1993_11 Insight November 1993

              Page 9
Insight/California State University, Fresno
November 17,1993
Jails: life behind bars
Continued from page 1
ihrcc closcd-circuit-camera monitors and flipping black switches
that lock and unlock jail doors.
Roberta Flack's "Killing Me
Softly With His Song" wafted just
loud enough to make nervous feet
and fingers tap unconsciously to
the upbeat rhythm. Two open entrances with metal-detector frames
stood at opposite sides of the room.
Once the instructor arrived, the
students were joined by the four
male guards for a tour of the expanded county jail. The grey, 6-
story addition was built in I989and
dubbed "the new jail."
When the tour passed ihrough
the doorways, ihc dcicciors beeped
faster and louder than a bar-code
scanner at the grocery store checkout.
"I assume you guysarcn' t bringing any knives orgurts in with you,"
the guard said with a laugh.
According to the lighted display
cabinet in ihc hallway which cxhib-
itcdhundrcdsofshanks(homcmadc
weapons), it wouldn't be the firsi
lime someone had smuggled a
weapon in for the prisoners.
The shanks came in many different shapes and sizes, from a spoon
bent on one end and filed to an acute
point on the other to a chunk of
tempered iron pounded flat on one
end to form a dull blade and taped
on the oiher end as a handle.
"Wc had one lady smuggle a
pistol in," a guard said.
"She was a pretty large lady —
she stashed the gun between her
rolls of fat."
Weapons aren't the only contraband lhal arc furtively carried in for
the inmates. Drugsarcamajor problem in all jails and prisons.
"Drugs arc usually brought in to
the male inmates by their wives and
girlfriends. The woman puts the
drugs in a balloon or condom and
stores it in whai the inmates call her
glove box." the gu;ird said.
"After the strip-search, she will
go to the rest room, take out the
drugs and pul them in her mouth.
Before leaving.shc will transfer the
drugs to the inmate with a kiss." he
said.
Another illegal substance guards
catch inmates with iseal led "pruno."
It is a form of crude alcohol made
from fermented fruit, fruit juices,
sugar and a slice of bread.
"Il looks really awful — it's hard
to believe someone would drink it,"
the guard said, his face cringing.
On the other side of the detector were
two locked doors, aboul six feet from
each other.
For security, the doors could not be
open ai the same lime. Everyone filed
into the area between the doors so the
second door could be opened.
Along ihc hallway, thrccsmall rooms
with dead boll locks on the door jams
sectioned off ihrcc sidc-by-sklc elevators. One elevator was for staff transport, the other two were used for inmates, one for females and die other for
males.
The elevator's interior was nearly
pitch black. One small bulb gave off
light. It was like somcihing from "Star
Trck:ThcNcxiCcncratk)n."Thcguards
didn't have to push a button.
It was activated by voice command.
On die ceiling there was a smoked-
glass panel.
"Third floor Dlcasc." the nuard said
in a loud, demanding voice.
"If you look up, you'll sec a surveillance camera. Ccniral control operates
the elevator — they sec and hear everything."
The elevator doors opened into another set of small, locked rooms.
On the other side of the door was a
hallway which separated a cylinder-
shaped room, likca aircraft radio lower,
with a panel of closed-circuit monitors
and buttons and a glass wall exhibiting
six large rooms segregated by cement
walls.
Each pie-slice-shapcd room had an
open area widi aboul 10 stainless steel
stop-sign-shaped picnic tables surrounded by six round scats.
Along the side wall was a coffee
maker, two pay phones and a color TV.
The back wall held the two-ucr,24-unit
living quarters.
Each 12-fcct-by-6-fcct room housed
two medium-security inmates. A
shower, shared by about 50 inmaics.
was located on the bottom ll<x>r against
a side wall.
Inmaics watched TV. played cards
and slcpi.
■ When they saw a group of street-
clothed men and women, they quickly
shuffled up to the window.
As though from separate worlds, the
inmaics and die students siarcd wide-
eyed ai each other.
The glass became a mosaic of faces
as inmates pressed their noses against
the glass.
Many climbed onto the tables and
scats. They looked like a group of pubescent boys gawking at a playboy pin
up. Their mouths were moving, but
die ir words could not be heard ihrough
the glass barrier.
Their eyes soaked in every nuance
of the students' appearances. For some,
it would be the only glimpse of the
outside they would see in months.
As if on cue, the students collec-
lively shied back against the control
room wall. There was a feeling of
underlying fear as their eyes darted
from one sneering face to another.
