A Small Look Behind Bars at Prison Life

I've actually read about scenarios like this, heard about scenarios like this and have had some inmates verify some of the aspects of the following images. This article is to raise awareness of what prison is like. It is no way meant to describe every prison facility or every inmate's experiences.

Pretend you live in a small 8 x 10 space. You have nothing but a thin concrete slab that hangs part way out of one wall to sleep on. Maybe you have some sort of a mat to cushion your body against the cold rock. Maybe you don't. Maybe you have a pillow and blanket and maybe you don't. Three out of the four walls you see are pure concrete. Perhaps they are painted and perhaps they aren't. You have no windows. One toilet sits in the very back of the room, in the center near your bunk. It's metal and cold. A sink is above that to wash your hands or brush your teeth. The fourth wall you see is made of thick metal bars that stretch from the ceiling to the roof. You're only view from your room are the bars that make up the facing wall of the people that live across of you.

Imagine now that you do not live alone. One to three more people of the same sex live with you. Add one to three more concrete slabs jutting out of the walls. You have to co-exist together whether you like it or not for up to 20 to 22 hours a day, regardless of your backgrounds, the crime you were convicted of, your religious beliefs or your sexual preferences.

You are told what to do, when to do it and you're only allowed to shower every three days. If one of you catches a cold or the flu, not only are you faced with the uncomfortable knowledge of knowing you're probably going to get sick, but now you're faced with having to ration the toilet paper until more is distributed.

Your day begins at or before 5am when breakfast is served. Once or twice a week, you're allowed to watch some TV or check out a book from the library if your facility has one. Bedtime is around 9pm when lights go out, but that doesn't mean you get to sleep. You hear snoring of those that live with you and next to you. You hear people talking in their sleep, crying and sobbing throughout the night. Another inmate somewhere down from you might be clanking his tooth brush against the bars, rhythmically like a dripping water facet. Prisons do not provide ear plugs for your convenience.

You are bullied and picked on throughout the day. Imagine you subscribe to some sort of a faith, especially a faith that does not believe there is more than one way to God and you're vocal about it. You're even more of a target. Couple all of this with times where prison guards may come and throw all of your personal possessions away, seemingly for no reason at all. Within three years of this lifestyle, statistically, you have an 80% chance of losing contact with the entire outside world as friends and family forsake you. You've been abandoned, are lost and just have to survive whether you actually committed your convicted crimes or not.

Imagine what that feels like on every level. Imagine what you smell every day and imagine what it's like to not have any control over it. You're in a constant state of emotional and psychological tension. You might have moments of peace where you feel like you can handle it, but then the same ol', same ol' kicks in, day after day after day or your cell mate has a new drama going on that you have no choice but to listen to. You don't trust the guards or the authority in general because of what has happened to you. You may have even been the victim of other crimes during your time behind bars but reporting your assailants will only result in more trouble for you. There is no escape! None. No relief except in what you're able to block off in your own mind. If you're successful in that, even long enough to finally sleep well, you congratulate yourself. You try talking with the prison chaplain, but in the facility you're in, the chaplain is so busy, all they offer you is generic phrases you've heard before. If you aren't talking much about religion, they can't really help you, unless of course they're also a trained psychologist. But even then, the chaplain is held by the prison's own policies, standards and rules and may not be allowed to "minister to your soul" in the way you really need.

Then one day, you notice someone writing a letter to someone. A pen pal they tell you through an organization they signed up with for free. Sure, they had to wait several months for someone to pick up the application or to have you assigned to them, but now they're getting regular mail, in real handwriting with genuine questions. A dialogue, a conversation, some sort of a friendship has started with someone on the outside. The fellow inmate explains it's only for the time you're in and that you may not get a picture of this new pen pal, but they'll write on a regular a basis. You get birthday cards and Christmas cards (if you want them) and positive interaction. The fellow inmate describes it as "a reminder that life is still goin' on out there. There's hope and I can have hope an feel empowered about good decisions that I want to make when I get out."

Immediately, you find yourself wanting this relief from the world you live in. You ask the inmate for the company address and ask them to sign you up. While you wait, suddenly, you feel more positive, the thought of even having someone to write to motivates you to look forward to mail call every day. You're excited to share your life again even if it's just temporary. This was just the beginning of better choices, feeling more empowered about making your own decisions and stimulates you mentally in a positive, healthy way.

Author's Thoughts
If you've ever thought about writing an inmate, think about why you want to write an inmate, be willing to make a six month commitment to writing and then find an organization that can help pair you up with an inmate to write to. If you're a christian, I personally recommend, as of this writing, Evangel Prison Ministry out of Louisville, Kentucky. They always have a waiting list of inmates to write to, helpful support, and dependability when forwarding the inmate mail. If you prefer to use any other agency, religious or not, check out prisonministry.net and search by the "type" of ministry or type in "penpal" in their search box for a large listing of non-profits that can pair you with inmates to write to. Alternately, you could also do a general Internet search for "prison pen pal" and other such search terms.