The time was ripe; it was 1:00 AM or so, and everyone except me, my friend, and the counselor were asleep, so it was time to make the move. "Judy Booty" had the knife and we attempted to subdue the guard through a huge window either of us could easily get through but during the attempt, the counselor simply beat us both silly with the hand-set from the telephone, closed the window and hit the panic button. Once the panic button was hit, the unit was swamped with guards that were coming to the counselor's rescue, and fortunately, our rescue too; by then, the other inmates had awakened and the Ratpack was in full-swing, so again I was glad to see the counselors pouring through the doors.
This incident was different though... We attacked a state employee with a butter knife, so now we were classified as dangerous and hardened criminals. The next day a bus was at the A.C. and we were on our way to Preston School of Industry in Ione, Ca. This was much further north than Whittier, it meant no more visits, and the inmates there were much more hardened and dangerous. Looking back, it's easy to see that some of us grow-up with puppies, and some with wolves. And once in a while, more often than it should, puppies are thrown in with the wolves and survive any way they can.
Footnote: The shin kicking by Mr. Cantino was not an isolated event and occurred any time there was an infraction of the rules. I still bear the scars to this day.
Back when this happened, the mind-set of many correctional institutions in the United States was firmly rooted in efforts to rehabilitate and teach - hoping to reduce recidivism through training, education, and many other programs that were doomed to failure. The Legislative intent was there, but in almost all cases it wasn't administered in an atmosphere that could be accepted by those that sincerely had the desire to change. Cruelty of the guards, and the inmates themselves, rendered most programs ineffective and no one seemed to understand why the problems were worsening.
This small glimpse into "The Creation of a Criminal" is an honest expose' of the commonplace administration of torture, brutality, and in some cases, even murder that occur within our own penal system - and Americans are the victims. Yes, the events I related to happened many, many years ago, so you might be asking yourself why this is in any way relevant to Condi's remarks in regard torture. Simply put, the days I was speaking of is when the US had a kinder attitude toward inmates, and even though they were unsuccessful, attempted to rehabilitate as many as they could.
Now, the attitude of the United States is one of punishment and extremely lengthy sentences with no emphasis on rehabilitation. Instead, the US is building SHU's, (Control Unit Prisons) and it is known and condemned by Amnesty International, because torture still exists in our own prison systems and against US citizens. We scream for the humane treatment of terrorists that seek to destroy our way of life yet we ignore the torture that happens consistently in our own prisons.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Prison_System/CrimePunish_Pelican.html
http://www.rightsforall.amnesty.org/what/appeals/torture.htm
Torture Inc. Americas Brutal Prisons
Savaged by dogs, Electrocuted With Cattle Prods, Burned By Toxic Chemicals, Does such barbaric abuse inside U.S. jails explain the horrors that were committed in Iraq?
By Deborah Davies
They are just some of the victims of wholesale torture taking place inside the U.S. prison system that we uncovered during a four-month investigation for BBC Channel 4 . It's terrible to watch some of the videos and realize that you're not only seeing torture in action but, in the most extreme cases, you are witnessing young men dying.
The prison guards stand over their captives with electric cattle prods, stun guns, and dogs. Many of the prisoners have been ordered to strip naked. The guards are yelling abuse at them, ordering them to lie on the ground and crawl. "Crawl, motherf*****s, crawl!"
If a prisoner doesn't drop to the ground fast enough, a guard kicks him or stomps on his back. There's a high-pitched scream from one man as a dog clamps its teeth onto his lower leg.
Another prisoner has a broken ankle. He can't crawl fast enough so a guard jabs a stun gun onto his buttocks. The jolt of electricity zaps through his naked flesh and genitals. For hours afterward his whole body shakes.
Lines of men are now slithering across the floor of the cell block while the guards stand over them shouting, prodding and kicking.
Second by second, their humiliation is captured on a video camera by one of the guards.
The images of abuse and brutality he records are horrifyingly familiar. These were exactly the kind of pictures from inside Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad that shocked the world this time last year.
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