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Weekly UpdatesThis is an interesting question and one that affects me personally. For the last 2 years, I have been a volunteer at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford, Pa., a maximum security prison, working with the lifers' organization. This unique group of men, 98% of whom are African American, has been sentenced to life without parole and has organized to help improve life in the prison as well as to try to find ways to help young people on the outside avoid a life of crime--particularly a life of incarceration.
I am a member of the lifers' executive committee, and I was encouraged to become involved by a criminology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. She goes there more frequently than I do because she has created a program called the Inside-Outside Prison Exchange Program. This program brings together lifers with Temple students who come to the prison and earn credit for learning in this unique classroom. The lifers also participate in a project called the Public Service Initiative, or PSI.
Since my involvement with these programs, I have discovered how special these men are. Two of the leaders, who have already been incarcerated for more than 30 years, have received a BA while in prison. In addition, I have been amazed by the good humor of these men. Their spirits are surprisingly high--at least during the meetings. Many have expressed remorse about the terrible acts they committed that landed them in jail.
They laugh, joke with, and appreciate one another, and are filled with a desire to do good in their community. Some of them work with others in the prison population, teaching them to read, instructing them on behavior when they are released, and trying to build a different community of men at reentry.
The superintendent has told me that he thinks his prison is safer, less violent, with fewer riots and killings than in other prisons because of the influence of the lifers. Robert Johnson, Ph.D., a professor in the department of justice, law, and society at American University in Washington, whose observations inspired this month's question, has offered data bearing out the superintendent's observations.
In testimony last year before the Maryland Death Penalty Study Commission, Dr. Johnson said a substantial body of research shows that lifers are less likely than the average inmate "to break prison rules, including prison rules prohibiting violence." That conclusion is based on studies examining more than 60,000 prisoners, more than 3,000 of whom were serving sentences of life without parole.
He also said lifers adjust well not because prison life is easy but because "self-interest moves them to make the most of a very difficult situation. "Prison is their involuntary home for life. They strive to make the most of the limited life that is available to them behind bars."
Observing their lives is sobering. They are totally controlled, and I think of what they were like as young men totally free. Even though their situation depresses me, it does not seem to depress them. But 1 have never questioned them about what they feel because I am there as a colleague rather than as a psychiatrist.
The loneliness that they must experience is probably salved by the companionship with members of the group. From time to time, I hear comments about family and regrets about not being able to help raise their own children.
One member of the group, a prolific poet, has shared much of his work with me. They are beautiful, and many of them are love poems. I asked him about the object of this love, and he sent me an autobiographical essay revealing the girl he loved and his first experience with loving a girl-woman. His poetry is quite good, and I have been trying to find him a publisher.
His story is even more remarkable because of the early traumas he experienced as a child. For example, at age 7, he heard his father beating up his mother and ran upstairs. As he entered the room, he heard his mother say, "I'm not going to take this anymore." Then she went to a window and jumped to her death.
The young boy saw it all. Unfortunately, neither his extraordinary intelligence nor his creativity were enough to help him avoid a life of crime. He dropped out of school and ultimately killed someone while a gang member. This culminated with a sentence of life in prison without parole.
This case illustrates many of the serious problems faced by children who experience serious abuse and/or trauma. A brutal father and a dead mother drove him to the gang. He dropped out of school without letting enough people know how smart he was. Truancy became a big part of his life, and a life of noncompliance has sadly been turned into a life of maximum compliance.
Dr. Johnson's quote refers to the experience of lifers as "repetitive, bleak, and lonely." I often say to people I could not last 37 minutes, let alone 37 years. Nevertheless, I am amazed every 2 weeks when I go to the prison at their gentleness with one another and with me--as well as their commitment to the mission of the PSI.
The upbeat presentation that many of them show during our meetings disappears whenever discussions come up about solitary confinement, or the "hole."
They are justifiably frightened to end up in there.
My poet wrote a poem called "The Hole," and some of his descriptions are haunting:
If you are doing work in prisons and find yourself interacting with a lifer, my first bit of advice is to discard all of your stereotypes about them, and all of your expectations of their anxiety and depression. Listen to them to discover their underlying feelings.
Some of these men feel that they were treated unfairly by the courts. Others have grievances with the prison or the guards, and others dwell on their families, whom they miss deeply.
One of my criminology colleagues told me that she came to visit on one occasion, and there were scores of women and children in the waiting areas, expecting to be processed to enter the prison. At one point, a guard came out and announced that a lock down was underway and that no visitors would be allowed. All of those families had to leave without seeing their loved ones.
We as psychiatrists see incidents causing such profound disappointment as cruel and thoughtless. But for the prisoners, this was just another example of rules and regulations that must leave them with a sense of resignation each day.
As we work with people who are in prison, we must learn the details of their lives and use them to diagnose what disturbs them most. I get a great deal of respect from these men, but I'm afraid that I get little insight into their psyches. That could be because I'm white and, as I have said, most of these men are black. Their trust must be earned, and earning it might prove difficult. But nothing is more important if we want to help the person gain coping skills and resiliency--considering that they are never going to get out.
It is important for those with a talent for say, writing poetry or creating art, to practice it. There can be a great deal of relief for a man if he can get his personal joy through his own talent. Most prisons provide opportunities for men and women to earn GEDs or some higher education, and that should be explained to the person. The capacity to cope is critical, and a psychiatrist can work with the prisoner to fulfill some of his or her goals. Another important approach is working through infantile traumas. Self-blame for childhood abuse is very common, and some work at reducing or eliminating the blame. Recognizing the inner rage at the parent who perpetrated the abuse is essential.
There are clearly directions that the psychiatrist working in the prison can take in working with the person who is serving a life sentence. Active drug abuse is alive and well inside the walls. Helping a man give up his substance might be tough, because the drug is affording him some emotional relief. But it is worth the effort.
Not every prison with lifers has the kind of leadership among the prisoners to create a lifers organization or a PSI. As I mentioned earlier, the Graterford institution has several gifted prisoners and a special superintendent who has afforded them opportunities to be creative and to help the prison. For example, many of the lifers at Graterford work with other men in the population (more than 4,000), by helping them learn to read.
Every effort must be made by prison authorities to encourage lifers to produce and to provide them with outlets that make life better behind the walls. As psychiatrists, we must remember that doing this work ultimately helps us better treat patients on the outside and enriches us on the inside.
Dr. FINK is a consultant and psychiatrist in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and professor of psychiatry at Temple University. He can be reached at cpnews@elsevier.com.
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