Interesting thread, thanks. I have a few questions.
"He later got sent to the “hole” for having sex with a female guard. " What 's that about ? What could the attraction possibly be ? Probably unknowable, I guess, but does it happen often ? I mean especially sexual relations beteen female guards/male prisoners, I can see the dynamics where the sexes are reversed.
Have you read “Green River Rising”, and what did you think if so ?
You mentioned transvestites earlier, which feature a lot in “Green River Rising”. Are they common in prison ? Is their crossdressing tolerated by guards ?
5:45 am - Lights on! Nobody makes you get out of bed, though.
6:15-7:45 - cell doors are opened en masse for breakfast for about five minutes. If you don’t come out, the door shuts and you go hungry til lunch.
7:30 - 16:00 - Work. (You get let out if you didn’t come out for breakfast.) Also, programs like drug rehab, sessions with counselors, remedial education, and any doctor/dental appts are during this time. Some people, for example kitchen workers and janitors, might have jobs outside of these hours.
11:-12:30 - lunch served. You probably get a half-hour for yourself. Meals are in a typical cafeteria type chow hall. Except there’s someone there to make sure everyone deposits a spoon and fork in the tub on the way out. No knives are given.
16:00 - Everybody back to his cell for count. Nobody comes again until every man is accounted for. If a guy without a job died in his cell and nobody noticed, here is when they find out.
Evening consists of chow and “yard” - outdoor playtime. They have access to weights, basketballs, baseball… typical stuff. They also may have various religious services in the evening. Access to telephones.
By 9 pm, everyone locked up again in their cells for an official count. Three more counts during the night and no one comes out again until the last one is complete at around 4 am. Then kitchen workers come out to start getting breakfast ready.
Groups that had organized religious services, Sundays or otherwise.
Catholic
Protestant - supposedly generic, but more like Baptist than Lutheran
Jewish
Muslim
A pseudo-Muslim group mostly made of African-Americans whose I name escapes me.
Generic Native American service - this group met behind closed doors and burnt sage and danced around a drum with their shirts off. I think it was just an excuse to get together and smoke dope, with the smell masked by the sage. They also had a “sweatlodge” on the grounds.
Catholic and Protestants had full time chaplains. Some other groups had religious volunteers come to lead services. The full time chaplains helped organize all religious activities.
How do the guards stop fights without getting hurt? Did they teach you special techniques? What if many people are fighting? What if the guys fighting are huge and/or crazy?
This happened a lot. I don’t know about male guards/female inmates, but it seems like about once every 2 or 3 months a female guard got fired for this. Your guess is as good as mine. This is a mystery to me. There are women who are just attracted to bad men. I had one inmate who told me that he put out a lonely-hearts ad that began, “Behind bars…” and that he had 50 responses the first week.
Worse, there was a case of a husband and wife who were both guards and the wife got caught in the act with a convict. Another case of where the father of the female guard was also a guard. I can’t imagine how those guys felt.
No.
I remember three distinctly. Cross-dressing amounted to wearing their prison issue clothes in a suggestive manner. Female hair-does and make-up made from shoepolish and what-not accomplished the most. They were quite popular with the other prisoners and provided comic-relief to us. I can recall teasing a straight young convict regarding one of the transvestites: “She doesn’t look too bad. Why don’t go over and talk to her?” Him: “Oh, man. No way!” But he was stealing looks over his shoulder and I could see the little wheels turning. Heh, heh.
My attitude toward sex between prisoners was (1) make sure no one was getting victimized and (2) make sure consentual sex was undetectable by me or any other staff member. Here’s a typical exchange:
Two convicts sitting on the same bunk (medium security barracks type room)
Me: “Lights out in five. Back to your own bunk.”
Convict: “But, sarge. This is my wife!” (Supposed to shock me, I guess.)
Me: “Yeah? Well, wait till I get around the corner, kiss her goodnight and then get back to your own damn bunk.”
You definitely had to have a sense of humor about this kind of stuff.
If it was a few fighting, we had the advantage of numbers. Almost every post in the facility had two guards and when an emergency sounded (via walkie-talkies) one responded from each post.
In the event of a weapon such as a knife, if he was just waving it we’d try to talk him out of it. But if he was engaged with another prisoner (or guard!) with it, we’d just have to jump right in there. As a group of course. Then there are the wonders of pepper spray!
We had a minimal amount of martial art training. But we had a “goon squad” that received much more training that did the bulk of the dirty work. And the goons were natural brawlers who loved that kind of stuff. I only ever had to lay my hands on someone twice. Never had to strike anyone.
