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The Roommate Chapter 8 Hampden - SHU From Chapter 7
Lieutenant Hughes looked at the two of us very thoughtfully. "Boys there is one more unit that I believe I must show you. Originally I was not going to have you observe this unit, but I feel I must now do so in the interest of total honesty and disclosure. I am now going to propose that you two visit and really visit in person the SHU, which stands for Special Housing Unit. This unit is special in that in it are the inmates of this institution and actually we receive inmates who have been very difficult from Enfield also. This unit houses those inmates who have shown a total unwillingness to follow the institution's rules, show no interest in any reformation of their behavior, and generally have become dangerous to other inmates, the institution, and even to themselves. To visit this unit I will have to ask you to also make an extra sacrifice...as was necessary for you two to make to have the access to the inside of Hampden that you have already experienced..
CHAPTER 8
So we decided that we would do it all – including the SHU. Lieutenant Hughes began to lead us in an opposite direction from which we had traveled from the first to the second pod. We moved down a sidewalk which led in a right angle to the line of the two pods we had visited. As we walked we became aware that there actually was a slope downward inside the triple fences of Hampden CF. When we reached the top of the knoll, we looked down on a pod that was totally unlike the ones we had visited. It was so different that it would be impossible to say what difference first impressed us. One of the first obvious differences was that unlike the square pods, this pod was definitely rectangular. It seemed perhaps three times longer than it was wide. Also it was also perhaps a bit higher than the other pods. Finally it was clearly differentiated from the rest of Hampden by the fact that all around this pod was another fence. There was only one fence, but it seemed to be perhaps about five to six feet higher than the fences which surrounded the entire prison. This fence however shared a topping of razor wire like all the other fences of Hampden. As we finally descended to follow the sidewalk toward the only gate which we saw into this prison within the prison, Lieutenant Hughes did his usual procedure of talking into the small microphone attached to his right shoulder strap. We walked around to the gate which was slowly opening. We walked through and as soon as we cleared the gate it immediately began to close behind us. In front of us was a blank wall of concrete. We began following the sidewalk around the corner of the building, and now we saw another unusual aspect of this unit. In the side of the solid concrete side of the pod, there was one door which led to a walkway bordered on the left as a person would come out from the door, and on the right was anotherfence. This one was probably twelve to fourteen feet tall, but at the top of the fence was a fencelike covering for the passage. It was like a hallway of fencing on one side and the top, and concrete on the final side. Coming out from this fenced passage were four rectangular pens which clearly were the inmates' outside exercise area, which federal regulations mandated be available for inmates. I remembered my father's unhappiness that to have access to federal money to pay for almost sixty percent of the construction costs of Hampden, the state had to meet federal standards for facilities and opportunities for inmates to have outside exercise. These outside exercise areas were not exactly totally outside. Each of these exercise pens shared one side with the fence opposite the side of the pod as their access to the exercise pens. The width seemed to be perhaps six feet. The length seemed to be at least twice that of the width and so was between twelve and perhaps at most fifteen feet. The top of the exercise area was covered in a fence roof held in place by five steel poles which connected the two sides of this pen. We saw that at the outside short side parallel to the smaller side shared with the pathway had one item that marked these small pens as an exercise area – there was a basketball hoop and on the concrete floor of the pen was a basketball. Lieutenant Hughes looked at the both of us as we stared at this amazing structure. "Exercise area." Lieutenant Hughes said. We nodded. I thought, "Really did the basketball goal and ball not give us a clue?" Then I immediately had a second thought. "Perhaps he was right to confirm that this caged hall, and these tall cages off that hall qualify as a recreation area. "We originally did not plan an area for outside recreation, but again federal guidelines said these inmates no matter how serious their past behavior has been, are still entitled to outdoor recreation. When we consulted with other facilities like this pod, like Pelican Bay in California, and this design comes from there. The offenders are never really out of a secured custody situation. The size of the exercise area is the minimum required, and a senator from Indiana is responsible for the amendment that said that exercise areas must have a basketball goal and a basketball. We also had to build four of them, but you will note there is six feet between each one so that offenders have little opportunity to pass contraband around. Of course for disciplinary purposes, their outside rec time can be withheld and their actions and any words spoken are caught by microphones in each pen, and monitored by computer for any forbidden conversation. Inmates can refuse exercise time here and being in these cages is not much of a treat and so these areas are not overused." Beau and I nodded. "When our offenders do come outside, mostly they run around the perimeter, and on the even more rare time when two of them are allowed out at the same time, the two do play basketball games like number of baskets in a certain style. I think the game is called "horse." I guess this game also came from Indiana as it sounds like it might have been invented when boys out on the farm competed with the basketball goal on the side of their barn." I could not