The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

A request for comic books is why I was first contacted by someone from the Lifers Group at Norfolk Prison. Over several years, I corresponded with various members of the Group. Approximately 7 moths ago, one of the Group’s members, asked me to speak. He would submit an application and I would hear from the staff member in charge. The application was submitted on June 9, 2008. After waiting almost two months, I called the staff member. He said the request was denied but I could appeal the decision by writing to the Assistant Superintendent. In my conversation, he said my request was denied for three reasons: 1) it was made directly by the Lifers Group rather than by me; 2) the subject of the talk, submitted by the Lifers Group, was unacceptable and 3) because of the organization I represented---The Real Cost of Prisons Project. I briefly want to address each of the reasons for denial.

1. It was the belief of the person submitting the application, that the Lifers Group could directly request a speaker. This turned out to be untrue. The procedure is for a prospective speaker to approach the administration at Norfolk. The speaker must not be directly asked by a member of the Group. Doing so can result in a denial. Somehow, people on the outside must know of the Lifers Group, know that they would like to have a speaker and then find and contact the appropriate person at the prison and make a request. This appears to be a rather large barrier to speaking to the Lifers Group.

2. The topic the Lifers Group wrote on the application was for me to report on a national conference focusing on maximum security prisons and other forms of prison segregation. The conference was organized by the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia. On June 29th, I spoke with the Deputy Superintendent for Programs at Norfolk; she informed me that the only subject one could speak to the Lifers about was “re-entry.” I said I could speak about this topic based on my work with the CORI Education Project and would send an appeal letter and documentation about my work in this area and await her response. In the intervening months, I made numerous calls to the prison checking on the status of my appeal. In September, I received permission to speak and did so on October 7th, 5 months after the original request was made. More than 150 men attended the talk including many Long Termers. While “re-entry” issues are not a priority for the Lifers, I think the large audience reflected their desire for contact with the outside.

3. As I noted, initially I was turned down because the person filling out the application wrote that I was to speak on behalf of the Real Cost of Prisons Project. The Real Cost of Prisons Project is an educational organization begun in 2000, which brings together justice activists, artists, researchers and people directly experiencing the impact of mass incarceration to create educational materials and other resources which explore the immediate and long-term costs of prisons. We believe that all people benefit from knowing more about the circumstances of their life. This includes Lifers, who, it seems to me need continued contact with people from the outside to maintain their mental health and intellectual engagement so that they can do their time in a way that does not negate or even destroy their humanity.

We know that for men and women serving lesser sentences, contact with the outside through classes, talks and letters is a crucial component to their ability to come back home with a more positive and expanded view of themselves and the world. While a workshop on CORIs is important, more important is the intellectual and emotional growth which regular contact with people from the outside can help to foster.

Over the last 20 years, prisons and even most jails have become fortresses. Prisoners have far fewer opportunities to be part of GED programs, Pell Grants ended despite the fact that year they proved be a major deterrent to recidivism and relevant vocational programs are scarce. Add to this the obstacles placed in the way of people who want to speak and create programs on non-religious subjects. It seems to me, that these limitations run counter to the goals of successful re-entry and do not serve the people of the Commonwealth.

November 12, 2008