There was the occasional major brawl. The main thing is to quell them as fast as possible. It turns that there is something of a psychological advantage. The same inmate that would probably beat a guard’s brains out in a one-on-one, just doesn’t fight as hard when its ten on ten. Maybe they’re just used to being intimidated by organized authority. I don’t know.
In the event of a riot, we had riot-gear - helmets, shields, clubs, tear gas, all that good stuff.
Outdoors, the tower guards could shoot if someone’s life was in danger.
Great thread, TGWATY! I’m a physician at a max security state prison, and it sounds like your experiences parallel mine. I love the job because every day they let me leave the prison whenever I want to! A daily dose of gratitude!
Here’s what I think is our last thread on the topic of “Ask the Prison whatever” ask the prison physician
Thanks so much for that link, QM. I never had a chance to chat with a prison doctor. Even when I worked the clinic, they and I were always too busy. Very interesting.
Man, reading these threads has me realizing how uninteresting my current job is! I’m definitely keeping corrections in mind for later as a second career.
You mentioned you left because of the pay. Do you mind sharing what that was? What where the hours and how long did you work there (I don’t think that was asked yet).
Roughly, what was the “racial” make up of the prison? 30% Black, 30% white, 30% Hispanic, 10% other? Or was there a massive amount of one over the other?
Did the prisoners just come from your state?
Was AIDS and Hep C (or other sex/drug diseases) spreading in the population that you know of? I am aware you are not a physician, but I thought you may know.
Have you seen 25th Hour? In case you haven’t (and don’t plan to) I am enclosing my question in a spoiler box. If you do plan to see it, just ignore my question. I’ll live.
The movie is about someone who is going to prison the next day. He has someone beat him up so he won’t be too “pretty” and therefore end up as a “girlfriend” to a fellow prisoner. Do you think that would work?
When I started in 1995, it was just over $10/hour. The pay associated with sergeants and higher ranks was livable, but not great.
For guards there were three shifts: 6 am - 2 pm, 2 - 10, and 10 - 6. I worked all three shifts, but mostly the 10 - 6 night shift. I was a graduate student at the time and this was the most convenient.
It was definitely more than 50% white, about 30% black, 10% Hispanic and Native American, and 5% other. Other was mostly southeast Asians.
People draw significance from the observation that blacks make up about 10% of the population of the state but 30% of the prison population. I think it has more to do with the fact that the majority of criminals of any race come from urban centers where blacks make up a larger percentage than in the state as a whole. I would bet that a comparison of proportions between prison and city populations would be about the same.
No. States sometimes trade convicts. Often this is because a criminal is a trouble making leader and it is hoped that putting him in a place where he is unknown will make him easier to handle. Also, prisoners with a lot of enemies might get traded.
AIDs was definitely a problem. We usually had a few at death’s door. There was a lot of talk about Hep C, but I didn’t have a feel for how many had it.
No, but I read the spoiler. I think it is probably bad idea and unnecessary. Worse, your first impression might be that of victim. At first glance, it is obvious from your face that you can take a beating, but they can’t tell if you can dish one out too. The best impression to give is one of confidence and superiority. It’s tough to do that with messed up face.
$10 per hour? Wow. That really does suprise me. I don’t blame you for leaving considering the people you were around.
Were female guards treated differently by the population (other then the fact the odd one would get nailed by an inmate). Was there a lot of “cat calling?” Did they get harrassed a lot or did the prisoners get “disciplined” if that happened?
You mentioned that there was sex at times between the female guards and inmates. Were there any gay guards fired for the same thing?
Were drugs a big problem? How often was there lockdowns and rooms overturned looking for illegal/not allowed substances?
Were there a lot of snitches/stool pigeons in the population?
Sorry if those are too many questions. I think this is a great thread!
How about An Innocent Man? How accurate is Hollywood’s overall portrayal of prison? Which movies would you say do the best job of accurately portraying prison life and which ones are the worst?
Female staff members were generally treated the same as males or with more respect. Even in the “hole,” where since they didn’t have anything more to lose, they generally lost all pretence of civility. Incidences of disrespect were rarely had any basis in the guard’s sex. “Cat calls” were pretty common because they were anonymous. Being 25 yrs old, blond-haired and blue-eyed, I was the recipient of a number myself.
Female guards over 40 (for example, my own mother) could be very effective with the psychological advantage of being a mother figure, so that they could get away with things most males couldn’t. I have walked into my mom’s unit and found inmates scrubbing something with a toothbrush or other military-like punishments that inmates would have laughed in my face if I had suggested.
Yes, in fact. One that I knew of.