resist. "Actually basketball was invented right here in Springfield, at Springfield College I think." I said. Beau looked at me. "I am pretty sure, but on our next trip here, I will be sure we go to the place I have seen marked as "The Birthplace of Basketball." I remember that in elementary school we went there and saw the original peach baskets that were put up for the ball to be shot into." Lieutenant Hughes looked at me. "Actually, I did know that fact. I was just referring back to the movie "Hoosiers." Property chastened I quietly walked along. By the time Lieutenant Hughes had explain all this we had reached the end of this long side of the pod and on this more narrow side, saw an entrance. "You did not probably notice," Lieutenant Hughes continued, " but the entrance to the building, as well as the outside recreation area is not observable from any of the other pods and open recreation areas inside the prison, and this back side faces the back perimeter of the prison. The only access to a position that would allow sight lines to the building are on prison property, and any person who is on that property is subject to arrest and prosecution. Some locals have been caught back there, and we warned them once. The second time the prison prosecuted them, and the local judge who is VERY sympathetic to the prison told them "Since you two are so curious about Hampden I sentence you to six weeks inside the prison, and at least two days of that sentence is to be in the SHU." "Those two when they arrived here from initial processing near Boston found out first-hand what you have observed, and that being an inmate is not some adventure. It is, and is meant to be, unpleasant enough that any thoughtful person would do anything not to return as an inmate. The two days we kept them in the SHU really terrified them. We have heard that these two are perhaps the most well behaved young men in the county now. We told them that if they revealed too much detail of their experiences, and especially any information about the SHU, that their sharing information that could be used to facilitate an escape is a felony, and they could be back here. We know by some friends we sent to test them that they refused to reveal any facts, and would only keep repeating. "Anyone who thinks going to prison in reality is like it is in the movies is really stupid, and we would tell anyone to obey the law and never find out what it's like for real." At this time we had arrived at the door, and to my amazement Lieutenant Hughes took out a key and we entered the SHU. Inside was something that seemed like a normal entry hall in an ordinary building. The contrast of this very normal looking area, and the very severe and imposing outside was really amazing. As I looked around I saw to my left a bronze tablet like one sees on public buildings. I looked at it and finally realized that SHU stood for "Special Housing Unit." The rest of the bronze tablet had the date of the building's completion and dedication, and the names of the governor, the Commissioner of Corrections, and the State Board of Corrections. In the smallest size letters at the bottom I even saw my father's name as the chair of the citizen's advisory board.
"This area looks almost like it does not belong in this building." Beau commented. "Yes, this area is unusual. However, when we bring a new resident into this room it does have an interesting effect on the inmate. This normal looking area does seem to relieve the stress which has been built up from their trip here from the other areas of Hampden, and certainly the outside walk impresses the incoming resident even more than I could see it affected you two." "Was this contrast planned or was it an accident?" I asked. "Well I would have to admit that in all the planning that we all put into this building, some how, this area eluded too much scrutiny. When we did understand what had happened, we also determined that this less threatening area was perhaps a serendipitous situation. When we being a new resident in here, this area and the very normalcy of it, does relax some anxiety. We see it almost every time. Of course some of our new arrivals are too involved in their own delusions, and they see this area as a place to somehow demonstrate their anger and their determination to fight against authority in as many ways as possible. However once the new resident goes through this door at the end of the hallway, that resident will return to more familiar situation. However, please follow me through this other door, and here Lieutenant Hughes opened another door that was just at our left elbows as we faced the door he had identified as leading into the custody area. Through the door we find ourselves in a stairwell. Lieutenant Hughes led the way, and we went up the stairs, and through the door at the top of the stairs. We were now in a hallway which matched the one below us, except that there was no door to the outside, and as we looked the other direction we saw that the door that he had told us would lead to the main cell area on the first floor here was a cement block wall, with one door in it. The door was unusual as it looked more like an elevator door than any ordinary door even here at Hampden. Beside that door was one of those little intercom boxes. Lieutenant Hughes went to the box, and pressed the little button on the bottom. "Lieutenant Hughes and the two students about whom you were briefed are here. Please open the door." "Enter the enter code authorization." came back a voice that sounded strange through the little speaker of the box. "There is no entry code." Lieutenant Hughes stated. With that response, there was a click as the door slid open into the wall area. Just another security procedure. You can see the key pad by the door. If we enter any code into that pad it alerts central security that somehow there is a security situation here. The control room stalls, and before anything can happen there will be enough security forces here that whatever is happening will be put under Again we nodded accepatance of this information. I thought to myself that I wished I had kept track of the layers of security in the SHU we had seen so far. How many more might there be?
