Vulnerable nature of prisoners Neil Samworth's experience as a prison officer provided insight into the lives of some of the nation's most vulnerable people, who turned to crime due to difficult pasts. Many people in prison have committed offenses due to untreated mental health issues. Abuse has been committed against the vast majority of them. Neil Samworth emphasizes that this should not be used to justify criminal behavior. He gives an example of someone who was clearly unwell, non-violent, and not dangerous, but mentally unstable. Samworth stated that the guy in question was a soldier, and his father was one of the most notorious offenders this country has ever seen. Every time he was released from prison, he ended up on the streets …show more content…
"There is a culture that discourages discussing emotions," he says. "The prison did not provide assistance, and I never requested any." One day, a prisoner assaulted two of Samworth's colleagues, and he reacted by punching and breaking the inmate's nose. Samworth acknowledges that he was fortunate to avoid an assault charge, but shortly after, he was granted leave due to a shoulder injury, and later received a diagnosis of PTSD. Listening to his experiences, it's difficult to see how this could have been avoided. Shortly after, a coworker passed away from a stroke right after retiring at 56, making Samworth worry he was on a similar path. Prisoners exploiting weak officers Despite facing challenges, Neil Samworth found satisfaction in his role and appreciated collaborating with his coworkers until the impact of budget reductions started to be felt at Strangeways in 2015. During the last six months of his employment, Samworth mentioned, "There was no communication with prisoners, no engagement, and that creates a hazardous environment." As officers found themselves stretched thin, their connections with the prisoners, crucial for upholding discipline and protecting more at-risk inmates, started to
I feel that this book gives a rough, inspiring and passionate warning that the rush to imprison offenders hurts the guards as well as the guarded. Conover reminds us that when we treat prisoners like the garbage of society, we are bound to treat prison staff as garbage men -- best out of sight, their own dirt surpassed only by the dirt they handle. Conover says in one part of his book, “Eventually admitting that being in a position of power and danger brings out a side of myself I don’t like.” I feel both prisoners and officers deserve better.
...they want to be not only respected but also being able to survive in the prison environment. In prison, there are so many inmates and not two inmates are the same. The inmates will disrespect the officers by calling them names, giving officers difficult times, but it goes the other way around too. It is disturbing image after learning that sometimes it is the officer’s fault and not just the inmates’ wrongdoings. There will be times when officers and inmates will engage in a conspiracy crime and times when the female staff is engaged in sexual actions with an inmate. Conover wrote this book to allow the audience to see the prison society from many different point-of-views and give future officers an early insight to becoming a correctional officer.
" With violence affecting so many lives, one can understand the desire driven by fear to lock away young male offenders. But considering their impoverished, danger-filled lives, I wonder whether the threat of being locked up for decades can really deter them from crime" (305). Hopkins is definitely not our stereotypical prisoner. Most generally, our view of prisoners is not that of someone who has this profound use of wording and this broad sense of knowledge.
After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests. Working in a reception facility, this is a facility where inmates are brought in from the county jails to the state intake facility, we deal with a lot of requests and questions. At times, with the phone ringing off the hook from family members and inmates with their prison request forms, you get a little cynical and tired of answering the same questions over and over. As I read the book I begin to understand some of the reason for the questions. Inmate(s) now realize that the officers and administrative personnel are in control of their lives. They dictate with to get up in the morning, take showers, eat meals, go to classes, the need see people for different reason, when to exercise and when to go to bed. The lost of control over their lives is a new experience for some and they would like to be able to adjust to this new lost of freedom. Upon understanding this and in reading the book, I am not as cynical as I have been and try to be more patient in answering questions. So in a way I have changed some of my thinking and understanding more of prison life.
Also in Sam’s manic state, he would engage in pleasurable activities that had a high potential for painful consequences. He would end up hurt and in the hospital after engaging in such activities. If Sam didn’t have this psychological disorder, he would most likely
In his book Newjack he spoke of a variety of things pertaining to prison life at Sing Sing. As a new Correctional Officer coming into the ranks myself, or Newjack as he describes it I can relate to many of the issues he spoke about. Issues like when he talked about putting his game face on when he enters the prison for his shift. A Correctional officer is a person who must try to be a role model type figure, and keep his personal feelings in check. A Correctional Officer also must to be able to leave the job at the gate on the way out and not bring it home with him.
