Maximum Security

When you think of a maximum security prison, what do you think of? Think they are stuck in their cells with nothing but a bed, toilet and sink? No freedom to do anything? That is what I always thought until I went there!

Jesse is currently working (2 days a week) at the Green Bay Maximum Security Prison and they were giving tours on Saturday... we went to check it out. You ever have those feelings where you want to see it, but then again you really don't. That was how I felt about it, but my feeling of having to see won.

The building was this huge, old, creepy brick building. Oh, we went at night and it was dark. Even more creepy! We had to be stamped before we could enter with ink that you could only see under a black light. I was so afraid to cross my arms in fear that my stamp would rub off and they wouldn't let me out... but I am girl and they only allow males. Whew!

We saw the visitor center, where outside people come to see the prisoners. They told us about how the outsiders try to sneak items (mostly drugs) into the prison to the inmates. How the inmates have figured out that a certain shoe has a secret compartment in it if you peel back the sole of the shoe just a little bit.

The inmates can order things (clothing, etc) and have it shipped to the prison for them!! (Why!!? I thought this was max. security?!!) They do have to have a receipt from the store to prove that it came from a legitimate place and it doesn't have drugs hidden somewhere in the item.

Now, they are so over crowded that they have run out of cells so they just (in Lynn terms... not in official wording) set up a huge room with beds and they all stay in this huge gym size room... no metal bars to keep them in. They have about 30 other guys with them to talk to all day long. We didn't actually see this... we just seen pictures and we were told about it. Of course if one of them started acting up they would do something about it and probably send them to isolation (segregation as they call it). These guys are probably not so dangerous on the dangerous scale.

We see pictures of what a typical cell looks like. I am telling you they have more stuff shoved in their cell! They have TVs, and anything else that you can imagine. We also took a few of our friends with us on the tour and our friend Lacy said it best "It is like putting a child in time out, in their room. They have all their favorite toys to play with on their time out."

We took a walk over to the cells. We don't actually see the cells or any inmates (as Jesse would say, this is not a zoo where you can look at the people!). You can look down the hallway without actually seeing any inmates.... long hallway of bars on either side. While we were there they were handing out ice. Yeah, ice!!! Just ice!!! No water to go with the ice!! Odd!! I looked at our tour-guide (a guard) and said... they are giving them ice!? She kind of rolled her eyes and said, yes we have to give them ice once a day. What do they do with their ice? No idea... try to cool their tap water down... I don't know. Eat ice chips at night? Very odd. I was peaking down the hallway while another guard was handing out the ice and I would watch the inmate pass the guard a cup, the guard would fill it with ice and pass it back. To every inmate! There was even a 'station' where the guards were filling up bags with ice... were they going to give them to the inmates with a cup?? I don't know, but it was sure odd.

We moved onto another section of cells and over here they were a bit loud. Hooten and hollern about who knows what. (They must of either ate all their ice and now they are bored or they didn't get it yet.) Anyway, we are standing there and our guide is explaining something to us, but I am too preoccupied by an inmate who keeps sticking an item out of his cell (so I stopped listening to her). I had to tell her that someone was sticking things out of his cell... because it was bothering me. She said, that he was sticking out his fingernail clippers and using it as a mirror to see us. Ah, creepy!! (How many times do I say creepy in this post??) And why do they get fingernail clippers?? We can't take them on the plane but an inmate can have one? Hmmm.

We also saw the bath house... nothing special just like the showers in a locker room. The get 10 minutes to shower. She said they warn them when their time is getting close to up and if they don't have the soap out... too bad. Can you imagine? Oh heavens. I would have soap left in my hair every time!

We went to their school. They have a few class rooms where the inmates can sign up to get their g.e.d or whatever they would need school for. They also have a barber shop, masonry, and some other learning center where they can leave with some job skills so they could possible get a job when they leave. Seriously in the barber shop there were those heads of hair sitting around for them to practice on. I guess I never thought I would see that on my tour. Our guide said that no one usually takes these classes... maybe a couple out of a 1000.

We went over to Jesse's building where he works. Had to walk outside to get there, remember it is still dark out! Creepy!! You see a couple of other buildings along your way and then a huge fence running along the outside with the watchtower. Yup, there were people in the tower watching for someone to escape!

We didn't get to go to Jesse's floor where he works just the main level. So on the main level on both far ends they have what they call segregation! This means one inmate per cell, and they stay in there 23 out of 24 hours. They have a real small window to see and that is it. While we looked down that hallway (which was behind a closed and locked door) you could see one of the inmates peeking out his window.... I wouldn't look, I was a bit freaked out to see him looking back at me.

Our last stop was the cafeteria! Where they had some cookie bars and juice. Our guide was really pushing us to eat the bars and to have a snack. I grab one first and take a bite and Jesse says... The inmates make these bars? Ahhhh... what??! They did.

Now you all have toured the prison! Of course they had all kinds of guards everywhere and lots of locked doors. Honestly, it did not feel like a maximum security prison to me. I did not feel 100% safe... and I was (or at least that is what I was told). I am not sure how Jesse does this job, but he really enjoys it. He says, they are still human and they still deserve the help that I can provide them. You go Jesse!