After the door opened we entered an officer's control room. In some ways it was like the others we had seen and in others but also very different. It was similar in having a console with sets of buttons and lights for each cell of the unit. It was also similar in that it had windows that allowed the officer in the control room to see into the cell block. It was also different in that this officer's control room was on the second floor and there was no connection physically between this control room and the physical entity of the cell block. The officer and we could look down to the floor of the SHU, and through speakers we could hear the shouting and banging that was going on in the block. With a push of a button however the sound from inside the block stopped and we were surrounded by a very complete silence, except for our breathing and our feet shuffling. Lieutenant Hughes looked at us and the officer. "Officer Heaton, these two are the special guests about whom you were informed would possibly be here today." Officer Heaton looked back over his shoulder at us, and then rose. He was taller than I and about the same height of Beau which was a bit over six feet tall. Officer Heaton shook Beau's hand, and then mine. I noted his name badge stated that his name of Aaron Heaton. Officer Heaton's uniform was like those worn by the other officers we had met so far. However, Officer Heaton's uniform was more carefully pressed, his shirt looking like he had pressed it before reporting for duty, and his darker blue trousers, also looked pressed, clean, and very professional. I could not resist looking at his shoes. These were the standard office fairly thick soled work boots, but his had been polished to a shine. In all his appearance spoke of pride and professionalism. His attention to his appearance was much more like the Lieutenant's than the other correction officers we had seen. After introductions Beau and I were invited to the window to look over the cell area of the SHU. The bottom floor was concrete, and to our left was a concrete block wall that was unbroken in any way all the way to the ceiling. Across the twenty or perhaps more feet of open concrete the cells began. The doors to the cells were not solid as we had seen in the other pods which we had visited. These doors were sort made of steel rectangles that from our vantage point were hard to determine, but I would guess that the steel rectangles were about 3" by 6" and were slightly twisted and so as I looked at them I could see the slow spirals made by the steel bars. These were painted red. I was amazed at the effect of this wall of slightly spiral steel and enclosed the openings to cells that were not cement block like had been the walls of all the cells we had seen before. It was clear that the walls of these cells were solid concrete. There was one opening in each door panel through which a tray could be brought into the cell without the door being opened. Toward the end of the line of cells and nearest to the wall which was the end of the cell block , and was where our windows into the block from which we were making our observation, there was one cell which had a modification to the pattern. On this cell there was a steel rectangle probably about two and one-half feet from the floor and was about eighteen inches wide. "Why is that last cell door different?" I asked. The officer at the desk answered. "That cell is the shower cell. When an inmate is allowed, actually required, to take his weekly shower that panel is his modesty panel. It is really stupid, but again, some women senators decided that a prisoner's privates should be shielded when they shower. It is totally asinine, but federal rules are federal rules. We do have female guards and nurses who are assigned here, and these modesty panels are to protect them. However of course all females who work in Hampden have probably seem more male genitalia than they have ever wanted to see just in the normal course of working here, and if that was going to bother... or overly excite them... then this job site is not for them. Showers are limited to five minutes, and the water automatically shuts off after the five minutes, and cannot be restarted for at least ten minutes." "Do you have any open cells now?" Lieutenant Hughes asked. "Yes Lieutenant, Cells 15 and 17 are open." "Do you two have a sense of the place? Do you want to see it up close?" Lieutenant Hughes asked. "Yes SIR." I said immediately, and Beau agreed a moment later. "Well Officer Heaton let us out here, and I will let you know when I want you to open the block entry door." "Sir Yes SIR," Officer Heaton responded. He then looked at Beau and I and added "Good luck." I thought that this last comment was a bit strange, but I did not really dwell on it. We reversed our trip down the stairs, and then went down the hallway to another room which Lieutenant