Punishing Many Prisoners for the Actions of One

In my last post, I wrote about the knee-jerk reactions of the legislature and courts when they generalize punishments to large groups of people because of the actions of one, or a few. This occurs through elevated sentences, post-sentence consequences, and restrictions on citizens' Constitutional rights. But as I write this, I am personally experiencing generalized punishment by prison officials. 

Yesterday, a corrections officer was assaulted in another housing unit by a single prisoner. I don't know any of the details of what occurred, other than that this was the same officer who was recently transferred out of our housing unit because he violated prison rules. Apparently, as he was leaving the unit where he was assaulted, some prisoners from our small yard cheered. They found pleasure in his harm. It's not something I would have joined in or condoned, but I get it. This officer goes out of his way to make prisoners' lives miserable. 

An hour after this incident, prison administrators decided to put our housing unit on lockdown. At 3:50PM all 240 of us prisoners were locked in our cells as punishment for the actions of a small group of prisoners. Here it is 9:00AM the next day, and we are still locked down, likely until later today, probably this evening. We are all being punished for the actions of one prisoner and the gleeful response of a few others. 

The duplicity of this oppressive behavior is glaring. Corrections officers routinely make fun of or laugh at prisoners. I have written before about hearing officers mocking mentally ill prisoners. When this occurs, not only are the individual officers not disciplined, but the entire staff are not disciplined for the actions of one person. Apparently unempathetic, mocking behavior is okay for those in power, but it is not for the rest of us. 

I get it. Prison isn't meant to be pleasant. But prison sentences themselves are the punishment. We are not meant to be punished, even oppressed, within that punishment. Societies are judged by how they treat their most vulnerable. If our society decides it is okay to treat unfairly those of us who have lost most of the power over our lives, we have much to fear. Oppressive behavior should never be tolerated, especially among those in power. 

With the commonness of such behavior among those in power, it's no wonder our society has lost its faith in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. People can see the writing on the wall -- abuses of power will not contain themselves within inner city streets or the walls of prisons. 

Let's Stop "Solving" Problems with Knee-Jerk Reactions

 I've always believed that people should be held personally accountable when they choose to do wrong. Though I know these wrong choices often impact others, the direct punishment for these wrongs should be born by the ones making them. Allegedly, that's the same goal of the criminal justice system. Consequently, that's also presumably the goal of legislators who make the laws. 

The problem is that in practice, often the direct consequences of one person's actions are born by many. Two easily identifiable examples are gun control and sex offender laws. 

I believe in responsible gun ownership. Some of the recently proposed gun legislation just makes sense. It is senseless that these restrictions have not been put into place before now (like raising the age of ownership, for example). But restricting responsible gun ownership because of the actions of a few mentally unstable or morally bankrupt people is generalizing a punishment. Likewise, registries that publicly shame offenders after they have served their prison sentence, and other privacy violations enacted in the name of "justice," are generalized punishments. Though initially designed to "track" and shame the most dangerous offenders with a high risk of reoffending, they now apply to entire categories of offenders -- high risk or not. Numerous studies have shown that registries, and electronic monitoring, actually do more harm to communities (and returning citizens) than good. 

Sensationalized news stories often drum up public support for such draconian "fixes" to problems, but the public seems clueless to how these "solutions" erode their own Constitutional rights. Many thought, for example, that the Patriot Act, passed during George W. Bush's presidency, was a good idea. After all, it allowed the US government to track terrorists, right? Yes, but it also allowed the government to track normal U.S. citizens, without search warrants. Now, many Americans just assume the government is tracking their data, as if that is normal and Constitutionally viable. It is not. 

This judicial and legislative overreach, generalizing punishments to entire populations because of public outrage over a big story, has led to the normalization of big government solutions to problems. Our founding fathers would be astonished by how quickly America's citizens have given up their freedoms. No, they would be appalled.

