I'm covered in baby snot.
Yep...the baby was hysterical for a good hour or two that I was there. Not much else to say on the topic though.
I know everybody wants to know about my field trip to prison yesterday though.
So we got to take a tour of two prisons in Baltimore: the Maryland Transitional Center (aka Maryland Penitentary), a minimum security prison and also the MCAC (I forgot what that stands for though), a SuperMax. The SuperMax was kind of...disappointing. It's a much smaller prison (fewer than 300 inmates) and the security there is superhigh, so we weren't able to see much.
The tour of the MTC, on the other hand, was AWESOME. I mean, the facilities weren't that great and life didn't seem cushy there, but I really enjoyed the tour. We were able to walk inside the cell blocks, through the cafeteria, and in the yards for recreational time outside. So most of the time, we were in very close proximity to the inmates. Most of them haven't seen a female (aside from the officers) in ages, so a class that was about 60% female was very exciting. They made sure to let us know how excited they were. I heard the following things:
-Look, it's a white girl with an ass!
-Take somethin' off!
-When you're done with your tour, come on by to cell #49 (I can't remember the exact number though)
-Lots of whistling...and some barking too.
...So yeah, they were less than tactful. They all wanted to talk to us, some actually wanted to chat, while others just wanted to try and pick one of us up, and a few were complaining to us about the conditions (they're only allowed to shower twice a week, etc). I didn't mind talking to the first group of people at all.
A lot of the inmates seemed to think we were scared of them. I know a couple of my friends were (one even tried to hide behind me), but for the most part, we were pretty unafraid. I'm guessing that most people there are doing time for smaller crimes such as drug posession, burglary, etc. since the average sentence time was 18 months and it was minimum security, so I didn't see any reason to be afraid.
Because the MTC used to be the Maryland Penitentary, a maximum security prison, and the SuperMax is across the street, the death chamber is located inside of the MTC. Maryland rarely does executions (the last one was last summer, the first in 17 years, I believe) but they still have the death penalty, so we got to go inside of the death chamber. The two methods of execution are lethal injection and gassing. Lethal injection is the default method, but they'll gas you to death if that's what you ask for.
We were shown the gas chamber, told about how the procedure is done (when the guard mentioned that they gas a pig first to test it out, I flipped out, saying how that's cruel...his response? at least it's not a cute animal!) and also given the opportunity to sit in the chair inside the gas chamber. I sat down for a second, but didn't get too comfortable in it, unlike some of my classmates.
We also got to see the room where they administer the lethal injection. The gurney seemed to be built for tall people (at least taller than me) and I mentioned that I didn't think I'd be able to be strapped in. I asked the guard if I could test it out, but he said no, that it was a lawsuit waiting to happen :(
We were also given the opportunity to see the job skills center. That wasn't anything too special, but I just remember seeing all these signs all over that building with sayings such as "9 to 5 beats ten to life", and tips on appearance "shirt tucked in, pants on your waist, hat off". It seemed almost silly to me how simple things like this had to be spelled out, but then again, so many of the inmates have none of this "common knowledge". It's little things like that that make me kind of...sad...that none of these programs and services to teach job skills are in place for underprivileged people before they get to the point where they're serving 18 months in prison.
Other notable things:
-The guard showed us a tray of what they were served for lunch: four pieces of white bread, a glob of peanut butter and jelly, some cookies, and canned carrots. There was very little food there. I could inhale that in five minutes, no problem and all the guys there were a lot bigger than I am. But that's all they can afford with what the government gives them.
-The inmates did receive pay for their work, but it was really low. Granted, I don't think that they should be making tons of bling for their work, but $2 a day seems insulting.
-The inmates are allowed to wear their street clothes inside the MTC. However, this meant that all the guys in our class had to wear wristbands, because if they didn't, and the guards didn't know who they are, they wouldn't be able to leave.
-All of the comments from the guys there did wonders for my self-esteem. Granted, these guys never see any
girls, except for on TV and at the SuperMax, they dont' see any aside from the guards. But I was feeling pretty good about myself. As Cheryl said: "We're their entertainment for the day. If we made their day better, I feel like I've done a good deed for the day". She may be stretching it a little, but I was kind of glad I made their day better.
-Before the field trip, our professor told us to pay attention to how the guards interact with the inmates...which ones are "good" and which ones are "bad". From what we saw, there didn't seem to be too many problems there. I mean, we've been told over and over about how prisons are such horrible places, and while life didn't seem to be wonderful at the MTC, it didn't seem unmanageable either.
-The racial makeup surprised me a little bit too. It seemed as if 90% of the inmates and every officer I saw was black. I don't know what conclusion I'm supposed to jump to, given that. I just expected to see more people of other races...
