Prisoner Deaths Highlight Undignified Treatment

Death occurs in prison, just like it does outside of prison. Sometimes prisoners die because another prisoner assaulted them, or because they experienced neglect or abuse at the hands of staff members. Still others die because of disease or old age. But for many of us prisoners, the death of another prisoner is a stark reminder of our own mortality. It also causes profound anxiety as we desperately hope to leave prison before we ourselves die. 

Dying in prison is an even more lonely prospect than living here. Who is here to grieve our passing? Who will treat us with dignity in our death? Who will tell the best parts of our stories? Who will inform our families, and will it be with compassion? 

This past week, two prisoners in my housing unit died in 24 hours. It's unclear to me what caused either of their deaths. One was quite sick, and the other had a long history of substance abuse, so they likely both died from health complications. But the cause of their death does not diminish the tragedy of it. At least one of those prisoners apparently had nobody, no family, outside of prison. He'll likely receive a pauper's burial by the state. 

When a someone dies in prison, other prisoners react in different ways. Many are somber and anxious. Others are calloused...and probably anxious. As if the lack of dignified treatment we receive by staff isn't bad enough, some prisoners deal with death by mocking it, and the prisoner who experienced it. Some get angry because of the disruption it causes them. God forbid they should have to be locked in their cells for a few hours instead of playing cards or whatever fills their day. Compassion is foreign to some prisoners. 

Staff, too, respond differently to the death of a prisoner. Many of them resent the added paperwork and scrutiny that comes when a prisoner dies under their watch. All prisoner deaths are investigated by the State Police. Some staff express compassion to the rest of us prisoners, while others take their stress out on us.

But when the first of the two prisoners died last week, I witnessed one of the most disturbing treatments I've seen. A half dozen or more staff members and investigators gathered around the prisoner's cell as they prepared to bring his body out of the housing unit. They'd already wrapped him up for transport. Yet, when it came time to transport him, instead of two or three people carrying him, one officer simply dragged the body down the gallery walkway like a sack of garbage. They only carried him when they came to the stairs. 

I sat on a bench watching the whole episode, shock reverberating through my body. The realization that the indignities we experience in prison even extend to our deaths hit me hard. And I wasn't alone. Other prisoners are still talking about it almost a week later. It boggles my mind how prison staff could think that was okay! Especially while the rest of us prisoners watched.

I didn't know either prisoner who died, but I believe every human deserves to be treated with dignity, including prisoners, regardless of their crimes. It saddens me deeply to know that even in death we are nothing but garbage to some prison staff.