This girl is literally on top of her shit to be this young. And now look at her today. She's with Fox. Someone that I had said long before she was ever with a network. This girl's going somewhere, and look at where she's sitting today. And then, you know, my new friend Griff, who was on there, love, love that I got to meet him through that post that they put out. So that helped to lighten my load today. Just that little bit of kindness.

Interjector/Supporter (17:09)

Right?

Todd (17:09)

So if that little bit of kindness can help me imagine what the world could do to just be kind to your trash collector, to your mailperson, to the person that's cleaning your house or your car or the person that's in the checkout line in front of you, it doesn't cost you anything to give a kind word of encouragement.

Interjector/Supporter (17:29)

Right?

Julie (17:30)

Yeah. And that was. That was. It was. It was a very nice kind of long clip that we got. Little segment. So that. Thank you.

Todd (17:38)

Yes. And so, you know, I want to be that for not just all the incarcerated individuals, but for everyone in the world. You know, I will be kind to you. You know, I have that capability until you just.

Julie (17:52)

Until you don't.

Todd (17:53)

Until I don't. And normally that's when you need to find out.

Julie (17:57)

With that being said, this has exhausted me.

Todd (18:01)

You're weak anyway. You're driving a forklift up there. You had. I'm have to have a break after this, so. But how do. How do you feel? Because I got a thing on the Instagram the other day saying that you look so much better that the lights back in your eyes.

Julie (18:17)

Well, I would hope so. I'm home.

Todd (18:19)

I was hoping you was going to say you attributed that to your bedroom life.

Julie (18:22)

Yeah, I'm home. I'm home. You know?

Todd (18:26)

You know, she's home with Daddy, I think.

Julie (18:30)

No, in all seriousness, I think people don't understand. You don't Understand it if you've never walked in our shoes.

Todd (18:36)

That's right.

Julie (18:36)

If you've never been. And when I say walked in our shoes, I mean, none of us understand incarcerated person.

Todd (18:43)

But I don't even think it's about incarceration. Julie. I literally said this to someone, you know, that I was sitting in the car messaging with before I came in here.

Interjector/Supporter (18:52)

Right.

Todd (18:52)

That people will take from you for as long as you're willing to give.

Interjector/Supporter (18:56)

Right.

Todd (18:57)

You never know how sincere they are in the friendship until you stop giving.

Julie (19:01)

That's right. So true.

Todd (19:02)

Because. And everyone's problems, their problem may be a child that has a cold, and your problem is that you had a flat tire on the highway. Their problem is bigger than your flat tire.

Julie (19:18)

But not to them.

Todd (19:19)

No. Their problem to them is bigger.

Julie (19:21)

Everyone's heart is their heart, and I've said that many, many times.

Todd (19:25)

So I don't think that we can fault people for not feeling the same way we feel about our pain. Because. And just like you said, don't worry.

Julie (19:34)

This final little bit was about me and about my light and about me being bright and shiny and my light being back on.

Todd (19:41)

Well, you know what they say, it does that for your skin.

Julie (19:43)

Whatever, Todd. You know, I think people don't realize just how difficult it is to be back into society, to be thrown back in. I am so grateful again, President Trump, Alice, my daughter, everyone that helped me get here. But it was a huge adjustment coming back, you know, just. And all of a sudden just coming home. And I think people expected us to be the same way that we were before we left. And I don't think you can go through this and be the same person. I will never be the same.

Todd (20:19)

If you do, then it was wasted.

Julie (20:22)

Right. But even good and bad, you know, I think you just. I think it changes you. And not all for the good, not all for the bad. So I do think it took me some time just to re. Acclimate to, you know, just get back. You know, you develop this kind of hardness. I feel like when you're in prison survival mode, it's a defense mechanism. It's a way to get you through the day. And I think it takes a while to kind of crack that shell and kind of let yourself let your guard down, if you will. So I think it just takes some time. But thank you. For people that send my lights back.

Todd (21:01)

What do you consider your hard?

Interjector/Supporter (21:05)

From what?

Julie (21:06)

From prison?

Todd (21:07)

From just. From everything that has gone on in life in general, prison included. What has been your hard?

