Misconceptions About Prison Life

In a cell approximately 9'6"X7'6" two adult men are forced to live twenty four hours a day. Let me amend that. If they are allowed to work they may leave to do that for three hours on some days.

If they receive their scheduled recreation times they may leave for two hours one to three days a week and they may leave for meals. That leaves a lot of hours in the day in a very small space. I know this is prison, I know it's not supposed to be fun and it isn't. People are sent to prison as punishment not to be punished further.

Could this be a fire or safety hazard? One or two officers per three runs, fifteen rooms per run, two men per room, it seems like too many to evacuate if necessary when I do the math. The officers are stationed in a central area behind glass, would they hear a call for help in case of accident, injury or emergency? The doors are not electronically controlled each and every door must be opened individually by key. I believe this is not only unjust but cruel.

To understand how this feels for yourself. Lock your self in your bathroom with a stranger, twenty four hours a day for a week. Eat you meals there etc. There is no privacy so ask the stranger to turn their back while you use the restroom, change clothes etc. Now you get the idea.

Phone Calls

Phone calls are a sensitive subject for the families of inmates. As a member of an inmate family I am troubled by the current phone system. The state justifies it's use of this system by claiming to use the funds obtained to help the inmates and for victim notification.

Forcing an inmate to call collect through a particular phone company is a method of generating funds for the prison and for the telephone company. The phone companies charge us for the collect calls at rates that are much higher than normal. The extra money is given to the prison. (read kickback?)

The money is usually supposed to go into the “inmate entertainment” fund. This money is supposed to be earmarked for improving the recreation yards for inmates, equipment etc. In Arizona it is also earmarked for victim notification programs. Many people will see no problem with this. [Comment and discuss this article on the PhenomenalWomen.com forum: "Misconceptions About Prison Life."]

But it is not the inmate who is paying. It is the families. These families are often already financially strained and yet wish to maintain contact with a loved one far from them. The family is the one who is being penalized through this system. They want and need to stay in touch with their loved ones, just as you do. Yet they must pay higher rates than you do for the telephone contact. I have not been convicted of any crime. Yet I have to pay for victim notification. The inmate cannot pay, I do. Is it right that the families, who have not been convicted of wrong doing, have to give even more money to the prison system than their tax dollars already do?

It is currently possible to have a 1-800 or 1-888 number installed in a residence for very little money. the calls then placed to this number can be as low as 9.9 cents per minute. When compared to the rates currently charged a family could save over $3.50 per fifteen minute call, depending on calling time and destination. This is a conservative estimate the savings could be even greater

The second problem is this. The prisons are not generally held accountable for how the money is spent so it can be used for any purpose. some states are now under major investigations because of millions of dollars missing from these accounts.

Family

Family is the centerpoint of most of our lives. When we're happy, sad, afraid or in need of comfort, it is most often our family that we turn to. Many of the problems we are facing today are attributed to the disintegration of the family unit as we knew it.

The family of an inmate, though guilty of nothing, suffers right along side the inmate as though they were. We wait and worry and are often humiliated at the hands of the prison officials we are forced to deal with, in person, over the telephone and through letters. We are told we are wrong. It really doesn't matter what our complaint is. We are wrong, they are right.

If States were really concerned about rising prison populations, as they claim to be, wouldn't they show more concern for the family? The most powerful force in a persons life is their family. The most compelling reason for a person to change, is their family. And yet the prisons seek to destroy families, almost as though inmates, because they have been convicted of something, no longer even deserve the love of their families. Or, more likely, if they allow the inmate to rehabilitate then the inmate will less likely be back.

An inmate who doesn't come back is a detriment to the system, because they only make money if they keep those beds full. This, I believe, is why the educational programs have been removed from most of our prisons. Prison officials will tell you that they still have educational opportunities in lower yards. But the fact is many inmates are released from the prison with the same or similar high classification they were given when they entered the system. So they leave, as they went in. they have gained nothing, changed nothing.

For those who believe our prisoners deserve nothing, that you don't want your tax money wasted on education for them—a word of warning. Most of them will get out. What if they become your neighbor? Would you rather they had been given the opportunity to better themselves, or just that they have spent their time separated from society with no chance?

[Comment and discuss this article on the PhenomenalWomen.com forum: "Misconceptions About Prison Life."]