Reflection of The Prison Visit

"Wow," is the only word I can use to describe my prison visit. We arrived at Perry County Correctional Facility at approximately ten-thirty a.m. We were greeted by a police officer and given the do's and do nots of our trip. The trip was nothing like I thought it would be. No freedom, no privacy, and no place to call your own. That is basically what a prisoner is faced with everyday of their life. As I walked in the door i could see a hand-full of prisoners playing basketball, walking the track, and just lounging on the yard. We were accompanied by two police officers as we toured the facility. The officers showed us the small dorms the prisoners were subjected to live. The living conditions and poor quality of food made me not want to ever go back there. Decisions people make put them in situations where they have to live with their consequences. Some of the inmates were able to talk to us and the consensus theme of all of their speeches were,"You don't want to be here," and "If i could trade places with you I would." The prisoners said these things in order to try and get the point across to us that prison is no place to be. Even though statistics show that most young black males are incarcerated, I plan on not being just another statistic.