Inmates In Birch Hall example essay topic

The cell itself is only 12 feet x 12 feet. The floor is a smooth cold concrete. The walls are a double stacked cinder block covered in a dark yellow paint. The beds are bunk style metal framed, each one welded together, the bottom one bolted to the floor. There is only one light and it is a halogen tube covered in a plastic case, that is also covered In a wire mesh to keep out prying fingers. On the far wall there is a window.

Metal framed and double paned to keep out the cold and keep in the convict. There is one toilet, no walls for privacy, no seat for comfort. Just a hard, cold, porcelain commode, on which to do your business as quickly as possible, so as not to be seen by a guard doing a count, or a fellow inmate stopping by to borrow something. The sink is solid metal, with push button knobs and a arc style spigot. There is no adjustment for the temperature of the water. You either get it warm or cool, there is no in between.

There are two shelves on the wall permanently affixed there to disallow moving them from wall to wall. The door is made of two inches of steel. There is a two inch wide window that runs vertically 18 inches, from the handle of the door up. There is a keyhole but it does not open the door. I open there door from the desk in the middle of the pod 30 feet away from there door. They are give the key just to put in the lock to signal a beeping at my desk letting me know they are requesting access to there rooms.

The pod itself is a two story housing unit. The top floor is approximately 15 feet in height. Along the walkway of the second floor is a double railed banister gray in color. The doors to their rooms are colored based on which housing unit they live in.

The housing unit itself is illuminated by 9 fluorescent tube lights and 3 fluorescent dome lights. Like in a gymnasium at a high school. The pods themselves are set up on the recreation yard in a semi circle. They are two sided, so there is a side one and a side two, one officer on each side. One officer with no weapon of any kind, in a pod with up to 74 inmates. The only thing I carry into a pod is radio and the cell keys.

Left to right they are called, Stewart Hall, Ash Hall, Birch Hall, Elm Hall, Oak Hall, Pine Hall. Depending on which hall the inmates are assigned to live, you can get a real good idea about how they have behaved since being assigned to Mount Olive. Inmates in Stewart are normally young, loud, and do not follow directions from the Correctional Officer working the pod very well. As in Birch, these are the inmates who have been incarcerated a long time and have earned the privilege of not having to be locked in their rooms until 12: 00 a.m. The inmates in Birch Hall also have jobs working somewhere in the prison.

It could be making license plates in the industries building, doing laundry for the facility, or even making the food in the cafeteria. It all depends on where the inmate wants to work. If an inmate does not want to work he may go to classes to get an education. They have GED classes as well as college classes taught by teachers from outside the institution. There are some inmates who have been there so long they have been able to receive multiple degrees in different fields. Some inmates even represent other inmates as there lawyers when those inmates go to court for a write up they received from an officer in Mount Olive.

There is a basketball court, a handball court, a softball field, a horseshoe pit, a volleyball court, and a workout area full out weights and weight bars, all on the rec yard. There is also an indoor gymnasium, a library, a music room and a barber shop. But the inmates hardly use them with cable TV and playstation 2 game consoles in their rooms. But there is another housing unit called Quilliams I, and Quilliams II. They are the maximum security holding cells for the inmates who just can't seem to fit in anywhere on the rec yard and have to be by themselves. They are separated in there on housing unit away from everyone else.

The do not get to go out on the rec yard like everyone else, nor do they get jobs or go to school. They sit in there cells 22 hours a day. These inmates only come out of there cells for 1 hour of recreation time a day and 1 hour of law library research for their cases. They can have a visit from family but not in the same visitation as the other inmates. They do have cable TV. This is the part of the facility that you have most of the problems.

Someone may set a fire, or throw a cup of urine or feces on you as you walk by doing a count. You may have a fight on the rec yard, you may let someone out to the rec yard for their hour of rec and when their hour is over they refuse to go back to their cell. If something is going to happen it is most likely going to happen here. There are 116 inmates in this unit and 5 officers assigned. They do have deterrents at there disposal if they need them, OC spray, Pepper ball gun, Batons, Stun Gun, and a She ild, in case they have to rush into a cell to get someone. On an average shift I work from 5: 30 p.m. until 7: 15 a.m.

During my shift the count is 986 inmates to 41 Officers. Not a very favorable ratio if you ask me. But the whole principle behind it is trust. You have to trust that every thing is going to go smooth that night and at the end of your shift you are going to be able to go home to your family.