Of course Just a Guy is disgusted, the state has him locked up. How much longer wil you give voice to this guy? He isn't saying anything that we don't already know about prison... Prison sucks!!! Newsflash, when you do get out, don't go back. The one thing he is wrong on is that he thinks it's a crock that Correctional Officers walk the Toughest Beat in the State.I am sure he won't write about how many times they may have come to his aid when he was facing some discipline by other pissed off inmates. Just a guy, go back to writing poetry and love letters for the homies... The ones that always start the same way;
"I hope these few lines find you in the best of care... As for me, I am still locked up but my spirits are high."

A good, thoughtful article.

BergeinCali "Correctional Officers walk the toughest beat in the state" that is pure BS. Try getting a job as a real peace officer and then come back and spew that crap. Real cops don't know who they are encountering when they make a car stop, or when they respond to a simple disturbing the peace call. The people they encounter frequently have guns and many don't hesitate to use them. At least the population you work around has been 'classified' you have some idea of what their potential for violence is. You don't even have full police powers, you have a big 832PC certificate, just like reserve cops get, you can't lateral into a regular police department or CHP which is probably why many of you are so resentful toward 'real' law enforcement officers. Some correctional officers do face danger,and those that work in lvl 3 and 4 yards are usually pretty decent guys and gals and don't spend their time acting like thugs & talking tough like a lot of the 'correctional officers' who work in soft yards do.

Hey just a guy, CDCR does one thing very well; It keeps you,and other criminals, locked up. Thats our number one mission, period. Other than the few bleeding hearts that lurk on these boards the majority of the public doesnt give a damn about you or the other prisoners. They would just as soon see you hung in the town square. Its funny how once you went to prison you became such a great citizen who is so insightful to comment on the state of the nation. Where were you when you were free? Get real, stop looking for sympathy and do your time.

Actually, Captain Reality, if you truly work in corrections then I think you know that Just A Guy has been making a very valid point: Most inmates will at some point be released. If you treat them badly, give them no training or rehabilitation and don't give a damn about them, then when they get out (not IF, WHEN), they will return to our cities and towns as bitter, hardened criminals likely to re-offend. California has a terrible recidivism problem -- and it exists to a great extent because people DON'T give a damn what happens behind bars.

We give a voice to Just A Guy because he's telling a tale that the public needs to hear. Billions of our taxpayer dollars are spent behind bars, and very few of us know where that money is going.

I received this response from Just A Guy:

Captain Reality and BergeinCali,

You obviously have not read all of my past blogs, or you would know that I’ve tried to maintain as objective a demeanor as possible, considering my circumstances. You would also have noticed that I do not speak in derogatory tones about individuals or attack them personally, but try to write about the facts that I am exposed to 24/7.

I try not to exaggerate or lay blame when it isn’t due, as opposed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which report things in a manner self-serving for their interests, which are to maintain and increase California’s prison population, thus ensuring their “toughest beat” for the long term.

The irony is that many of you purport to support integrity – but you lie and don’t honor your word. Then you justify your dishonesty and lack of ethics by saying that we, the inmates, are all scum.

But when you devalue yourselves by lack of ethics, integrity and honesty, you make yourselves even worse. (It ain’t the inmates who are smuggling cell phones into prisons.)

And you have the audacity to judge me? You could not possibly handle, or even imagine, what I have gone through.

Yes, I’m scared a lot of the time for doing what is right, but I would rather live with the fear than look in the mirror and know I’m a coward. And you know, it’s amazing how much support I’ve received from my readers.

What a fascinating story I will have to tell when I’m released. It’s one I wish I didn’t have to write.

It's interesting how the prison industry people are automatically defensive if anyone if anyone points out the fact that they are self serving instead of serving the public. The lock that the prison has on our elected officials with campaign contributions is about as disgusting as things can get, almost as disgusting as the "public servants" who take the bribes. Yeah, it's an industry and at the level of these whining guards, it's a place where no talent, no skill, no education jerks make 6 times more than they're worth and pretend to be some kind of B movie hero. But here's the question, while you're shouting that all the people behind prison bars belong there... How do the drugs get into the prisons? No, don't try to blame it in visitors, visitors are nearly strip searched to gain entrance, especially females. Prison employees supply the drugs in prisons, which makes the prison staff exactly the same as 80% of the inmates. It's clear to anyone who cares to look that the prison system in the U.S. is a cash cow for a few at the expense of society. So quit blowing your own horn about "The toughest beat". People who do something worthwhile don't have to toot their own horn. Just suck on that tax payer money you do nothing to earn and hide behind your union and association, because it's clear you need the protection, you can't stand on your own merits.

To your credit, Just A Guy - whatever your personal prison experience may be, it seems that you are able to articulate that experience in a way that few who are locked up are able. What your posts have shown me is that you are attempting to put a face on your experience, you are attempting to humanize the prison experience and putting it out there for others. Much like former convict John Irwin, when he wrote "Prisons in Turmoil" around 1980, I believe. As you may know, John was a former inmate in California and did some years in Soledad. He was released and got a PHD in Sociology at Berekley, going on to teach Sociology and Criminolgy at San Francisco State for 27 years.
My hope for you is that you continue your work, whether behind prison walls or in the halls of Academia. Looking forward to future posts.

Just A Guy asked me to post these responses:

Richard, thanks for you supportive response, but let’s be clear about something: The majority of drugs come into CDCR via visiting and the visitors are not searched but are subject to being searched. That being said, the overwhelming majority of cell phones and other large contraband comes via correctional officers and staff.

The thing is, though, that CDCR cracks down more on cell phones than drugs -- and cell phones are not a crime and drugs are a felony!

Those at CDCR will deny it, but CDCR is losing money from the cell phones -- or at least GTL (the giant company that holds the lucrative contract for pay-phones in state prisons) is, and I believe that pressure is being focused on stopping the inflow of material that is causing millions in lost revenue to GTL and CDCR.

BergeinCal, thanks for you kind remarks. It made me feel good to be appreciated and be recognized for the fact that I really am trying to articulate our lives as inmates objectively and fairly. Of course, it’s tough being completely objective when you’re one of the people you’re writing about and so much nonsense goes on in here and you are victimized by the disinformation fed to the public that is lapped up as if by a thirsty sheet.

I really don’t dislike the staff or administration as people necessarily, but do dislike the institution of prison as a whole. Not so much because it’s prison and not supposed to be fun but because fun or not, it should be fair. (Now remember, my crime was possession, which REALLY is a victimless crime. And bottom line is: We as a people or society are a reflection of how we treat people and how we would like to be treated. So if we treat people as exceptions to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” you become as bad, or worse, than those you are mistreating or treating unfairly.

Actually, it's quite true that CDCR is very ineffective and a very troubled bureaucracy. The hardest part about working there is fighting every day to get the support and resources I need to do my job. Fear is paralyzing many, including the Assembly. Tim Redmond's observation is on target. The majority of inmates do get out on parole. If you treat them badly, give them no training, eduction, treatment or rehabilitation, we will be lucky if they only come out as bad as they went in. The usually come out worse. 21,000 inmates return to prison because of a new offense. But 70,000 are returned because of parole violations. I think this says something about the potential to easily reduce the rate of recidivism, if someone in a position of power will just make it happen. Other states are putting similar reforms into practice and seeing good results. It's not like California has to stick it's neck out. So what's stopping them besides the underlying belief that they are perfect and inmates deserve nothing. Believe me, the lines between "us" and "them" are a lot blurrier than you know.

Elaina Jannell, Ph.D.
AFSCME Local 2620