Prison Lawyers II Portrait of a Californian Prison

Folsom, a state prison in California, is a historic prison. In fact, it is two prisons. One is a modern high-security prison. The other is the old-fashioned traditional prison which would look familiar to many people who have seen American prison films. Outside the prison wall at Folsom is an art and craft shop where tourists can buy objects made by prisoners, such as two-inch-square pink-painted model cells containing a small pebble with ‘Jailhouse Rock’ painted in small letters above the cell bars. Near the shop is the ‘picture point’ where tourists can stand and be photographed against the backdrop of the grey granite walls and watchtowers of old Folsom.

In May 1993 there were 3400 prisoners held at Folsom. It had originally been built for half that number and so was very overcrowded. About 30 per cent of the prisoners were black, 30 per cent Hispanic, 30 per cent white and 10 per cent of other backgrounds.

Three levels of security are available at the prison. The high-security prisoners are held right in the middle of the prison. They live in the inner section consisting of a large yard surrounded by cell blocks. The cell blocks constitute the outer wall for the high-security prisoners. They are not allowed beyond it. Medium-security prisoners are allowed to go outside the cell blocks where there are exercise yards and training centers. Minimum-security prisoners are allowed even further. They can go outside the outer wall to maintain the grounds.

The living quarters are very traditional. The prisoners live in cells rather than in dormitories. The cells are quite small, about half the size of a cell in a nineteenth-century British prison. All the cells have two bunks, a very small washbasin, a lavatory and a shelf on which many prisoners put their television sets. With two large men inside it the cell seems overpoweringly full, almost as if the men have had to be squeezed in. The doors are the characteristic American open-barred type so the occupants have absolutely no privacy. The whole cell, including the lavatory, is visible to any passer-by.

The cell blocks are five tiers high and on the level of the fourth tier are long walkways, high above the ground on the wall facing the cell block. Here stand the ‘gunpeople’, both men and women, heavily armed and patrolling up and down the ‘gunwalk’, as the walkway is called. One of the cell blocks is differently designed with cells both sides, so the gunpeople have to stand at the far end, from where it is apparently very difficult to shoot because of the long distance. California is one of only eight US states where prison staff carry arms inside the prison.

Meals are taken in a large dining-room. The dining-room is furnished with fixed steel furniture, each table having four stools. The food is served through hatches in a way which makes it impossible for the prisoner serving the food to know which prisoner is going to receive it. The prisoners get a substantial cooked breakfast. Their lunch is a ‘sack’, or packed lunch, and they eat a hot dinner, the last meal of the day, from 4 p.m. onwards.

The dining-room also has gunpeople high above the room on walkways. The dining-room ceiling is riddled with bullet holes. Apparently there had been a time when every week saw seven or eight shootings in the dining-room. The decision to shoot belongs to the gunperson. It is based on an assessment as to whether what is happening below in the dining-room is likely to result in death or serious injury. If it looks, for example, as if a prisoner is going to stab another, the gunperson can shoot. Often gunpeople fire warning shots into the ceiling to calm everyone down.

The arrangements for prisoners to have visits from their families and friends are impressive at Folsom. Visiting terms are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week and prisoners can have visits for the whole of that time provided the visiting area is not too crowded. One evening a week visitors are allowed up to 7 p.m. for people who cannot visit during the day. The visiting area is an enormous converted assembly hall which retains the rows of seats. Outside is an additional area, covered but with the sides open to the sun and the sky. There is a cafeteria providing refreshments.

There are also facilities for weekend visits. Top-security prisoners can have family visits for up to seventy-two hours as often as every six weeks in a three-room apartment with kitchen and bathroom within the prison itself. Lower-security prisoners can meet their families in a three-roomed Portakabin which is equipped for family living.

The old death row area where prisoners used to be held before execution consists of cells with no water or electricity and which, in contrast to the rest of the prison, have very solid doors. In the same area as these cells was the equipment for the hangings. As prisoners got nearer their turn to be hanged they would be moved along the cells, gradually getting nearer to the gallows. The block has now been converted to a music practice room. Instead of a gallows it houses a large set of drums and the door has been insulated with an old mattress to deaden the noise of the drumming.

The warden (prison governor) at Folsom is a woman. By Western standards the level of staffing is not high. On a wing of 600 prisoners there would be about seven staff. Four of these would be working with the prisoners, locking, unlocking and organizing. The other three would be on walkways with guns.

Many of the changes brought about in Folsom have been instituted as a result of court action. All the arrangements for putting prisoners in segregation were declared illegal by the courts and new facilities for segregation had to be built at the new prison. In May 1993 there were apparently about 1300 lawsuits being brought by prisoners against the institution.

1. Read the text about a Californian prison and translate it. Choose the right variants:

1. Folsom is …

1. a federal prison in California

2. a state prison in Los Angeles

3. a state prison in California

2. Outside the prison wall you can see …

1. a large lake which separates the prison from the ocean …

2. a place where relatives can see prisoners.

3. an art and craft shop where tourists can buy objects made by prisoners.

3. In 1993 there were 3400 prisoners at Folsom. The prison was always …

1. very overcrowded

2. decent and popular

3. democratic

4. The three levels of security are available in prison. Minimum – security prisoners can …

1. live in the inner section

2. live in the cell blocks on the outer wall

3. go outside the outer wall to maintain the grounds

5. The living quarters of the prison are …

1. very traditional

2. quite outdated

3. insecure

6. The cells usually have …

1. a prison TV set

2. a washbasin, a lavatory and a shelf

3. much privacy

7. California is one of only eight US states where prison staff …

1. can use guard rooms

2. can physically punish prisoners

3. can carry arms inside the prison

8. Meals are served …

1. two times a day

2. three times a day

3. once a day

9. The gunperson can shoot …

1. if a prisoner is going to stab another

2. if there is a fight in the dining room

3. if there is much noise at dinner

10. Visiting times at Folsom are …

1. once a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

2. four days a week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

3. possible if the visiting area is not too crowded

11. There are also facilities for weekend visitors:

1. for lower-security prisoners two times a week

2. for top-security prisoners as often as every six weeks

3. for medium-security prisoners – once a month

12. Capital punishment at Folsom is performed …

1. in a cell

2. in the area with solid doors

3. in the cell with the equipment for hangings

13. The number of wardens in Folsom is …

1. very high

2. 40 people

3. only 7

14. Many of the change brought about have been instituted as a result of:

1. complaints from relatives

2. the prison governor’s efforts

3. court action

2. a) Give a brief description of the prison using the following words and expressions:

a modern high security prison, grey granite walls, watchtowers, to hold, security, available, cell blocks, exercise yard, training centers, living quarters two bunks, washbasin, open-barred types, no privacy, visible, gunpeople, to patrol up, prison staff, carry arms.

2. Give a brief description of the meals in prison.

3. Give a description how visits to the prison are arranged.

4. Give a description how executions in the prison are performed.

5. Give reasons for the impressive conditions at Folsom.