Prison Tour

[Jimd]

I have several video tapes that feature the prison where I work. It's been on television dozens of times since I've been working there. I dug out a few videos of specials from the Discovery Channel and the History channel, and thought to myself, "Damn, I wish there was a way I could post some pics on my favorite forums from these tapes."

Then I thought....why not? I'll just take some digital pics from the televison screen and post 'em! Well....they turned out like crap; all sorts of wavy lines, etc.. But when I reduced the pics in size to post them, they turned out half decent. I'm featured in a few of the pics while on duty, thought you guys might like to see.

So pull up a seat, grab some turd-corn...errrr, I mean, pop-corn, and enjoy.
Top pic shows a cell block, looking from the Main Corridor, inside the prison. This is only a small portion of the block; each block is 250 yards long, with nearly 400 cells, often housing over 500 inmates. E-Block typically houses over 700 inmates. If they want your ass, they're going to get you.

Bottom pic shows the inside of a cell block, looking toward the block bridge from the front to the back. The bridge can be seen in the distance; that's the halfway point of the block. The other half's beyond that.

[Jimd]

Top pic shows inmates playing football in the Main Yard. In the distant background, A-Block can be seen.

Bottom pic, a typical prison cell. 6' x 12'. One sink, one crapper, one rear window (truly a room with a view!).

[Jimd]

Looking down a cell block. Each cell block has nearly 400 cells, and typicall houses about 530 inmates. Blocks are 250 yards long.

Bottom pic, an officer patrols the top tier of a cell block.

In both these pictures, the absence of inmates indicates the film was taken during count time, the only time that the inmates are in their cells.

[Jimd]

Top, a nutcase peering out from within a cell.

Bottom, A view of the old chow hall of one of the blocks. This is the view from just behind the platform where an officer used to stand watch over the meal with a shotgun. Ahhh, the good ol' days. These chow halls are now shut down, and a new, central dining facility was built behind them.

[Jimd]

A view of the main yard. 8-Tower can be seen in the background on the wall. Below 8-tower is the basketball court, the handball courts, and "Muscle Beach", aka. the weight pile. A quarter-mile track is the center of the yard, within which are a baseball/softball diamond and a football field. I've seen a lot of stuff jump off in that yard over the years.

Bottom, an officer maintains watch in a gun tower.

[Jimd]

Top, a fellow officer and I on duty (I'm on the right, back in my skinnier days) on D-Block Door. D-Block can be seen inside the door. Captain Mocyczic was murdered near this spot by an inmate with a baseball bat; the Captain's brains decorated the floor and wall just past this door.


Bottom, A view of the wall, showing two of our towers, with the prison's power house in the background. The wall, from starting point to starting point, is over a mile in circumferance.

[Jimd]

Top, inmates mill about on a cell block. This is pretty much a normal scene on the cell blocks, SOP. Contrary to popular belief, inmates aren't locked in their cells all day.

Bottom, Security Gate between D and E-Block Doors. I've spent many hours around this gate. E-Door can be seen down the corridor to the left, and the school is across the hallway, on the right. Directly at the end of the corridor is the prison's chapel (double doors at the end of the hallway in the distance). The Main Corridor is over a quarter-mile long, and most of us have run it many times during assistance calls. It's a long run!!

[Jimd]

An aerial view of the whole shootin' match....

[rcbalt2]

Thanks for the pics it lets us really get a feel for the place. Thanks for doing what you do. My prayers are with you, stay strong.

[The Mastiff]

Interesting. They don't build them like that anymore. When was that prison built?

I got to participate in the building, staffing, and transfer of inmates to the new prison from our old one which was then closed down. At that time I was the arsenal officer/armorer/ Key control officer for the prison and attached supermax unit. After they got up and running I was retired for health reasons after 15 years there, 5 as a cop & 3 in the military before that. 14 of those years I had a permanent part time job.

