Critics Say Inmates Are Driven Insane

AP ^ | April 25, 2003 | MATT VOLZ

[new cruelty]

JACKSON, Miss. -After running a few laps around the exercise pen, Alan Dale Walker lies down on the cool concrete, closes his eyes and imagines he is anywhere else but on Mississippi's death row.

For Walker, convicted in 1991 of raping and killing a woman, it's one of the few opportunities to escape the screams and maniacal laughter of his fellow condemned inmates. The conditions here are so bad that some contend they are literally driving the inmates insane.

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of six inmates by the American Civil Liberties Union says the stifling heat, filth, insects and other conditions could explain why some of those on death row are suffering from mental illness.

"I used to raise fighting chickens," Walker wrote in one of several letters he and other inmates sent to The Associated Press. "The way I had those chickens caged up makes me think about how they have me caged up here."

State Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps said the death row at the prison in Parchman shouldn't be singled out.

"I've been in this business for 23 years and I've been to many prisons throughout the U.S. Ours is no different from any other state that I've been in," Epps said.

At a hearing on the lawsuit earlier this year, James Balsamo, the director of environmental health and safety at Tulane University, said he took temperature, humidity and air volume readings in about 15 cells at Parchman last August, and found the heat index exceeded 100 degrees

Many inmates keep their windows closed to protect themselves from spiders and insects, he said, which adds to the heat and ventilation problems.

Another witness, Dr. Terry Kupers, a California psychiatrist who has written a book on prison madness, said he found several inmates with mental problems in a tour of death row last August.

"They mess up their cell, they're totally disheveled, they scream day and night, they smear feces, they throw feces and urine down the hall, they flood the tier," Kupers testified.

In a recent telephone interview, Kupers said conditions at Parchman were worse than any he's seen at death rows in six states - and they directly contribute to severe emotional and mental problems.

"There were massive problems there," Kupers said. "It was a combination of extreme isolation and idleness along with very hazardous sanitation conditions that I've seen nowhere else."

He said the mental health care amounted to "warehousing" inmates and providing some with medication. He said they need true mental health care because many may never see an execution chamber.

Six people have been executed in Mississippi since 1976. Out of approximately 170 death sentences in the state since that year, about 70 have been vacated. There are now 66 men and one woman awaiting execution.

Epps said mental health care should improve when Correctional Medical Services, a St. Louis company that specializes in prison health care, begins its contract with the Mississippi prison system July 1. Among the changes will be adding four full-time psychiatrists to bolster the current part-time workers.

Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU's National Prison Project, said more needs to be done and adding psychiatrists "will not address the enormous problems that were identified during the trial."

Carolyn Clayton, who helped found the victims' rights group Survival Inc. after her daughter was kidnapped, raped and slain in 1986, said she had mixed feelings about making improvements to death row.

She said conditions described in the prisoners' suit sounded harsh, but "I immediately go to the victim's feelings. Their loved ones are in the ground."

[ArcLight]

This is inexcusable. Nobody's more in favor of lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key justice than me. But the places where we lock 'em up should be at least minimally decent places to live, not hellholes like this.

[Dog Gone]

He said they need true mental health care because many may never see an execution chamber.

I think see the problem.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Seems like a regimen of regulary-scheduled executions will solve the problems on Death Row...

[FroedrickVonFreepenstein]

"I used to raise fighting chickens," Walker wrote in one of several letters he and other inmates sent to The Associated Press. "The way I had those chickens caged up makes me think about how they have me caged up here."

What goes around comes around I guess.

[EggsAckley]

Two words:

death row

If we would just start enforcing the death penalty in a timely manner, these guys wouldn't have time to be "driven crazy."

[balrog666]

This is inexcusable. Nobody's more in favor of lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key justice than me. But the places where we lock 'em up should be at least minimally decent places to live, not hellholes like this.

F-'em. Let them rot.

[MistrX]

I saw a documentary a while back in which prison guards said that prisoners regularly masturbate in front of female guards, throw food and feces at them and maintain an incessant din. Some people are animals.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Easy solution. Give them one "super appeal" and then whack them the next day. There are many sttes that have had murderers on death row for 10 to 15 years with no end is sight.

[gathersnomoss]

Oh please. Let's put them to work in hard labor, i.e. big rocks into small rocks. No TV, books, work out facilities, law degree's. This slime raped and killed someone's daughter/wife. Make jail a place that no one wants to go to.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

regulary = regularly

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Don't worry Mr. Walker....the nice man will shoot you up and send you off to never-never land....

