Letter from a prisoner - Separating fact from fiction

Picture taken from net images

In the digital age that we live in, it is almost impossible to not allow the messages that
we are exposed to, to impact on our understanding of any particular subject.
With regards to prison, this notion is exacerbated due to the (fortunate) fact that most people have never set foot in a prison.
Most of the questions that I am asked about prison life is indicative of the naivety of
society to prison happenings. The general perception of prison is derived from literature,
the media, movies and television series. Having read many books (fiction and non-fiction)
and watched my fair share of movies or series related to prison, I have realized that they
paint a very different picture to the reality behind the high walls and contribute to many misconceptions. The following are some of the common misconceptions and the actual realities:

 “Prison is dangerous”
Yes; prison contains the scum of society, those who have perpetrated the heinous crimes
that make you cringe when you hear about them, but within the confines of prison there is
relative safety. Being intimidated on a daily basis, having to watch your back at all times,
avoiding certain individuals, gangs, rape, shanks and the like are nice embellishments to any
script but they are not what a prisoner must endure. In all my years in prison, I have never
once been the victim of any such activity. Fights, some with improvised weapons, do occur
but with no more frequency than I had experienced at a prestigious all boys school. Rape is
almost unheard of. Gangsterism exists but not to the extent that it occurs in some societies
in the real world, it is merely an extension of what men were already involved in before their
incarceration. The scope of gang activity in prison is largely limited to drugs, with violence a
rarity. In many ways, I am probably safer in here than the average South African.

 “Contraband is difficult to obtain”
Contraband, especially in the form of money, drugs and cellular phones, is extremely simple
to obtain. Almost all wardens are corrupt and will gladly bring in items for inmates. They
make very good money from smuggling contraband into the prisons and are brazen enough
to approach inmates to offer their services.

 “Spending the rest of one’s life in prison”
In some parts of the world, life in prison literally means life in prison but in South Africa
there is no such thing. Those sentenced to “life” are eligible for parole after serving 25 years
of their sentences but amendments are continually made and some sentenced to life have
been released after serving as little as 12 years.

 “Prison food is terrible”
We live in a world where everyone has rights and have the right to have their rights
protected. Prisoners are no exception! On the whole, prison food is decent. It is pretty much
like eating at a boarding school. Most ingredients are what is sold in retail stores and the
preparation is done in a rather professional manner. The menu has variety and all cultural,
religious and medical needs are catered for. Prison kitchens are regularly inspected by
independent bodies and inmates have many avenues to pursue if they have issues with
food. Eating rats, cats, pigeons, insects or even each other does not happen in South African
prisons; though it is not only a Hollywood idea as it actually happens in places such as
Zimbabwe.

 “Prisoners have to follow strict routines”
There is no routine to follow aside from being at one’s cell at the time of lock up. Whilst the
cells are unlocked, an inmate has the freedom to engage in whatever activities he (or she)
likes. Food is served at certain times but does not have to be consumed at that particular
time or in a particular location, as commonly portrayed in mess halls in movies. The only
other mandatory routine is to be ready for a cell inspection on Sunday mornings, wherein
the cell and person are inspected for cleanliness.

 “Suicide is a common in prisons”
One would think that suicide would be an easy way out for those condemned to spend many
years in prison but that is a fallacy. The suicide rate for prisons is less than a quarter of the
national suicide rate. Whilst there are no real obstacles to committing suicide, it simply does
not occur frequently.

 “Most prisoners claim innocence”
On the contrary, most prisoners are proud to share the details of their crimes without any
remorse. The overwhelming majority acknowledge that they were wrong. They generally
show now regret for committing crime, rather they only regret being caught.

The portrayals of prison life that movie goers, bookworms and fans of series like
Prison Break and Orange is the New Black may be thoroughly entertaining but they
are by no means an accurate reflection of the reality. It is one of the rare cases in life
where fact is slightly better than fiction.