This is my only public entry, just because I think it's one that I'd like everbody who can to read.
I know everybody wants to know about my field trip to prison yesterday though.
So we got to take a tour of two prisons in Baltimore: the Maryland Transitional Center (aka Maryland Penitentary), a minimum security prison and also the MCAC (I forgot what that stands for though), a SuperMax. The SuperMax was kind of...disappointing. It's a much smaller prison (fewer than 300 inmates) and the security there is superhigh, so we weren't able to see much.
The tour of the MTC, on the other hand, was AWESOME. I mean, the facilities weren't that great and life didn't seem cushy there, but I really enjoyed the tour. We were able to walk inside the cell blocks, through the cafeteria, and in the yards for recreational time outside. So most of the time, we were in very close proximity to the inmates. Most of them haven't seen a female (aside from the officers) in ages, so a class that was about 60% female was very exciting. They made sure to let us know how excited they were. I heard the following things:
-Look, it's a white girl with an ass!
-Take somethin' off!
-When you're done with your tour, come on by to cell #49 (I can't remember the exact number though)
-Lots of whistling...and some barking too.
...So yeah, they were less than tactful. They all wanted to talk to us, some actually wanted to chat, while others just wanted to try and pick one of us up, and a few were complaining to us about the conditions (they're only allowed to shower twice a week, etc). I didn't mind talking to the first group of people at all.
A lot of the inmates seemed to think we were scared of them. I know a couple of my friends were (one even tried to hide behind me), but for the most part, we were pretty unafraid. I'm guessing that most people there are doing time for smaller crimes such as drug posession, burglary, etc. since the average sentence time was 18 months and it was minimum security, so I didn't see any reason to be afraid.
Because the MTC used to be the Maryland Penitentary, a maximum security prison, and the SuperMax is across the street, the death chamber is located inside of the MTC. Maryland rarely does executions (the last one was last summer, the first in 17 years, I believe) but they still have the death penalty, so we got to go inside of the death chamber. The two methods of execution are lethal injection and gassing. Lethal injection is the default method, but they'll gas you to death if that's what you ask for.
We were shown the gas chamber, told about how the procedure is done (when the guard mentioned that they gas a pig first to test it out, I flipped out, saying how that's cruel...his response? at least it's not a cute animal!) and also given the opportunity to sit in the chair inside the gas chamber. I sat down for a second, but didn't get too comfortable in it, unlike some of my classmates.
We also got to see the room where they administer the lethal injection. The gurney seemed to be built for tall people (at least taller than me) and I mentioned that I didn't think I'd be able to be strapped in. I asked the guard if I could test it out, but he said no, that it was a lawsuit waiting to happen :(
We were also given the opportunity to see the job skills center. That wasn't anything too special, but I just remember seeing all these signs all over that building with sayings such as "9 to 5 beats ten to life", and tips on appearance "shirt tucked in, pants on your waist, hat off". It seemed almost silly to me how simple things like this had to be spelled out, but then again, so many of the inmates have none of this "common knowledge". It's little things like that that make me kind of...sad...that none of these programs and services to teach job skills are in place for underprivileged people before they get to the point where they're serving 18 months in prison.
Other notable things:
-The guard showed us a tray of what they were served for lunch: four pieces of white bread, a glob of peanut butter and jelly, some cookies, and canned carrots. There was very little food there. I could inhale that in five minutes, no problem and all the guys there were a lot bigger than I am. But that's all they can afford with what the government gives them.
-The inmates did receive pay for their work, but it was really low. Granted, I don't think that they should be making tons of bling for their work, but $2 a day seems insulting.
-The inmates are allowed to wear their street clothes inside the MTC. However, this meant that all the guys in our class had to wear wristbands, because if they didn't, and the guards didn't know who they are, they wouldn't be able to leave.
-All of the comments from the guys there did wonders for my self-esteem. Granted, these guys never see any
girls, except for on TV and at the SuperMax, they dont' see any aside from the guards. But I was feeling pretty good about myself. As Cheryl said: "We're their entertainment for the day. If we made their day better, I feel like I've done a good deed for the day". She may be stretching it a little, but I was kind of glad I made their day better.
-Before the field trip, our professor told us to pay attention to how the guards interact with the inmates...which ones are "good" and which ones are "bad". From what we saw, there didn't seem to be too many problems there. I mean, we've been told over and over about how prisons are such horrible places, and while life didn't seem to be wonderful at the MTC, it didn't seem unmanageable either.
-The racial makeup surprised me a little bit too. It seemed as if 90% of the inmates and every officer I saw was black. I don't know what conclusion I'm supposed to jump to, given that. I just expected to see more people of other races...
This is my only public entry, just because I think it's one that I'd like everbody who can to read.