Reality of a Prison Writer 10—Emmanuel Theus-Roberts
As are most writers, I’m observant. One thing I’ve observed in prison is despite all the talk of rehabilitation and reform rhetoric, the hardest feat for a prisoner to achieve is bettering themselves. This isn’t because the availability of education and rehabilitation programs is deliberately withheld from the majority as an “incentivizing punishment”—whatever that means. Nor is it from any lack of effort on a prisoner’s part.
The reason is prison was built on punishment. Penal focus on punishment almost completely excludes any encouragement, not to mention support of meaningful, non-punishment derived rehabilitation. Instead, you get a prisoner having his visitation denied for what other prisoners did three months before on the other side of the prison, or a prisoner being told he can’t further his education because of his custody level. When prisoners take their rehabilitation into their own hands, if it isn’t disregarded outright, officials doubt their authenticity; as if everything prisoners do is nefarious of some ploy to avoid punishments they merit as a as a consequence of their conviction as felons.
When you add in the misconception that prisoners just “sit around all day” coupled with intermittent lockdowns, regular, frequently destructive searches and arbitrary confiscations of mail or other denials, you get a nicely despondent, counter-productive angst and resentment-filled, volatile environment, After years of decades of living that unreality, it’s a miracle only 60% recidivate nationally.
Fact that in the face of almost insurmountable opposition and discouraging conditions, many prisoners still strive to become better people. Whether through art, literature, activism, religion or whatnot. That speaks to their credit but also to society’s failure.
If society paid closer attention to penal unrealities rather than lobbying for more stringent punishments, perhaps we wouldn’t need so many punishments in the first place.
Prison Writers Support Organization 