 |
|
|
|
|
|
Guards called it the Jesus Christ. The prisoner was hung like a hammock, tied with shackles, chains, a bed sheet. To protect the prisoner's head from injury, and to deprive the senses, guards used an Orangeman football helmet. No, not Abu Ghraib. About two hundred miles north of the city, in Syracuse. This disturbing story, featured by '60 Minutes' in 1994, was just one of many Kathleen Rumpf shared with nearly twenty attendees at her talk this Friday evening at Binghamton University. Titled "Sick on the Inside: America's Abu Ghraib," Rumpf's talk detailed the inordinate incidents of prison abuse she's documented in Syracuse and elsewhere. Not a stranger to prisons, Rumpf has compiled an extensive rap sheet with her repeated acts of civil disobedience. Though she's been arrested over one hundred times as a peace and prison reform activist, Rumpf told the small crowd, "that's not nearly enough," given the horrible injustices that persist across this country. For eighteen years, Rumpf has been a prison reform advocate in the Syracuse area. When she was released in 1986 after a two-year stint, she turned to Catholic Worker for help to start a jail ministry. The Catholic Worker was founded in 1933 by Dorothy Day during the Great Depression, and its work derives from the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Visiting the imprisoned is just one of the seven corporal works of mercy, and Rumpf's work has been tireless and inspirational. Which it must be, given that conduct in US prisons is, in Rumpf's apt words, "calculated indifference to life." She spoke honestly about the despair and trauma her many years of advocacy and incarceration have caused, saying courageously "those are consequences I can live with." She reminded the crowd often, "It's the hardest thing you could ever do." The brutal 'Jesus Christ' torture being just the tip of the iceberg, Rumpf recounted numerous institutional abuses, and linked it to the deplorable Abu Ghraib crimes by explaining, "Torture doesn't just happen. It evolves, and Abu Ghraib came right out of our culture." Certainly, the statistics seem to buttress her claim. In 1998 the US surpassed the former Soviet Union and earned the unenvious distinction of world's greatest jailer, with an incarceration rate of approximately 690 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. If one includes city and county inmates to state and federal totals, the prison population has gone from 200,000 in 1970 to approximately 2 million in 2000. The prison boom is largely due to draconian drug laws, but also incentivized by the privatization of the prison industry. According to the bureau of justice statistics, the number of persons incarcerated in prison for drug offenses increased 1195% from 1980 to 2001. And as Rumpf points out, "It's all about money." The county jail of Syracuse, she stated, can take in $35,000 a month by charging prisoners exorbitant and unfair phone fees. Worse, because substantial money can also be amassed by keeping medical costs low, Rumpf explained, "a lump in the breast is called a pulled muscle. They doctor the records more than they doctor the patients." Albany seems to think building expensive, state-of-the-art facilities might make all bad things go poof. Silly witchcraft, of course. The problem, Rumpf made clear, is the prison industry itself and the employees who, no matter how nice or decent, eventually harden to the prisoners, dehumanize the inmates, and commit acts of brutality and abuse that have become the norm. The abuse is institutionalized, in other words. Asked if better training or counseling services for the deputies and staff could ameliorate the problem, she said no, not really. Sooner or later, the job degrades both prisoner and guard, which ultimately invites the bigotry that no human being deserves. That race may effect brutal and sometimes fatal treatment seems without question. But often overlooked is the issue of mental illness. According to a 2003 Human Rights Watch report, one in six prisoners is mentally ill. "Prisons have become the nation's primary mental health facilities," states Jamie Fellner, Director of the U.S. Program of Human Rights Watch. "But for those with serious illnesses, prison can be the worst place to be." Which makes one wonder about the few bad apples excuse. Not isolated phenomena, Rumpf knows that both torture and abuse are endemic, culturally manifest, and institutionally reified in the guard-prisoner dynamic. Instructed by mercy and seeking justice, she strongly encourages others to take up locally the difficult but rewarding task of prison reform advocacy. "Start slow, step by step." And then, as an infectious smile parts her soft face, she adds, "And make friends." Tarik M. Abdelazim is a free-lance writer living in Binghamton. His work can be viewed at www.modocpress.com. To learn more of Kathleen Rumpf's incredible work, read here: www.populist.com/99.9.brink.html |
|
For the latest drug war news, visit our friends and allies below We are careful not to duplicate the efforts of other organizations, and as a grassroots coalition of prisoners and social reformers, our resources (time and money) are limited. The vast expertise and scope of the various drug reform organizations will enable you to stay informed on the ever-changing, many-faceted aspects of the movement. Our colleagues in reform also give the latest drug war news. Please check their websites often. |
|
|
 |
