Introduction
Inmates live in a confinement with very limited access to the outside world and have restrained privileges. Despite this restriction, the prisoners have devised a technique of communicating to their fellows behind the prison walls, regardless of whether they know them personally or not. The communication has been achieved through inmate literature which is distributed from prisons to the outside world for others to have a rough glimpse of the feelings of these people who were once part of the society. The Open Line book (the editor of which is Michael C. Gallardo) written by inmates portrays feelings of prisoners. The question is how can we characterize inmate literature?
Inmates use literature for many purposes. The most prominent use of literary work by prisoners is to communicate to their loved ones back at home. Open Line gives evidences of inmates communicating to their families back at home through pieces of literature. Frank Valdivia, an inmate, communicates to his two daughters. He says, “I lost everything I had and everything I loved when I came to prison. But the person I was didn’t deserve any of it. There are people outside this wall that love you or that you love. They deserve the best, so be your best. I’m finally doing my best and my two daughters Kayla and Alicia deserve it.” (Gallardo 58) He uses literature to assure his two daughters that he is doing his best to become a changed person. Inmates also use literary work in criticizing unfair judgments in courts, especially towards young criminals who stand a better chance of rehabilitation. In Open Line, Charlie Spence indicates in his confession that underage criminals are not given a judgment as a juvenile but instead as adults. He says, “Had I been tried and convicted as a juvenile, I would have been given a better chance at rehabilitation and a second chance in society at the age of 25. I feel even more strongly now that I ever did back then, that trying juvenile offenders as adults and convicting them to life in prison is immoral.” (11) He feels that juvenile offenders should not be judged as adults, regardless of the magnitude of their crime, because they can easily be rehabilitated.
Inmates value the fact that, despite their misconducts, there are people out there who still care so much about them and would rather they came back into the society after serving their terms in prison. Evidences cited from the book Open Line prove this statement. For instance, Michael Endres, a prisoner, receives a letter from his daughter who does not even know him because he has been in prison since she was an infant. He says, “When I realized who the letter was from, I was surprised and shocked. While reading it, the emotions kicked into gear, I was tickled to death to know that she wanted to know me, and I was sad for her cause she didn’t know how I would feel about hearing from her. She didn’t know that her letter caused my heart to truly smile.” (34) This is an indication that Michael’s daughter loves him despite the fact that she does not know him because he has been in prison for such a long time. In addition to the love and affection from those outside, inmates also value the welfare of others who are yet to be convicted for various crimes. It is important to note how Charlie Spence, an inmate, advocates for the rights of juveniles, even though he is in prison. He gives a strong argument against the conviction of juveniles as adults when they are sentenced for life imprisonment which should not the passed on children. He says, “Juvenile offenders should be punished for serious crimes they commit, but as juveniles in juvenile facilities. The oldest that children can be tried as juveniles is seventeen an age that allows for eight years of time in which they have an opportunity to be rehabilitated.” (13) He is not really for the idea of convicting juveniles for life imprisonment because he is a victim of such circumstances. He goes ahead and says, “Juveniles are 7.7 times more likely to commit suicide in adult facilities than in juvenile facilities.”(13) This is an indication that he values the welfare of underage convicts who might be subjected to same conditions as his.
There are various themes that emerge from literature written by inmates. The most evident theme displayed by many inmate writers in the book Open line is their sadness from being in prison away from the society. They are not happy having to spend years behind bars without being close to their families who love them. Of course, this sad feeling makes them regret having committed the crimes that led to their conviction. A good example is brought forth by Frank Valdivia the prisoner. He says, “I am sad because I cannot be with my girls. I miss them all the time, I wonder how their lives unfurls, I wish I had signs, I wonder how they spend their day…life is not supposed to be this way.” (32) This is an indication that, if given a second chance, Frank would make things right in a bid to avoid imprisonment and be with his daughters. He would not repeat the same crimes and otherwise would be a good person in order to be there for his daughters whenever they need him. Another theme that comes up very spectacularly amongst inmates is that they are not very well accepted by the community. Inmates are loathed by the general public perhaps due to the fact that most of them are convicted for committing serious atrocities, which are unethical in the eyes of the society. In the event that a convict serves his term to completion and returns to the society, the disparity between him and the rest of the community is too big to an extent that he himself can feel that he is out of place. Through his literature work in the book Open Line, John O. Neblett says, “An ancient reaction to the deepest hurt, rejection is violence rejecting in turn, withdrawing the self to a hiding place no one can see. When they look in your eyes, a disguise is in place mimicking you…” (30).
Conclusion
Inmate literature has since formed a channel through which prisoners use to communicate their feelings to their friends, families, and the society at large. They use inmate literature to show their love to their families and express how much they miss them. Inmate literature shows how prisoners are concerned about the welfare of others, especially concerning unfair judgments. They also use this form of literature to show their deep regrets having to spend a better part of their lives locked behind bars. Inmate literature has been widely accepted by the general public and is viewed as a sensitization of the public.
Works CitedGallardo, Michael C., ed. Open Line. California: Prison University Project, 2009. Print.
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