A Clear Eyed Look at Segregation and Consequences
note from blog :worker:This is one of the most powerful descriptions of segregation I have read- please take a few minutes.
A Clear-Eyed Look at Seg/Solitary Confinement
Three Essays By Thomas Deering
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| Thomas Deering 282624 CCI,PO Box 900 Portage, WI 53901 |
A Clear-Eyed Look at Seg/Solitary Confinement
Three Essays By Thomas Deering
Segregation
Thomas
Deering
This topic has made national headlines
time and time again, yet for the MOST part nothing has been done to address it.
Which is unfortunate because the long lasting psychological ramifications of
segregation is as real as it gets. When a person is subjected to long periods
of isolation-they tend to become detached from humanity itself. That very
essence that makes us all people can become lost within-where its replaced by a
more based form of mentality that’s closer to an animal .And once a person gets
to this point in their psyche, it’s hard to realign back to normalcy.
Regardless of these facts, unfortunately
there is a need for segregation within our prison system because people are
people and they misbehave and make mistakes no matter what or where they’re
at. And there has to be consequences for
their actions and choices—otherwise they would never learn from them and chaos
would ensue. But how much punishment is too much punishment? And what exactly happens
a person’s psyche after being subjected to segregation for too long? And what
happens to the officers after working in these conditions for too long? Does it
change both the inmates and guards’ perceptions and warp their
perspectives? Or does it have no effect
at all? These are some of the questions that I’ll attempt to answer in this
article, and I hope these answers help enlighten people to the truth about
things. Because if segregation continues on the way it’s been in MOST state
penitentiaries, the we’re going to have continuous problems Not only in
them-but out in the rest of the world as well.
The residual effects that trickle out into
society are scary to say the least, which has the potential to cause an
epidemic on a massive scale. Whether it’s from people who work in these prisons
or from prisoners who are bound to get released (most of which will), the
systemic problems segregation causes has no boundaries. Like our noble men
and women in the military that came back from war, exposure to any kind of
psychological turmoil can have impactful
negative effects. And whether it’s long -term or short-term exposure can make a
world of difference. In Prison short-term exposure to segregation can help
certain people can see the error of their ways. It gives a person time to
reflect on whatever they might’ve done wrong and allows them time to review
their mistakes and hopefully learn from them. But long-term stints in
segregation can have just the opposite effect. Instead of the extended time
helping a person learn from their mistakes, it warps and twists the mind until
it justifies those mistakes due to the harshness of the prolonged conditions in
segregation. The inmate’s psyche starts rationalizing irrational thoughts and
behavior due to being subjected to segregated conditions for months and
sometimes years on end. And make no mistake about it-the conditions in MOST
segregation units are deplorable indeed. They stink. They’re loud and they’re
filled with mentally ill inmates whose isolation only exasperates their
illnesses. And after a while of being isolated yourself, you begin to
understand their plight. The walls start closing in on you as well, both from
the inside and outside. And before you know it you start to go crazy yourself.
But in order for you to understand this truth more thoroughly let me break it
down so you can further comprehend the dynamic of the situation. And I’ll use
CCI ‘s segregation process and structure for an example.
When a person a person comes to
segregation for whatever reason, they’re usually brought to a place called
DS-1. This designation stands for disciplinary segregation housing unit one and
is a terrible place to spend any length of time in what-so- ever. And that’s for
both staff and inmates alike. When a person is brought to DS-1 they are locked
inside a musty shower box-where they are stripped of all their clothes and
other personal items. The shower stall is exposed to everybody by clear
windows, and the office perform the routine strip procedure before you’re given
the segregation orange clothes. This includes the inmate lifting his genitals
and also bending over and spreading his bottom cheeks. After this humiliating
process, the inmate is put back in restraints-then he’s taken to a rancid cell
where he’s tethered to the door before he’s allowed to step in. Once the metal
door slams shut and the restraints are removed that’s when the full reality
begins.
