As readers are well aware, I spent 16 years in prison prior to being released as a result of exoneration. Through that experience, I learned a great deal about prisons. I also learned additional information since obtaining my freedom.
It is with that lens that I read and thought about a recent
New York Times op-ed piece. Robert Gangi, who is the Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York, which is a not-for-profit organization that monitors prison conditions, explored the costs of empty prisons to taxpayers. His article stated that New York State has gone from 71,600 prisoners in 1999 to approximately 59,300 now.
Gangi writes, “Nevertheless, mainly because of opposition from the Correction Officers’ Union and politicians from the upstate areas where most of our correctional facilities are, the state has been slow to close prisons. It was not until earlier this year that policymakers in Albany, confronted with fiscal crisis, mustered the will to shut three prison camps and seven prison annexes, a total of about 2,250 prison beds, in a move that is expected to save $52 million over the next two years.” Gangi goes on to say that the state could go further, given that there are currently 5000 empty beds in 69 prisons.
The fact that the Correction Officers Union would oppose closing unnecessary prisons, and that they would instead prefer the state to spend the projected $52 million over two years, wasting the money, merely for the purpose of not losing some correction officer jobs, I find to be outrageous.
But this type of corruption and warped thinking is what can happen when the financial well-being of entire towns, groups and individuals becomes intertwined with prisons and incarcerating people. That fact led me to reflect further about the various ways in which, for better or worse, the economic well-being of communities becomes dependent upon the functioning of prisons and the incarcerating of people. I will leave it to readers to decide for themselves, whether each item that I mention is a good thing or bad.
Further Modification Of the Rockefeller Drug Laws; laws which used to result in excessively long prison sentences for people who were either caught using a small quantity of drugs or merely possessing them. As I wrote about a year and a half ago, when I was incarcerated I witnessed people who had been sentenced to 15, 20, 25, and 30-year prison sentences under the old law, which in many instances provided longer sentences than some people had received for crimes such as assault, arson, robbery, burglary, and even murder.
As I see it, people who have drug habits should receive treatment in rehabs, not be sent to prison. In terms of people who are caught possessing small quantities of drugs, they should also be similarly dealt with. As for drug dealers and/or those who are caught with a large enough quantity of drugs that it becomes obvious that possession with intent to distribute is what the offenders were engaged in, they should be punished.
For many years the Correction Officers Union successfully lobbied lawmakers against modifying these laws because of their concern that it would result in fewer prison bed spaces needed and, hence, fewer Correction Officer positions. In effect, the union with the consent of at least most of its membership lobbied for policies that would result in incarceration knowing that they would benefit from such policies. To me, that sounds like modern-day slavery.
Prison Construction Companies: I remember reading in a few publications while I was still incarcerated reports of prison construction companies lobbying for the building of more prisons, and then turning around and bidding for those contracts. With plenty of money to contribute to political campaigns and to lobbying, in many ways these large companies are similar to the military/industrial complex which President Eisenhower warned us about: the very places that directly benefit from policies help to push them through
Providing of Correction Officer Jobs: In many rural communities, especially in upstate New York, there is little to no industry and very few jobs. The prison becomes the area’s main employer and thus becomes part of the life blood of the town’s economy. Towns like Elmira, Clinton, and Attica immediately come to mind.
There were quite a few correction officers that I came across whose relatives worked in the prison, and sometimes who were second and third generation prison guards.
Civilian Staff: Prisons also provide a wide variety of other jobs that the general public may not be aware of. Some of those jobs involve functions that, in one way or another, maintain the prison, such as plumbers, laundry workers, cooks who oversee the prison cooks, grievance workers, building maintenance workers, commissary workers, and an array of various administrative positions, many of which seem like unnecessary bureaucratic fat that could be done without. In Elmira, I recall a Department Of Security, a Department of Programs, a Department of Administration, and a Superintendent. Considering that there are a number of positions called Captains who are higher than all other positions save the departments, it would seem to me that the Superintendent could get by with the captains.
There are also a number of secretaries, as well as a business office who maintain records of the prisoners’ accounts.
There are guidance counselors whose job it is not to work as a mental health guidance counselor but instead inform prisoners what programs they need to take to satisfy parole requirements, the adding of names to a prisoners calling list, and filling out evaluation forms that are done every three months, which consists of interviewing the prisoners for 10 to 15 minutes. Other than that brief interaction, that is usually the only time they come in contact with the prisoners who are on their case load.
Quack Medical Staff: Many medical staff work in prisons. Some are nurses, who work regular shifts, and there are a couple of doctors who work at the prison a few days a week. The level of medical care generally provided by the medical staff was below average, with Tylenol often serving as the answer for everything. Beyond that, their bedside manner was not good.
Many, given their competence level and the way that they communicate with the prisoners, would not be able to hold a similar job in the outside world.
Some medical personnel in Department of Corrections across the country have been discovered to lack proper training, not to be licensed, or holding a degree from a bogus educational institution. In some instances, they have even been previously disciplined.
Commissary: The commissary is like a store in prison where prisoners can purchase stationary items and some limited food items. It was my understanding while I was incarcerated that the commissary itself was entered into a contract with the state to provide the items for purchase. It was rumored, though I never saw proof, that the state was receiving a kickback from the companies. I think that this should be an issue that is looked into. Commissaries therefore represent a financial opportunity for the company that holds the contract.
Given that many prisoners have no friends or family to send them items, the commissary is the only means of purchasing needed items, so a type of monopoly exists. At times the commissary would exploit that by raising prices, although the prison slave wages of 16, 22, 25, 32, 38 cents an hour would remain the same.
