The Caged Bird Sings

 

Part One:  Intention and Perspective

                I got fired from my job the other day.  I gave one of the maximum security inmates a hit from my cigarette through the cage he was in.  Tobacco is contraband for these inmates, though not for us, so I was "furnishing contraband to an inmate," which is considered a major offense.  What I see as a random act of kindness, is seen by an administration as a conspiracy to incite subversive behavior.  It's all in one's perspective I suppose.

                So I later spoke to the officer in charge of employment, to see about getting another job, but she was less than sympathetic.  "What were you thinking?" ere her exact words.

                Indeed, what was I thinking.  Well, in retrospect the rapid succession of thought that I had at that very moment was something along the lines of this:

                He asked me if I had an extra smoke.  I was cautious, even a bit frightened at first, and said I did not (which was untrue).  He might very well be a murderer, child molester, or some equally heinous type of thug.  Then, he asked if he could have a hit from mine.

                Then I thought, he's another inmate, like me.  He made some poor choices, some mistakes, much like myself.  Perhaps there were extenuating circumstances that nobody believed or even acknowledged.  He may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as happens to everyone at one time or another.

                Then I thought how he, as a maximum security inmate, was one of the few people on this planet who had it worse than me.  Nearly 24/7 lockdown, no windows, no natural light, less respect from the officers then even on my yard and far fewer "goodies" than the few we are allowed.

                Then I realized that I was still applying labels.  I was caught up in the same mindset of so many others.  Quite simply, he was a fellow human being, imperfect as we all are, and as such, why not give the guy a drag.  So I passed it through the cage, he took an appreciative drag, it in handed it back and said "thanks".

                The yard captain came around the corner at that very moment and shouted at me not to bother coming back to work tomorrow.  So I have an unexpected "hiatus".  I'm sad I lost my job, as I liked it.  I'm not sad to avoid the multiple strip searches every day and the hours of waiting each week.  I can't, however, regret the piece of my humanity, the compassion, and empathy that led to my "transgression".

                Back to the idea of perspective.  In reality, this truly was a random act of kindness while simultaneously being a subversive and inappropriate action.  It all depends on how you choose to view it.  This illustrates one of the inherent and fundamental problems in the legal system.  In prison, we are discouraged from kindness and compassion by both the institution as well as prevailing prison culture.  And these "opposing" forces are in continued conflict that spirals ever downward.

                In the court system, the emphasis is only on the mistakes that people made, oftentimes dangerous, destructive, and even psychotic, yet they are only a part of our humanity and do not define us completely.  In truth, most are foolish lapses of judgment, often created by adversity, struggle, and ignorance.  Addiction, poverty, lack of education, lack of guidance, and desperation are undoubtedly the leading influences to criminal behavior.  Yet we treat the symptom rather than the cause.

                Then there's the media, which continually sensationalizes the "horror" and tends to skimp on the full story, which perpetuates a climate of fear, segregation, and alienation of the "criminal element" of society.

                I realize that people need security and protection, though I sometimes wonder who we need protection from.  As I gaze down on the run around me, it doesn't seem to be these people.  Is it the guy with whom I shared a cigarette?  I don't know, I don't know him, I couldn't really even see his face well through the cage.  I do know that after I was admonished by the captain, he shouted out to me "Hey man, I'm sorry about that, that was my bad". But it wasn't his bad, it was my good, and I will continue to hold that thought in spite of the attempts to wear down my humanity.

               

Part Two: Humane Solutions

                It was brought to my attention that while I often point out the flaws and foibles of the legal system, I rarely offer up a solution.  Yeah, I know; bitching about things is easy and it's a very complex situation which has a direct causality to the safety and security of society as a whole.  So I realize the gravity of this issue.

                I will present some possible suggestions that could improve the system.  I am not a policymaker, nor do I understand the complexities of budget manipulation.  Though, generally speaking, these ideas would probably save millions in tax dollars in the long run.

