Being in prison for more than thirty years has afforded me some rewarding opportunities...
...to get to know men whom most of society knows very little about. I have likewise experienced things and situations that the average person on the "outside" has not, and probably never will in a lifetime. Of course, prison is a terrible place; it is nothing to call "home." Yet from the vantage point of being a Christian, incarceration has been for me a myriad of unique challenges as well as a vast learning experience.
The general public's view of prison life is no doubt greatly skewed by the media. I've seen so much distortion on television. I've read a lot of untruths, too.
In any event, because I'm an inmate I have the chance, through my writings or by other means, to bring forth a different perspective about "doing time." After all, I have seen these men as they struggle with a loss of freedom. And without being overly dramatic, I have known men who've lost their sanity, and some who had chosen to end their own lives. And while I've never kept a detailed record of all that I've seen or heard behind these walls, I have witnessed many personal transformations. I've seen and known many success stories. Why there may be just as many success stories as there are tales of recidivism, re-addiction and failure. In reality, prison is a mixed bag of men and women who must each face different struggles, but who also share a common pain.
There is also a lot of waste in correctional facilities. I'm referring to the wasting of lives through various forms of warehousing. At least in New York, there are not enough programs or educational opportunities. Yes, I know that, legally speaking, education and other forms of rehabilitation are not a constitutional right. An angry society has a right, I suppose, to feel this way. Punishment in its various forms is part and parcel for prisoners, and above all else it is what prisons are mostly about.
For a simplistic approach to corrections, and outraged public wants to see some genuine suffering amongst its felons. A majority of the citizenry believe this to be a part of what justice should entail. But prison, by its very structure, has various levels of suffering built into it. Mostly it is of the mental and emotional kind, through everything from crushing loneliness to the anguish of losing contact with one's family. The psychological effects of losing one's freedom is likewise painful. But there is physical suffering, too. It may entail everything from lack of privacy as cellmates watch you defecate, to guards who on occasion may have to search your body cavities, to having to deal with high levels of constant noise, bad air, germs that are easily spread, boredom, low pay, and an array of oppressive feelings and sensations that only an individual who's confined would understand.
And I believe that if not for the grace of God, I would not have survived three decades of confinement while still retaining a sound mind, a wealth of good goals, and an endless hope.
D.B.
The general public's view of prison life is no doubt greatly skewed by the media. I've seen so much distortion on television. I've read a lot of untruths, too.
In any event, because I'm an inmate I have the chance, through my writings or by other means, to bring forth a different perspective about "doing time." After all, I have seen these men as they struggle with a loss of freedom. And without being overly dramatic, I have known men who've lost their sanity, and some who had chosen to end their own lives. And while I've never kept a detailed record of all that I've seen or heard behind these walls, I have witnessed many personal transformations. I've seen and known many success stories. Why there may be just as many success stories as there are tales of recidivism, re-addiction and failure. In reality, prison is a mixed bag of men and women who must each face different struggles, but who also share a common pain.
There is also a lot of waste in correctional facilities. I'm referring to the wasting of lives through various forms of warehousing. At least in New York, there are not enough programs or educational opportunities. Yes, I know that, legally speaking, education and other forms of rehabilitation are not a constitutional right. An angry society has a right, I suppose, to feel this way. Punishment in its various forms is part and parcel for prisoners, and above all else it is what prisons are mostly about.
For a simplistic approach to corrections, and outraged public wants to see some genuine suffering amongst its felons. A majority of the citizenry believe this to be a part of what justice should entail. But prison, by its very structure, has various levels of suffering built into it. Mostly it is of the mental and emotional kind, through everything from crushing loneliness to the anguish of losing contact with one's family. The psychological effects of losing one's freedom is likewise painful. But there is physical suffering, too. It may entail everything from lack of privacy as cellmates watch you defecate, to guards who on occasion may have to search your body cavities, to having to deal with high levels of constant noise, bad air, germs that are easily spread, boredom, low pay, and an array of oppressive feelings and sensations that only an individual who's confined would understand.
And I believe that if not for the grace of God, I would not have survived three decades of confinement while still retaining a sound mind, a wealth of good goals, and an endless hope.
D.B.
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