One thing that I found out is that for the most part prison guards are a fairly enlightened bunch. They spend more time in jail/prison than the criminals do, or at least they did until the tougher mandatory sentences became a fact. Let's face it, no one wants to be in jail/prison and a lot of hostility & frustration is taken out on the guards.
I believe that a lot can be told about a society by a study of its jails/prisons. Those two famous 19th century pundits DeToquville and Dickens were both interested in seeing America's prison system. People today tend to forget that jails/prisons are end result of failed social & economic policy and the inability of our society to cope with mental illness.
A lot of criminals from my observations tend to be immature. Their interests tend to be whatever is hip, faddish or in at the time and mirror pop culture. And it is usually their immaturity that has gotten them into trouble in the first place. That's why talking about serious subjects, like Mike is doing, is a good idea.
TL
Ronnie Dadone wrote:
> Sunday, October 17
>
> Mike and Tom,
>
> I am very interested in the possibility of giving a class at Muncy SCI
> in Pennsylvania. What are the qualifications of you and your friends
> to teach in a prison and how did you apply for permission?
>
> I am trying to help a woman inmate myself on an individual basis.
> I would like to broaden my efforts. A factor complicating the picture,
> here in Pennsylvania, is the newly imposed requirement that the inmates
> perform seven or eight hours of manual labor five days a week
> (My friend was receiving $0.17 an hour for Maintenance work/Painting.
> Another friend is cleaning toilets with only a rag at Cambridge SCI.).
> Any classes follow a full day of labor. My friend has had this
> requirement
> lifted for a period of 6-9 months, during which time she has been
> transferred to a small Maximum Security County facility (Bedford, PA)
> to relieve extreme over-crowding at Muncy SCI because of the
> accelerating rate of incarcerating women in Pennsylvani.
>
> At Bedford, there are no programs, any visits must be conducted by
> phone through a glass wall, and they get 1 hour a day in an "open"
> cubicle -- that is, no ceiling. At least, she seems to be less subject
> to
> physical assault by guards at this jail -- She was molested by a guard
> at Muncy -- and has free time to read and study, although under more
> severely restricted conditions than at Muncy, where she was assigned
> to the general population. She is restricted to 4 books at any time,
> including the dictionary, thesaurus, and book of Yoga I have sent her.
> She is not allowed to "congregate" for prayers with other Muslim
> women there, although Christians are allowed to have services together.
>
> I am sending her books, commentaries, vocabulary and grammar
> lessons within letters. So far, only two things that I know of (a few
> sheets of blank lined paper and an article on Mickey Mouse's 71st
> birthday !?!) have been returned or confiscated as contraband.
>
> I would like to know specific things anyone else is doing to aid inmates
>
> endure incarceration without completely emotional devastation
> and to help them develop perspective and critical thinking skills.
>
> I quite understand how personally affecting your contact with prisoners
> is
> to you, Mike. There is nothing more compelling in my own experience.
>
> Sincerely,
> Ronnie
>
> She is a 22 y.o. mother of a 1 3/4 y.o. little girl and has been locked
> up 1 1/2 years. Her offense was defending herself from her abusive
> partner with the knife HE had pulled out and held to her throat. There
> was a long, documented history of abuse by this man. She fled the
> scene.
> He was able to phone the police for help and, fighting them, be subdued
> by the police when they arrived, and be handcuffed and transported to
> the hospital (face down), where he bled to death from a single puncture
> to the heart.
>
> She pled an Alfred's defense (no admission of guilt) to 3rd degree
> Homicide (6 to 12 yrs, plus 8 additional yrs of Supervision plus Court
> costs) rather than risk 30 yrs to life.
>
> She received notice that 20% of all Inmates' Personal Account moneys
> will be deducted for "restitution." I assume that will apply to all
> Pennsylvania inmates.
>
> Date: Sun, 17 Oct. 1999 10:00:45 -0400
> From: Tom Lehman <TLEHMAN at lor.net>
> Subject: Re: prison class
>
> Mike, I read somewhere that the state is getting ready to close the
> "wall"
> and move the prisoners to places like the new prison in Greene Co.
> This
> should really cut down on the educational possibilities for prisoners.
>
> TL
>
> Michael Yates wrote:
>
> > Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary sits along the Ohio River on the
> far
> > north side of Pittsburgh. The spot is a pretty one, although in the
> > fenced in former parking lot to which the inmates have occassional
> > access, the fence itself is covered with plastic sheeting so that
> they
> > cannot actually see the river.