I'm paying for my superman days now with surgery after surgery. ( Left shoulder -2, then next R shoulder, then L and R knee, then L ankle ( fusion), Neck vertebrae, then lower back. twenty something years of martial arts, running, weights, and standing all days at both jobs ( plus labor jobs before that) finally got to me. :) Joe

[The Deacon]

Neat pictures Jim. Think I saw the one show on the History Channel back when I had TV. The interior shots look a lot like every prison I worked in, and some of the exteriors look a bit like Eastern New York CF aka "Happy Nappy" (before anyone gets bent, there's nothing racial there, merely a referece to Napanoch, NY where it's located).

[JD Spydo]

I saw a documentary on the History Channel about a year ago. It was about Atica Prison up in New York state. It was very eerily similar to the one you've showed.

Frankly it frightens the crap out of me that we ( America) incarcerate more prisoners now than Russia, South Africa and most other industrialized nations. And the thing that frightens me the most is that they are taking "non-violent" so called offenders i.e. marijuana users and so forth and putting them in with extremely violent, demented and calloused criminals to where they come out 20 times worse than when they went in.

Just like the Military Industrial Complex that now rules this country we also have a Prison Industrial complex i.e. Wackenhut, Corrections Corp of America and one other that I can't think of the name off the top of my head. It is a cash cow that gets a blank check from the government to put as many people in jail as possible. Being behind in your Child Support is a felony here in Missouri and we have a dozens of people being locked up for that now. Kind of hard to pay Child Support when all the jobs are going overseas.

I am however very thankful that they lock up heinous criminals i. e. rapists, armed robbers, murderers, theives ect. That I am thankful for. And I know that "Jimd" is there for all the right reasons but this present "prison industrial complex" is going to backfire on this nation big time.

My point in all of this is that we are going to have a throng of angry criminals released some day down the road and I really fear the amount of dangerous hardened criminals that will even be exponentially worse than when they went in will be in a neighborhood near you and me. We as a country are about to reap a harvest of total mayhem with the present system in place. So if you think there is a crime problem now. We haven't seen anything yet. And with increasingly more and more laws prohibiting the public from taking measures to protect themselves we are about to enter a true "house of horrors" in this country.

But as long as there is a few bucks in it for Wall Street and all of these dastardly corrupt politicians profitting from it we will see the problem get much worse before the public is even aware of what is driving all of this. And unfortunately I believe it will be totally out of hand before the public ever demand changes in this present system :( . GOD help us

[The Deacon]

Fact one JD - prisons in most states are filled to capacity, many in fact are overcrowded, and the public is generally reluctant to spend money to build more. So I really doubt there is an incentive to "put as many people in jail as possible". In fact, the opposite is more often true, judges are pressured to sentence people who in many cases deserve prison, to probation, the Parole Board is pressured to grant early release to those who are sentenced to serve time, and both parole and probation officers are heavily pressured to ignore breaches of the conditions of parole / probation that would send the offender back to jail.

Please bear in mind also that what someone is convicted of is not necessarily the only crime they were commiting at the time. While I think marajuana should be legalized, I would bet dollars to donuts that, at least here in New York State, the vast majority of those doing prison time for selling it were selling other less socially acceptable drugs as well.

I do think there should be two prison systems, one being "labor camps" for those whose crimes can best be punished by forced restitution - they work for minimum wage, and pay for their room and board, until their victim has been compenstate for whatever property they stole or destroyed. The other, strictly cages, for the those who have done physical and or psychological harm.

[snuffaluff]

wow! Neat pics JimD.

[Jimd]

The prison where I work was built in 1929. Most of the inmates from Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia were moved there after Eastern closed down.

Mastiff, thanks for your service for all those years. I know what you mean, the job does take one hell of a physical and mental toll.

JD: I agree that we incarcerate too many people these days, and that offenders should be segregated more efficiently.

But here's what an inmate with whom I speak with daily told me just this past week: "Davis, you know I live with these guys. Let me tell you...99.9% of these mother-f***ers are right where they belong. They really do belong here!" Keep in mind, guys...that's coming from an inmate. Now this isn't the first inmate that's told me this, either. And I tend to agree.

Those guys are in prison for a reason. Sure, sometimes the wrong people become incarcerated, I won't argue that. However, the vast majority are right where they belong. Trust me, if I could have you work with me for just a few days in that prison, your views would change. I guarantee it.

Even so, I'm sure I've become jaded over the years. Dealing with those retards for years is bound to shape one's views.

