Transcript
Prisoner Unrepresentation By: Jaymes Hargrove- Beto Over the last several months there have been a lot of news headlines regarding the different steps taken by the government and local bureaucrats to combat the escalating numbers of Coronavirus cases. Within the Main Stream Media all groups and angles have been covered except one: The Prison Population. An iron curtain is still in place because prisoners are the dregs of the populace, unworthy or any attention. Who cares if they die? All they do is consume tax-payer dollars. Yet, like the completion of a giant jigsaw puzzle, it is necessary to understand what is taking place in our nations prisons to get an accurate view of the true cost of China’s ‘inadvertent’ allowance of a virus to spread to the world. Prison Legal News, published by HRDC (Human Rights Defense Center) paints a grim picture of this virulent virus that is guaranteed to infect over 90% of the incarcerated it comes into contact with. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, as inmates have no recourse other than to hunker down and pray it passes swiftly. You may not know it, but I am incarcerated at the George Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas, and I know first hand the devastating effects this virus brings with it. It never seems real until the body count includes people you knew personally, then it can turn ugly. They were James Matthews and Jeffrey Scott Davis, both at high risk. Have you ever considered what it’s like to sit imprisoned, completely unable to get through to check on your family? It’s very stressful, keeping many up at night, worried and thinking the worst. Every day is a fresh nightmare, especially when all one has time to do is think. New revelations are given on TV, radio, the Internet, but unless you go to prison websites, you will hear or read only the occasional snippet of information, often already outdated. Inmates are probably the most susceptible group in the United States. Most facilities lack even the basic amenities to clean, such as bleach; if they do have the items, they are only used sparingly. Everything an inmate does is in close quarters; we can’t Social Distance. Prisons are constantly behind the times and every effort not taken peremptorily is done cursorily in an attempt to appear vigilent while really not caring at all. While we prisoners will have to face this virus from the confines of a cell or communal living area, there are ways you, the reader, can help. If you happen to know anyone locked up or have someone in your immediate circle of family and friends, take the time to reach out and check on them. If you don’t know anyone, look someone up locally and reach out. You could be the difference between their despondency and contentment; a bad day or a good one. We are fellow human beings too. Just because we broke the law should we be consigned to a status that is less than human? We would do well to consider this question in light of current events.
