Misconduct and acts of violence within the Alabama Department of Corrections have once again resulted in the tragic death of an inmate housed in their facilities.
Unfortunately, there's an entirely different and well established culture within those walls that says otherwise. Men don't cease being victimizers simply because you remove them from polite society, we simply apply that mindset to each other.
Yeah. I know. What we as a society allow to be done to those men and women is appalling. If we actually have a shit about our fellow man we’d fix this. Alas, we’d rather send money to Ukraine and fund the Taliban...
As inhuman as this will sound, everything I read here just feels like someone talking about a Tuesday in the joint. I was 17 years old when I was sentenced to 15 years where I spent most in "The 'Field". A high security prison next door to where Shawshank was filmed. I watched his story play out constantly, had to fight my way out from being an example of it. I'm actually amazed these details for our, the joint is almost flawless at keeping these kind of matters in-house. The culture, both guards and inmates, keep these matters hidden. I've personally lied to cover for guards who jumped me and had guards lie to spare me from harm I've caused to avoid accountability on their part. It astonishes me this story is out there out all. Unfortunately, this isn't a conversation citizens are ready to have and it's to address a problem the system is willing to acknowledge. It's nearly impossible to solve an issue when the ones living with and through it won't admit there's a problem.
Even those of us in it, the vast majority of the time, just saw it as normal. Seeing guys being sold like they were used cars didn't look like abuse, it was just part of the economy. I write about the joint in my Substack and have so far failed to explain what that world is like so people out here can understand.
Because it's hard to wrap your brain around man's inhumanity to man. I was in the Michigan prison system in the 80s early 90s when most of the guards were male. What could go wrong!! Guards raping inmates, jacking off in front of inmates, special favors if you did what they wanted. If you told a female guard, she would turn around and tell the male guard than the retaliation would start. Even when the Human Rights Defence Center got involved it continued. Finally an settelment agreement was reached in 2009 for a hundred million dollars. Do I think it's still happening? Probably, just further underground.
1. It’s - unfortunately - difficult to get people to care about violent criminals in prison. This ought not be the case, but it is.
2. If we had fewer violent criminals locked-up for decades on end, and if they knew they wouldn’t be locked up for decades in end - which often is a safer, more comfortable, better-fed environment for these men than the streets, it might be that violence inside would be reduced. Execute those convicted of capital crimes once they have been judged and sentenced by a jury of their peers, not 35 years later, and I’d guess we’d have a lot fewer violent criminals in prison attacking others.
Agree. But that would increase incarceration costs (for a damn good reason, but - nonetheless)... which returns us to my point #1, above. Toss in the absurd costs our government, mostly unconstitutionally, imposes on us, plus the inflation they’ve manufactured and the childish climate scam (the intent of which is to destroy that pesky middle class that wants freedom), and there’s not enough money to redirect, or enough give-a-damn to do so.
We are supposed to send people to prison AS punishment, not FOR punishment.
Unfortunately, there's an entirely different and well established culture within those walls that says otherwise. Men don't cease being victimizers simply because you remove them from polite society, we simply apply that mindset to each other.
Yeah. I know. What we as a society allow to be done to those men and women is appalling. If we actually have a shit about our fellow man we’d fix this. Alas, we’d rather send money to Ukraine and fund the Taliban...
America First has to be our mentality. There is too much broken here that needs our attention.
As inhuman as this will sound, everything I read here just feels like someone talking about a Tuesday in the joint. I was 17 years old when I was sentenced to 15 years where I spent most in "The 'Field". A high security prison next door to where Shawshank was filmed. I watched his story play out constantly, had to fight my way out from being an example of it. I'm actually amazed these details for our, the joint is almost flawless at keeping these kind of matters in-house. The culture, both guards and inmates, keep these matters hidden. I've personally lied to cover for guards who jumped me and had guards lie to spare me from harm I've caused to avoid accountability on their part. It astonishes me this story is out there out all. Unfortunately, this isn't a conversation citizens are ready to have and it's to address a problem the system is willing to acknowledge. It's nearly impossible to solve an issue when the ones living with and through it won't admit there's a problem.
You are right, most people will turn a blind eye and not care!
Even those of us in it, the vast majority of the time, just saw it as normal. Seeing guys being sold like they were used cars didn't look like abuse, it was just part of the economy. I write about the joint in my Substack and have so far failed to explain what that world is like so people out here can understand.
Following now
Because it's hard to wrap your brain around man's inhumanity to man. I was in the Michigan prison system in the 80s early 90s when most of the guards were male. What could go wrong!! Guards raping inmates, jacking off in front of inmates, special favors if you did what they wanted. If you told a female guard, she would turn around and tell the male guard than the retaliation would start. Even when the Human Rights Defence Center got involved it continued. Finally an settelment agreement was reached in 2009 for a hundred million dollars. Do I think it's still happening? Probably, just further underground.
My brother was a CO. Finally, he quit - being around depravity all day got to him. He never gave details…
Like Justacon said above, it's hard to explain. Culture shock is how I explain it.
I guess a couple more thoughts.
1. It’s - unfortunately - difficult to get people to care about violent criminals in prison. This ought not be the case, but it is.
2. If we had fewer violent criminals locked-up for decades on end, and if they knew they wouldn’t be locked up for decades in end - which often is a safer, more comfortable, better-fed environment for these men than the streets, it might be that violence inside would be reduced. Execute those convicted of capital crimes once they have been judged and sentenced by a jury of their peers, not 35 years later, and I’d guess we’d have a lot fewer violent criminals in prison attacking others.
Agree. But that would increase incarceration costs (for a damn good reason, but - nonetheless)... which returns us to my point #1, above. Toss in the absurd costs our government, mostly unconstitutionally, imposes on us, plus the inflation they’ve manufactured and the childish climate scam (the intent of which is to destroy that pesky middle class that wants freedom), and there’s not enough money to redirect, or enough give-a-damn to do so.
I've donated:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/daniel-terry-williams
No one serous ever was involved in prison abolition movement. It was all jargon
https://www.facebook.com/joseph.headley.399
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12776981/Alabama-prison-warden-Joseph-Headley-Daniel-Williams-lawsuits-brutality-inmates.html