I recently read an article in Rolling Stone entitled 'Right Before I Hung Myself’: Prisoners Share Tales of Solitary Confinement in Michigan by Tana Ganeva. First, I would highly recommend that you take the time to read the article because it is professionally well written and brings a national spotlight onto the dark underbelly of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Secondly it uses firsthand information obtained from correspondence directly with those who have experience serving time in solitary confinement. Like my blog the author is providing a voice for those who otherwise couldn’t speak for themselves. But it doesn’t stop with the article there is an excellent website that contains the words and artwork of those whose lives have been forever changed by a practice that is internationally recognized as inhumane and by many to constitute torture. Please check out ‘Silenced: Voices from Solitary in Michigan’ a website where prisoners tell harrowing experiences in their own words.
Tag: Prison Reform
If You Can’t Stand the Heat
I first started to write this post in late June/early July when the summer heat was at its worst and the USA was just starting to venture outdoors after a prolonged period of quarantine. My job had just called me back to work and I went from having too much time on my hands to working seven days a week. In fact, my company had placed me into a machine shop where the indoor temperature was routinely in the mid to upper 90s. While it was hot and uncomfortable at work, when I got into my car to go home, I could turn on the air conditioning. It reminded me of how hot and uncomfortable it can get in prison and that for those incarcerated there is no break from the heat. Now that it’s almost spring it may seem out of place, but it is still truth and is something worth blogging about since it will repeat itself in a few months.
“Like Being in Jail”
During the Corona virus pandemic many states, including my home state of Michigan, have issued some form of Stay Home order for the general public and specifically request that people with Covid-19 or think they may have been exposed to it, to self-quarantine for some period of time. On television the trend for talk shows is for the personalities to do their shows from home. The late-night comedians spend their time lampooning the president, life in quarantine, and the idiots who have earned their 60 seconds of infamy. The daytime shows continue to pander to celebrity, as if those who can most afford not to work can really relate to those who can’t even file for unemployment due to the overwhelming number of people applying. The poster child for this may be Ellen DeGeneres. She made a joke on her first show back after 3 weeks off that those of us who have been there found to be in unbelievably bad taste. She compared coronavirus self-isolation to being in jail. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days, and everyone here is gay.” Compared to the “real world” prison is a place where reality: including things like common sense, empathy, manners, personal hygiene, health care, personal space, and access to PPE is extremely limited or non-existent. Jails and prisons are like petri dishes which culture microorganisms. Even in the best of times they are unsanitary places full of unhygienic people. Many people have been speaking out about this problem for years, yet the MDOC ignored the warning signs such as outbreaks of norovirus that have resulted in prisons being quarantined on a regular basis. The sad thing is that unlike the Flint water crisis there will be no Attorney General investigation, no one will lose their jobs, and no one will be held responsible for the criminal negligence that has led to the unnecessary loss of life that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
Anti-Social Distancing
It has been widely reported in the news recently about the fears of what could happen with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading inside of jails and prisons. The basic tools used to combat the spread of infectious disease are either not practiced adequately by inmates, poorly implemented and executed by staff, or prevented by policy as security risks. There have been a number of unusual facts about this Corona virus that are particularly troubling. for corrections. This will combine into a perfect storm that the MDOC and all other jails and prisons, either state or federal are not capable of handling. When this pandemic is brought under control and life resumes its new normal, my concern is that the successful measures taken to combat the spread of this disease will be eased or rescinded altogether. If you have loved ones or friends currently incarcerated- pray about them; reach out to them; speak out for them.
July 2017 Letter
We must all take responsibility for our own reformation. No one can reform you, you must want it for yourself. It is up to society then to insure that the MDOC provides the right atmosphere in which reform can take place. Society should want this because it is in the best interest of everyone to ensure the safety and security of all its members, including 'the least of these' represented by those convicted of crimes against the society.
Cheapskates
The MDOC is exempt from the minimum wage law for paying inmates. It might be fair to call it slave labor since without inmates working to perform so many functions from food service to facility maintenance, the cost of incarceration would be far more expensive.
Educated Guess
I worked as a tutor in the GED program for nearly 5 years, under three different teachers at two different prisons. There isn’t much that was more rewarding then when one of my students would point me out to his family in the visiting room and say, “That man is helping me get my GED.” And there wasn’t much that was more frustrating than seeing a student who could get his GED fail to apply himself and leave prison with nothing to show for his time.
Nothing New Under the Sun
King Solomon famously stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “there was nothing new under the sun.” Three thousand years ago man’s folly was already tending to repeat itself. Patterns of behavior and the propensity to do evil were well documented back then. Man’s inhumanity to man is the same old sad tale repeated over and over, unfortunately it is not limited to those who choose to do evil.
House Arrest
Being on parole is not freedom. Too many guys coming out of prison think that having received a parole that they have earned their freedom, that their sentence is complete. But that is not the case. While on parole you are still under the control of the MDOC. Parole is prison without the razor wire.
Brush Strokes
Prison is a microcosm of society with people from all walks of life, many of whom I’ve tried to describe in this blog. There are colorful, creative people who have done some terrible things and are paying the price. However, rather than letting darkness consume them they are taking the proverbial lemon and making lemonade. They do this pouring out their creative energy in painting or writing.