Phone Companies: In many states, including New York, phone companies have made deals with either the state or the Department Of Corrections to provide the phone service prisoners use to call their friends and family. But they were grossly overcharging the prisoners’ families for this, and the state was receiving kickbacks from the exorbitant profits obtained at the expense of the prisoners’ friends and families. In New York, when Eliot Spitzer became Governor, he changed this policy, and thus the lawsuit which had been filed in response to this issue was dropped. But many other states continue to engage in the practice.
Local Stores: The Department Of Corrections has a policy that in some prisons prisoners are given the opportunity to purchase television sets for in-cell use. Many prisoners have to give up receiving food packages sent from home; instead, food items would have to come directly from local stores. The problem is that many stores won’t ship items to prisons. In some towns, local grocery stores in prison towns get their business from visitors who will often stop at those stores either before or after the visit and purchase the items to be sent.
Industry: Many, though not all, prisons have “industry” in them, which means that there are companies that employ the prisoners, at better pay than the normal prison wages, but still at really low rate, to work in their industry. Some of the different types of industry include making license plates and manhole that in some states, there are clothing companies operating with prisons. One name that comes to mind is Inkarcerated. Their slogan was “when quality is a life sentence.”
There is also a company called Corcraft, where according to the website NYSEGOV.com, “Some 3,500 inmates work in Corcraft, making clothing, bedding, office supplies and other items that are sold to state and local government as well as to not-for-profit organizations.” Corcraft, like many other companies, pays far, far below minimum wage. Is it exploitative?
Private Prisons: In some states, private companies have built prisons toincarcerate state prisoners on a contractual basis. Such companies are looking to run a prison at a profit. Some examples include Wackenhut and Corrections Corporation of America. As I see it, not only is it unseemly to seek to make money off prisoners being incarcerated, but in order to generate a profit the prison will be seeking to save money however it can, even if that means limiting essential services.
Another aspect of private prisons is that prisoners who live many states away will be transported to them, thus placing them in an unfamiliar geographical environment and making prisoner visitation all but impossible except for the financially well off.
Gangi’s article stated that there are currently 5000 more empty beds within 69 prisons and that therefore New York State could close still more prisons that are not needed. Taking the above referenced figures and quickly multiplying by two, the state would be saving an additional $100 million. At any point in time, especially during these hard financial times, I would think that it would be prudent for the state to do so.
There are various other ways that Gangi references through which still more money could be saved through safely reducing the prison population which would therefore lead to empty beds and hence a lack of needing more prisons. I have thought about his ideas, and I agree with them. I will state his ideas, but elaborate on them in my own words.
Modification of Zero Tolerance for Technical Parole Violations: Gangi reports that last year more than 9000 people were returned to prison for technical violations of parole, such as missing a meeting with the parole officer or breaking curfew. Some alternatives could include a warning system, or the imposition of fines. Other possibilities include lengthening the time period of paroled supervision and house arrest.
Granting More Prisoners Work Release: When George Pataki became Governor, he excluded prisoners who had been convicted of violent crimes from being eligible for work release. I think that having a categorical rule banning such prisoners from being eligible for the program is a mistake, and that instead each prisoner should be evaluated on a case by case basis, including considering the prisoner’s disciplinary record, the educational programs that they have completed, and indications of whether they have been rehabilitated and would, if released on work release, not be likely to reoffend. As I see it, the denial of such prisoners to participate in work release makes little sense and is quite costly.
Granting Parole To Deserving Prisoners: Within the first year of my release, I wrote an article in The Guardian called “
The Parole Game”, in which I went over, in detail, en masse denials of parole even to applicants who have demonstrated that they would, if released, live and remain at liberty without breaking the law. Given that the reason for incarceration is to keep society safe, when it is no longer the case individuals are a threat to society, they should be granted parole. In terms of the punishment purpose, that was already accomplished through serving a prison sentence. There were plenty of times throughout my incarceration where I witnessed prisoners going to the parole board and being denied, even though it seemed obvious that they would not pose a danger to society if released. Their continued incarceration made no sense. Similarly, there was no shortage in Elmira prison of prisoners who were quite old and/or sick. Surely they posed no threat to society, and certainly their medical needs could not be properly cared for.
Good Time: Yet another way to downsize the prison population, which will in turn result in less needed space and hence open up the door to closing more prisons, would be the passage of a good time bill. In a nutshell, I support a bill which would enable rehabilitated prisoners who have demonstrated that they are no longer a danger to society, to earn time o. of their sentence minimums. This would provide an incentive to prisoners to take advantage of the limited educational opportunities that do exist in prison, and would further give themselves an incentive to turn their lives around so that when they are released, they will live productive, crime free lives.
In Indiana, for example, prisoners may apply to the courts for time off their sentences upon completion of the GED program. The way that things stand now, there is no incentive for prisoners to turn their lives around, and the rehabilitation that does take place does not despite the prison system, not because of it.
Throughout the course of my 16 years in prison, I came across many prisoners who were surely would be no threat to society if they were released. Yet they were doomed to remain incarcerated for a good many more years.
To give a clearer picture of the prototypical prisoners that I remember when I say this, here are the characteristics of some that I remember: Prisoners who had completed college education programs and a number of vocational trades, who had gone for years without a misbehavior report and generally had an overall good prison disciplinary record, who the guards themselves , and even the civilian staff regarded as being of little to no threat. Some of them even where trying to give back to society, to the extent that helping other prisoners constitutes assisting society by facilitating the rehabilitation process.
Some examples include working as teacher aids helping others to learn how to read and write, and/or helping them work toward obtaining a GED. In other instances some worked in a similar fashion in the vocational shops. Still others worked in various capacities as a type of liaison between the administration and the population, such as on the Grievance Committee or on the Inmate Liaison Committee, whose job it was to take up the concerns of the population and discuss them with representatives of the prison administration.
[Editior's note: This article originally appeared in The Westchester Guardian and is published here by permission with minor editing changes.]
