Next time on...

BIG CAT Prison:

Trigger Warning

The subject of violence against inmates by prison staff is briefly mentioned in this post.
There are details discussed and descriptive language used.

Hi, everybody! :D

While talking with a friend just before our after-breakfast count time here, my brain did a substitution of domestic felines in the place of humans here in Blessington÷, and I could not help but start laughing.

I start describing the shenanigans to my friend, amidst peals of laughter, and he contributes to my mental image by adding lions, pumas, tigers, and other large felines. We spent a good several minutes tossing around feline behaviors, and how the COs would possibly act in these scenarios.

It started off with needing to herd ninety-six domesticated cats back into the cells here, two per cell:

Okay, one goes to the door, stands there undecided. The CO nudges the cat gently with their foot to encourage them to go in. The other cat, impatient, hops over the first cat to go in. This startles the first cat, and he bolts away. Now the CO has to herd him back to his cell door, and try to get him in while keeping the other in the cell.
Repeat this 47 times in this quadrant. ... then 48 times in each of the other three quads.
They would need to be professional cat herders.

Of course, it bears mentioning the cells here in our facility have heavy steel doors that swing, not slide into place. COs here would have to come and let the cats out after count, individually. Cats would hate it here, because it's so hard to get out to the scratching posts after count clears.

Also, because it is not a mixed gender facility, all the toms languish together in cells, lamenting that they weren't picked to go down to Deli dorm, where it's an open floor layout, with a lot of high places and few doors to catch tails. I imagined a count-time conversation between two toms:

"Ugh, I hate being in Eel dorm, Muffinbutt."
"You know, Albacore dorm isn't any better, though -- it's where they keep all the rough toms. You trying to go there?"
"No. Everyone says Deli dorm is the best."
"Nyaaah. It's nice to have the space, but the place is a circus. Catnip and nipheads freakin' everywhere, and alleycats fighting over the dregs of it at all times of night and day. How ya gonna nap through that, Sprinkles?"
"But-"
"C'mere, kitten. Look out this window. We have the real high places up here, and we get fed nicer. See that building? That's Deli dorm. We can see its top. We have higher high places than THEY do AND more of them. Nyahaha~"

I'm still laughing at this, don't mind me. :')

When my friend introduced big cats in single-cell confinement, he then pointed out that the officers would be afraid to feed them.

"Nah, that's what flaps are for. Big enough for a steak or a paw, but way too small for a lion's head. That's how I got fed in county, so I'm an expert on that," I tell him.

But it takes me into a more serious tone:
At no point in our imaginings were the cats, small or big, ever abused or attacked by the officers. Heck, a puma got a release from 'here' with a stern, but friendly warning: "Now you be good out there and don't come back in here, okay?"

Rowrrrrr.
"Take care!"

While this facility doesn't seem to do it very often, those of us with State-based trauma worry a lot about being pepper sprayed, or sprayed with a can of what we call "Black Jesus", which is worse than pepper spray. It is not unheard of for COs to physically beat inmates into submission in State-run facilities; I wish it were hearsay to say this, but watching it in person makes it horrifying.

This is why there's a big cry for body cameras for staff, though I will bluntly point out that the very few COs I did see in State with body cameras had a nasty habit of resting their palm right over the camera to block it. Cameras, yes, but a penalty or sanction for officers who intentionally defeat the recording device's functionality would be appropriate. After all, we are penalized for damaging or baffling a recording device -- officers are no better. :')

Maybe that would be a great use of AI: teach it to recognize points in the bodycam recordings that suggest the camera is blocked, flag that time point for human review through an independent organization, with a person or people watching the video to figure out what led to that blockage.
It's one thing for the officer to go to the loo and block their camera -- that's fair enough. Walking through the dorm and interacting with people? Keep that camera's eye open.

We do not have anyone we can go to, to mitigate staff abuse. You don't stand for that with your elders in care facilities; what about the elders who live here in prison?

Something to chew on.

So, as we count once more, let's spread the word about prisoners who wish to do good for themselves.
People who are exposed to education in a positive manner are less likely to fail and return to prison once they've completed their sentence.
People who read and exercise their minds are less likely to fail and return to prison once they've completed their sentence.

We should put people first in the sentence when we talk about prison and prisoners, discuss what good we can do with and for them while they serve their time .

Let's go for positivity. 👍🏾

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÷ Facility name disguised to protect Jayel's identity.