Letter to the Editor: Prison reform as seen from behind the bars

While growing up in an alcoholic home I was unfortunate enough to witness many fights, but nothing would prepare me for the everyday nuance of prison life. Let me share with you what kind of fight there is in prison, specifically that of predator and prey. But first you better put your mouthpiece in good and lace up your gloves real tight. Then make sure you’ve got your back up against the wall as you’re about to enter another kind of ring; where the fights are oftentimes deadly. A place where there is very little chance of ever being a champion. This is real, and there is no bell to stop the action. The last thing you want to be is knocked out.
A key to violence in prison is the length of time that prisoners are serving. In medium and high security prisons, individuals are serving well over five years, with many who have no release dates at all. Some have sentences that have a foreseeable end. Many will come in with attitudes already. The environment supports a feeling of permanence. Most prisoners will not make plans for the future because they see no future. They eventually look to receive ‘jailhouse respect’ if they can operate inside the system and get things done. This can be by way of a gambling ring, drug distribution, food supply, smuggling, etc. For most they know that they will never be able to earn respect from society or from prison administrators, (so) they choose to enhance their own status with other offenders.
Prison is a society unto itself. It has its own heroes and leaders. But many prisoners have rejected society, as society has rejected them. They must deal with the situation at hand, and it is a violent one. It’s easy to earn a reputation as a dangerous prisoner. All one has to do is show that he is ready and willing to use violence to the extreme when anyone crosses them. For instance, a woman wanted to stab another woman through the heart with a wooden stake (a shank) made from a broken mop handle because she said that she wouldn’t pay a gambling debt of $2. It was about perceived respect. Perception is of paramount importance in prison. The prisoner has nothing else to lose. They do not have a career, house, a car, fancy clothes or anything else to distinguish themselves. We have been raised from childhood, observing the importance of material possessions. It remains a warped basis for this way of life.
This adverse environment is one where the more powerful a person is, the more respect they receive, from both staff and inmates. The staff will placate them by giving them a single cell to keep them calm, while assisting them in the keeping of order. Those who can’t achieve status in any other way frequently become predators, aspiring to become known as a dangerous convict. It is a label many try to earn during the beginning months of their terms. If successful, he will be left alone, protected by a reputation to murder. Cons will seek their favor or try to emulate them by exploiting others. The ‘others’ are called ‘targets’ or prey. Once marked as such, a convict’s life is nearly worthless, as his possessions will be stolen, and they will be disrespected at every opportunity with relentless violence.
With no one to turn to for ‘real’ assistance, their weakness overwhelms them and they eventually submit to the lowest realms of man’s inhumanity to themselves. Once problems of this magnitude arise, there is very little chance of escaping without further complications to one’s life. It’s worse than your scariest nightmares, where sleep is something you take a chance on doing, at the risk of never waking up. A vicious cycle that could go on for years or forever. For survival, you’re caught up in a game on either side (that) will cost you some large part of whatever is left of your decency.
Some people view prisons with the attitude that we should just throw away the key. Some think an eye for an eye philosophy is justice. That’s revenge! Justice is when you’re able to change people from their wrong ways through help and dialogue.
Some call prison Holiday Inns. I know that is an inaccurate, rude and ignorant statement. Prisons are lonely, fearful and violent places.
Few prisoners reach such an analytical level about themselves and their environment. It brings to the forefront the whole issue of rehabilitation. Is it really possible, and is it recognized by society? Does society understand what they create in people they wear down by time? The whole concept of punishment seems to teach offenders how to effectively NOT be a part of society — the ‘unmaking’ of a person!
You and I may be of different races, cultures, nationalities and economic status, but we have one thing in common: We are still human beings! It doesn’t matter whether we’re born and raised in the slummest part of town like my mother or whether you come from the rich district. It doesn’t matter whether you wear prison overalls, business suits or designer dresses: We all have one thing in common, we are living, breathing human beings. We all have the precious gift of life.
I’m not in any way looking for sympathy, but understanding at how we can continue with the philosophy (of) an eye for an eye. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, I’m trying to heal myself. Knowing why this is allowed to happen might help others with the healing, but I’m afraid that finding the answers is unlikely.
(Is it not the legislature’s) duty to make sure that people are getting rehabilitated and not to come out worse than when the went in? We need to stop the injustice that is happening right here in our prisons.
People, regardless of what they, still deserve a chance to rectify their wrongs without continuing to be punished. Let’s work together and stop the abuse!
Pass laws, vote on things that will help and not destroy, and most of all let’s value each and every life as if it was our own.

Sincerely,
Inmate Lisa Sexton
Nebraska Correctional Center for Women - York