Instead of knee-jerk responses to sensationalized, and tragic, stories of harm, why don't legislators, and the criminal justice system, actually work towards responsible, measurable solutions? Let's reject headline grabbing proposals that often lead to more restrictions without solving any problems. Let's also discard prior attempts at solving problems that have proven to be failures. Instead, let's start actually studying problems and getting to their roots. Mental health is in the toilet in this country. So is morality, responsibility, integrity, and intelligent leadership. We could, and should, start there.

Prison Transfers are Not a Fun Adventure

 It's not terribly unusual for Michigan prisoners to stay in the same prison, or even the same bunk, for years at a time. Before my recent move to a new housing unit, I was in the same cell, minus a brief stint away during the Covid fiasco, for almost five years. I was in the same housing unit for more than six years. And, though his case is unusual, another prisoner in the same eight-man cube as me in another prison was in his bunk for seventeen years!

Some prisoners like to move, even change prisons, every couple of years. I'm not one of them. I prefer the comfort of the known -- you know, "Better the devil you know..." Yet, when I have moved in the past, even to different prisons, the experience has not been as bad as I anticipated. Well, the transfer itself is, but not the relocation. 

Transferring from one prison to another is an exhausting exercise. It usually involves hours of waiting, being handcuffed and shackled, shuffling onto and off of busses or vans, long rides without access to the bathroom, fasting from food and drink (unless you want to have to hold your bodily urges for hours), and sweating -- lots and lots of sweating. And that's only the beginning. 

Once one arrives at a new prison, he is assigned to a housing unit and bunk. If he is lucky his property came with him on the same transportation and he may get it the same day or the next. If he is unlucky, as many are, his property arrived separately, and he may not receive it for several days. It's not terribly unusual for someone to wait a week, despite the prison policy that requires a prisoner receive his property within 24 hours. 

When prisoners must wait days for their property to catch up, they only have what they are wearing. This means they must wear the same sweaty, dirty clothing for days at a time, without showering. Sometimes, a prisoner in this situation is fortunate to know someone who will lend him what he needs to shower, and he may even be given a toothbrush and a change of clothes. Most aren't so fortunate. 

During transfers, it is also not unusual for the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) to misplace or damage prisoner property. The process to be reimbursed for damaged or lost property is months-long, and often means receiving less than the replacement value of the lost or damaged property. 

I have not transferred prisons since the MDOC has experienced its critical shortage of staff. I have to imagine things have not gotten better. You can't expect overworked, stressed out staff to care much about their jobs, especially when some already view prisoners negatively. 

With all the potential problems during prison transfers, it baffles my mind why some prisoners like to change prisons frequently. It seems like a difficult way to do their time. Though I expect to be transferred again soon, I hope it's my last time before I parole. 

Is the Criminal Justice System Just?

 Prior to being charged and convicted of a crime, I had a lot of faith in our criminal justice system. I believed our system was just and fair, and I believed criminals deserved whatever they got. Now, I know that my beliefs were naive. 

I know, I know. It sounds almost cliche for me to believe the criminal justice system is not fair. After all, I was convicted by the system. But the reality is, I had very little exposure or experience with law enforcement and the courts until my own conviction. I had the luxury of believing justice was being served. To be fair, I do believe in many cases that justice IS still being served, that law enforcement are "serving and protecting," and that the courts and prison system are doing exactly what they were designed to do. I also still believe crime should be punished. 

But having been so close to the inner workings of law enforcement, the courts, and the prison system for 13+ years now, my eyes are also opened to the many injustices within the system. Law enforcement personnel sometimes plant evidence, lie, abuse defendants, and withhold important exculpatory evidence. 

Prosecutors sometimes build entire cases on lies, but more often they exploit someone's guilt with lies that worsen the offender's punishment. Sometimes they withhold exculpatory evidence or even insist on a conviction standing despite clear and convincing evidence of the person's innocence. 

The courts, too, routinely admit bad or faulty evidence, ignore clear court rules, violate clearly established Constitutional rights, and also uphold convictions of clearly innocent people. Those who are supposed to be a check and balance to law enforcement and prosecutors often collude with them, instead, in a sort of "good ol' boys club." 