                First, I look at the state penitentiary system.  Quite simply, one idea is to replace the prevailing culture of dehumanization and suspicion to one of mutual respect and true rehabilitation. The training of correctional officers could be expanded to include such phrases as "please" and "thank you" when "ordering" us about.  An officer once told me, and I swear I'm not making this up, that in training they are taught to assume that anything an inmate says is a lie.  This is not a path to respect, correction, or rehabilitation. The inmates should also be instructed on the values of mutual respect and politeness.  While there will always be those, on both sides, that will be hard to get through to, most people will be respectful and accommodating when they are treated with respect.  It should be the rule rather than the exception - from both groups. And it must start with administration, as they should set the example.

                Real therapy, counseling, and support groups are absolutely a necessity to rehabilitation.  There are many intelligent, specialized, and even professional inmates in the system that much of this could be done by inmates, especially with incentive programs.  And as a culture of mutual respect develops, it would become easier to establish such programs.

                Also, an encouragement of education and exploration in the arts seems to be essential to healing, growing and above all creating self respect.  Art, music, drama, sculpture, and so on should not be discouraged or prohibited, but should be offered, encouraged, and taught.  Again, much of this could be done by inmates themselves.  There are extremely limited opportunities offered here at present along those lines.  Resources could come, at least in part, from inmates and scholarships and grants could also supplement this.  Perhaps partnerships with arts councils or other organizations could be established and they could identify potential talents and even recoup these investments by selling or saving the work.  Some states have similar arrangements.  A sense of purpose and self worth is absolutely essential to meaningful rehabilitation.

                As far as the court system goes, it seems that GPS and monitoring could be better utilized in the many situations where a perpetrator has no history of violence, like first time offenders, if there is no victim, no aggression and/or no predation.  It seems this would be far cheaper than paying for food, shelter, clothing and Medical Care for thousands and thousands of individuals.  This would greatly relieve the financial burden of those left behind, assuming the convict can secure employment though a shift in societal perspective seems necessary to have success in this area.

                Admittedly, the trick is effective and objective measures toward potential danger, but as I mentioned in previous posts, I went through an extensive psychological evaluation that was pretty much ignored. Judges could be far more creative in assigning sentences that truly address the issues of the defendant, like mandatory social work, volunteerism, court ordered treatment, and restitution toward victims both financial, and if applicable, in other ways as well.  Many in here have court ordered restitution, but this has little meaning when you are incarcerated for years, and if you're able to work, you make 35¢ per hour.

                Perhaps felonious co-ops might have a place in this brave new world of real and effective justice.  It doesn't seem impossible.  I'm not suggesting the expectation that felons around the country will suddenly all join hands and start singing "Kumbaya".  I'm saying there are better ways to deal with crime and criminals.

                This country has a significantly higher percentage of our population behind bars and any other in the world.  In fact, I read that the number of incarcerated Americans exceeds that of all other countries combined!  Why is this so?  Are we more immoral?  More criminally inclined?  I doubt it.  What are other countries or other states doing that are working?  These are things to explore.  Is there a Justice Committee in the House or in the Senate?  If so, what do they do?  If not, why not?

                Finally, how do you change the mindset of the entire country's preconceived notions of crime and criminals?  The media has much to do with this.  How do you curtail their sensationalism and fear mongering without limiting freedom of speech?  What about more balanced reporting?  What about prohibiting media coverage until after a case is decided?  After all, isn't everything before that conjecture?  Innocent until proven guilty has little credit in the news reporting, and does that not influence the supposed impartiality of the justice system?  It has been repeatedly suggested to me that I got more time than most in here, with similar charges, because I was a teacher and because there was media coverage.  How is that an impartial justice based on equality?

                Perhaps the media could give equal treatment to the causes of subversive behavior rather than sensationalizing the threats they pose.  Nowhere is this more evident than the exaggeration of "sex offenders".  Are there really more child abductors, kidnappers, and child molesters lurking behind every bush now then there were 20, 30, or 40 years ago?  When I grew up, this was not really a concern.  Is society that different now, or have we been programmed to believe so?  Does the influence of media actually encourage such deviance, creating self-fulfilling prophecies?  Or if we really are so different now, why is that so?  This is the real story.

                Again, perhaps looking at media and news in other countries might give us insight.  It seems in most other nations, news is more about news without the hype, conjecture, and melodrama. These are but a few ideas toward a newer and more effective way of dealing with crime in society.  As always, I welcome any suggestions, criticism, feedback, or additional ideas that you may have.  Perhaps an improvement is really possible.