Julie (21:16)

Well, I Have to say that's definitely been my hard because, you know, I was away from my children, I was away from you, and that was hard. That was hard because those are two things that I hold very near and dear is being a wife and being a mother and not being able to be there for my kids, especially for two and a half years that I can't get back. I can. Does not matter what I do from this moment on or from the time that I walked out of there, I can never get those two and a half years back. And I think that's hard. You know, that's hard. There were some hard days when, you know, holidays and birthdays and things happen at home and you want to be there. You need to be there for your kids, and you can't. That was the hard for me. That. That was the hard. Yeah, this conditions were horrible. I had no air. You know, it was 100-year-old building. You know, I was breathing asbestos and black mold and all the. All the. Everything.

Todd (22:16)

Right.

Julie (22:16)

But that wasn't the hard. You know, that the hard was. Was, you know, being away from you, being away from the kids, not being able to be there and be a.

Todd (22:24)

Mother to my children, you know, that wasn't my hard. I mean, that wasn't my hard. My heart was still. Your diagnosis in 2012 of breast cancer.

Interjector/Supporter (22:39)

Right.

Todd (22:40)

And we've talked about this. Yeah, I do have PTSD from that.

Interjector/Supporter (22:43)

Right.

Todd (22:45)

That was my hard. Because every day I worried about if God was going to take you.

Interjector/Supporter (22:49)

Right.

Todd (22:50)

So I lived in that constant fear.

Julie (22:53)

And so I think that's why people have said, you know, that we. We have dealt with it differently, you know, the prison thing. And this just confirms it, because it was my heart. That was my heart. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

Todd (23:07)

Right.

Julie (23:08)

And for me, with the breast cancer, with my breast cancer, I was so determined in my. Just my gut and in my heart and in my mind, in my spirit, that I knew I was going to do everything I could to survive, to get through it. And I just. I was always just very upbeat and very. When it came to that, I just. So that was. Yeah, it was hard. It was very hard. But. But I also feel like there's so many people that have it so much harder and through their breast cancer journey. So I don't. I have to. I have to acknowledge that because it could have been so much worse than what I went through.

Todd (23:47)

Agreed. And we've witnessed that. But I think for me, as we talked about earlier, someone's Hard is always harder for them than it is for someone else.

Interjector/Supporter (23:58)

Right? Right.

Todd (23:59)

My hard was knowing that I had found the love of my life, the person that I felt the safest with, I'd ever felt in my life, that I could have conversations with about anything that had been my biggest cheerleader that gave me that, you know, that push. And here I was kind of like cruising along in my life and everything was good. And that happened. And there was a part of me that literally started preparing for the worst for. Preparing for, you know, that if God were to take you.

Interjector/Supporter (24:39)

Right.

Todd (24:39)

And for the first time in my life, I could not see a path forward. And you know, yourself with me, I always have a path forward.

Interjector/Supporter (24:50)

Right.

Todd (24:52)

And I never could find that path forward.

Interjector/Supporter (24:55)

Right.

Todd (24:56)

And I would, you know, I was up all hours of the night on the Internet, researching, finding you the best doctors, doing whatever had to be done and praying non stop. And there was still no path forward.

Julie (25:06)

Forward.

Interjector/Supporter (25:07)

Right.

Todd (25:07)

And I realize now that there was no path forward because, God, your road was not over.

Interjector/Supporter (25:13)

Right.

Todd (25:14)

So there couldn't be a path forward. So I understand that now. But it took me going to prison and having that solitude to make peace with myself and to start being kinder to myself and to, to try to remove some of the bitterness that I had.

Interjector/Supporter (25:30)

Right.

Todd (25:32)

Because I viewed you, you know, that I've. That I've worshiped my mother because my mother is a good, decent, godly woman. And I put you in that same category. And so I became so angry with everything because I couldn't control that situation.

Interjector/Supporter (25:49)

Right.

Todd (25:50)

And I used to think after we, you know, after we got the clear, you know, everything was clear and everything was good. You know, they all. You'd always hear people say, you know, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. And you know, listen, God's preparing you for something greater. When you're in my mind, I'm like, well, what do you mean something greater?

Interjector/Supporter (26:10)

Right?

Todd (26:11)

I mean, you mean something worse than this? Yeah, God prepared me for something. God prepared. I don't consider prison worse than this.

Interjector/Supporter (26:21)

Right.

Todd (26:21)

Because at least I knew I was coming home and I was going to still have, you know, right before the alternative was there was going to become a day within three, three to five years that I could possibly no longer have you again in my life. That was not what I was dealing with. There was an expiration date on this sentence.

