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NEWS & LETTERS, APRIL 2003
Two prisoners' views of American gulag
Pontiac, Ill.--Former Illinois Governor Ryan's decision
to pardon over 150 inmates surprised us all. Here in Pontiac is where most of
Death Row is housed. When we go to the yard, we are all separated by cages but
nonetheless we communicate. Two of the guys that received pardons went home as free
men from Pontiac. Now they are on the cover of newspapers and they have the
media's undivided attention. I hope they not only expose the injustices of the
justice system but also the brutality of Pontiac and other prisons throughout
the state. Before the former governor made his decision, Rev. Jesse
Jackson came down here to speak with the Death Row inmates. But whenever someone
like Jackson or any media comes around, they don't let us go out into our cages
for our yard time. The reason is that the warden as well as his foot soldiers
know that this place is psychologically torturing guys and a lot of them here
belong in some type of mental facility for the proper treatment. This is their
way of keeping the truth about Pontiac in the dark. Just think how Pontiac would look if the media came down
here and saw guys outside in their single man cages. They would see guys
mentally disturbed, running around in freezing weather, naked, screaming at
everybody. They would see guys who still don't have coats for the freezing
weather because Pontiac doesn't issue them like they're supposed to. The outside
cages are barbaric to look at, so Pontiac hides the truth about them. Something
is seriously wrong with the system. * * * Corcoran, Cal.-- some countries it's the practice to cut
off the hand of a thief. The thief is then left to ponder his stump and weigh
the positives and negatives of stealing again. Of course, he may starve if he
does not steal. And what employer would give work to an inferior, one-handed man
and a known thief. In this country it is not the removal of the hand but
the removal of life--captivity. Do disproportionately long prison terms not scar
the mind as effectively as any trauma? Is even the "released"
prisoner--who is under the thumb of the government, known as the parole
department--ever again allowed true freedom or opportunity? The answers are secondary, minor concerns to those that
gain from such a situation. To give freedom is to lose control. As population
grows, so must control. As our government gains power at the expense of our
civil liberties, they are more and more able to impose THEIR goals, which they
disguise as ours. As we watch violent crime rise we are left to wonder why
the state no longer focuses on rehabilitation. The throw-away policy is not
effective or humane, yet they intensify it by building more prisons,
implementing inhumane, disproportional sentences. A major lie has been imposed on the public concerning
"criminals." They say criminals are not like us, they are vastly
different, they are sick and incurable. They say we must lock them away and
forget. There are two main issues that create a criminal. One
type is those effected by their environment. Another is the mentally ill. Remember that prisoners include drug dealers and drug
users, and thieves/robbers in the majority numbers. But they are in the most
part poor citizens to begin with. |
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