Editor’s note: This commentary is by Timothy R. Burgess, of Waterville, a former inmate of the Vermont Department of Corrections in a Corrections Corporation of America facility. He is a prisoner advocate and mediator.
I think it’s perplexing that the “dirty little secrets” of how the Vermont Department of Corrections operates are being seen, finally. The realities are that most people have not had a clear understanding, and/or have a lack of empathy, of how Vermont deals with the offender population, both inside and outside of facilities. My unique perspective comes from being a guest of the state. An inmate at three Vermont facilities and one for-profit prison, I can attest to the realities of the nonchalant attitudes of workers and administration in Vermont correctional systems.
To be clear, there are many, many very good people on the front lines in corrections. Many officers give more than 110% of their time and commitment to their jobs and should be recognized for putting up with the issues that occur daily. Many times those officers are in a difficult position of balancing their humanity with the mission of corrections for public safety, a line that is blurred by a lack of empathy that has become the norm in the prison culture with the judiciary, and members of Vermont communities today.
Some history that we should not forget. Penitentiary comes from the Latin word paenitentia meaning “repentance.” A penitentiary is a place you are sent to make repentance for a crime committed. It has rarely been used in that context. The United States makes it a place for the “bad people” to go and be corrected. My experience is, and was, that the model of public safety has become a dysfunctional system of browbeating, shaming, abuse, and in many cases, once a person is labeled as a convict, the community at large judges, with scorn, those who have served in the “corrections” system.
In the 1970s, the 1980s, and many years in the 1990s the Vermont Department of Corrections trusted those convicted of the most serious charges. That notion seems to be lost to history. Trust and encouragement to rehabilitate and re-enter our towns was the way it was. And while there are still pieces of that today, there is certainly a culture among some staff, many administrators, the judiciary, and legislative branches of government to lock ‘em and throw away the key. More often than not with very little regard to the welfare of those in custody, their families and support networks.
Where we are today is very opposite of rehabilitation, and does not provide for successful re-entry into our state. When staff members ignore the pleas of inmates, and those under supervision, when state leaders are in the mindset that inmates are inherently bad and there are no redeeming qualities in people, it is easier for those overseeing the offenders to act in a manner of covering up issues, sexual harassment, bullying and dismissive attitudes. When Vermont separates families by shipping inmates more than 1,400 miles from their loved ones and support networks, it creates a culture of mistrust and provides little hope for Vermont families and the inmates. That atmosphere leads to more criminal behavior, depression, and a fracture that allows for more struggle between inmates and staff.
The answer is not one that can be resolved by appointing people from the “public safety” field to run corrections. It is by looking at leaders, like Con Hogan, John Gorczyk, Robert Lucenti and others that we can see what works, and what doesn’t. What is happening in corrections today is a shame, and people would be better off if empathy and compassion were the rules of the day, not creating a culture of secrets, lies, abuse and separating families.
