Initial Impression

I visited the Wende Correctional Facility today. Wende is a men’s maximum security prison in Alden, NY. There is a long fence that goes along the front of the building padded with rows and rows of barbed wire. When you enter the gate to go up to the front door, there is barbed wire above your head as well. This was really intense compared to Attica that has a 35’ foot high (and deep) wall that goes around the perimeter. However, once we got into the reception area I saw a Christmas tree and decorations. For a minute, it felt like I was in a regular office, or maybe a Sheriff’s office in a small town. The other difference I noticed right away was the presence of women. While at Attica, I may have seen one woman during the whole tour; although, I can’t even recall if I did or not. I saw African American Correction Officers as well. I hadn’t seen any at Attica. The guards were a lot friendlier too. They weren’t as wrapped up in trying to scare us.

Introduction

After getting checked in, we went into the visitor’s room, which was a lot smaller than the one at Attica; however, it should be noted that the population is more than half of that at Attica with approximately 950 inmates. I believe the count at Attica is about 2200. The introduction we got at Wende was similar to that Attica where we were told that everything that we have on the outside (gangs, drugs, sex, etc.) they have on the inside. The one guard compared their positions (the Co’s) to that of police on the outside, which I thought was interesting. Apparently, Wende’s claim to fame is two-fold. First, it is a processing center for seven counties in the area. When county prisoners become “state ready” (after they’ve been sentenced) they go to Wende for initial processing. While there, they are strip/cavity searched, deliced, and given a medical evaluation. Once they have been processed, they’re off to another facility to be further processed. As a result, they handle a lot of volume on a daily basis, despite their relatively small size. Second, the guards were sure to mention, that instead of Attica, they were really the ones who got the “worst of the worst” because they had to take in all of Attica’s “problem children” that get transferred. I thought it was interesting how the guards at each facility wanted to establish how really “bad ass” their facility was compared to any of the others. When one of the guards was asked if he ever had to use his baton, he said that thankfully in 26 years (the entire time that he’s been an officer) he hadn’t had to use his baton because you learn to use your brain instead of your strength. This response was almost word for word what the guard said while giving the introduction at Attica. Coincidence? I highly doubt it.

"Belly of the Beast"

After the intro we were off. We split up into two groups. When we got to the main entrance/corridor, the guard said this is where your heart should start pumping because from this point on you’re on the inside, or something to that effect. I was a little scared. Wende is a lot louder than Attica. In Attica it seemed that you could virtually hear a pin drop. That certainly wasn’t the case at Wende. The prisoners had a different attitude as well. At Attica, when we walked by, the prisoners would stop and avert their eyes while we walked by. The prisoners here looked straight at us and talked amongst themselves or to the guard. There was also less a sense of treating the inmates as inferior. For instance, several times our guard said that these guys (the inmates) were really smart and had they used their smarts toward a different end things could have ended up differently, or that there is good and bad in everyone. The guards were really candid too about the fact that sometimes guards do get out of hand and sometimes guards or civilians on the inside are corrupt and bring contraband into the jails. Another moment of honesty was when the guard said that he felt it was unfair that inmates get medical treatment within a few days, but they have to wait a few months while their procedures (MRIs and the like) are cleared through insurance. Although, the short answer to that is that the State is responsible for the custody and care of prisoners, so it is their duty. The real issue is that it shouldn’t take that long for someone to be able to get a medical procedure, if they need it, but that’s an entirely different issue. There were some cynics. At one point a guard said that he didn’t think there could be such a thing as an “honor” block in a prison. Another guard said, “we make money off of them, and pretty soon you will be too.” Overall, though, the environment seemed to be more positive than the one at Attica. They’re prison was organized differently too. They kept individuals with IQs below 70 in special housing, segregated from the general population. They had a hospice unit for those that were dying, and the prisoners get to work as hospice aids in the prison, sitting with these individuals who are dying and helping them to live their last days as comfortably as possible.

