Untitled-331 by Jay Goodman

I just finished a chapter about how could anyone be rehabilitated under the conditions prisoners have to face inside the Federal Prison System. How is it even possible? The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a disgrace to the word rehabilitation. The prison system is a disgrace to our country and the American people. They are not releasing prisoners who are fit to go back into society, but men who have been forced in some cases to endure decades of violence. Not just fights, but years of brutal beatings, stabbings and killings that in most cases is either encouraged, allowed or set up to happen by the guards or ranking officers. What kind of prisoners do you believe are being released back into society? I am sure in most cases they are worse off when they leave than when they came here. While I do understand how society as a whole view the people who break the law and get sent to prison, a lot of people believe every one of us has made our bed, so now we have to lay in it. I do understand their thinking, a lot of this has to do with what they news stations and newspapers report. The news and papers usually report high profile cases, they look for something that they can sensationalize, like murders or the worst crimes they believe will catch the attention of the people who are watching them.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of people who come to prison are not murderers, but the way the prison system is set up, a lot of the people are forced to commit murder or be killed themselves. It’s not the prisoners who are cold blooded murderers, but the way the system is run that turns these men into killers. I see all the time how nonviolent people come to prison and have to face the reality of either becoming a killer or be killed, and what is a shame is the United States Penitentiary has allowed this to go on forever. No one has taken the steps to even try to change how these places are run, so over a period of time this situation has gotten worse and it is going to continue getting worse if something doesn’t change. There are also a lot of less secure prisons, like the Federal Correctional Institutions, which is a step down from the United States Penitentiary. A lot of these prisons are run with the same structure, so how is it possible for the men that are in here to get the help they need to leave and be productive citizens? From the seventeen years I have been in prison and really understanding what’s going on around me, I’d have to say it’s virtually impossible for many people to be rehabilitated.

To give a good example of what I’m talking about, when a man goes into the military it’s their job to turn him into a solider. The military knows it’s possible this man might have to go into combat someday, so it’s their job to prepare this man both physically and mentally. It’s not just physical, they will get him use to working out in the heat, cold, rain, they will run him until he drops. They will teach him how to shoot and how to kill. When they are finished with him, he will never in most cases, be the same. And if he goes to combat, it will change him forever, a lot of soldiers have long term mental disorders, especially those who saw heavy combat and witnessed people being killed all around them. Now most soldiers only do a one-year tour of duty, but prisoners don’t do one-year tours, they don’t have the support of their fellow soldier, watching their back. In a lot of Federal Prisons, a man will see people being beat, stabbed and murdered for decades. They will see the people who have been put in place to rehabilitate them actually help the prisoners who are causing all the madness and allowing them to continue doing what they have been doing. The prisoners who come here don’t see a way out. There is no choice in what they can do, you will either become someone who is willing to commit murder or you will be eaten by the wolves. This is the reality of what prison actually is and as the years and decades slowly go by, the men loose empathy and once that happens, men start becoming more violent you’ll see brutal acts of violence for little or no reason. I saw a man walk by a table once and sneeze, the man did cover his mouth with his hand, but a man sitting at the table eating a soup jumped up and started screaming how disrespectful that was. The man that sneezed said, “I am sorry, I’ll give you another soup.�?, but the guy said “Fuck you�?, and pulled out a shank and stabbed this guy over twenty times. I could write a whole page on how brutal this attack was. The man looked like a mad man who was fighting for his life, he stabbed the guy in his face, neck and chest over a twenty-five-cent cup of soup. I can remember to this day the look of rage on this man’s face, I still look back at this and shake my head at the insanity of what happened. I also remember looking around the cell block at other men who were watching this. A lot of them were shaking their head at the senselessness of the situation, some men were smiling, some were encouraging him to kill him. I could never imagine killing someone over a soup, but this is what I meant, years of living like an animal will turn a person in to one. I have seen so many brutal attacks through the years just like this one it’s crazy. These people have no understanding of compassion, morals or any kind of forgiveness left in them. They live in a world of anger, hate, dislike and constantly think of hurting others around them. Even just listening to their conversations, it’s full of anger, it’s hard to even sit down with one of them because by the time you leave you feel like they have sucked the life out of you. I look at some of these men and I can only imagine the destruction they’re going to cause on society when they leave prison and in most cases the destruction they cause will be because of the Federal Prison System. Remember that over ninety percent of the men coming to federal prison were not killers, they have been turned in to these savages thanks to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the way they allow these prisons to operate. They are fully aware of what’s going on inside these prisons, yet they have done absolutely nothing to change it, and what’s important to remember is they encourage this type of behavior, could this prison system be changed? I’m certain it can be but the change has to start at the top, the wardens, ranking officers, and guards all have to be trained all over again.

This entire prison system needs to be revamped, and a system that takes control away from gangs and other violent offenders. Take a look at the violence and total chaos going on in our country. If a person was to take a long serious look at all of the people being arrested across our country, everyone would quickly see that almost every one of them have been to prison, next take a look at why a lot of them have gotten worse. Unless something is done, the problem is going to continue to get worse, because the federal prison system as a whole is nothing but a breeding ground for future criminals.