[Mo1]

Many inmates keep their windows closed to protect themselves from spiders and insects, he said, which adds to the heat and ventilation problems.

They don't have a problem raping and murdering people .. but the are afraid of spiders???

[mbynack]

At a hearing on the lawsuit earlier this year, James Balsamo, the director of environmental health and safety at Tulane University, said he took temperature, humidity and air volume readings in about 15 cells at Parchman last August, and found the heat index exceeded 100 degrees

I lived in tents while in the military and spent months in conditions worse than this in Saudi, California, and Arizona. I bet that a majority of the guys in Iraq and Afghanistan are living in worse conditions now that these guys are. They get three hot meals, running water, toilets and toilet paper, and a roof over their heads. The military members in the field can go months without these things.

I bet the woman he raped and killed would change places with him if she had a chance. I have little sympathy for these guys. They are there for a reason.

[DannyTN]

• They should fix the heat. No one should have to stay at 100+ degrees.
• They should have good sanitation. Move the prisoners that make messes to cells where the floors can be washed off with a hose like a pig sty or something.
• They should fix the idleness. Bring back the chain gangs like Georgia did, make licenseplates or something.

[ServesURight]

But the places where we lock 'em up should be at least minimally decent places to live, not hellholes like this

Bull snot. Today's prisons are more lavish than the Waldorf-Astoria.

Would this Walker guy be better off in a Mexican or Russian prison?

[RobRoy]

We have GOT to shorten the death row wait. Some WOULD argue, of course, that these guys are getting their just desserts, even if unintentionally.

I believe in a quick execution and the long wait is quite cruel.

[eleni121]

To: Dr. Kuper

Lots of these frustration problems/"madness" could be solved by putting them to work and I mean work! They have too much free time on their hands. A little sweat always helps mentally and physicallay.

[Mark17]

Screw these slime bags. They have it too good already.

[ServesURight]

Great album, BTW...except that song when he dissed white chicks.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Interesting....other than the heat problems, every other problem described was inmate-induced.

For Walker, convicted in 1991 of raping and killing a woman, it's one of the few opportunities to escape the screams and maniacal laughter of his fellow condemned inmates

Boo hoo.  Do they remind him of the screams of the woman he raped and murdered? 

[CyberAnt]

I'm not for cruelty, but this situation is creating MORE problems. Housing killers is not an easy job - and I find it strange that these people would want to make their own jobs harder. The reason I say that is because evidently the actions of these prisoners are causing constant cleanup and constant care.

I'm curious ... but wouldn't it be easier to provide a cooler, cleaner and calmer living space. I'm not for a lot of fluff, but just the basics would make life easier for the GUARDS - not just the prisoners. I sure wouldn't want to have to guard people who are screaming and throwing feces all over the place. Just a thought!

[tet68]

Carl Isaacs is due for execution here in Ga. for the murder
of the Alday family. His execution will occur only days before the THIRTY YEAR ANNIVERSERY of those deaths.

Thirty years on death row might seem like punishment enough
to some people, I however feel that he has cheated justice long enough.

[Reeses]

driving the inmates insane.

A large percentage of people in jail were drug abusers on the outside. Years of drug abuse alters their brain chemistry. That is likely a bigger reason many of them go insane. Charles Manson is the poster child for that. Researchers need to control for that effect before suggesting policy changes.

Personally, I'm more concerned about wild animals kept in zoos. Whenever I go to a zoo the animals pace back and forth in endless repetition. It's not like these animals can pick up a book and entertain themselves. Zoos are really a sad thing. Maybe 100 years from now people will look back at our prison-like zoos and wonder what we were thinking.

[WillVoteForFood]

I have long been of the opinion that prisons should be made up of one person cells, with virtually no recreational space for weight lifting and other activities. No big rooms to watch TV, no big outdoor areas to hang around in and plot other crimes. I would allow for groups of prisoners randomly selected to have outside time everyday, but that time would be no more than an hour or two. Meals would be served in the cell. If there is to be TV, I would be OK with providing monitors to allow viewing by prisoners from their cell, but they would have no say in what they watched.

I've told folks about this philosophy and some have said that will only make for very angry people coming out of prison. My view is that a prison term spent mostly in isolation will give that prisoner real pause when thinking about future criminal acts. The incidence of prison rape would drop basically to zero and thus the rate of AIDS in prison would drop as well. While providing the facilities as described above might cost more than the typical facilities, I think that cost would be offset by reduced personnel costs along with reduced medical costs resulting from a dramatic drop in incarceration related injuries resulting from rape, fights, etc. I suppose somebody like Amnesty International would say this treatment would be inhumane, but I think prohibiting a small time crook from being hardened into a big time offender due to brutal treatment from other hardened inmates is very humane.

