DC was one of the worst.
From the moment he arrived at Virginia’s state penitentiary, a/k/a “the
Walls”, he was a violent, brutal con; in a sea of Darwinian excess where
survival of the worst played out every day, he was at the top of the pecking
order. Instead of eighteen months, he
did four years. Then, in 1976, DC made
parole. He found out on a Friday
afternoon. “You’ll be released Tuesday
morning” he was told.
You would think being that close to the front door and
freedom would cause you to re-assess all you’ve done while inside. After all, who would want to be locked up
again? That wasn’t how DC thought. It was time to settle scores. He grabbed his shiv (back then every con
carried at least one blade) and headed across the compound. There, in the stairwell of another cell block
he settled a score, killing an inmate before that inmate had the chance to kill
him.
DC didn’t leave the following Tuesday. He’s never left. Twice the state tried him for capital murder;
twice they sought the electric chair; twice the case ended in mistrials. They finally settled with DC. “Take a murder two plea”, they said, “and we’ll
give you thirty-five years.” DC took the
plea. Problem was, the murder sentence
ran first, and ran as “flat time”. There
was no parole, no good time earned during a flat time sentence. You got thirty-five, you did
thirty-five. Then, you pick up your
other sentence and start doing that.
Fair? Just? Hard to say.
DC took a life. Thirty-five years
may or may not be enough to make up for the murder of a fellow inmate. But, it’s the idea of “flat time” that
confuses me. In reality, all prison time
is “flat time”. If you really want to
address the problem of recidivism you have to change that.
Last week the re-entry building erupted. Fights are pretty common here. Pack almost eleven hundred men into space
built for half that many , deprive them of basic living comforts, and the
noise, filth, and despair cause you to blow.
But, what happened in “3” Building was different. It wasn’t a one on one fight, it was more: six to ten guys. This on the heels of a beat down the week
before that sent a half dozen from “3” to the hole.
So, the fight erupted, blood was spilled and then the
ratting out began. Inmates started
telling on each other. Soon “3” was
locked down. Drug dogs were brought in
and the building searched while its residents were held in the gym. Then, the shakedown of each guy. By the time it was over, “7” building, a/k/a
“the hole”, had sixteen “3” building offenders held in segregation. Here’s the crazy part: all the residents of “3” building are within
six months of going home. “3” building,
you see, is the Governor’s re-entry initiative in action. And, it is an abject failure. Why?
Because prison – for all the self-aggrandizing speeches by politicians –
isn’t about re-entry and rehabilitation.
It’s about flat time. Flat time
runs futures. It doesn’t make any errant
man – or woman – a better, productive citizen.
It just sets you up for failure.
There is a disconnect between what politicians say goes on
inside prison and what actually takes place.
Here’s what I mean. Politicians
will tell you 90% of those locked up will find their way out to society. They’ll tell the public “we have to be tough
on crime” while at the same time “preparing felons to be productive citizens”,
with re-entry programs focusing on education, job training and drug and alcohol
treatment. That all sounds good, but the
programs don’t match the lofty goals.
The vast majority of those locked up lack basic skills. It was easier to hustle drugs, break into
homes or rob folks at gun point, than to find meaningful employment. Few of us in here have college or advanced
degrees. Most were failures at school
and were labeled “learning disabled”, ADHD, or a host of other problems. They come from communities where poor schools
and poor job opportunities are prevalent.
They come from communities where their friends and relatives have been
arrested and imprisoned. Many are the
product of low income, single parent homes.
Relationships mean little; family is a distorted amalgam.
They come in and out of prison expecting the system to screw
them. So they grow callous. They lack empathy. They lack drive. They lack hope. How does the state, through their Department
of Corrections, break this cycle? They
don’t. The “re-entry” initiative puts poorly trained, poorly educated, unmotivated
“counselors” in charge of “group” meetings, where applause is directed for the
“word of the day”. Real focus on drug
and alcohol abuse doesn’t exist, just “ten week” groups.
And worse, there’s no motivation for change. Guys inside are so used to the prison
mentality of survival of the fittest or slickest that they thing everything is
a scam.
Here’s what happens:
it’s all flat time. Guys sit in
groups telling themselves it’s a waste of time.
Arms folded, cussing, yawning, they think it’s just another stupid
program cooked up by the then Governor in office. He’ll leave and some new program will
start. They may be right: “Breaking Barriers” (the program du jour was
used in the ‘90’s).
So guys lay around, gamble, smoke, steal, fight and waste
days as the world goes on without them.
And, they’ll get out, and two out of three will come back. The only sound you hear is the “cha-ching” of
the cash register: $25,000 per man (or
woman) per year. Just flat time – wasted
time, wasted money, wasted lives.
One billion dollars a year wasted. Forty thousand lives – not including
children, spouses, family and communities suffering. There are better ways. Time isn’t flat; time matters.