... of public humiliation or being locked up for year. There is also a mention of how non-violent criminals are being affected by prison. This affects the reader emotional aspect toward the argument because it make’s the reader have sympathy causing them to lean toward Jacoby’s view. This is called an appeal to emotion and is not generally a good thing to have in a credible paper.
As a newly promoted Lieutenant in charge of jail operations in the Houston Police Department (HPD), there are several critical issues regarding the jail environment that require immediate attention such as, inadequate conditions of confinement, health care, security measures, and sexual misconduct between correctional officers and inmates. The aforementioned issues are a controversial topic all across the U.S. and it usually attracts media attention and creates negative publicity towards the Department of Corrections. A lieutenant of jail operations is responsible for his or he shift and oversees multiple areas of the jail facility. Responsibilities of a jail lieutenant includes but is not limited to the following: (1) coordinate shift activities;
Learning your brother has passed is sad but watching him be murdered is the most traumatic thing a young boy could be put through. Sam had been accused of cattle theft, but it was his own cattle. Tim tried to explain to general Putnam but he refused to listen saying that the execution would show soldiers that they will be punished for their actions and might save civilians lives. They went on with the execution and “shot him so close that his clothes were on fire.he went on jerking with flames on his chest until another soldier shot him again.then he stopped jerking”(208). The patriots killed on of their own to save others. Sam did not do anything and was totally innocent but he did not have enough telling points to prove that he was. It was unfair that instead of somebody that actually committed a crime was not executed as an example. Tim would not want to choose a side where he was not protected by his own people. Being neutral was the best choice for Tim since he was against war overall and did not want to support either
Written by Randolph B. Campbell and edited by Mark C. Carnes, Sam Houston and the American Southwest tells the story of the life of Sam Houston. Sam Houston, born in 1793 in Tennessee, was a soldier, lawyer, and also one of the founding fathers of the state of Texas. This biography of Sam Houston goes on to describe the life of Sam Houston in topics such as presidential elections he ran in, wars he has fought, friends and rivals of Houston, his personal life, marriages, wins, defeats, and changes he brought upon the United States of America. Sam Houston was liked by the majority of people, he looked up to Andrew Jackson who was his general when Sam Houston joined the army in his 20’s. This book goes into depth to portray to the reader of the type of person Sam Houston was including his strengths, weaknesses, and the fact that he was an alcoholic and despite all that, he was a very intelligent and noble man of U.S. history as we now know.
The 1970s in the United States was a time of incredible change, doubt, as well as reform. The many issues happening throughout the country helped to lead to the discomfort in many prisoners that eventually lead to their e...
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and of that over sixty percent of jail inmates reported having a mental health issue and 316,000 of them are severely mentally ill (Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Correctional facilities in the United States have become the primary mental health institutions today (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). This imprisonment of the mentally ill in the United States has increased the incarceration rate and has left those individuals medically untreated and emotionally unstable while in jail and after being released. Better housing facilities, medical treatment and psychiatric counseling can be helpful in alleviating their illness as well as upon their release. This paper will explore the increasing incarceration rate of the mentally ill in the jails and prisons of the United States, the lack of medical services available to the mentally ill, the roles of the police, the correctional officers and the community and the revolving door phenomenon (Soderstrom, 2007). It will also review some of the existing and present policies that have been ineffective and present new policies that can be effective with the proper resources and training. The main objective of this paper is to illustrate that the criminalization of the mentally ill has become a public health problem and that our policy should focus more on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
The career of a correctional officer has always captivated me in a way that is difficult to explain. Even as a child, I recall tuning into shows such as Lockup and Lockdown. In fact, my earliest, most vivid memories consist of me sitting in front of a TV screen with my eyes mesmerized by the hardened criminals visioned on the screen before me. It may seem peculiar, but I’ve always pictured myself inside the prison walls. What’s even more peculiar is that I’ve seldom visioned myself as a correctional officer; in fact, I’ve almost always visioned myself as a prisoner.
Wilson, Rick. "The Growing Problems of the Prison System." American Friends Service Committee. American Friends Service Committee, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. .
In chapter twelve, Annette Lareau explains how family behavior is a characteristic of social class and explores how social class affects social mobility. Lareau says that childrearing is a mentality that is natural product of social classes, and that it is passed down a social class, which makes it a characteristic of the social class of the family. This is interesting because other ideologies state that family behavior may be impacted by social classes, but Lareau takes it further by saying that that family behavior is a definitive aspect of social class also. She also concedes that it is harder for children raised through natural growth to socioeconomically mobilize because concerted cultivation is the model by which institutions in society