Prison Staffing Shortages Lead to Mental Health Crises

 The Michigan Department of Corrections continues to be plagued by staffing issues, and the shortage has been increasingly affecting how the prisons are operated. 

From time to time, each prison cancels things like weight pit, yard time, gym time, etc. for various reasons. Lately, however, the cancellations have been increasingly regular and almost always due to "staff shortages." When recreational activities and times are cancelled, especially on a regular basis, it increases the anxiety and frustration among prisoners. This, too, has a negative effect on the corrections officers, because they have to deal with the resulting drama in the housing units. 

According to a recent news report, the Department is 36% short on their staffing. At some prisons, the shortages are closer to 50%. Consequently, officers are required to work double shifts on a regular basis, taking them away from their families and lives, and leading to mental health crises among staff. 

Families of corrections officers are so fed up with the unreasonable demands on their loved ones that they, and non-custody staff, have been picketing in recent weeks at several prisons around the state. Corrections officers themselves are not allowed to picket, but that doesn't stop those who care about them from doing so. 

After another recent cancellation, one officer suggested to me that the only way something would change is if the prisoners stood up together and "did something" about it. I was taken aback at his suggestion, which is tantamount to inviting exactly what the prison system does not want. I also thought it was incredibly selfish for him to make this suggestion. 

If prisoners even so much as write a petition together, it could result in the severest class of misconduct tickets, time spent in segregation, transfer to a maximum security level, and even potentially new charges. This officer knows he cannot protest his working conditions without risking losing his job, but he also knows that prisoners risk far more if we protest. 

Yet, this officer suggests we sacrifice ourselves for HIS cause. It's ludicrous! Yes, we are losing important privileges because of staffing shortages, and yes, that results in a serious decline in mental health among prisoners and staff. But it makes no logical sense for prisoners to make the sacrifice for officers to have better working conditions. What's in it for us? 

Michigan's governor has the power to make this crisis better, but so far she has done nothing except spend large amounts of money on ineffective and laughable marketing messages. Who would want to work in such a place where employees are taken advantage of and treated so poorly? I wouldn't wish this job on my worst enemy.

Traumatic Fall Ought to Break Hearts, Not Just Bones

 This past week, we had another traumatic experience in my housing unit. About a year ago, a distraught prisoner jumped from the second gallery in an attempt to end his life. He did not die, though the severity of his injuries probably made him desperately wish he had. 

This week another prisoner fell from the third gallery, about 25-30 feet down. He did not jump, but he rolled under the railing after falling and trying to get back up. He was apparently high after smoking something he bought in prison. I doubt he intended to fall. 

He, too, lived, though from what I hear his body is also very badly broken. Fortunately for him, a shower partition wall somewhat broke his fall, otherwise I'm sure he'd be dead or even worse off than he is. 

This fall happened around 8:15 at night, and our housing unit was closed for the rest of the night as the administration brought in an ambulance and then investigated what happened. To the administration's credit, they made a concerted effort to track down the sequence of events and hold the appropriate people accountable. 

One major thing differed this time compared to when the prisoner jumped. The next day, during our morning count time, four psychologists came cell to cell asking if we needed to talk or if we were okay. While I did not need to talk, I was extremely grateful for the gesture. Kudos to the administration, again. 

I'm not afraid to praise the Department when they get things right. It happens rarely enough that I think it's only right to highlight it. I would like to see some serious changes to the railing system, however. Our housing unit has five floors, and each floor above the base has four foot high two inch tube railings, but there is no cage or fencing. It's far too easy for a person, or even an object, to fall (or jump) from up to 40 feet in the air and land on someone below. I doubt that will change, unless someone files a lawsuit, but that's unlikely. 

What is also unlikely to change, sadly, is the responses, among both staff and prisoners, to these tragic events. Some have compassion and empathy, but others respond in cold cynicism. Yes, the prisoner was an idiot for smoking something illicit, but that doesn't mean he deserved what happened to him. 

It's easy to criticize staff for their cold cynicism, and frankly they ought to set an example of compassion. But, it's among prisoners that I hear the most disgusting comments. If we can't have compassion among ourselves, and treat each other with the dignity we demand of the system, how can we possibly expect the prison system to offer us compassion? 

I recognize the dynamic of using humor to deal with traumatic experiences. I was an EMT for a short while, and it's a common response in that field. But it's also common for people to treat you like you demand of them. When we, as prisoners, don't treat each other with dignity and respect, we ought to not be surprised when the prison system doesn't either. 

Erecting barriers to prevent falls or jumps is a good start to solve facility issues that contribute to that particular problem, but it's the structural issues among prisoners and between prisoners and staff that are the bigger problem. And that problem is a LOT more complicated to solve because it requires changing hearts and minds.

Corrections Officer Arrested for Drug Smuggling

A few weeks ago, the prison yard was abuzz with gossip and rumors. This is not an uncommon occurrence in prison, only this time it wasn't gossip about another prisoner or false rumors about the passage of a good time bill or prisoners being released on tether. Still, the gossip had a tantalizing element of truth, embellished by overzealous rumormongers.

