The lesser of two hells

Kali Yuga Vikalpa A Vikalpa 1 The Lesser of Two Hells Clinton Correctional Facility and Sing Sing Correctional Facility are two maximum- security prisons within the New York State prison system. A stay in either prison would result in trauma, torture, and possibly death. Nevertheless, the opportunities for rehabilitation are greater at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Both Clinton C. F. and Sing Sing C. F. are set in vastly different geographic locations, differing in topography & climate, race & culture of employees, and in the availability of educational & rehabilitative prisoner programming. Clinton Correctional Facility is located in the northernmost county of New York State, Clinton County. The prison is set on top of a high mountain in the northern Adirondacks. The winter months are brutally cold. February is the worst, with daylight temperatures dipping past 20-degrees below zero; the evening temperature will bottom out around 40-degrees below zero. Water will freeze instantly. Your breath will cause your face to ice over and your eyelids will try to freeze shut with each blink. Frostbite can occur within seconds. It is not uncommon to find seven-foot snowdrifts in the yard that accumulated overnight. A prisoner is forced to go outside lest he forfeits his use of the phone and exercise equipment. Winter seems never—ending in this mini Siberian wasteland. When summer finally does arrive, it only lasts about six to eight weeks and the temperature never exceeds the mid-80s., 350 miles south of that frozen hell is Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Sing Sing is located in Westchester County, an hour train ride from New York City. The prison is set within a blasted out valley, along side the Hudson River. The climate is mostly temperate, with mild winters, warm springs, and beautiful autumns. However, the summer months are brutally hot and humid. July and August are the worst, with 90 to 100% humidity and a feels-like temperature of 95- Vikalpa 2 degrees plus. It becomes hard to breath and your body will perspire profusely. Between 1:00 and 4:00pm, the sun will sear your flesh within minutes. During these brutally hot months, it becomes an issue to maintain proper hygiene as prisoners are only afforded three showers a week. The race and culture of employees at Clinton Correctional Facility are that of hateful, racist, incestuous, white hillbillies. The officers pride themselves on committing abuses against prisoners. They love referring to prisoners as “niggers, spics, monkeys, kikes,” and “filthy animals”. They spread rumors about prisoners within the population, betting on the outcome of the resulting violence. They hire indigent and mentally disabled prisoners to assault other specific prisoners. They handcuff prisoners and throw them down flights of stairs. They isolate and gang assault prisoners, beating them to near death; on occasion, they kill prisoners. Worst of all is that they get away with all their abuses because they live in such a small, close knit, incestuous community where everyone covers for one "another, Dannemora, New York. Whereas the culture in Clinton Correction Facility is that of deliberate abuse and evil perpetrated by white hillbillies, the culture in Sing Sing Correctional Facility is that of outright laziness and incompetence on behalf of mostly black and Hispanic simpletons. The officers have no willingness to perform the functions of their job description. They just hangout on the gallery, laughing, smoking, and dancing to the hip-hop beats blaring out of a radio they stole from a prisoner. When they do finally getoff their lazy asses, they enjoy stealing tobacco and commissary purchased snacks from prisoners. They love to hassle and mock Visiting family members, denying visits and destroying family ties. Most of all they love hassling prisoners and denying prisoners their rights & access to necessities such as showers and out of cell recreation. Vikalpa 3 As for the availability of educational & rehabilitative prisoner programming, both prisons have the farcical & pantomimic State mandated Aggression Replacement Training, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Training programs. However, Clinton only has those programs and nothing more, other than the opportunity to work in the sweatshop making clothing for slave wages. Sing Sing at least has a much greater Variety of educational and rehabilitativeprograms. At Sing Sing, prisoners can participate in Pre-college, post-secondary studies in Ministry and Human Services, Bachelors and Masters college programs, second language courses, Drama, Theater, and Art programs. Select prisoners can also participate in the Youth Assistance Program, and other community outreach programs targeting at risk youth. All prisons in the United States are terrible places to be incarcerated; Clinton C. F. and Sing Sing C. F. are no exception. Not all employees are cruel and incompetent. Unfortunately, the majority of them are just as described. The best thing you can do is stay out of prison. However, if you must stay in either Clinton C. F. of Sing Sing C. F., you will have greater opportunities for education and rehabilitation in Sing Sing, the lesser of two hells.