9/4/23

FORGIVENESS: SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN

 

A few weeks ago, while hammocking at my campsite, I read Alex Mar’s “Seventy Times Seven, A True Story of Murder and Mercy,” and it has made a lasting impression on me. I thought about the time the school principal dropped off a list of prisoners for me to TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education). When I examined the names my first impulse was circular-filing it and questioning the task: “Why am I evaluating a bunch of 50- to 60-year-old men who are juvenile-lifers? They’re doing ALL DAY!” Instead, I said nothing. I did my job. Over 12 years ago, us corrections teachers eliminated prisoners with life sentences from our class rosters—no more lifers in our prison GED programs throughout the State of Michigan. I had heard about sweeping changes in the juvenile justice system but had no clue as to how it would impact the men I had assessed. Incidentally, only one inmate refused the TABE; a year later, he was within a week of his freedom when he died in his cell from Covid.

Back to Mar’s book: She retells the life story of Paula Cooper, her crime at the age of 15, how the juvenile-justice system evolved during her prison sentence, the life of Ruth Pelke, the correspondence between Paula and Bill Pelke, Ruth’s grandson (who publicly forgave Paula and dedicated the rest of his life to ending capital punishment), Paula’s perps, and so many more. There’s Victor Streib, a professor of criminal law specializing in juveniles charged with homicide. And there’s Watt Espy, a traveling salesperson (security systems, then cemetery plots) who visited courthouses and prisons, cataloging every death sentence carried out in the U.S. (10 years of research, over 13,600 executions). And, yes, like I said, so much more… the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, Paula’s supporters, the victim’s family…

In her prologue, Mar writes: “The act of forgiveness… is more alien and requires something tougher: a belief that none of us is solely defined by the worst thing we have ever done. That each of us remains human, sometimes in spite of our actions. And that sometimes our actions are a response to forces larger than ourselves.”

Forgiveness is not easy. Forgiving ourselves is harder. “Seventy Times Seven…” might help. A definite read.

8/7/23

FREEDOM

I stayed for 30-some years. I should have left earlier. Better late than never. Sometimes I think about the other side. See the attachment below from the 2023 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow and former lifer at Macomb Correctional Facility.     

5/20/23

LIFE AS A PRISON LIBRARIAN

The New York Times describes Jill Grunenwald as "A Stylish and Sparkly Writer." It's on her book jacket above the title, Reading Behind Bars (which can't be seen in the picture above), and I agree with that assessment. She lands a job as a librarian for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) supervising inmates in a low-security level men's prison. The inmates are manipulative--no surprise there. One guy tells her that the previous librarian had him repairing damaged books and that he'd be more efficient if she gave him some tape and scissors to set up shop in his cell. And yes, she falls for it. Lesson learned.

Then there's a recurring incident happening behind the stacks. She sends an inmate clerk to investigate, realizing that part of her job is to catch the culprit herself and write him up. No one should be doing what he's doing behind the books. Grunenwald prepares herself for the next time and follows through with pen and paper.

And here's my favorite incident in Grunenwald's words:

Then there was an inmate who specifically wanted the Oprah Winfrey edition of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. We didn't have the special edition...but we had an older version of the book. No, the inmate insisted. It had to be the Oprah edition.

"Why?" I asked, curious at his refusal of reading the exact same book with a different cover.

He stared at me. His intense gaze indicated a belief that I was highly overpaid for my position here and had no business calling myself a librarian.

"Because," he said speaking slowly so as to make sure I was able to comprehend, "Oprah rewrites the books and makes them easier to read."

What I admire the most about Grunenwald is that she got out of the prison system early (within two years) and wrote an entertaining memoir that I could relate to minus the violence. If Grunenwald had stayed longer, say thirty or more years, her writing would be darker, with very little sparkle.


4/29/23

COLDWATER KITCHEN

 I watched the documentary Coldwater Kitchen the other night. It reminds me of a long lonesome journey that some people take (been there myself). And Chef Jimmy Lee Hill, a food-tech instructor at Lakeland Correctional Facility, is one very lonely guy.

The film begins with him justifying his 670 miles per-week drive back and forth to prison. He says, "I absolutely love my job because I get a chance to be with somebody that genuinely cares about whether I am there or not." Then the camera pans in on him cabling a knife to a counter. As a former corrections teacher, I understand what he's saying, but I also see the dangers in his thinking. In 1998, Dorothy Taylor, a food service worker at Thumb Correctional Facility, was stabbed to death by an inmate. The knife used was not cabled. Dorothy had planned to retire at the end of that year.

So what's the driving force behind Chef Hill's loneliness? He tells us he was married in 1985 and that he has three kids. He says, "I liked being married, and I liked being with somebody. So when I got divorced, I didn't want to be, but... it was out of my control. And then the next April my mom passed. I felt really like I was just by myself."

So, he spends 36 years training inmates how to cook, and he realizes that he should retire soon. But I get the impression that his loneliness will worsen; I hope not.

It's an amazing story not only about him, but three of his tutors/students: Earnest Davis, Dink Dawson, and Brad Leonard. Each with its own unique circumstance. 

Here's an excellent review of the documentary: 

https://inreviewonline.com/2022/11/24/coldwater-kitchen/

4/24/23

SINGING IN THE RAIN

Regardless of your feelings about an issue, MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz did all the explaining he could... or did he? Hmmm... I know an MDOC employee who is still waiting for his certificate for 30-plus years of State Employment, something he was promised before he retired. But MDOC management doesn't always follow through on what they say, and printed words have no meaning. Oh well, memorandums and certificates intended for inmates or employees mean nothing. It's fluff. It's singing in the rain.  

/www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/08/prison-memo-prisoners-freezing-rain-heidi-washington/70086056007/?fbclid=IwAR0YVHvLNUvFZhHGUGply5REZScK3iY2eJokHXB5ELFJCtZZmxPQ9afjlW0