A corrections officer at Parnall Correctional Facility had been arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs into the facility. Apparently, it'd been going on for some time and was a rather open secret among prisoners in the section of the prison where he worked. 

Of course, the rumor mill had five different officers arrested and escorted off the premises in handcuffs, but when I saw two of the officers working later the next day, I knew that part of the rumor was untrue. As they say in prison, believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see. I've since seen the story of the officer's arrest on the local news, so I know it's true about at least one officer.

In the days since the officer's arrest, I've continued to hear about other officers being suspended for misconducts. I have not seen these officers working the last couple of weeks, so those rumors may have some teeth to them, but who knows for sure. In prison, you have to treat almost every rumor you hear as fake news, until you can confirm the rumors from a reliable source. 

And officers themselves are not always reliable sources. Two prisoners I know were transported to the hospital in the last few months. According to several officers, the first prisoner had to have several toes amputated because of an infection, The other had died in the hospital. Yet, the man with the "amputated toes" returned back to this prison, with all toes intact. And I confirmed personally that the other prisoner is still in the hospital, alive. 

I have to imagine that just like prisoners sometimes start rumors for the fun of it, officers may do the same. I once started a harmless rumor on April Fools Day, and I was shocked later that day to hear prisoners from the other side of the prison repeating the rumor in the chow hall. California wildfires might spread quickly, but they have the speed of a tortoise compared to rumors in prison. 

In previous posts, I've been highly critical of the Michigan Department of Corrections' response to the drug problem in prison. Excessive mail and visiting restrictions are the typical response, despite the majority of drugs more likely coming through corrections officers. So, I'm pleased that the Department has taken this incident seriously and have pressed charges. There should not be a double standard when it comes to enforcing the law. 

I don't feel smug about this officer's arrest and hopeful prosecution. I think it's tragic any time someone commits a crime and their lives, and the lives of their families, are tragically changed because of their poor choices. I also don't think excessive prison sentences are the answer to crime. But I do believe in fairness and equal justice, so I hope the MDOC continues to hold other officers accountable. 

One of the stated goals of incarceration is deterrence, so I'd like to think this officer's recent arrest will deter other officers from such foolish behavior. Unfortunately, I don't believe incarceration actually serves as a deterrent for more than very brief periods of time. The allure of money will likely entrap other officers to take up the trade. I can only hope the Department will be as vigilant and stringent with their employees as they are with their captive charges. 

Missouri Man is Found "Not Guilty" but Still Held in Prison

I saw the tail end of a news story this morning about a man in Missouri, named Christopher Dunn, who spent 34 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was convicted of a crime based on faulty eyewitness testimony. Recently his conviction was overturned due to clear and convincing evidence that he was not the man who committed the crime. 

The tragedy of a man spending nearly a lifetime in prison for a crime he did not commit screams of injustice. You would think that the justice system would be lining up to apologize, to make sure he is immediately released, to make sure they make right the tragic wrong done to this man. But no, that's not what has happened. 

Despite the criminal justice system claiming that its aim is to carry out justice, this man remains behind bars, even though his conviction has been overturned, because the prosecuting attorney has appealed the ruling. He has not appealed the ruling because he believes Dunn is guilty. He KNOWS he's innocent. Instead, the prosecuting attorney has appealed this ruling "to preserve" something he doesn't even need. Dunn has been found not guilty by incontrovertible evidence!

Furthermore, because Missouri has no law allowing compensation for wrongfully convicted people, Dunn will leave prison with nothing to his name. He will not be compensated by the state for the 34 years they stole from him. How is that justice? Nothing can make that tragic injustice right, but the state isn't even interested in righting this wrong. They're only interested in keeping him in prison just a little longer. 

Dunn will be released within 30 days because that's when the court ruling becomes final, but he should have been immediately released. If the "justice system" really cared about justice, they'd be falling all over themselves to make this right...immediately! They wouldn't use judicial appeals to keep an innocent man behind bars. 

After more than 15 years in prison, I've come to believe that the "justice system" cares very little about justice. Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not convictions at any cost. Prosecutors are supposed to follow the law, not find loopholes to exact revenge, including on innocent people! Our "justice system" is terribly broken. 

I hope that you, my readers, are never falsely accused of a crime. "Innocent until proven guilty" is a fallacy, no longer an American judicial ideal. I also hope you're never faced with a frivolous lawsuit. If injustices like the one Dunn experienced can stand, than there's little hope for justice in civil suits that require even lower standards of proof. 

I even hope you never have to depend on the justice system to give you justice for a wrong done to you. Victim voices are too often silenced. The courts act like the crime was against the state, and victims are too often forgotten. 

Dunn, here, is a victim of injustice, and even a court ruling can't give him the long awaited freedom he deserves. He should have left that courtroom a free man, not held even longer at the whim of an unjust prosecutor. 

I hope the public rallies around Dunn and provides for him the compensation the state should be forced to pay him. He deserves far more than money for the 34 years the state stole from him, but that would be a just start.

As for the prosecutor? That's an elected position, so I hope the people of Missouri are as disgusted at this man's arrogance as I am and fire him on the next election!