Prisoner Interview

At the end of the tour we were brought into what looked like an old classroom to meet the inmates we would be talking to. We talked to four inmates. Three of them were African American, the other was Caucasian. Just as at Attica, I was extremely impressed with these men. These men had managed to rehabilitate themselves in a facility where violence is the norm and instead they were able to find some inner peace. They all worked at hospice, most, if not all, had learned sign language and translated for deaf inmates at the prison. Some worked with blind inmates as well. They all were involved with the school there (that was another difference-more educational opportunities seemed to be available at Wende versus Attica). When I asked about gang violence, they all said it was a problem, but one of them said that, from his perspective, the problem was that you have all these young kids (some as young as 16 and 17) coming through the system and they just know that they don’t want to be the victim. It’s either you or them. He went on to say that some may not even want to be in a gang, but they do it because they don’t know how to be on their own. They talked a little of their plans, and what they hoped to do afterwards. All of them wanted to give back to their community in some shape or form. In two of the cases, the prisoners claimed that they had been involved in a situation where someone was murdered, but the actual murderer received less time than they did. One of them had been sentenced to 20 years for a robbery (his prior offences were two DWIs). After our interview was done, one of the officers felt it necessary to point out that a prisoner can use a trash bag to strangle you or burn it so that it becomes hard enough to stab you with it. This seemed like an obvious ploy to try and re-instill that fear of prisoners lest we forget that these are really monsters that we’re dealing with. Right after this little demonstration the tour was over.

Closing Thoughts

With respect to the impossibility of having an “honor” block in a maximum security prison, I disagree. To me, if you can accept what you’ve done wrong, make peace with it, and change your life for the better, that is honorable. I think men like this have a lot to offer, especially when you have whole communities where positive male figures, or any male figures for that matter, are sorely lacking.

I went to Attica today for my prisoners' rights class. It was my first time ever going to a prison. One of the most memorable moments of the tour happened when we were going through the kitchen and the smell of the food almost made me vomit. All the meals are made in one facility, flash frozen, and delivered to all the prisons state-wide to be thawed and served. They used to have farms nearby the facility that would provide the food for the prison, but they closed them down to switch to the way they do it now. It costs $2.50 to feed each prisoner per day.

It was also apparent that every guard that I saw was a white male, and a large population of the prisoners were black (there are no female prisoners in Attica). There is tear gas in the ceilings of the mess hall so they can clear out the room quickly if necessary, and you can be keep locked (kept in your cell for 23 hours a day) if you sit or step on the equipment in the metal yard, or if you touch the barber's tools. The highest paying job is in the metal yard at $40 every two weeks. Your also not allowed to talk in the corridors. No one seemed to talk at all while we were there, other than the guards. Some of the guards that hold the keys are locked within cells themselves so that no one can gain access to them. The prisoners are not allowed access to the internet or computers at all.

The officer giving the tour also said that the higher the education level of the inmate, the less likely he is to come back. When I asked if they had college correspondence courses, I was told that there is a small amount available. There used to be more available, but Federal and State laws were passed to preclude felons from obtaining financial aid. I asked what the thinking behind that was, considering the effect of education on recidivism rates, and the guard responded that taxpayers don't want to have to pay for prisoners to get a college education, seeing as it already costs taxpayers $35,000 per year, per prisoner. This argument didn't really make sense to me considering that you'd be paying more in the long-term, and I indicated as much, but he was pretty blustery about the point and just mentioned taxpayers again.

At the end of our tour, we were able to talk to one of the prisoners. I didn't quite get his full name, so I won't attempt it now. He was a really tall guy. He looked like an NBA player; he actually used to play basketball in high school. He was 31 and has been locked up for 12 years. He's serving a sentence of 25 to life for second degree murder. As mentioned, he was playing basketball in high school and had a chance to get a scholarship, but he fell in with the wrong crowd, dropped out in his last year, got involved with the wrong stuff, and ended up killing someone. He didn't know they were dead right away, so it sounds like something that was unintentional. Even though he turned himself in, after being on the run, he was still given the maximum sentence, despite not having a prior record. This guy seemed like a good guy to me, and it broke my heart to hear his story. He has an 11 year old daughter who he tries to support while in prison, and he's taken responsibility for his life choices. I know that what he did was wrong...and this is true of most prisoners...but at the same time I can also recognize how easy it is to mess up. All it takes is that one wrong decision that you can't take back.