Drugs were all over, but we were very strict and thorough, so you’d never have known it unless you were looking for it. Inmates were under a lot of pressure from other inmates to be secretive. A guy wouldn’t show up to chow obviously stoned because then it would mean everyone with cells near his, maybe even his whole cellhouse, would get shook down (searched). That would piss everybody off.
At times I would smell marijuana or alcohol and shake down the cell or bunk that my nose brought me to. Never found anything that way, though. More often, inmates would stash any contraband – drug paraphenalia, knives, homemade tattoo guns – in common areas like laundry rooms and broom closets. I did sometimes find that.
Yes! Snitches played an important part in the running our prison. Experienced and high ranking guards would have their own snitches and usually no one else knew who they were. These relationships took time to develop and I never had a regular snitch. In exchange for snitching, inmates might get a better job or be allowed to get away some of the more innocent infractions like gambling or selling choice food stolen from the kitchen. Maybe even something not so innocent, but I wasn’t privy to that.
Many’s the thwarted escape or drug bust that were due to snitches.
I have not seen An Innocent Man, but I recall my mother, a correction officer for over ten years, enjoyed it and thought it realistic.
Other films from an inmates perspective:
First, let me say that The Shawshank Redemption does not give a very accurate portrayal of prison life, at least not today. That said, it is one my favorite films and I highly recommend it. In fact, I think I’ll pop it in tonight.
American Me was roundly hailed by other staff members as the most realistic film. We were told to watch it when I was in training for new-hires, but I never saw it.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a good expose of southern chain gangs. Based on a book by an actual fugitive (who couldn’t even be given credit on the film because he was still on the lam), this forgotten film is well recommended. Check out the Imdb user comments. This is the next film on my to-see list.
From the guards’ perspective:
Against The Wall is about the uprising and massacre at Attica in New York. The events here are extreme not representative of most prisons today. But I recommend it because the first half hour gives you a good impression of the feel of the first experiences of a new guard and dealing with emotional distance we must keep with other human beings that we see on a daily basis.
The Green Mile doesn’t depict modern prisons, but again there is something in it which communicates the correct “feel” about being a guard. Especially working the “hole.” (We didn’t have a death row.) Only the guards in TGM are more professional than real life (well, except for Percy) . If I could have worked with those guys, I think I would have never quit.
Did you ever work with female prisoners? I’m guessing not, from your descriptions. Salon and some other sources have run stories suggesting that rape and abuse of female prisoners by guards is widespread.
I skimmed the article. First let me say that I don’t deny that the individual stories presented are possible. Even if only partly true, they are horrific and the situations that led to them should be investigated and corrected. (And probably have been. Bureacracies like prisons typically overreact in response to scandal and adopt ridiculously restrictive measures.) But the media is notorious for presenting isolated incidences as typical and common without the statistical support.
While some states are bound to have more problems than others, I would be very surprised to learn that it is widespread anywhere.
In the state of Kansas women receive vastly better treatment than men. Case in point: When I first started, there was a small women’s facility a mile from the men’s prison. It was maximum security but later it was converted to a minimum security men’s facility when they built a bigger one for women in another part of the state. They had to make it minimum since it looked like a small college campus with trees and flowers and pleasant brick buildings with wraparound porches. If they put max men there, people would be horrified. Yet max women were there for years, including some pretty vicious killers.
I only worked at that facility a couple of times and it was night and they were all sleeping. But I knew plenty of guards who had, men and women. The biggest problem was that female inmates attempted to seduce male guards, not vice versa. Most likely to compromise them so that the guards would be blackmailed into bringing in drugs or money for them, but also just for the sex. I think that the reason that there was not as many problems between male staff/female inmates as in the reverse cases is because there was much more emphasis on it at the female facility.
The general opinion of guards, male and female, was that female inmates are trickier and harder to deal with than men and most hated to work there. For instance, I can remember a case of a females slipping something into a guard’s coffee so that he required medical attention. Another time, they got the keys away from a guard and locked him or her in a supply closet. That kind of thing never happened in the men’s facility to my knowledge. You were more likely to get killed in the men’s facility, but you more likely to lose your job in the women’s.
Quite frankly, I was very nervous about working there and was relieved when they moved the women out.
Not all of this was relevant to the sexual abuse question, but it gives you an idea of why I find the picture Salon paints unlikely.
I think it’s probably being done out of necessity to avoid law suits where inmates claim that the state is responsible for their health problems. Another plus is that banning cigarettes removes a convenient currency for the prison blackmarket. I personally wouldn’t implement it until I saw what effect it had on other prisons that adopted it. Who knows what new problems it might create?
But I’m certainly not worried about the poor inmates having to giving up one of their few vices, though. My advice to any smokers out there is, stay out of prison.
