So I took my class to a *private* prison today. Usually I take them to a public facility, but I wanted to shake things up a bit. Wow, what a world of difference. Right when they were running us through their security procedures at the beginning, I noticed that the staff and officers were just plain happier and hopeful than those at the public institutions I've visited. There was something different in the air...and throughout the course of our tour of the institution and our conversations with the warden, other administrators, and some inmates, I noticed a huge difference. Private prisons have so much more programming than public prisons, and this allows the staff to show inmates that they are worth something...that they have a future worth preparing for...that they deserve to be invested in...that they are not forgotten about. I love that. Employees *enjoyed* their job. They were so pleasant and genuinely excited about making a difference in the lives of those incarcerated there. Even those serving life-terms were in good spirits, seemingly due to the way they've been treated. They kept reminding us (and I agree) that any one of us could make a mistake and end up in prison. Those doing time were just like the rest of us, and deserved to be treated with dignity and encouraged to reach their potential. After the trip, many students who had never before considered working in a correctional environment talked to me about how they would totally entertain working there. That was so good to hear.
Apart from that, one experience within the prison really hit me hard. We talked to four inmates, one of which was in for first-degree murder, and had already served 19 years. It turns out that just last week, the standing testimony against this inmate was recanted, and proof surfaced that he was innocent - something he had maintained all along. I was already drawn to him as he was speaking to us, because he was an athlete, and because of his faith, and because he was super humble and respectful. It broke me to realize what a travesty of justice had occurred, and how even though he'll (hopefully) be freed soon, we can't give him back 19 years of his life. He teared up multiple times while talking to my class, and then once again while he was walking away. He wants to work with youth when he gets out, to keep them on the straight and narrow, and to make a positive difference in their lives. His story just profoundly affected me; I can't get his situation out of my mind. I am sickened and so saddened by it. I am committing here on this blog to do what I can to help him now and when he gets out. I think that when we experience moments like these, we shouldn't just gloss over them and go back to our ridiculously busy lives. We should allow these moments to change us and prompt us to radical action. I commit to do my part.
5 comments:
When I visited the Philadelphia city jail two or so years ago, one thing that stuck with me was the way the employees of this public facility described the smell of their workplace: butts and breath. It's hard to imagine someone enjoying their work if all they think of is butts and breath all day long. What a difference from what you experienced. Do you know - How do inmates wind up in a private facility versus a public one?
This is interesting, Pap. As a rule I am profoundly critical of private prisons. Any entity that has a vested financial interest in mass incarceration (and that is publicly traded, no less) shouldn't be in charge of incarcerating people, as far as I'm concerned. How is that not a colossal conflict of interest? However, your experiences offered another viewpoint I hadn't considered. Maybe private prisons really are more pleasant places to work. Although, the cynic in me is inclined to respond, "Of course the corrections officers are happy there -- by going to work every day and doing their jobs they're helping ensure the financial success of their employer. Duh!" Still, I am not a corrections expert by any means -- I'd be curious to hear from others who know more about private prisons.
Either way, thanks for sharing. And good luck with your efforts to assist the man who was wrongfully accused. That is just tragic.
From what i've read of experiences of visits to private prisons in the UK the experience seems totally the other way round. In the UK they tedn to be the most overcrowded and understaffed prisons.
Vision Without Action Is A Daydream. Action Without Vision A Nightmare.
The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons made a concerted effort when choosing its name to erase any possibility of ambiguity regarding who we are and our mission statement. It is our unwavering organizational belief that as long as our government permits Private Prisons For Profit to operate as legal businesses, the American Criminal Justice System, in particular, will never have the capacity to develop -in theory or otherwise- a credibility that the people of this great nation can respect and feel morally comfortable with. This is not a complicated matter. In spite of the endless assortment of political debates and the countless number of discussions among independent committees appointed to research and examine the economic pros and cons of privitization, and in spite of all the "other" arguments created by design, to distract, divide, frighten and confuse the citizens of this country and prevent them from using humane common sense, one cannot ignore or pretend not to see the flashing red flag draped around the philosophical question standing at attention in the middle of the room. Arguably, the criminal justice system is not designed to be a "moral compass." However, it cannot ignore or deny the inherent components at the core of its foundation: equality, fairness, and the humane practice of justice. These are more than lofty concepts to be arbitrarily applied when convenience allows. Our justice system must offer unequivocal, resplendent and reliable standards of "right and wrong" ..."just and unjust" because the people cannot respect or pledge an allegiance to a justice system that fails to demonstrate the difference between "right and wrong" in its own application. The inherent and most fundamental reponsibility of the criminal justice system cannot be shirked, avoided, taken lightly or "jobbed out." Like it or not, when an institution is the definitive symbol representing authority and judicial proceeding, your function must reflect a fundamental fairness, and above all else, it must be accountable to all of its citizens. If ever there was a reason for second guessing the process or the ability of the United States Government (Federal & State) to perform its duty when addressing the important task of corrections and rehabilitation in the criminal justice system, the cornerstone of that uncertainty sits squarely upon the shoulders that permit private prisons for profit to operate in the United States of America. Clearly, this immoral profit driven system is without parallel in its resemblance to the most heinous institution to ever exist upon American soil. Slavery.
Aristotle wrote, "It is the peculiarity of man, in comparison with the rest of the animal world that he alone possesses a perception of good and evil, of the just and the unjust"
INCARCERATING PEOPLE FOR PROFIT IS IN A WORD WRONG
All law emanates from the people, so that, when the laws thus enacted are not executed, the power returns to the people, and is theirs whenever they may choose to exercise it.
We are mindful that the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the constitution...we are also mindful that the federal and state correctional facilities originate from government design and, therfore, must be regulated and maintained by the government.
We must restore the principles and the vacated promise of our judicial system. Our government cannot continue to "job-out" its obligation and neglect its duty to the individuals confined in the corrections and rehabilitation facilities throughout this nation, nor can it ignore the will of the people that it was designed to serve and protect.
There is urgent need for the good people of this country to emerge from the shadows of indifference, apathy, cynicsim, fear, and those other dark places that we migrate to when we are overwhelmed by frustration and the loss of hope.
My hope is that you will support the NPSCTAPP with a show of solidarity by signing our petition to send one million signatures to congress expressing the will of the people to abolish the private prison for profit industry.
-Ahma Daeus
http://www.npsctapp.blogspot.com
http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition
Thanks to the folks at the NPSCTAPP. I appreciate you sharing with us this information about your organization. I did not know that an agency like this exists -- thanks again for the info.
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