Voices Beyond The Walls - Rules of Hidden Society

When I think of this question, I am quickly reminded of every society has it's own method in how ones existence is measured by one's character, the economical standings within the community and in most cases ethnicity. This same holds true for those who are considered the outcast of society and while rules are much different in this abnormal society, there is a perverse ranking system within the prison system that contradicts all rules of the civil world as we know it. As you are processed into the correctional system, your initial ranking is immediately determined by the crime by which you're detained. This information by those who work in Albany however, the administration's method in how these individuals are housed, is very similar to how society looks on its inner cities and the people from these particular areas. What you are arrested for and convicted of becomes your re-categorized worth according to this unspoken rating system within the existing criminal justice system itself. It applies that the more vicious your crime the higher you sit within this abnormal society to become divided into the haves, and have nots. I spent time working with convicts within the system on the Alternative to Violence Program and bore witness to some of their troubling acceptance of these unusual rules that make them part of this hidden ranking system.

What does this mean to an individual? You command a certain amount of respect your fellow convicts but by the prison guards as well. This is the system throughout the state somehow, this information is passed on through a much greater grapevine, and like society, the prison community is also aware of those who have been ostracized by both communities. These prejudices are what exist within the prison system, and its guards are products to these types of prejudices based on likes and dislikes of your crimes and will sidestep dealing with these individuals as a human being, and as in society in particular have already made up a set of rules to deal with you. For example, say one particular individual deserves to be violently restrained on any occasion, and can be hurt in the process. The rating system is a very warped way of looking at things, but from my experience, it exists. It is mutual between the inmates and the guards, for instance:

• A guy that sells drugs in his community, may be considered an entrepreneur
• A person who has considered as a murder is considered of high respect and regarded as someone everyone should fear.
• And then everything in between burglaries and robberies are regarded at a certain level

For those that have committed the cardinal sin against society; society itself has on many occasions expressed their outrage and opinions regarding the immediate and long term punishment for these individuals. While there will always be debates as to when society should get involved, or to have the legislative body create better programs in these facilities that may address these issues, stemming from social, economical and some cases physical abuse. This experience has only shown that, the true issues that society refuses to acknowledge, is that many of these individuals are products of many different sociological factors that leads to such behaviour that is neither treated nor addressed during their incarceration. Instead they are placed in world in which the moral values, is no different then the circumstances that may created these types of dysfunctional behaviour. They are deprived of these morals values, which are replaced with a kill or be kill attitude, which in most cases these individuals are release back into these same communities, and to have their entire time spent behind these walls ignored and tormented; they come to know that each day may just be their last day. From the prison guards to the general population, these individuals will find themselves in a position of imminent danger based on others their beliefs and their own prejudices against such crimes.

Don't get me wrong a person that is a child molester is definitely a put in harm's way. He will be in trouble and put in a position when his guardians leak information to someone who despises that, and then the apprehenders of the law sit back and watch it happen. The normal message people on the outside perceive is that in surviving this, it's just a cushy life living with TVs and they do afford those things to you, but at a price - it's not afforded to everybody. If you are a person that doesn't have any means what so ever you are pretty much down to the state to support you and that support is very minor. I guess I could give you 100 different scenarios and to me it's very disturbing the society doesn't really know about it, because none of this is sensationalised or re-examined. Inmates are paying a debt to society for their crimes, but what is allowed to occur without trace is how prison officials will take the liberty to allow a goon squad that serves to take the liberty beating people half to death with investigations that have them cleared.

This warped justice within the justice system does exist, I have bore witness to it, and seen the effects upon many convicts I worked with during their Alternative to Violence Therapy program. As a result of this peer ranking system it polarises and distorts the culture of the inmate society. This inherent abnormality prevents convicts to familiarise with the normal rules of society, and thus they are unable to reintegrate into society. Upon his release, will often return to the prison system either because he does not know rules, or he is trained to be a rule breaker, or simply that his comfort is only within the ranking system of the familiarity he learned within the prison system.

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