PRISONER EXPRESS

--Deep awareness of the suffering of another. There are so many exemplary words that encompass this one: humane, empathy, concern, consideration, civil, just to name a few. These words and the total embodiment of them are antagonist and somewhat foreign to institutional life from a prisoner's perspective. I had much difficulty in getting started writing on this topic, which was kind of baffling to me because I consider myself a very compassionate person. But I think many will agree that it's difficult to expound on a topic we see as descriptive of ourselves.

However the trigger for setting my pen in motion was going through a unit shakedown. (For those readers who don't know what a unit shakedown is, it is exactly what it says. The security staff goes through all your property with a fine tooth comb, purportedly checking for contraband and appropriate property papers.) This is where the antagonist of compassion rears its ugly head. During this shakedown we are ordered to lug all of our state and personal property out to the recreation yard; anything left behind, intentionally or accidentally, will be disposed of. Many of us, doing upwards of 50 years to life, can possess a considerable amount of property. I myself have four rather large commissary bags, plus a typewriter. And I still have rope burns from two of these heavy bags being strapped across my neck, thereby cutting into the flesh of my pectorals.

Add to this the inhumane order to shut off the water to our cells prior to this shakedown; we spent an entire 8 hour shift without running water and without being provided with any drinking water. Neither did we have any notice of the water being shut off, so that we could collect some to tide us over. All of this and they never even made it to our particular section for the shakedown this day. So we were deprived of water for an entire shift for no reason, only to have the same process repeated the next morning. Although they did get around to completing our shakedown this day, it was told to us: "The warden gave the order to turn off the water to prevent us from flushing contraband." I still have not figured out the logic in having this order repeated the second day after giving everyone another full 24 hours to flush any contraband they desired.

Here on the recreation yard, the actual shakedown site is where you will see the total disregard for a person and his property displayed. One of the most crude things I have seen here is how officers will go through inmates family pictures (one of the few things we hold sacred), passing them around, gawking at them commenting on them and laughing, while we are forced to sit and accept this treatment. (Nothing in the rules gives the officers this right; they are supposed to be checking for contraband.) I have seen officers confiscate fans (and all manner of electrical appliances), at the beginning of summer for frivolous and inconsequential reasons. I've also witnessed officers pour out an inmates hygiene items under the guise of suspecting contraband, only to find nothing. This is all very ill and uncompassionate behavior on the part of the officers. I believe they could all use some lessons on compassion. But on the same note, many of us inmates could use a little brushing up ourselves.