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I really think it is patronizing and very simplistic of you to think that this can be compared to slavery. Slaves are born into their fate or forced there and have little or no choice. Convicted felons made choices that got them in their condition. The men and women who enter into our prisons are not there for vacation. They are not there because they are taking a break from the hectic hip hop life style. They are there because many of them have committed very serious crimes. Until you have had your brother, sister, mother, father, or child murdered because they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time" I think you would have a different perspective. These people have made some bad choices that have negatively impacted on the lives of many people in our society. Young people today do not respect their elders who are the people who have nutured them throughout our history. We have not answered the call of our legacy to make things better for our childrens generation than they were for us and our fathers. We make millions more dollars per year that our parents generation did but yet the rate of prison incarceration is nearly ten times that of our parents' generation. we as parents and as citizens must take part in raising our offspring you to know how to steer around the pit falls society has to offer. We must nurture strong children who become strong adults. The bottom line is when we can watch a young teenager walking around with his/her pants sagging somewhere between his/her waist and his/her knees and just shake our heads and walk on by then we are part of the epidemic. Children see the thug life and glamorize it not knowing what it takes away from their humanity. The man is not out to get us we have done very well in getting our selves. I remember there once was a book called "Everything I needed to know about life I learned in kindergarden" and it made a profound statement that the best learned principle for life are learned early in life and take us throughout the rest of our lives.

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Email that was forwarded to me from: S. C. Armstrong

Correctional Lieutenant

Transportation Unit, Extradition Bureau

Division of Adult Institutions

916-324-8568 office

As a California Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) employee, I have had my fill with the statements being made in the media about how the overpaid state employees (prison guards) are draining the state's budget, and how the poor inmates (convicted FELONS) are dropping like flies due to substandard medical care and brutal living conditions. Allow me to cast some light onto these shadowy areas with my ten plus years of insight behind the walls.

California spends approximately $50,000 a year to house each of our 170,000 inmates. Roughly $12,500 of this is on their "substandard" medical care. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spends about $1,400 per veteran. You read that right. That's nine times more money being spent on convicted felons than on our nation's veterans. Texas, which ranks second in the nation in inmate population, spends about $5,100 a year, per inmate, on health care. In California, if an inmate has a health complaint, he fills out a form and may be subject to a $5 co-pay, unless it is deemed an emergency by health care staff. If that's the case, there is no co-pay and he is seen immediately. If an inmate claims a pain level over a 6 (on a scale from 1 to 10), he must be seen immediately by a registered nurse, and scheduled to see a doctor. I don't recall the last time I heard an inmate claim less than a 6. I don't know about you, but the last time I went to the ER it took me five hours to get in and cost me 50 BUCKS!

On the educational front, California ranks 29th in the nation on funding per student, and 49th in "student per teacher" ratio. Over the last two years, $11 BILLION has been cut from education. Add to that more than $5 BILLION in proposed cuts over the next two years. I have friends who have told me that their child's school had to cut the library program due to budget cuts. My own child's school had to cut the music program, although we still have a library. For now. And the few athletic programs we still have are run by volunteer-coaches, as there is no money to pay someone. The prison I work at has several paid coaches, in addition to a "recreational coordinator". There is a staff of who knows how many teachers, while my child's school had to lay-off two. But let us get back to these poor, fragile creatures we lovingly refer to as inmates.

The typical day in an inmate's life consists of being awoken at around 6:45am for chow. They walk to the dining hall, where they are served coffee and/or juice and a FREE balanced breakfast, that would cost my child $2 at school. They sit and eat breakfast, and socialize with their brethren, for about 15-20 minutes, and on the way out receive their free bag lunch. Then, if they have a job, off they go (the average workday for an inmate is about six hours). If they aren't employed, they go back to their housing unit until the yard opens at about 8:30 or so. Once out to yard, they have a myriad of recreational choices in which to indulge. Some inmates play basketball or run the track. Others prefer handball or tennis. Less adventurous fellows may choose to throw around a Frisbee or participate in a game of horseshoes. Some simply lay their blanket out o n the grass and sunbathe. There are softball tournaments to compete in for prizes (sodas, ice cream, etc.). This scenario is repeated three times a day for a total of about 8.5 hours of daily recreational opportunity, seven days a week. Wouldn't that be nice?

I have read numerous articles about the state prison guards making outrageous amounts of money in overtime. While it's true that I did make about ten thousand in overtime one year, what isn't known is that I didn't volunteer for a single overtime shift. Due to a hiring freeze and the usual attrition, ALL of my overtime was mandatory because of short staffing. In other words, much like the inmates, I was not allowed to go home after my shift those days. Unlike the inmates, I could not play horseshoes.

Up to this point, I have been "given" three furlough days for a total pay cut of around 15%. That was roughly equivalent to my mortgage payment. I am, however, no longer saddled with that burden as, due to said cuts, the bank has relieved me of that responsibility by taking back my house. The hardest part to swallow is the fact that while I'm losing everything I've worked for, the inmates have not had one program or privilege cut thus far. As a matter of fact, they gain new rights and privileges with every new lawsuit. Speaking of lawsuits, prisoner-initiated lawsuits have cost the state more than $ 191 million over the past six years. How many homeless veterans would that feed?

I hope I've opened some eyes as to what really goes on inside the walls of California's state prisons. Voters have made themselves heard with the three-strikes law and other get tough on crime issues. The people of this state demand justice when one person takes another's in cold blood. The problem is, once that person is convicted and locked away, he is portrayed as a victim of the system. Suddenly he is guaranteed rights that neither you nor I enjoy. Like the right to instant medical attention (despite what the media says); for free. The right to three balanced meals a day. The right to their own personal TV and radios. The right to buy Ramen soups or Snickers bars or Dreyer's ice cream. We, as the citizens of this state, need to pull our collective heads out of the sand and see what is going on in this state. We are taking money from our future, our children, to repair the damage these inmates have caused to themselves over a lifetime of drug-abuse and self-neglect. Instead of blaming Corrections staff and other state employees for the budget problems this state faces, let's take a hard look at what we're spending to care for and coddle the inmates in California. I'm not denying that basic medical care is a basic human right, but would you rather spend your $40,000 on a convicted child molester's total knee replacement, or pay a teacher a year's salary to educate 30 of our children?

So, in closing, let me just ask you this. If prison is such a barbaric, inhumane, insufferable place, why do 80% of them come back after their first term?

If you agree with this article, please pass it on to everyone in your contact list. If you don't agree, better see a doctor about that bleeding heart. If you commit a felony, you can see one for $5.

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High Ranked

I had a personal experience with one of those excessive phone call from a prisoner.I told my cousin since you're going to be there for awhile,start writing me letters.We have been in communication now for over 10 years and his writing skills have improved as well.Now I pay for stamps and no more high phone bills.

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High Ranked

I agree,it takes time but everything comes out in the wash.

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Thank God for Dr. Boyce and others like him who are willing to bring these "prison pimps" out of the hole they are hiding in. We also need more Black teachers who really care about their Black students. Some of these Black teachers have turn their noses up at the Black students because they want to impress their non-Black colleagues who don't give a damn about them. Black parents come together, make sure your children are being taught. Make sure your child/children is doing what's right and being respectful. Challenge the schools if they aren't doing anything to help your child/children receives a high quality education. This modern day slavery have got to go. Help our Black brothers and sisters who are incarcerated by donating books to them. Show some Black-n-Black love. Stop the self-hated my people! EDUCATION OVER INCARCERATED!!

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