Hughes opened with another of his numerous keys on his key ring. As he went through several keys until he found the one for the door, I wondered how he ever could keep track of them all. I was going to ask, but at that moment he opened the door, and stood aside to let Beau and I into the room. The room was a sort of store room. On shelves at the back of the room are all sorts of sizes of the bright red convict jump suits which we had noticed the inmates of the SHU all wore. There were also white boxer shorts and white "T's" of all sizes. Finally there were orange cloth sandals and white socks. Lieutenant Hughes looked at us. "Boys, there is no way that you can enter the SHU cell area dressed in civilian clothing. The inmates in the SHU already have shown that they are not too willing to go along with the prison authority. We have all sorts of trouble with officials who visit the SHU for inspections, and so if you could not function as a prison inspector or a counselor, the only way we can get you into the actual SHU is as an inmate. Are you sure, knowing this, that you are still willing to go through with this?" I looked at Beau. I knew that something inside me wanted to be in that red jumpsuit and to enter the SHU as a prisoner. Besides, I thought, we had already been strip searched like a prisoner, now we would be clothed like on also. I did not know if Beau would agree, and if he refused, could I agree on my own without having Beau call me a pervert or con for the rest of our time together at Williams, and worse still tell everyone on campus that I wanted to be a red jump-suited convict. Beau did pause, and then he said "Oh hell, let's go for it." Lieutenant Hughes smiled and then moved over to the wall of shelves and began assembling each of our full outfits. He finished and said, " I have a lot of experience fitting cons, and so I think I have the correct sizes of clothing for each of you. If something is wrong, you can either call me, or just look at the size and come over to the shelves and get something either smaller or larger as the case might be. I'll leave you two alone for you to get into the jumpsuits. When you are ready, just knock on the door. He left and Beau and I each took our stack of inmate clothing. We certainly had seen each other naked in our dorm room, but somehow this situation seemed to make the possibility of stripping down somehow more intimidating. Finally Beau began taking off his shirt, and soon I was doing the same. We really did not look at each other as we stripped down to the skin, and at least I, rapidly, put on my white boxers. The boxers were not the smooth boxers I was used to. Many of mine were silk, and the others had a high thread count and so were very smooth. As I slipped on the prison boxers, they felt both stiffer than any of mine, but also sort of abrasive on my butt and private parts. I then reached for the white "T" shirt, and found it to be the same scratchy, stiff material as the boxers. I imagined that the prison was able to get a good cheap price for this clothing for these troublesome inmates, and I could just hear my businessman father making a statement like, "Of course we can purchase this lower grade clothing. After all if these inmates want to upgrade their clothing, all they need do is decide to begin obeying, serve their time, and then stay out of trouble after their release." I chuckled...not realizing I actually did so out loud. Since I had my back to Beau, and apparently he also had turned his back to me, because I heard his voice not directly but from sort of bouncing off the wall of clothing. "You better not be laughing at how I look in this damn stiff, scratchy, and damn demeaning jumpsuit." "I'm sorry Beau, but I was just thinking that if the inmates knew my Father might well have been one of those responsible for the coarse material for these boxers and "T's" they might really enjoy knowing his son was feeling the result of his willingness to make their lives more uncomfortable." "Damn right. I might take home a pair for him to wear just to let him know." "Beau, you know they are not going to let you have souvenirs." "Well if I get a rash, I am going to have to make someone in your family pay for it, and if memory serves some member of that family already owes me something for the naked dining hall appearance." I was a bit surprised that Beau would bring that incident up again. I had thought that our childish freshmen pranks had long been forgotten. Apparently not. Momentarily I also remembered after that incident, Beau had promised some retribution. Well there was nothing I could do about that, and there was nothing I could do about the crappy clothing of the jumpsuit. I had not ever put one on before, and so just opened all the snaps and stepped into it. Soon we finished and looked at each other. Beau looked very large and threatening in his bright