The cell itself was built to be as
completely uncomfortable as possible—where the metal bed is bolted into place
about 6 inches off the floor and besides the slimy lights that are controlled
outside your cell, the only other object within are the filthy metal toilet and
sink, four nasty walls and a disgusting, filthy window that doesn’t open to let
air in. And you can’t see out of most of the windows either, because the heavy
metal screens covering them are usually coated with gunk which can consist of
anything from bar soap, toilet paper,food , vomit, piss, feces etc…..and its
usually a combination of ALL of the above. Most if not all the cells in DS_Z
have been visited by mentally ill inmates over the years—who have done
everything unimaginable within them. This includes urinating all over
themselves and painting the cells with their blood, throwing food and vomit all
over the place. Flooding the cell with dirty toilet water creating a cesspool of
nastiness and smearing their feces
EVERWHERE etc, etc,etc and all this grossness seeps into every crack and crevice
within the cell..including the recycled mattress and pillows we all hate to
use. Of course these cells and items are usually cleaned before reuse ( but not
always), but it’s impossible to get everything clean after this type of
defilement. And the continuous smells and stains within the cell are a constant
reminder of this fact: Which in and of itself plays havoc on a person’s mind..Besides
the dirty dwellings and pungent odors…you’ll find a roll upon the uncomfortable
bed with the following items: one blanket, two sheets, one pillowcase, one
towel, one washcloth-one DS -1 rule sheet with various forms, one roll toilet
paper, two small bars of soap, one rubber cup if you are lucky, one rubber
pencil, one toothpaste and a fingertip toothbrush. And two of these items are
more frustrating than useful to say the least. The rubber pencil barely writes
and it only lasts for a few pages at best, which means if you’re going to write
the court or loved ones you better make it quick. This is frustrating and disheartening
on so many levels. For one, corresponding is the only means we have for getting
things done around here—and two, it’s our only outlet to stay connected to our
loved ones and the outside world. So when that bendy pencil isn’t working right
(which is more often than not), it effects people negatively in here and out
there as well. People’s family and friends get concerned when they don’t hear
from their loved ones, which causes unneeded stress from both sides. And the
last thing anybody needs regardless of the circumstances is more stress in
their lives. But for most people in DS-1 the ridiculous fingertip toothbrush is
the worst of all. Its approximately an inch long-and it’s made out of 100%
plastic that kinda fits on your fingertip. This toothbrush literally falls
apart after maybe a week’s worth of use, and you’re not allowed another one for
a whole month. So your teeth and breath ultimately become foul no matter what you
do. You’re also only allowed two showers a week while in DS- 1-which just add
to overall foulness you are already feeling.
And after a while of being subjected to these
disgusting condition, your inside starts to take on the demeanor of your foul
outside. Depression starts to kick in fairly shortly after being in these
circumstances, and progressively gets worse as time slowly ticks by.. But we’re
just scratching the surface of things-when it comes to the deplorability of
segregation, because it definitely gets A LOT worse. And one of the absolutely
worst things about segregation is the noise. Loud doesn’t even begin to
describe it, and the turbulent clamoring is almost non-stop 24/7. The way these
places were designed and structured—even the smallest of noises are amplified
beyond reason. And when you have multiple people talking, yelling, singing,
rapping, kicking, and hitting the metal door, banging on the
walls-toilet-sink-and vents etc—the noise becomes so incessant that you even
hear yourself think. Its kinda like living inside a capacity filled sports
stadium, 24/7, except your stuck in a filthy box alone with no game to enjoy.
The constant noise in segregation is definitely one of the worst things about
it, which unfortunately helps the overall insanity to ensue. One of many
examples, of this madness is as follows: Let’s say you’re in DS-1 talking
quietly to your neighbor about something- then someone else down the way starts
talking quietly to their own neighbor as well. Because of the bareness of
segregation and the way it is structured, their noise will be; louder down by
them. So now you have to raise your voice so your neighbor can hear you, then they have to do the same. And this goes so on and so forth until
it’s so loud that nobody can hear squat! Then besides your own frustrations and
theirs—other people around you get frustrated and angry by all the constant
noise as well. And before you know it they start yelling obscenities and being
disrespectful to you out their doors. Now you’re in a shouting match with them
making even more noise—and spreading the incessant hate it breeds. Then of
course there’s always a handful of legitimately mentally ill people on every
single tier, who get riled up by all the noise and banter. They start screaming
incoherently or start banging on the door, walls, etc…to try and hush the chaos
that not only going on around them, but also the chaos rattling around in their mixed up heads. And this continuous
cycle of noise and hate goes on day in and day out, until you yourself start
questioning your own sanity?! I mean sleeping through this madness is
absolutely impossible, and the inevitable sleep deprivation that segregation
causes reeks havoc upon EVERYBODY’S psyche. People’s decision making skills and
other cognitive abilities become dulled at best, which leads to poor choices
that can lead to more time in segregation itself. And this is where the real
danger lies for the inmate. Because the longer they’re subjected to these
conditions, the more warped and twisted their perceptions and perspectives
become. Some guys end up shutting down completely, becoming hopelessly depressed
and suicidal. Where others lash out at other inmates and guards because of
their rattled minds and anger—which usually cost them more time in segregation,
causing their minds and feelings to exasperate that much more. Others simply
lose it altogether, succumbing to the madness that surrounds them,making them
one of the many unfortunate statistics that became seriously mentally ill due
to being in segregation. Lastly, there’s those of us that make it out of
segregation with most of our faculties intact. But no matter who you are,
you’ll definitely be affected by the negative experience. Which is a good segway
to explain how this environment affects the staff that are subjected to it as
well.
