This is absolutely horrible!

The average person does not realize the extent to which COs, prison staff, and the entire prison system simply do not care about inmates. They see inmates as numbers and someone they just have to tolerate. I am sure many COs hate inmates.

Most prison staff do not go out of their way to hassle inmates, but they are never upset---not even a little---if one dies or is beaten up.

They do not see inmates AND their families as people, only as "things."

Once in a while a smidgen of humanity worms its way into the soul of a CO or a case manager, but most just do not care about the inmate's health, welfare, or chances of rehabilitation. The prison system as a whole is even worse in this regard.

When I was in prison, we did not have visits behind glass or video visits. All inmates could interact with their families, hug each other, and even hold hands with their girlfriends or wives. They even allowed an inmate to sit side by side like normal people and talk instead of making them sit across from each other at a table.

They had the hugging and kissing confined to the beginning of a visit and at the end of a visit, but generally, a visit was a time when a family and the inmate could be together once again----and feel like a family---if even only for a little while.

While prison was probably tougher back then as there was more violence in prison, some of the conditions today, such as those seen on the visiting room area, have regressed.

I suppose they want to save money as visitations are more expensive since there is always a security risk. Most COs hated to work the visiting room; they did not like to interact with the inmate's family, almost as if the moms, pops, wives, and children all had some type of communicable disease.

In short, they don't care. They don't care about your family, the inmate, whether an inmate succeeds as a person, or if he or she is rehabilitated.

You would think it would be in everyone's best interests to provide an atmosphere which promoted rehabilitation, but I will let you in on a secret. For all their bluster, very few in the prison system---the staff---give a damn about rehabilitation. No need to rehabilitate a number.

Most people have a difficult time understanding this as we all have some kindness toward others and cannot imagine an environment where anyone could be so uncaring toward another group of human beings.

The key to serving time is to stay out of everyone's way and avoid all the madness as much as possible. Serve your time and go home.

I know, it sounds cynical, but it is realistic and the truth.

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This would be a terrible thing if it happened here in my state. As I cherish the visits with my husband, we both look forward to them as they happen maybe 6 times a year depending on weather. Video visits are ok I guess if you can not go see your person in prison due to health issues or other reasons. But to do away with totally would be extremely bad.
I pray this would never happen here as I would have to fight it

Having "done time" in visiting myself I truly believe that prison staff just do some of this "stuff" so that there will be fewer family members to bother within visiting. Back in the day visiting (in Medium) was actually for us to visit and we actually had shot plastic 'danish modern' type ' couches" to sit together and visit. Visits were from as early as I could get there until time was called about 3:00 in the afternoon. We made it past the "metal detectors with our 2 rolls of quarters (in regulation clear plastic 'purses' ) so could feed ourselves (and our loved ones) from the junk machines. Then we actually walked around a little 'visitors' yard...and we could use the 'visitors' bathrooms without having to wait until the guards felt like allowing us the privilege..Sounds like some old lady 'visitors hallucination" today?

As I went back and then back to visit my guy (following a couple of non-conviction revocations) I watched things change. My friends visiting Max had always had to sit across wide tables and barely touch hands (no junk machines for you stupid-people-you visiting a-Bad-guy, in those days there wasn't even prejudice against sex-offender-wives like now imagine!)

But when I went back even Medium was always across a wide table (we could still contribute to the prison guard's New Years party by buying stuff out of the junk machines in Medium...graft, greed and stupidity never change do they?) The last time I visited...there was almost nobody in visiting and I watched a very elderly lady who was still visiting her (now aged) son be left to wait so long before a guard allowed her the "privilege" of using the restroom...that she embarrassed herself and sat in a hard back upright chair in a puddle of her own pee...Now who do you think should have been ashamed of that? The guards just came out with a mp and made her son clean up)

When I read on Daily Strength about family members who drive 500 miles in hopes of a 'contact' visit and might find themselves visiting through Plexiglas? I think it's time for us all of "with" experience" to reach out and support anyone who is forced to 'visit through glass" for the convenience of guards who don't like to be bothered with us ....or worse yet (as REW says) guards who con't be bother with prisoners except maybe to pass rules to prison worse and make their own work life easier and of course fatten their paychecks and retirement accounts...Sorry but I am still mad about what happened to embarrass that elderly lady 'visitor" the last time I visited....

But now, the crazy-long sentences handed out to every sex offender...it just makes me snarky and sarcastic and ....You know, with my attitude if I ever have drive 500 miles to sit on a chair and visit my guy by phone through a Plexiglas window (and please god he won't get revoked on some other chicken sh*** thing not in my life-time!) Well,just saying...I think I might have to be like that elderly lady who couldn't help but pee on the floor when my through Plexiglas phone-visit was over...Just saying...Let the guards mop up their own mess.
Hope I haven't offended anyone here but....just saying sometimes it's hard to laugh instead of cry...and when I see what's happening...

I guess where i visit is still decent. We sit in chairs side by side with a small table between you. We csn get food from the vending machine. Just about anything I've gotten out of them has been good. We can go to the restroom at our leisure, we just get up and leave the room and go to the restroom. The guys of course is different. My guy doesn't go during our visit. All of the guards I've dealt with have been decent to us. I treat them nicely, say hi, thank you, good bye, just short sweet snd nothing more.
I believe they just redid the visiting area as they had visitation shut down. I will find out when i go down Wednesday for a visit.

