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Chris, a mature and rational prisoner at the state prison at
Frackville in Eastcentral Pennsylvania, decided to risk eating
lunch in the prison messhall. In going down the line, he saw
maggots wriggling around on the shelf along which food
trays were pushed. Maggots were a bit much even for the Frackville
prison so Chris complained to the guard lieutenant chatting in
the messhall.
Since it wasn't where the guards eat, the lieutenant ignored the complaint. It was just maggots and filth, who cares? Not long afterwards, Jim was in the same feeding line. The tray which was pushed out of the little wicket to him was covered with slop, spilled food and filth. The prisoner complained to the guard lieutenant lounging around in the messhall. Again, the lieutenant ignored the complaint. The guard didn't think it was part of his job to professionally manage the prison. His role was simply to oppress and mistreat the prisoners. Jose, a middle aged Puerto Rician prisoner at the state prison at Frackville, complained to a guard lieutenant about discrimination. He said that the staff was prejudiced against Hispanics and treated him and others unfairly. The claim was no doubt true. The guard lieutenant didn't care about the complaint. He told Jose that Hispanics "don't get anything" at Frackville! Although Hispanics comprise a sizable number of the prisoners, there are virtually no Hispanic guards (or blacks for that matter). Discrimination against Hispanics is only one of many abuses in the prison. The prison staff is the worst in the state and the prison's administration can't or won't manage them effectively. Under Pennsylvania law, prison rules may only be promulgated by the Secretary of Corrections. In some situations, the Secretary delegates some rule-making authority to a local prison superintendent. At the mismanaged Frackville prison many rules are invented not by the executives, but by ordinary guards. A prisoner tried to mail out a manila envelope of papers. The guard sergeant was too lazy to initial a slip allowing the prisoner to pay the postage. He asserted that someone had concocted a rule limiting the mailing of manila envelopes to weekdays. A black man had been on parole for over 5 years. He was regularly employed and supported his family. His wife got sick and he drove her across the river to New Jersey. Pennsylvania's insane parole board revoked his parole and slapped him back in prison. It's simply not in the public interest to imprison persons for such trivial breaches of the rules. Instead of paying , taxes, the man is now costing the taxpayers over thirty-two thousand dollars a year. There are better ways, but Pennsylvania isn't willing to use them. The unfortunate man was re-imprisoned in Frackville where his wife, an attractive white woman, regularly visited him. One Friday their visit was summarily terminated and the man punished. All visitors are treated badly at Frackville, but mixed couples have a particularly hostile time. This couple was charged with violating a "rule" invented by an ordinary prison guard. The woman was apparently touching her husband's neck. Some guards are so sexually neurotic that any sign of affection is foreign to them. They want the prison to destroy marriages and families, not to allow people to act naturally. The official Frackville policy is to make visiting uncomfortable. Local guards impose their own standards of how to do that. Most prisons even in Pennsylvania allow prisoners to clean their cells. At Frackville the staff is too frightened to do that. Cell cleaning is much too scary for the Frackville staff. All cell cleaning is done at one time on Saturday mornings. Extra guards (and there are MANY extra guards in the prison) are brought onto the cellblocks. All other activities are stopped. Frackville can't cope with more than one thing at a time. The cells are cleaned a few at a time. To sanitize the toilet and sink a very weak and ineffective disinfectant is available. The dilute chemical isn't very effective, but the staff is afraid to have anything around which might work. It's kept in a spray bottle which the guards guard fanatically. One guard added to the rules. He was so afraid that he wouldn't give the spray bottle to the prisoners to disinfect their toilets. He wouldn't let the bottle out of his hand. If they wanted a little spray, he'd do it himself. Admittedly, prison is an unpleasant place which employs the least competent dregs in the workforce, but Frackville is special among Pennsylvania's many prisons. It's the bottom of the bottom. You are welcome to use or republish
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