In The Life Of A Connecticut Prisoner #11
By Richard Stevenson

Greetings free world. I send my condolences out to the families and friends of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and all the others who may have been murdered by government actors. It was known by officials since the early 1980's that abuses on both sides of the line would be greatly reduced with the use of cameras. Until recently most police officers resisted the recording of interrogations. The practice of recording police interviews has greatly reduced the abuses that occurred at this point and even aided them in court.

Cameras have made prisons much more safer for staff and inmates. The problems seem to arise when there is a "malfunction" or they simply were turned off or not utilized. Keep in mind that prisons are microcosms of the free world. What is dysfunctional in here is likely to be dysfunctional out there on a much larger scale. And what works in here will likely work out there on a much larger scale. What the courts allow correctional officials to do in prisons will be allowed the police offers in the free world only much worse and on a larger scale. This is why the community must be careful in what laws they allow politicians to pass in the name of safety and security. IT WILL BE ABUSED! Think of Dick Chaney's recent comments.

Not only must I teach my sons how to interact with the police officer [when] they get stopped but I must also teach them how to interact with the correctional officer should they end up in jail or prison. If society can't fix the prison system it certainly won't be able to fix what goes on in our communities involving interactions with the police.

Are police officers so afraid of black men that they kill our children playing with toy guns? I believe that in most cases the answer is yes. After all, don't white children play with toy guns? Why am I not hearing about them being shot by the police? Do white children invoke the same fear as black children? I believe the answer to be no. You can believe that correction officers have the same fear of us. In many cases here in Connecticut the only thing that white C/O's know about black people is what they see on TV. And what they see on TV is generally biased. Then add to that the prejudices that they are taught coming through the academy. It isn't until their 3rd or 4th year working among the prison population that they learn that we aren't what they were taught that we were.

Rich.

P.S. Mrs. Polk, I've finished that chapter and am trying to get a copy made. Unless you instruct otherwise I'll send a copy to your P.O. Box.