There is one prison in CA where the inmates and family members cannot have ANY personal contact. They have to sit across one another and not next to each other. It's a difficult place to be if you have family that visits you.

No rhyme or reason to this rule, they just want to make life difficult for the inmates and the families. We have heard this same thing from multiple people who have had loved ones incarcerated at Jamestown.

When my husband first went in he was in the county jail waiting for transfer into the federal system. At county it was all video visitation, no actual interaction and it was 45 min visitations 3 times a week per inmate but you could schedule your visit (you have to schedule the visit, you can't show up) most times. Now that he is in Federal in Miami I get to hug and kiss him at entry and exit and sit next to him. We have vending machines to eat and drink from. It's not so bad. I am just thrilled I get to hug and kiss him and talk to him. His visits vary from 1-4hrs depending on the day of the week and are 4 days a week. He can have as many visits as he wants but It's kinda far from me though so I only go visit every 3-6 weeks depending on my work schedule. All his visits are at specific times in the evenings but you just show up and go through security to get in. 114 days to go.

When my son was in county they gave you a time and day each week for your visitation based on the cell block the inmate was housed in. The first time I went to visit him the room was packed and the guards were incredibly rude and nasty. A young foreign couple came in and were obviously extremely poor. The guards immediately started to harass them. Telling them they were dressed inappropriately, etc. speaking as loudly as possible so everyone in the room could hear. The couple didn't understand English well and you could see they were very confused. They ended up leaving. We waited for another 45 minutes past the visitation time we were told and another officer came out and started yelling at all of us to shut up. He was screaming that we were to loud and we needed to be quiet or they were going to send all of us home. Another 10 or 15 minutes past and they came back out and told everyone that if they were there to visit cell block C that the visit was cancelled and they needed to exit the building immediately. I couldn't believe it. At that point I had to go outside and scream and cry as loud as I could. Some of those people had driven hours to see their loved ones and then were told to leave. When I was finally allowed back to see my son it was behind plexi glass and we spoke by phone. Horrible. Horrifying. Awful. The CO's constantly walked back and forth behind the inmates while we were on the phone. Every time one of the CO's came by my son he would freeze and almost cry. I knew what that meant. Then he was transferred to state prison. Visits there are in one big room. There are three chairs situated around a small wooden table. You are allowed to hug when they first enter the room and when the visit it over. We can buy them food from the vending machines that sometimes work and sometimes don't. We are not allowed to share food with our loved one. We are not allowed restroom breaks. If you leave the room your visit is over. I try to get there just before lunch so I can make if 4 hours without a restroom break. We are treated like trash the entire time we are there. I despise everything about our justice system. I know there are those that need to be detained. That are truly a danger but my son is not one of those people. Most of the guys he is incarcerated with are not. It's such a broken system. My heart breaks every day. If they go to video visits that are always riddled with technical issues I will picket. I will stand in front of that prison until I die of starvation. I hate the system. End Rant.

anotherbrok: One thing I forgot to mention in my own (quite angry) "Rant": Through Plexiglas Visits are ALL recorded phone calls and are NOT private at all. In NV there are not even private attorney client through Plexiglas phone calls/ visits/ or mail as was made clear in the March 16th NV-Cure information bulletin newsletter (sent by Cure NV to families and to prisoners who subscribe)

There are several such state news letters sent out to prisoners and to families by various organizations that are really helpful for on-going information about visits and visiting and phone calls. In Oregon Partnership for safety and Justice sends a newsletter inside to prisoners and also so to families...probably many on Daily Strength know of helpful news letters in their state or even ones from Fed prisons or maybe even from Civil commitment facilities?
Many of us would appreciate hearing about those news letters also Take care. Janet Mackie

Omg , my son is in fed prison , long story , but we are 500 miles away and visit him 2 a year , we can see him and give hugs so far , the guards look and treat us like we are the worse parents . Are our tax dollars paying for these prisons ? I wonder what these guards are like at home , is there anything we can do , in truth I'm so afraid to write or complain and put my name on anything ,afraid it will come back on our son , and he will be treated badly , he needs rehabilitation badly ,now that I understand addiction , but I'm afraid he will never get it This only puts another break in my heart ,

The manner in which the COs treat the families of inmates is really shocking. Some of them have nothing but contempt for the families. I made it a point to never talk to COs. but I hear them talking among themselves a few times.

Many COs hate their job and they really hate working the visiting room, so they take their anger out on the visitors. It is especially sad since the family only wants to see their loved one. Most of them probably treat many of their family members at home much like they do inmates' families.

Many COs are just low class, uneducated people, working for peanuts. They probably hate themselves as much as they hate everyone else.

Some are criminals and no better than the inmates. I even knew one that was a murderer; he dressed up in some kind of uniform and murdered two people for no reason at a state park close to one of the prisons I was at. He is now on death row somewhere.

He was known as "Crazy Ed" by the inmates.

http://tinyurl.com/pept6hh

" Charles and Shirley Chick, Hurst, Texas, were each shot in the head several times with a .22-caliber rifle in what court documents describe as a sniper attack at the Winding Stair Campground in Le Flore County around July 10. The couple apparently didn't know Fields.

Investigators think Fields, who had been living in the forest, wore a camouflage outfit covered with burlap strips to sneak up on the Chicks."

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