red jumpsuit. His white "t" revealed in the "V" of the top of the jumpsuit. He sat on the floor as there were not chairs in the room, and I joined him as we put on out white athletic type socks, and the cloth sandals. We looked at each other again, and both broke out laughing at how scary we looked. "They say clothes make the man." Beau intoned very seriously. As I looked at him, I said thoughtfully, "Yes, and dressed like this we actually no longer would be free to move any place in this facility without some escort. We better trust Lieutenant Hughes." "Well go and tell the officer that the new convicts are suited up." Beau said, partially humorously, but I also detected an edge of concern or seriousness to his statement. I knocked on the door and Lieutenant Hughes entered. "Well now you two will really fit in. You are still going to get a lot of welcoming yelling at you. You will be asked what you did to get into the SHU. You will be asked what you are in for and probably asked a lot of other things. Just look up and say nothing. Most inmates who enter the SHU for the first time are pretty speechless on entering that very scary cell block. Just be prepared. Now however, I need to do something to make those jumpsuits look a little more realistic. With that he directed our attention to the chains, cuffs, and other restraints which were hanging off hooks on the side opposite the clothing wall. I had slightly noted them, but I had been concentrating on getting into the jumpsuit and so had seen but not really thought about them Now I concentrated on them. Lieutenant Hughes moved over to that wall. "Frank, come over here, and I will complete your outfit. You two cannot enter the SHU without your restraints." I moved over to Lieutenant Hughes. The first thing he did was to take a long chain that had handcuffs dangling from a couple of places, and standing behind me placed the chain around my waist, and then I heard a lock being closed, and I felt that chain was like a belt around my waist, and beside me the handcuffs dangled by each of my thighs. Lieutenant Hughes then swiftly and grabbed first one and then the other of my wrists and locked them into the cuffs. "This is called a belly chain, and it really is a more effective restraint than traditional handcuffs. In handcuffs an offender can still have some use of his hands. If cuffed in front, he can use his hands as a club. Cuffed behind a convicts hands are less useful, but still together can be used as a sort of club. Separated and to each sides your hands are really immobilized." As I instinctively tried to do anything with my hands I had to agree with Lieutenant Hughes. My hands were really useless. Lieutenant Hughes then leaned over and fastened leg shackles around my ankles. I stood there really feeling a prisoner as Lieutenant Hughes fastened the same restraints on Beau. When he was done we stared at each other. Beau said what I thought. "Well I have heard it said that `clothes make the man' but sure as shit red jumpsuits and chains sure make us inmates. As I looked at Beau, I must admit that even in a red jumpsuit he looked impressive. Beau was tall, muscular, and handsome. He even made a red jumpsuit look good. I was sure I looked more like the convict...defeated, disoriented, and defined by the red jumpsuit. Lieutenant then looked at us. "Now I want to give you the welcome speech I give to an inmate whose behavior has earned him time in the SHU. "Offender you are here because not only have you shown that you cannot obey the laws of the State of Massachusetts, but you have shown that instead of allowing yourself to learn from your incarceration, you continue to show that you are not catching on to the fact that those who break society's laws need to have some punishment, and for you that punishment needs to be especially unpleasant and perhaps even painful." Beau and I knew that his speech scared us. I wondered effect it would have on normal inmates who arrived here in their red jump suit in their belly chains and shackles. "Well now I need to get you some practice walking in these restraints. Real inmates would not be wearing these restraints for the first time, and so we'll go for a little practice. We shuffled out of the clothing room, and Lieutenant Hughes was correct, I really did not know how to walk effectively in the shackles and the stairs down to the lobby were really a challenge. However Beau and I moved as best we could as Lieutenant Hughes led us back toward the entrance, and then talking over his shoulder mike as usual said "SHU control open officer entrance six." The door which I had not noted before had no door knob slid open like the door to the control room above had done. Beau and I shuffled in, and the door closed behind us. We were now in a room probably four by eight, with two more doors and otherwise was nothing but cement block and cement wall.
