Life in Prison

A prisoner is interviewed

Life in prison

Kitti walked into the "inside-outside" of the Oakhill Correctional Institution. She called it the "inside-outside" because it was like a small community of several cottages for the prisoners, but was surrounded by prison walls. Interspersed among the cottages were several noncottage buildings.

She stopped at the administration building to show her pass, which was good for a three-hour visit. The clerk who processed it explained that she should follow the road and keep to the left until she reached cottage number six. She’d ask her questions of the prisoner in that cottage.

Arriving at the cottage, she knocked on its door. She didn’t hear any response from inside, so she knocked again. This time she heard a response. “Please come in”.

As she entered, she saw a young man looking toward the door at her. He was perhaps about 25 years old, sitting in a hard-backed chair at a table. His left hand rested on a book that he had just laid down.

She saw another chair on her left in the corner of the room. She brought it over to the table to sit in while facing the young man. “Thank you. Is it ok with you if I ask you some questions?”

The young man laughed. “It doesn’t matter what I want or don’t want. Ask your questions.”

Kitti gave a thumbs-up sign. “Thank you. My first question is, how do you respond to something that makes you nervous?”

The young man stared into space for a few seconds. Then he replied, “Do you mean like when you knocked on my door? I remembered the guard who occasionally comes in to insult me. I control myself by imagining what my mother would do if she were in my place. When she asked me what she could do, I’d tell her to relax and take it easy. I might add Count to ten very slowly if that will help you. I’d tell her, ‘Have confidence. You can handle it.’ Then I’d take my advice to handle the situation that made me nervous.”

“That’s a clever way to manage your nervousness. Why haven’t you reported the guard that insults you to the other guards?”

“Are you crazy?! Oops, sorry. That just slipped out.”

“It’s ok. I don’t mind. I guess that you aren’t so much on your guard for what you say to me as you’d be with someone who might threaten you.”

“Ha-ha. Yes, you know me better than I know myself.”

“My next question: How does life in prison compare with life outside prison?”

“Here at Oakhill, things are much better than in the average prison because the staff here focuses on making it easy for us to return to normal life when we’ve completed our prison time. However, even here I rarely get to do what I like to do. I’ve no more choice than a young child. Sometimes I discard terrible food. I rarely see my family or the few friends I still have. I couldn’t even talk to my sister when she had to go to the hospital for her ear operation.”

“Thank you. What does Oakhill Correctional Institution do better than the average prison?”

“Officially, the employees at Oakhill want to help us all avoid returning to incarceration.” He tapped the book on the table next to him. “I’m learning to engineer the inside of buildings. I’ll be able to fix air conditioners and leaky toilets. I can replace broken water faucets, refrigerator compressors, etc. It will make it easier for me to find a job after I leave prison.. No one guarantees a job for me, but having these skills will help. Too many other prisons are only for punishment instead of helping us gain a life. Despite that, many guards here seem unable to respect us as equals. I’ve learned to deal with it.”

“Thank you. Next question: Will almost all inmates in here succeed in avoiding being sent back to prison after they get out?”

“No. Unfortunately, there are many guys here who just don’t get it. However, I don’t dare attempt to help them. It would be too dangerous for me. I do wish the staff could find ways to help them.”

Kitti paused a moment as she thought of possible ways to help the other prisoners. Then she smiled at the young man sitting across the table from her. “I also wish we could help all the prisoners. But let’s continue. Next question: What’s our best way to prevent having people put in prison?”

“Education. Education. Education. If I had known skills that gave me money, I’d have not needed to break into cars and houses to steal the things I needed.”

“What do you plan to do when you leave here?”

“I don’t completely know yet. I’ve learned some home repair and computer skills. I hope to get a job that will give me money for food and a place to live. There are church groups that may help me with that.”

“Thank you. My final question: How will you avoid doing those things that caused you to be put in prison?”

“Are you asking what I’d do if my choice were between starving to death and robbing a grocery store? I don’t know what I’d do. I hope it won’t be that bad after I leave prison.”