My last couple of post were failed attempts to convey just how difficult it is for me to accept harsh treatment, and how O.D.R.C. staff apply their rules unequally. Try to imagine being punished for something you not only did not do, but something that obviously never occurred. Imagine being punished with individuals who have done things.
Most of the inmates that I have met, that can show they are innocent, are usually angry. They are angry because they have been wronged. They are angry because they are in prison. They are angry because they are continuously being wronged. They are angry because no one is taking the time to listen to their plight. They are angry because the staff mistreat them. They are angry because they are made to follow arbitrary rules created at the whim of staff for no other reason than they enjoy being sadistic.
I wish I could say that I am different in this regard. Truth is, I am angry too. Still, I realize there are proper methods to air any grievances. The issue there is that the grievance procedure in the whole of O.D.R.C. is broken. This by itself makes a lot of inmates angry. In prison, inmates are always wrong, even when they are right. There are no such things as truth, honesty, right, wrong. There is only inmate and staff.
Inmates who spend any real time behind bars, leave having no sense of fair play. They get poked and prodded like animals, and they leave here in a sense of rage. I would imagine this is not a safe and productive way to treat and release inmates. It is definitely not good for our civilized society for a certain.
Now, imagine being in this environment while being innocent. I suppose it would be a little easier to accept if you had done something wrong, and worthy of punishment. Even then, the staff go overboard.
No one deserves to be mistreated. People do not have any right to be cruel to another human being. If we treated everyone in prison as though they too may be innocent, there would be a systemic change in the prison culture. I keep seeing this word being used, “re-imagine”. I am not a big fan of it, but maybe people should apply a similar concept to the whole of the judicial system? Retrain staff to be more compassionate. Remove those that can not seem to grasp the idea. Create laws that empower inmates to defend themselves against abusive staff, and prepare themselves for life outside of prison. Create laws that enable inmates who claim to be innocent to prove that innocence no matter how long it may take.