[NativeNewYorker]

he found several inmates with mental problems in a tour of death row last August.

Ya think?

[tet68]

He said they need true mental health care because many may never see an execution chamber.

True, maybe the answer is to move the execution chamber into the middle of the cell block where they can see it
EVERY DAY !
Oh maybe put a count down clock in a lexan case in each cell. Kind of give them a clue.

[LibWhacker]

. . . to escape the screams and maniacal laughter of his fellow condemned inmates. The conditions here are so bad that some contend they are literally driving the inmates insane.

By definition they were twisted pukes before they got there. Prison didn't make them that way. So it's not all bad that they have to spend their final days -- or years even -- living in close proximity with others who are just like them. Maybe they'll come to realize before checking out that they are in the right place and that society absolutely must protect itself from such sociopaths.

[Jhoffa_]

I agree.

I also have a problem with how some "conservatives" view prison rape as perfectly acceptable.

It's shameful. And in the case of people who will be turned loose on society at some point, I think it's counterproductive.

[Feiny]

I have had similar thoughts, but your plan actually sounds nicer than mine.

[Egregious Philbin]

I think you've provided a recipe for turning the small time criminal into a raving lunatic by them time they get out. Maybe they wouldn't network and make criminal connections, but they'd be social disasters. You wouldn't separate those in prison for violent crimes from those in for theft or drug dealing?

Anyhow, the prison industry would object to your plan, I think. It's in their interest for prisons to stay the way they are now.

[gwmoore]

Hey Dog, nice post!!!!

He said the mental health care amounted to "warehousing" inmates and providing some with medication.

Why not provide ALL OF THEM WITH MEDICATION!!

Sodium Thiopental
Pancuronium Bromide (Pavulon[TM])
Potassium Chloride (KCl)

Works for me, no more screaming...

Keep the faith for Freedom

Greg

[Earl B.]

Okay, two points:

1. Quicker executions would put an end to this "cruel and unusual" punishment.

2. If prison life is so bad, why do death-penalty opponents favor life sentences? Seems they want to be more cruel to the inmates than the death-penalty advocates - at least we want to put them out of their misery.

[volchef]

Try being a chef where every day you stand in front of a grill in a kitchen with no ac and your pocket thermometer reads 125 degrees. You make crappy money and some twit out front takes all the credit and gets all the money for your hard work. I think these human debacles can handle a little heat.

[Jhoffa_]

I think you're absolutely right...

Just sit in there and think about what you did. Every minute of every day.

[GailA]

We had a child killer/rapist/sodomizer who when he was before the judge had to be ordered gagged he kept trying to disprupt the proceedings...he was trying to act crazy by shouting obscenities and nonsense things. DIDN'T work, as when he was out of sight of the Pressitutes he was immediately calm.

Thankfully no one bought it and he went to meet..Satan courtsey of the state of Tennessee. The first inmate to be executed in 33 yrs.

[The_Pickle]

Its thinking like this that has led to the kind of club med mentallity in our prisons today.

Prison is a bad place. It needs to be a bad place. I am paid very well to work in these conditions and understand that it it part of my job.

Nothing bothers me more than people that have never walked a day in my shoes and never walked a tier in their life pontificating on how tough inmates have it.

The problems that these inmates are facing are for the most part directly related to their own behavior and are delt with in a manner consistent with behavior problems.

When the correctional staff begin to complain of the working conditions I will be a wee bit more attentive but when yet another article comes along where inmates are whining about actually having to "pay" for their crimes I tend to get a little hard of hearing.

I hope that I didn't come off to ranty but i have been listening to this type of drivel for 15 years and frankly when I leave work hearing a bunch of convicted felons complaining about their lot in life I can't help but think...

"I quess I earned my pay today" :)

[Imperialist]

F these scumbags. They certaintly had no compassion for the people they murdered. 105°F is only 7 degrees or so above body temperature. Not that bad. How do their victims feel? Not at all because they are dead? These conditions sound perfect for death row.

[12B]

It gets hot in Mississippi? Well I'll be.

[Loyalist]

It is inexcusable to allow condemned men to linger for years on end in these conditions. Moreover, justice delayed is justice denied to the state and the families of these men's victims; both must bear unnecessary costs.

States should consider implementing a "gavel-to-gallows" rule requiring all executions to be carried out within two years of the date of sentencing.

