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THE OTHER HALF OF THE STORY
'Pros' and 'Cons'
From: L
To: kaylee1@charter.net
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 3:35 AM
Subject: corrections officers
In reference to your site, I think your missing 1/2 the story. I'm curious as to when a corrections officer "corrects"? Is it after the inmate makes a statement like "I'm going to fuck your wife when I get out you stupid mother fucker! or is it before he does it? or would it be After he spits on the corrections officer and put the inmate in ''Time out"?? I'm a corrections officer at a medium security prison, and My family members have been called names by these 'outstanding prisoners'!! I will say that 95%++ of the co/s treat inmates with the respect they 'give' to the guards. Your site is nice otherwise, but IF you could give the ''other side of the story and tell people that cell extractions are a LAST resort for disruptive inmates who have been asked at LEAST 3 times to come out voluntarily, I think your site could be a better reflection of the real story.
L
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It's good to meet you L. I agree with you about needing the other half of the story. My goal is to present all sides, but I need the help of people like yourself, who work for the department. I'll put up whatever you write of value and I'll even offer you anonymity if you prefer not to be named.
I'm not here to ostracize, but to present the prison and the people within it as accurately as possible, good and bad, allowing readers and contributors to discern for themselves what the truth is. Prisoners were excited to help; the families even nervous but determined to help: And although I have a pretty good number of ex and current officers and an even greater number of 'guards' "helping", not nearly as many of the employees have stepped forward to share their experiences as could and should. This concept is important enough to be contained in THE 'CORRECTIONAL' OFFICER'S OATH
I constantly invite officers to tell their side - and some of them have done so in various locations throughout MTWT, but many more need to be sharing if I am to present a balanced picture of truth. Investigators certainly need both sides and MTWT readers should have both sides to make their own decisions as to the truth of any story. I believe many people will learn to balance what they read with what they know of the employee 'brotherhood', and the walls will become transparent, allowing them to see through the 'Wall" or "Code of Silence" right into the prison.
All I can say about inmate behavior is that we have to remember, they are supposedly there because they didn't behave as non-criminal members of society should. We are different. We are on this side of the bars supposedly because we don't lower ourselves to their standards. I know that's difficult when they are acting out, but that's supposed to be the difference between them and us. We don't expect much from a criminal, but we have the right to expect professionalism from an officer. That includes not taking the job nor the behavior of a prisoner personally.If you can't rise above it all and be a professional, you're not the right material for an ethical department. People in prison are supposed to be criminals and officers of the department are supposed to be professional. Sometimes the two get mixed up but that's basically what the public expects.
Hope you'll write something for the site. Actually I guess you just did.
Thank you,
Kay Lee