Here's one such example: Let's say that someone breaks into an empty home, is caught on camera stealing stuff, and is arrested and charged with breaking and entering. What he was caught stealing was less than $500. Law enforcement, however, know of multiple other break-ins in the surrounding area and believe he is guilty of those as well, though they have no direct evidence (let's say he actually didn't commit them, for our argument). Prosecutors agree to charge him with these break-ins, and they raise the total value stolen to over $10,000. Now, the suspect (because he's only supposed to be a suspect until convicted) has a dozen charges against him, and he faces a sentence more than three times what the single B&E charge would have carried. Let's say he may have faced a 3 years sentence, but now faces a 10 year sentence.

Now, it's possible this suspect had committed those other crimes, but there is no evidence to prove this (remember, he didn't in this scenario). Other people also commit burglaries. Yet, the prosecution will use the threat of triple the time to force the suspect to plead guilty to the crime he was caught on camera committing, while they agree to drop the other charges. He will then be sentenced as if he had committed all of the crimes, let's say in this case to 5 years in prison. He may even be forced to pay restitution on the full $10,000+ value, even though those charges had been dropped, and the charges never proven. 

This simple example is one of the every day sort of things that happen in our criminal justice system. And many people think it's totally okay. Now, the offender is serving a prison sentence for a crime he did commit, plus extra time and paying extra restitution for crimes he did not commit. That is not justice, not the least of which because the person who really did commit the other crimes was never held accountable for them. 

I admit that it's impossible for our system to be perfect, but it ought not allow exploitation of offenders, simply because they are in a powerless position. The system ought to aim for justice, including reforming the person, not exacting revenge and abusing its power. Yet, from start to finish, from law enforcement to corrections officers, the entire system is rife with abuses of power. 

I believe our founding fathers would be aghast at the failure of our criminal justice system. They expected better, and I believe most citizens expect better. If most people are like I was, they probably believe the system is fair and just. Sadly, in many, many cases, that simply is not so. It's just too bad it took me being immersed in the system to believe it was so broken. 

Prison Policies Make Healthy Relationships Difficult

 "Hey V!" I call across the yard to a friend of mine. I was recently moved from one housing unit to another, so most of the people I consider friends are in a different housing unit. My buddy and I catch up a bit while he walks his leader dog in training and I am heading to chow. We used to be able to talk several times a day, just checking in with each other, praying with and for each other, and being a sounding board and encouragement for the other. Now, we only have brief moments in passing to catch up. 

Soon, my friend will be moved to the same housing unit I am now in, as will most of the others Calvin graduates, but this brief separation reminds me of the tenuous nature of relationships in prison. The Michigan Department of "Corrections" forbids contact between prisoners when they are housed in different facilities. Technically, my friend and I are also not supposed to communicate even between housing units. It's a policy that intends to prevent gang activity and other nefarious activity, but one that also prevents healthy connections and friendships from thriving. 

Two other men I know have been friends in prison for nearly 40 years. Today, they are back in the same prison facility and have been able to resume their friendship. But for fifteen years, they were at separate prisons, unable to communicate. This policy makes it difficult to maintain relationships, even with those who support and encourage one's growth and development. 

One of the sad realities of prison is that due to lost relationships upon entering prison and prison policies that make maintaining relationships difficult, many prisoners have either superficial relationships, or view other people as passing commodities. It is profoundly difficult to develop depth in friendships, to establish bonds, when those bonds are constantly at risk of being torn apart. Sadly, this reality often follows prisoners out the door when they leave prison. Unless one works hard to change the status quo. 

All relationships involve risk. They all, whether in prison or out, may be severed at any time. They also take a tremendous amount of work, investment really, to result in deep bonds. But the truly rewarding relationships, those are worth the risk. They're worth the effort. Yet, it's only when those relationships are tested, by separation, conflict, or loss, that one can truly know how genuine those relationships are.