Simple Way to Reach Out

Largest prison population in the world, coronavirus and fear

Forty years ago, three different people at separate times suggested that I should work with prison inmates. I looked into it. I had no idea what to do, but I started. I followed my intuition each step of the way. Pretty soon, a letter-writing program called Circle of Love Inside emerged. It had volunteers around the world and inmates in 22 U.S. states.

This prison ministry began just as the madness of mass incarceration ramped up. The U.S.now has the largest number of people in prison of any country in the world. Russia is Number 2, and China, Number 3. When I started the prison ministry, inmates could afford the postage to Canada, Europe, and Asia. They had pen pals around the world. Now that is no longer possible. Inmates need to buy their hygiene items and, due to poor food or inadequate quantities, they buy food too. There’s no money left for more expensive postage to places outside the U.S.

And now the coronavirus

In another story, I turned COVID-19 into the fictional character of Goddess Covida. It is as though an actual terrifying goddess had visited prison facilities and changed everything, just as she has done in the world outside the walls. Can’t you imagine it?

A word leader like a governor would visit with a security detail, a group of very attentive men and women who would watch out for the governor’s physical safety. On her visit, fictional Goddess Covida, like an inverse security force, wipes out the staff and corrections officers on her way to the inmates. It’s a horror story.

The overcrowding in our nation’s prisons makes the spread of this disease among inmates likely. Low-security inmates move into places on the grounds not usually used for housing. Reducing the prison population by early release has been implemented in some states.

This next report hurts my heart. I write to a 68-year old Michigan state inmate who has served over 40 years in prison. The situation of William Garrison is so similar. On April 19, 2020, Michigan Department of Corrections reported the death by COVID 19 of inmate William Garrison at age 60. He had served decades in prison for a shooting death during a robbery when he was 16 years old. He did not seem to be ill but died weeks before his release.

What’s it like in prisons right now?

Everybody is scared. Corrections officers and staff are fearful. So are inmates, friends, and family outside. The stress-relieving gift of a prison visit from a loved one is not allowed now in most states. The purpose is to prevent visitors from bringing the disease into the prison or carrying it back out into the community.

Some facilities are locked down. Inmates stay in their cells, on top of each other, 22 hours a day. Nobody goes to the yard for exercise or to the dining room. Meager meals come on trays

Stay-at-home, lockdown, grief — letters are what’s left

We, free people, stay home, as requested or ordered. Inmates are on lockdown.

At home, I think of something to do. I remind myself that the theater, cafe, restaurant, church, or store is not open now. When I go out, I walk or drive past empty storefronts; some boarded up. The culture I knew has died. For another few moments, I grieve for it and wonder what’s next. The shells of businesses still stand. Only banks, food stores, drugstores, health care facilities, and post offices remain active. Nobody knows what’s next.

After someone dies, I think of something to share with them and then remember. They died. For a few moments, I grieve again for them. That is what this time feels like to me.

One thing I can do is write letters to the inmates. Some have email through JPAY, ConnectNetwork, or CorrLinks. In whatever way, I can reach out and let them know I have not forgotten them. Once again, a simple letter or a message changes everything.

To read more by Aikya Param, click here.