One massive problem these days is the volume of Parole Violators who are returning to prison. Inmates come to prison mostly because they're losers. Sure, we all make mistakes, and I'll give anyone that benefit of the doubt. But most of them are paroled and return within a very short time. Dealing with that crap all day makes my job a lot more difficult, and frankly, I despise parole violators. They're screw-ups who got a second, third, fourth, etc. chance to make it "out there" and refuse.

[Peter1960]

An aerial view of the whole shootin' match....
I never saw such a great prison! It's like a town :eek: How many people are in there?

[Jimd]

I never saw such a great prison! It's like a town :eek: How many people are in there?

At the moment, around 3,700 inmates, but we have a cell block closed down for refurbishing. After the block reopens, we'll be well over 4,000 inmates.

We have almost everything a small town would have; a hospital/dispensary, barber shop, two kitchens, dining facilities, laundry, industrial shops, chapel, school, gym, yards...the list goes on.

It's the fourth or fifth largest prison in the U.S..

As much of the pirson as you see above ground, there's actually as much underground in the tunnel system.

[CopilotATS-55]

I think i remember that on either the Discovery/History channel :spyder:

[vampyrewolf]

Am I the only one who figures we need to incorporate a 25 cent solution?

6 iron, and a bullet for every 5yrs they get.... they can choose when to stop pulling the trigger (see how many make it past 3 pulls, after all each pull shaves 5yrs off thier sentence ;) ).

BTW nice view there Jim.

[Jimd]

VW, lol! Well, to be fair, I wouldn't be into killing every one of them. There are some guys in there that aren't all that bad, and they're doing their time the best they can.

On the other hand...I know quite a few of them that I believe are inherently evil, and they should be put out of our misery.

[David Lowry]

Jim,

Thanks for the tour man. I've been wanting to see that for a long time. I love anything about prisons. I guess to an outsider like me they are just neat.

Where exactly is this prison? I looked forever on Google Earth at Allentown, PA. and couldn't find it. It seemed like it would be easy to find especially after you gave us that nice arial view.

Cheers :)

[The Deacon]

Jim,

Thanks for the tour man. I've been wanting to see that for a long time. I love anything about prisons. I guess to an outsider like me they are just neat.

Where exactly is this prison? I looked forever on Google Earth at Allentown, PA. and couldn't find it. It seemed like it would be easy to find especially after you gave us that nice arial view.

Cheers :)

Try typing Graterford, PA into Google maps David. :D

[Jimd]

Try typing Graterford, PA into Google maps David. :D

Yep, what the Deacon said.
Other interesting, related searches: Try typing in Robert "Mudman" Simon. Makes for some interesting reading.

[elt1]

Jimd,
Thanks for the pics & comments... very interesting and informative. Makes me thankful for all those people willing to do the tough work that we often take for granted. Cheers to ya.
Eugene

[EarthDog]

Jim,

Thanks for the pics and posts. I just have to acknowledge that you and the other COs must have a HUGE commitment just to show up for work each day. I appreciate your commitment.

God bless,

[Jimd]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

I enjoy educating people about prisons. They're tough things to find out about, since that wall serves a two-fold purpose; it not only keeps the cretins inside, but keeps regular people out.

Now imagine this: we're not allowed to even bring a camera onto the property (pic-taking cell phones included), but the Discovery Channel and other networks can bring scads of cameras in a photograph everything in sight. That's why I had to take the pics from my television set; I can't take a camera to work!

I can understand them not wanting us to take a camera inside the prison. But there's not much to photograph outside the prison that would create a security concern.

But I haven't broken any rules, as this was a televised event. Ha! I've foiled the establishment!

[stonyman]

Hey Jimid, stay safe bro, those pics bring back memories of my time working,transporting inmates from hell and back. Take care and God Bless You and your teammates!

[Peter1960]

Thanks for giving me an answer, Jimd! Now I have a better feeling how large it is - huge!!!


...But I haven't broken any rules, as this was a televised event. Ha! I've foiled the establishment!
:D :D :D

[jaislandboy]

hey Jim thanks for the peek inside Hell.....one helluva tour....you be safe....:)