Julie (26:40)

Yes.

Todd (26:40)

There was a time that I knew I was coming back to you.

Interjector/Supporter (26:43)

Right.

Todd (26:44)

So that's why I think it wasn't as much it wasn't as hard on me, Right. Because I had already been desensitized to that kind of pain of separation. In my mind, I had already had that separation and loss from you because of the breast cancer.

Interjector/Supporter (26:58)

Right.

Todd (26:59)

And. And you know, what people don't realize is that the toll that it takes on a marriage to go through what we went through because we had that rough year there of, you know, but.

Julie (27:11)

I think we've gone through so many things that have been rough.

Todd (27:14)

We've had so much trauma.

Julie (27:16)

According to statistics, statistic, statistically speaking, we should not be together.

Todd (27:22)

No.

Julie (27:22)

When you look at a cancer diagnosis, when you look at a prison sentence.

Todd (27:28)

For both of us, when you look at being in. In the public eye and you have many different things, right? And you've had your own family betray you.

Julie (27:37)

We shouldn't even, you know, and so, you know, we started the podcast with talking about rumors and everything. And, you know, it was one of the things that was out there was that I faked my breast cancer. Breast cancer diagnosis. And that to me is just like, ugh. I mean, that just hurts my heart because I know what I went through. You know, that day in March of 2012 was a day I'll never forget, you know, March 5, 2012.

Todd (28:07)

But I don't hear it again. And, folks, if you click on those things like that and you see these headlines, you're perpetuating these lies.

Julie (28:15)

So it's just. It's. It's to think that someone, when you have women out here, I mean, fighting, fighting tooth and nail to stay alive, and who in their right who would ever fake something like that? That is just beyond my realm of comprehension. It just pains my heart to think that that's something that people would. Would ever say after going through that.

Todd (28:37)

But there were also articles written that said that you were. While we were in prison, that you were filing for divorce because you were resentful because I had not done enough to keep you out of prison. Would you address that?

Julie (28:51)

Well, you know, you fought this case literally from day one. You know, literally from day one. And there was, you know, for a long time, I was never mentioned in the case. I was never mentioned in the. In all years, for years, and never.

Todd (29:06)

Was until I refused a. To take 15 years.

Julie (29:11)

Right. And so, you know, I think that, you know, it is what it is at this point, and it's over and.

Todd (29:18)

It'S done with, but they. One of the things that they said was that I did not fight hard enough for you, and you were resentful for that. Is that true? Is there any truth to that?

Julie (29:27)

No, there's not any truth to that.

Todd (29:29)

Did you pick your own counsel for this case?

Julie (29:32)

Yes.

Todd (29:32)

So I never did that.

Julie (29:34)

No. No, we each had our own counsel.

Todd (29:36)

So when they say that I hired that you were upset that I hired the better lawyers for me versus you. Is there anything.

Julie (29:43)

I've not heard that, but I don't believe that. I mean, in the end, our team worked together. You know, at the end of the day, it was what it was. I mean, let's just call spade a spade. Obviously didn't work out too well for either one of us.

Todd (29:56)

No. And that's something else that's going to.

Julie (29:58)

Be addressed, you know, but at the end of the day, we survived it. We survived it. And, you know, as. As heavy and as hard as yesterday was, you know, I'm glad you did it. I hope it brought some healing to you and to the men that were there yesterday, that they did feel like that they had a voice. That's my hope. And, you know, you will continue. We will continue this fight. We will continue trying to create change and bring awareness to things because we've lived it right. And it's. It's so close to us because we have lived it right. So for that, I think we have to wrap this because I'm exhausted, folks. So until next week, good luck and God bless.

Adam Rippon (30:49)

Hi, I'm Adam Rippon, and this is Intrusive Thoughts, the podcast where I finally say the stuff out loud that's been living rent free in my head for years. From dumb decisions to awkward moments I probably should have kept to myself. Nothing's off limits. Yes, I'm talking about the time I lost my phone mid flight and still haven't truly emotionally recovered from that. There might be too many sound effects. I've been told to chill. Will I? Unclear, but if you've ever laid awake at night cringing at something you said five years ago, congratulations, you found your people. Intrusive Thoughts with Adam Rippon is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Todd (31:29)

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Todd (31:45)

I'm seeing a pattern here.

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Todd (31:48)

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