In segregation the guards not
only run the unit, but they pretty much do all the daily tasks themselves. This
includes but is not limited to handing out medication, passing out supplies and
forms, handing out meals, taking guys out for various reasons (to see psych
services, the doctor, dentist, nurse, chaplain, conduct hearings, court, etc…),
do phone calls, shower, haircuts, law library, limited recreation, and about a
dozen or so other things with limited time to get them all done. Which can
become easily overwhelming, especially when you have multiple guys with
multiple personalities you have to deal with all shift long. But what makes
things even worse is that for whatever reason the majority of the guards that
work in segregation are rookies? And in this environment, not knowing what’s
going on or how to do things can cause it to become even more stressful than it
already is. Both for the guards and inmates. I’m not sure if having the rookie
officers work in segregation is a rite of passage or something, or maybe its a
strategy to inculcate a certain perception upon them of the people they’re
guarding? It could also be a way for the administration to weed out the guards
that just can’t cut it? But regardless of the reason there’s absolutely no
doubt that working under these conditions negatively misshapes their
perspectives about the people they’re getting paid to guard. As I’ve already
states, there’s LOTS of mentally ill inmates in DS-1 (Approximately a third of
the population) who do everything from cutting themselves, pissing out the food
traps, smearing feces all over the place. And everything else in between. These
are the first impressions that these new guards are subjected to, and A LOT of
them start to equate inmates as nothing more than animals. This misconception
is further instilled by A LOT of the old guards that have worked in segregation
for years. They’re the ones that train the new guards—and have been subjected
to these types of horrific conditions for far too long themselves. Most of the
old guards perceptions and perspectives are just as warped and twisted as many
of the inmates—and some of them have deep psychological issues because of
this fact. Over time many of the guards develop a similar defense mechanism
that allows them to deal with the insanity of it all. It’s a philosophy they’ve
created over time to help them justify the deplorableness of the environment
and what it actually does to people, which allows them to treat the inmates
like animals and use various tactics to try and modify their behavior. In their
minds they think most of the guys in segregation are just playing a “game.”
They believe these mentally ill inmates either want/need attention of sorts, or
they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions are just trying to get
shipped to the nuthouse. This is the general consensus amongst most
correctional officers. And it’s just about universal in every segregation unit
across America.
But what they fail to realize, or
simply don’t want to, is that even if it did start off a cry for attention or a
“game” of sorts—what kind of place could elicit the psychological EXTREMES in
which these inmates go?!? I mean once a person crosses that line within their
own mind that makes cutting themselves, smearing and eating their own feces
etc…okay, the “game” is over. The reality is that these people need some
serious psychological help to get their minds back on track, because the
conditions of segregation have thrown them way out of whack. And the fact that
a lot of the guards refuse to see this as truth and continue to be complicit in
a system that causes this kind of human devastation only further substantiates
the psychological toll segregation has taken on them as well. It’s clear that
these places create an environment that’s conducive to mental instability, and
causes various forms of psychosis to all those subject to it for too long. And
the when the jailorand the jailee are both affected and effected by these
problems—they self-perpetuate and become a dangerous hateful cycle that
continues on and on…Which creates even more instability within our prison
systems, and also poses a major danger to our society as well. Whether it’s
from a stressed out guard whose psyche has been altered by their working
conditions, or by one of the many psychologically modified inmates getting
ready to be released into the world doesn’t matter. Segregation has created
these ticking-time-bombs within our communities—and nobody wants to see these
potential explosions in our own backyards. So let’s unite and call upon our
elected local and state officials—and demand that they put a STOP to the
insanity that’s taking place inside our prisons. Because long-term segregation
obviously does more harm than any good, and we need to address this serious
issue before it becomes an epidemic that we cannot contain.
Thomas
Edward Deering
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