"The door to your left, boys, leads into the cell house, and to the right leads to the exercise pens." Lieutenant Hughes explained. "Open door eight." Lieutenant Hughes said, and that door now opened, and Beau and I were now shuffled onto the caged walkway by the exercise pens. He walked us all the way down to the last exercise pen. "You need as much practice as possible walking in shackles." was Lieutenant Hughes' explanation to the question at least I had thought of but had never said. I decided that understanding what an inmate is thinking was perhaps one of the skills that made the Lieutenant into Lieutenant Hughes. I was turned again and told to put my nose and toes against the steel mesh that comprised the sides of the pens while Beau had his belly chain removed, but the leg shackles remain locked on. Again Lieutenant Hughes answered the question that I had and I was sure Beau also had. How was he supposed to exercise in leg shackles? "You both need practice moving in leg shackles. Keep moving in the exercise area and get practice so that you will walk like an inmate would, because every inmate has practice moving in leg shackles from jail, to trial and from transportation here and even around here. An inmate would even be in leg shackles to go to the visiting room if he ever had a visitor. Dressed and chained as I now was, I was amazed that mentally I now accepted Lieutenant Hughes' suggestion as more a command than a suggestion, and so as soon as the gate behind me had been closed and locked, I dutifully began running around the perimeter of the cage with my leg shackles clanking. More than once I almost tripped myself and fell into the sides of the cage. After I had done this "graceful" tripping into the sides, an announcement came over a speaker that I had not noticed before over the door to the building. It clearly was a pre-recorded message. "Offender in exercise Pen 3, further attempts to tamper with the surrounding mesh will result in discipline." I stared over at Lieutenant Hughes. "Just keep practicing." was his comment. I was irritated that Beau seemed to getting the hang of walking and jogging much more easily than I was. I decided I needed to do some ego message, and so I yelled over to Beau. "You seem to be really good at running and walking in chains. Must be practice down there with your indentured servants." "Actually," Beau yelled back at me. "l I have noticed how our indentured servants work in leg shackles because we do keep them in shackles when they are working in the fields." The loud speaker crackled to life again. "Offender in Pen 3, you have been scheduled for discipline for breaking the rules about inter-inmate conversation. Remember inmate rule 7b, "Inmates in the exercise areas are not allowed to converse with other inmates in any of the other exercise area. Memory refresher punishment has been ordered." Lieutenant Hughes looked at me with a sort of wry smile. "Well convict, I guess since you have been scheduled, I will have to fulfill the order. Keep working and learning." Beau and I did not talk to one another for the rest of the exercise period, which we knew when a buzzer sounded and again some pre-recorded announcement came over. "Offenders in Pens 3 and 4, your exercise period is over. Offender in Pen 3, your disciplinary punishment will be given before your return to your cell." Lieutenant Hughes unlocked the doors to our pens, and made first Beau and then myself get down on our knees, and then reattached Beau's and my belly chains and cuffs. We walked down to the door inside the pod, and this time when we entered there was another correction officer there. When he saw the Lieutenant he snapped a salute, "Sir I see I have one of these newbies to be in Cell 15 and the other in Cell 17. Does the Lieutenant have any preference?" "Yes Officer, put Offender Jackson in Cell 15 and after punishment put Offender Wilkinson in Cell 17." The other officer took Beau's arm, which I perceived was at Beau's side and at a slight angle perfect for grabbing by his belly chained wrists, and they went into the door. Lieutenant Hughes grabbed my elbow and said very seriously. "I am sorry but the recording will note that an offender is scheduled for disciplinary punishment from the infraction, and I will have to give that punishment to you. This is all computer controlled, and your face has been recorded, and your need for discipline will be repeated until the computer notes that you have appeared in the punishment room, and have received physical discipline. This is more realism that I had planned, but I guess you will have a little more appreciation for how order is maintained in the SHU than your southern friend will have."
"Yes Sir," I meekly replied. I did not know what was going to happen in my punishment, but I knew I would not like it, and I knew that secretly I am fascinated by it.