Allow death penalty appeals to be fast-tracked through the state appeal system.

But once the countdown starts, it should not be stopped.

[CatoRenasci]

Actually, that sort of isolation was tried in some of the early 19th century prisons: the idea was to give them a bible and solitary time to reflect. Apparently far too many prisoners went insane under those conditions for even the Quakers who first advocated them to stomach it.

[Jhoffa_]

PS: Another side benefit would be the "Big, bad, tough guy" image would be completely removed.

So.. You're a big, loud, tough guy, are you?

That's not going to mean much in solitary.. As there's no one there to pick on.

If you want to play big shot, you're going to have to perform for an audience of one...

[Blood of Tyrants]

Crap like that ticks me off. I hear that in many states, an inmate on death row is more likely to die of natural causes than be executed.

[ctlpdad]

they say the death penalty is not a deterrent, but it sure cuts down on recidivism!

[DannyTN]

• They need to fix your air conditioning. No one should have to stay at over 100+ degrees.
• They might ought to pay you better, but it's the market forces at play. Maybe you need to change jobs.
• The twit out front was friendly cute and gave me good service, so I'm going to tip her.

[Grampa Dave]

Lock them up and give them a maximum time for their lawyers to play their games.

Then off them. That will eliminate this problem.

This whole thing started with the NY Slimes. Because President Bush is pro death penalty, we will see thousands of these so called sad stories to make President Bush look cruel.

The people who are cruel are the liberals who create these long drawn out ordeals so their trial lawyers can get richer.

[Jeff Gordon]

The conditions here are so bad that some contend they are literally driving the inmates insane.

Maybe there is an advantage to these long delays in executions. I think it is fitting punishment for death row inmates to be slowly driven insane.

"I immediately go to the victim's feelings. Their loved ones are in the ground."

My feelings. Exactly.

[GailA]

Morgan County Regional Correctional Facility offerers inmates 6 vocational and 4 levels of academic education, built a new building to house the growing programs, at $1.5 million.

From a Prison Inmate Handbook, TENNESSEE Prison System

West Tennessee High Security Facility (WTHSF) at Henning. Why do inmates need microwave ovens? Quote: "Inmates at the WTHSF will be provided a comprehensive recreation and leisure time program that should in some manner appeal to all inmates: Intramural competition is available in softball, basketball, volley ball and soccer. Weight equipment is available in the gym and unit recreation areas. An arts and craft shop is located in the gym. The following activities are available to most WTHSF inmates. Basketball, boxing, card games, checkers, chess, concerts, dominoes, movies, ping pong, running, soccer, softball, table games, volleyball, weight lifting." WTHSF inmates have their own 219 channel satellite TV dish.

Inmate telephone system (ITS): family and friends can now send money for deposit to an inmate's telephone trust fund account. The cost of any telephone call made by an inmate using the telephone trust fund will be discounted 15%.

Inmates can have at their own expense a 13 in. TV, AM/FM radio, tape player/ recorder/compact disc player, typewriter, 2 rings, 1 necklace and watch, Walkman, curl-ing irons, rollers (female only), fan up to16in. FANS??? TN Prisons are air conditioned) hand held hair dryer, calculator, musical instruments, batteries, 3x5 rug, surge suppressor, and suntan lotion.

Inmate Rules and Regulations 1992, Activities, Tn Dept.of Correction feels that all inmates should have the opportunity to participate in activities which will help to cre-ate enthusiasm, both mentally and physical, through activities as approved by the facility /organization. Not all activities are available at all institutions or to all inmates. Custody, Classification, length of sentence, behavior, etc. may restrict participation. Those activities include: Inmate Organizations: any group or club authorized to conduct bus-iness and/or social activities by the department/institution; Outside Trips Participation in public events, speaking engagements, athletic events, mutual programs; Interinstitutional Activities: Athletic events/competitions, banquets, & mutual programs; Academic Pro-gram: Adult Basic Education, GED; Vocational Programs; Social Development Program: Planned, purposeful activities designed to promote the inmate's social adjustment and assist in resolving personal or interpersonal problems; Arts & Crafts; Inmate Council: elected group of inmates which meet regularly with wardens and other department employees to communicate suggestions and concerns from the inmate population, and to receive information from the administration concerning issues of interest to the inmates; Recreation & leisure time programs are available at each institution. We hope that you choose to participate in the wide variety of programs available to you.

[honeygrl]

awww.. poor pitiful rapists and murderers. < /sarcasm>