In 1979, punk rocker Simon "Sid Vicious" Richie was locked up for the alleged murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen. What happened to him behind bars would alter the course of his life and ultimately shorten it dramatically. According to friends and family, Sid was raped and brutalized in prison at Rikers Island and feared going back while out on bail. This led him to relapse on drugs and--according to the documentary below--for his mother to engage in a "mercy killing" by administering a heroin overdose to him before his return to court.
Tupac Shakur's stay at Clinton Correctional Facility in New York also changed him for the worse. While we don't know exactly what happened to him inside, we know it turned him from a socially conscious young man to a raging, gang-affiliated maniac on a suicide mission. This was apparent in both his music and interviews as well as the fight inside the MGM that ultimately ended his life at 25. He said on many occasions that he'd "die before going back to jail," which is what ended up happening. Horrifyingly, there were rumors swirling that he was raped in prison before he even got out. He addressed these in interviews, denying it happened.
Then there's the case of Jeffrey Epstein. We all know how that ended. More or less.
These three high-profile cases are just a few examples of what happens every day around this country to incarcerated and newly-released convicts. So what, you ask? Were these people paragons of morality? No. Not by a long shot. But around 50% of the U.S. prison population is incarcerated for non-violent "crimes" including drug offenses, and many more are wrongly convicted or not-yet convicted/awaiting trial. Kids like 16-year-old Kalief Browder, who was locked up in Rikers Island for 3 years awaiting trial for a stolen backpack because he refused to plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit. A "crime" so minor no sane person would consider locking up a child in one of the country's harshest hellholes for it even if he was guilty. He suffered so much trauma inside that he committed suicide upon release.
Bottom line: Rape, assault & the fear of it is causing American convicts to kill themselves. Turning your head to this fact means you endorse the rape and torture of human beings within our borders. There is no middle ground here.
Some would argue that even the most depraved offender does not deserve state-sanctioned torture as that then bloodies the hands of the state and constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment. On an emotional, gut level I want bastards like Epstein to suffer, though logically I know that solves nothing and is not possible without subjecting a whole bunch of other people to the same treatment--people who don't deserve it. And our government is notoriously bad at determining who "deserves" it. Race & class play a central role in who gets the death penalty, life without parole or other harsh punishments as well as who is wrongly convicted or killed by police before ever reaching the jail.
If you can watch the following documentary without bawling your eyes out, you might need to read up on the sociopath symptom checklist because you likely belong there:
Fourteen Days in May documentary
Torture comes in two main forms: mental and physical. American prisons employ a cruel mix of both; the mental consisting of solitary confinement, poor nutrition, deprivation of natural light, lack of access to proper medication for addicts/the mentally ill & sleep deprivation due to constant noise. On the physical side, violence is a constant threat, particularly in men's prisons. Rape, physical assault & even murder are ever-present. Guards do little to nothing about these behaviors and at times encourage or participate in them. In women's prisons, male guards (and, increasingly, male-bodied trans inmates transferring into women's prisons) inflict sexual abuse on inmates. Mothers give birth in shackles and are separated from their babies immediately & hygiene products like pads and tampons are considered luxuries.
Prison cells are tiny, empty, cold & devoid of dignity. Some facilities are old & full of plumbing problems and other serious health threats like toxic mold. When contagious illnesses like COVID or flu break out, there's no refuge for inmates who are left to suffer in their cells and sometimes die there without PPE. Others have died from drug withdrawal (read: preventable dehydration). In 2015, there was an incident where guards poisoned inmates with rat poison at Rikers Island. One of said inmates was Ramsay Orta, the man who filmed the murder of Eric Garner by NYPD.
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| Rat poison that sickened 22 prisoners at Rikers Island |
A few of you will undoubtedly be saying, "So what? Do the crime, do the time". That's fine in theory (if you're an empathy-lacking sociopath) but the reality is that the treatment of inmates affects everyone. Most prisoners will be released someday whether you like it or not. It's better that they've been working on themselves, getting decent healthcare, human interaction & basic education while inside than spending that time in a dark cell enduring brutality. Better for all of us. And this issue is not about the inmates so much as the state. What gives them the right to torture ANYBODY? Do you or I have that right? Why should some people be above the law when it comes to violence, be they cops, judges, prosecutors or anyone else?
Prison sentences aren't supposed to be fun or comfortable, that much is certain. But that's a world away from literal torture. The loss of freedom IS the punishment. The being watched 24/7, unable to save money, make memories with your loved ones or enjoy the simple joys of free movement & association. Anything more is torture. When your brain starts to shrink from lack of stimulation, that's torture. When paranoia & hallucinations set in due to the unchecked brutality of your cellmates, that's torture. Rape, physical assault, forced labor for pennies a day, cell blocks being run by prison gangs rather than guards & extended solitary confinement are torture. And any country that allows torture is not fit to call itself a democracy or developed nation. Especially on the scale of the U.S. which incarcerates more of its population than any country on Earth.
Abolish Prisons?
Not so fast. The "abolish prison" community are living in a fantasy land. To be clear, prisons are necessary to separate violent criminals from the rest of the law-abiding, vulnerable population. There will always be and have always been people who cannot be rehabilitated--serial killers, rapists, pedophiles and others--who feed on the most vulnerable among us. The malignant narcissists, psychopaths and sadistic sexual offenders who get off on manipulation and torture (not unlike the kind that goes on in our prisons due to guard negligence) and can't be reformed. When therapy is attempted on them, they merely learn how to manipulate the therapists and use what they've learned to their advantage (see: Ed Kemper). Additionally, violent crimes already committed deserve punishment. Victims of horrific crimes deserve to see their murderers, rapists and abusers behind bars for their own peace of mind.
But just because you can't envision a more humane & productive prison system doesn't mean we should abandon them altogether. All we need do is look to countries like Norway that have done just that. There's no reason we can't employ teachers, social workers, religious leaders & mental health professionals of all stripes to enrich the lives of inmates who are there for life AND the majority who will be released someday. That's the stated goal of "corrections" anyway, not to merely create an endless self-perpetuating loop of recidivism. There's no reason our prisons have to be dank hellholes run by incompetent, often obese officers who sleep through their shifts & let the lunatics run the asylum. Hire intelligent, fit guards who are better trained to use non-lethal weapons; reduce crowding by releasing non-violent criminals, invest in prison infrastructure & employ professionals who are more knowledgeable than I in the running of the prison system to figure this all out. But it CAN be done and much better than we're currently doing it.
How Norway's Prisons Are Different From America's
And yes, we must release low-risk non-violent offenders like drug dealers, users and sex workers who don't need to be in prison. Like yesterday. This will reduce crowding and all its attendant problems while opening up space for those who actually need to be there. But that's not the same as throwing the baby out with the bathwater & releasing violent offenders in favor of glorified apology tours ("restorative justice") that force victims to face their offenders as if the two are on equal footing. Victims don't owe offenders their forgiveness or understanding. Offenders DO owe society restitution and reformation.
Once again, Americans need help navigating the middle ground between literally torturing the largest prison population on Earth & releasing everyone including the Epsteins & Dahmers of the world by abolishing prisons altogether. Moderation, people.
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