Prison Life was not supposed to be a part of my life, but here I am dealing with prison life every day with my son. Not only is a person incarcerated, but his/her family is too. Like you, I never thought much about prison. I figured the inmates had three meals a day, a job, took classes, went outside every day, and were cared for medically.  It was not so bad if the person stayed out of trouble.

 

I have learned so much since my son was incarcerated. My eyes have been opened to how badly inmates are treated. They are treated like their lives do not matter. No matter what a person has done, their lives matter and they deserve to be treated like human beings.

 

Prisons are titled “Corrections Centers.”  Shouldn’t that mean there is some sort of corrective behavior taught so the person can reenter society as a better person than when they entered prison? Most inmates are spending 24 hours a day in their cells since the prisons are constantly being put in a “Lock Down” status. Lock down is where the inmates are not allowed to leave their cells, not even to shower. This could cause the inmates to go a week without a shower due to “lock down” status. Even on a normal basis they only get to shower three times a week. “Lock Down” also means no phones, no mail, no visits with the counselor or doctor.

 

Did you know the food system is awful? I do not think my child has seen a piece of edible fruit or vegetable in four years. Breakfast is served at 3:00 am and usually consists of a bowl of cereal, milk and a piece of fruit that is too rotten to eat. Lunch is served around 10:30 am and usually consists of two slices of bread with a slice of lunch meat, some sort of pasta salad and milk. Dinner is served around 3:00 pm and is usually some sort of hamburger casserole with two slices of bread and no drink. That does not sound very appetizing. The problem with feeding the inmates so poorly is eventually this will affect their health. So, when a person is released from prison and reenters society, and they cannot find a job with insurance benefits what happens? They go on Medicare/Medicaid and guess who is paying for their health care now?   Wouldn’t you rather feed them better food so they can maintain a healthier life and not need medical care when they are older?

 

There is a commissary where the inmates can purchase food at highly inflated prices. The inmates do not have the money to pay these ridiculous prices so guess who pays? The prison may think they are punishing the inmates by charging outrages prices, but they are only punishing the parents/guardians of the inmates who must send them money for food.

 

I bet you thought that the inmates’ needs were all met by the prison. Wrong! The prison provides ONE roll of toilet paper a week. That is it!!!  So again, loved ones must send money so the inmate can brush their teeth, have shoes to wear, underclothes, cleaning supplies so they can clean their clothes, bathing supplies and the list goes on.  It is the family that must send money to the inmate to provide their basic needs. Does that sound logical? So now the family must sacrifice for the inmate to have basic needs met and food to eat.

 

Let’s talk about the living conditions. Are you aware that some prisons do not have air conditioning or heat? So, on those days when we have extreme heat or cold and everyone is worried about people being hurt by the weather conditions, what about the inmates?  Do they not deserve to be treated like any other human?  No one should have to go without air conditioning when the outside temperature is above 100 degrees, and no one should have to suffer in the cold when the temperature falls below zero. When it is cold inmates must sleep in sweats, coat, hat and gloves just to try to stay warm. When it is hot, the food they have gotten from commissary melts and the only relief they have, if you can call it relief, is a desk size fan.

 

This is our purpose in creating this website. We want to make people aware of the horrible conditions we are making people live in. I am aware of “consequences of your actions”, but the person still has the right to be treated like a human being.