Walking time bombs
"The great secret, the deeply buried mystery of the apparent apathy to crime and to proposals for better controlling crime, lies in the persistent, intrusive wish for vengeance." — Karl Menninger, MD.
Administratively sanctioned, premeditated violence designed to maintain control over the US prison population perpetuates the public's lack of sensitivity with regard to prisoners. When free people see routine violation of prisoners' basic human rights by administrators, and tacitly approve it, the perception of prisoners as unworthy of basic human rights is perpetuated.
Sanctioned violence allows the prison administrators — who encourage, in both overt and subtle ways, the emotional and physical violence — immunity from laws and courts that could order it to stop. Bringing an end to it in prison would subsequently greatly reduce it in free society.
Confining and warehousing bodies is but an incidental aspect of the American prison system. The prison system is one of America's most significant growth industries within which politicians work in cahoots with prison administrators to dupe the public. Instead of moving to correct the corrupt administrative control, they make promises to build more prisons, using public fear of prisoners' reentry into society to get elected. After all, most prisoners are not allowed to vote.
The administrative minds of certain segments of society's leaders are deeply rooted in class prejudice, and racial and ethnic bigotry. They tend to see prisoners as nothing more than pieces of class and ethnic meat whose earthly purpose is to feed Washington's political bull dogs — those who guard the socio-economic terrains of their corporate masters, not the least of whom hang out in the White House.
Many people charged with the administration of prisons in America are mired in 19th century ideas. Their outdated, physically and psychologically crippling notions are deadly for prisoners — and for society, as well, back into which 95% of all prisoners eventually return.
The goal of most prison administrators, as both my experience and logic tells me, is certainly not rehabilitation — rehabilitation is little more than a meaningless word that free society no longer requires them to concern themselves with. Their intention is to antagonize, demoralize, dehumanize and destabilize the mental health of each prisoner. This is what causes many prisoners to walk out of prison and create violent situations in society.
Seeking vengeance on people who are imprisoned is akin to society swatting a fly buzzing around its face with a brick. Imagine having been subjected to such inhumane treatment as is meted out in America's prisons for five, 10, 15 or 20 years before being released. We should not be surprised when such people — especially those who cannot immediately find work, food, housing, friends, and/or social acceptance — turn out to be walking time bombs.
BY BRANDON ASTOR JONES
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns (include your name and full return address on the envelope, or prison authorities may refuse to deliver it). He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G3-77, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA, or email <brandonastorjones@hotmail.com>. Jones depends entirely on donations. He welcomes contributions in any amount. In Australia, please transfer or deposit money directly into account #082-631 53 096 4691 at the Australian National Bank, Ltd. This account, under the name A. Frischkneckt, is entirely dedicated to receiving donations for him. US readers: please make a money order or cashier's cheque payable Del Cassidy, Jones' trustee, and send it to him at 142 Wilmer Street, Glassboro, New Jersey, 08028. Jones is seeking a publisher for his collected prison writings. Please notify him of any possible leads. Visit Jones' web page at .]