> >
> > I have been teaching a class in economics at this prison for two
> hours
> > every Tuesday evening. Upon entering, I sign in and present myself
> to a
> > guard. I empty my pockets and take off my belt and my shoes (if they
> > have any metal on them). The guard checks my bag, and I walk through
> a
> > metal detector. I have a cushion with me because I cannot sit for
> long
> > on a hard chair without pain. I had to get permission from a
> supervisor
> > to bring this cushion in, and it is checked by the guard each time I
> > arrive for class. After going through the metal detector and back
> out
> > again, I go in and am drug checked. Another guard takes a filter of
> > some sort and puts it into a machine that looks a little like a
> > miniature dust buster. He runs this over my palms, my jacket
> pockets,
> > my pants and shirt pockets, and my cuffs. Then he takes out the
> filter
> > and puts it into another machine which checks for any signs of a wide
> > variety of drugs. A marker visible to a special light is used by the
> > guard to mark my hand. I am given an ID card with my picture on it
> and
> > I place this in a visible place on my shirt or jacket. Then another
> > guard is called and he comes out to escort me to the school building
> > inside the prison. We await the opening of a set of double doors by
> > still another guard invisible to us. The doors open and we go down a
> > hallway to another set of doors which open into the yard of the
> prison.
> > We walk a block or so to the school building and the guard lets me
> into
> > the class room. I await the arrival of the students. They may be
> late
> > for any number of reasons; prisons have many checks on prisoners and
> > these take time. Not all of the students may make every class; some
> of
> > them may be on various sorts of punishment (one man missed last
> week's
> > class, perhaps because he rebelled when he was not allowed to go to
> the
> > funeral home to see his dead mother's body). I make small talk with
> the
> > guards. It is best to keep on their good side as they can make life
> > difficult for me if they want. (If I plan to use a video I have to
> let
> > them have it in advance. My friend who helps runs the education
> program
> > is trying to get this procedure eliminated. Before it was
> implemented,
> > she showd "Battle of Algiers" to a class studying Franz Fanon's
> > "Wretched of the Earth." This probably would have been prohibited
> had
> > she had to show them the film first. Generally, you can use any
> > material you want, but titles referring to persons such as Mumia or
> > Leonard Peltier will probably be confiscated, if not from us then
> from
> > the inmates.)
> >
> > In my first clas I had them sign the roster sheet and asked them to
> put
> > down, in addition to their given names, any name they preferred me to
> > use. Some wrote down Muslim names, one an Egyptian name, and some
> > nicknames. So I have Khalifa, Senifer, Heru, Farid Rafiq, Bamoni,
> > Crump, Capone, Tacuma,and Muscles as well as Deion and Slutzker. They
> > range in age from early 20s to late 40s. I do not know why they are
> in
> > prison. All but one of the students are black (I am white), and it
> > struck me right away that none of the black students is
> light-skinned.
> > They do not look like the African American newscasters we see now on
> > television. Not only do black americans face an abominable
> > discrimination that puts so many in prison but those with the darkest
> > skin color face this discrimination most forcefully.
> >
> > I have never felt unsafe in the prison. However, I did jump the
> first
> > time the double doors slammed behind me (just like in the movies).
> And
> > I was very nervous about the class. It is not a credit class. The
> > government took away Pell grants from the prisoners and so they
> cannot
> > afford to attend college and the Univ. of Pittsburgh closed the
> program
> > it once had there. My friend did not want to see all nonvocational
> > education programs end at the prison, so she and another person
> started
> > a noncredit certificate program. So far, it has been a great
> success.
> >
> > Anyway, I started the first class by saying something about myself.
> Then
> > I passed out some handouts. I started to talk about capitalism and
> what
> > I thought of as its main features. Then I asked a question about
> wealth
> > and the discussion began. I can only describe it as a runaway train.
> We
> > talked about many things for at least an hour without a stop. Some
> > comments were as sharp as any I have ever heard from a student, some
> > were funny, and some reflected views common on the outside. But all
> > were made seriously, by men wanting to know and wanting to have their
> > voices heard. I was exhilarated in a way seldom so in my regular
> > classes. When I got home I could not sleep. I kept thinking about
> the
> > class and I kept seeing the students' faces. I dreamed about them
> most
> > of the night.
> >
> > The next class was just like the first. We discussed an article
> called
> > "Buddhist Economics" by E.F. Schumacher (from his book "Small is
> > Beautiful") and compared the Buddhist concept of Right Livelihood
> with
> > work and consumption in capitalism. Then I talked about the
> > accumulation of capital. The class ended with me pounding my fist on
> > the table, saying "Accumulate, Accumulate, that is Moses and the
> > Prophets." I had their complete and undivided attention when I said
> this
> > and then argued that capital will be accumulated whatever the human
> > cost, whether it be enslavement, theft, or murder.
> >
> > During the last class I felt something I have never felt in a class
> > before. I know this will sound corny and some of you will think that
> I
> > am naive, but I felt sitting there with convicts all around me, that
> we
> > really were brothers. We left the class together after the whistle
> > shrilly blew the signal that they had to get to their cellblocks. We
> > walked down the steps of the classroom buiding and out into the yard
> > among the general prison population. I looked up at the stars and my
> > heart was filled with a hard sadness.
> >
> > Michael Yates