Behind the razorwire

The twenty-seven miles I commute to the state prison everyday often is spent reflecting on how I find myself working daily with society’s worthless castaways; murderers and thieves, rapists and psycho’s, and that’s just the inmates. I have made the statement before that I am more leery of the officers then I am of the inmates. As I drive through the parking lot the shortage of prison officers is reflected in the number of expensive cars and trucks that line the curb facing the entrance lobby. I often speculate if by parking at awkward angles occupying more than one spot, is as much a cry for attention as it is to prevent others from parking to close. Officers at this camp are encouraged to work overtime and some seem to live here and take every advantage possible to earn more money. I have heard it said by many officers that they earn more then the warden and judging by the Mercedes, BMW’s and Escalades I don’t doubt their claims. In some ways the officers are a close Knit group and depend on each other, in other ways they will snitch or cross one another out, but all wouldn’t hesitate to find some free world person in violation of something. I suspect to the point that one might find drugs hidden on your vehicle with the dog team on the way if you happen to get crossways with a connected officer. I have been detained against my will, ordered to remove part of my clothing and stand barefooted on concrete used by barefoot inmates and all of my belongings searched because someone reportedly dropped a note that one of our co-workers was bringing in drugs. Nothing was ever found. I greeted some of my co-workers as I stepped up on the curb under the covered entrance protecting the lobby door, and I noticed that a chair was propped against the right double door, “Door broke again?” I ask, “yeah” answered a co-worker as we entered the lobby. Cal, the officer operating the metal detector and conveyor x-ray always chews an unlit cigar informs us that the camp is on lockdown, he doesn’t say why, and that’s not all that unusual as it quite common. It wasn’t until we had arrived in our work area that officer Dan told us that the weather last night had knocked out the phones and we had no contact with the outside world. The trip to the other side of the camp involves, after leaving the lobby we must enter a six digit number into a keypad, use a finger pad that identifies us (as if recognition doesn’t work) pass through central control and leave your ID with David who mans central as support staff, through two remote controlled doors, into what is referred to as the breezeway that leads to two manned gates going in different locations, one to segregation, and one to population, a fifty yard walk across G yard by the kitchen into the tunnel and a right turn into Industries. After arriving in my work area, I must remove locks to the tool room where two inmates work issuing tools for the inmates to use in two of our plants. It wasn’t until phone service was restored around 8:30 AM and work call and mail call went out over the radios and the inmates were allowed to come in and 160 inmates filed past my office and each and every one I call by their name and to them I am “Boss man”. Today we are expecting some furniture from a local library that needs to be refurbished and returned within a week, a do-able for us, but often Murphy’s Law bites my butt, so I have to physically tell each inmate that will be involved of our intent and let him know that we expect his corporation. One inmate who has been with me for a while, is working a parlay board on the super bowl, and has ask me if I want to buy a square, once I discovered that he as a reward for getting up the board has claimed 20 squares for himself (I know this is common in prison) I bow out claiming since it doesn’t pay by the quarter I didn’t like the odds and he left me alone for the rest of the day. He is alright with that, we have known each other for several years, he’s good with his hands and here on the habitual offender law for robbing a drug dealer of $800, and he has legal work pending…odds are not good in this state. Non-violent background so who knows…..Chaswald, as he is referred to is 26or 27 is my clerk, is here on a mandatory LOWP for killing his best friend trying to break up a fight between friends who were fighting over a girl by shooting from an occupied vehicle in to an occupied vehicle, at sixteen he was tried as an adult, exhausted many of his opportunities for a re-trial because of his ignorance of the law and limitation statues. A smart kid, I would like to see him get out of prison at some point. He reminds me that we need to balance our stain inventory as we close out some orders, he covers my back and I often bring him my leftover food. The kitchen food turns my stomach just to smell, hell I don’t even drink the water. I am working in a prison that is designed and built for 800 that holds over 1500, you know the infrastructure is stressed…three to a cell, couldn’t pack more powder in that cannon…..I got to go home, the inmates didn’t want it today…..