by Jacob Lester
Why do we ignore the sufferings of others? Why do we choose to be willfully ignorant to what actually occurs in our societies in the name of justice? Why do we ignore the truths of our carceral system? Why do we choose to ignore the realities of the conditions in our prisons?
The ugly truth is prisons are a continual torture for incarcerated persons designed to keep them coming back. The truths can be seen in the daily occurrences at Cummins Unit in Arkansas and several other places. Yet society still chooses to ignore the ugly truth.
Listen to my truths earned through painful traumatic experiences. Listen to the ugly truths you choose to ignore! I have been at Cummins Unit since October 2022. In that time I’ve come to understand the true horrors of prison and to realize the fact that trauma is the norm in this hell I’ve landed in.
Unaffiliated white males are robbed, whether with force or intimidation. Some thieves steal from anyone and everyone and call it “taking.” People are beaten with socks that have either a lock or bars of soap in them, or just fists and boots on a regular basis. People are stabbed with homemade shanks with regularity. Drugs, especially K2 and meth, are readily available. If you are unaffiliated you have to be even more cautious walking the halls or on the amount of commisary you have. If you are homosexual you face open disdain and covert attempts to get you to play.
Then there are the actual conditions of this condemned hell hole. The roofs in barracks, chow halls, and hallways leak every time it rains. Roofs cave in due to the leaks and rot. Heavy rains cause the leakier barracks like 10A, 13, 14, etc. to flood worrying inmates about their property and safety. Rats and roaches own the chow halls and kitchen playing as they delight in the food prep areas. Was that extra crunch seasoning or bug?
When occasionally you get real meat your body cannot handle it since rarely do they feed you anything other than soy, chicken, or mysterious meat blends. What could that meat be? Horse? Cow? Soy? Rat?
Drugs run rampant and rule the prison. Meth, deuce, which do you choose? You can use credit, sure, but pay on time or else a bruise or two will help you remember. Can you handle your drugs or will you fight or stab someone in paranoia?
Discrimination is the name of the game. Drug dealers run the roost and users that are known get some extra leeway, but you face the risk of being the target of staff ire or being ignored by staff as you are beaten to death for no good reason.
Get in trouble and the hole or restrictive housing is where you land after being stowed away in a holding cell for hours or days. No toilet or sink in the holding cells. You face extreme temperatures, freezing in winter begging for a blanket, sweating yourself unconscious in the summer. If you are unlucky enough to land in Holding Cell One or Two, where suicide watches usually go, be cramped and freeze worse than anywhere else, plus no tray slot exists. Instead, the tray is slid under the bottom of the cell bars which are ever so nasty and centimeters from your uncovered food. Plan to eat cold meals everyday because trays are allowed to sit made up for hours before being fed to you. The risk of food poisoning growing by the minute, and yet staff do not care.
The horrors you see and trauma you experience. Why would you not be ready for anything? When are you ever safe? When can you truly relax or rest? Why or why are we tortured so? Do we truly deserve this slavery, torture, and hell? Are we unredeemable? Why or why refuse to help us? Why or why refuse to see?