"I get the feeling we're ihc ones on
display, not ihem," a male siudcni
said.
"They're not used io this," the guard
explained. "We don'i usually give
The fourth floor held the minimum-
sccurity inmates.
The layout was the same as the
medium-security,except that ildidn't
have die living quarters. Behind the
tables wasarowof aboul IS bunk beds
stacked three beds high, out in the
open like an army barracks.
Yet, unlike the army barracks, not
one of die beds was kept tidy. Sheets
andcovcrs were hanging over Die skIcs,
every which way.
"For [the inmates], this is a
cake walk.
It's like high
school, they're
getting together
with their
homies."
— Fresno Jail
guard
Again inmates hurried lo ihc glass.
Amid the commotion, one Hispanic-
inmate in his early 20s lapped vigorously logain one of die male stdflcnis
The student's eyes snapped open
with recognition as ihcir eyes met.
The student lingered, tryinglocom-
municatc ihrough ihc glass, as ihc tour
continued down toward the elevator.
"Is he a friend?" ihc guard as>ctl.
The siudent sheepishly nodded his
response.
High above Fresno's bustling
downtown streets, atop ihe 6-story
edifice siood an impressive, two-
tiered structure made from crisscrossed black wire. It looked like
a giant dog cage or something
monkeys would be kept in at a
zoo.
It was die exercise yard for the
jai I inmates. The bottom layer was
segregated into ihree sections.
Along ihc caged walls of each
of ihc three areas stood baskeibal I
hoops, weight machines. Ping-
pong tablcsand two stainless siccl
toilets, separated by a 4-fect wall.
The lop layer formed a square-
shaped guard-walk.
The female guard was able io
sec the inmates ihrough ihe caged
walls and flooring from many
vantage points.
Aboul 20 inmaics in one section peeled ihcir rust-colored jump
suits down to their waists, revealing tattooed chests, backs and
arms.
A dark-haired Hispanic inmate
in his late 30s stretched his arms
aoovc nis ncau ami iiimeu rus lingers in the crisscrossed wire.
He openly siarcd ai ihc female
students as they waited for the
elevator doors to open.
"Vcnga para aca', munccha
(Come over here, doll)," the man
said.
The inmate crowd laughed.
Other inmaics whistled and
shouted obsccniiy-laccd remarks
at the female students.
Aboul five minutes later, the
elevator doors opened and the
women raced into the dark haven.
Next stop was the underground
tunnel con ncc ling the ncwand old
jails.
"I like die old jail best," ihc
guard said, "it's more barbaric."
The dank, musky smell, like a
men's locker room, filled the ihrcc
jail cells and adjoining walk-way.
Four disheveled inmaics, who
looked like ihcy hadn't taken a
shower for weeks, lounged on
unmade beds staring up at the
ceiling.
White shccLscontrasted against
the rumpled, rust -colored, jail-issued jumpsuit.Thcir.slccp-touslcd
hair formed misdirected clumps,
some standing straight up like a
military private at attention.
Their dark eyes were volcanic
craters. Their chins were hidden
by a layer of stubbly beard growth.
"Stay away from die bars —
close to the wall." the guard ordered.
"If you get too close, they can
IB                      •" "
i-JL  j.|
^jS^.
r JhL.^^^I.T"^
Wt4
A
Tommv Mnnrtal/INSIGHT
Chris Lindelof, president ol the Viticulture Club, stands behind
bottles of wine which will be raffled after the club's dinner.
reach out and grab you."
The left corner of one inmate's mouth
raised into a smirk, forming a mass of
wrinkles under his left eye.
■ His icy stare boldly challenged anyone
lo disobey orders.
A wall of 12-inch vertical siecl bars held
together by eight horizontal rectangular
bars was the only barrier between the inmates and die visitors.
Flakcsofpaintpccled,uncovering black
steel on the otherwise dingy, ivory-painted
bars.
"You'll notice the jail is painted with
neutral colors," the guard said, "il's supposed to help case the violence."
The entire room was made of large
cement bricks covered with ihc same dismal ivory paint.
On the other side of die bars was a guard
walk-way, closed in by two 25-pound
metal doors, and a wall made oul of glass
bricks lo lei sunlight in.
There were ihrcc connecting cells aboul
20fectdccpand 15 feci wide.each had two
rowsof metal bunks fastened to both walls.
Each bunk wasscparatcd into ihrcc beds.
The beds hada3-inch-thick,grcencush-
lon filled with what looked like meshed
material from cloth panicles. Each cell
housed up to 12- men.
There was a free-standing shower stall
withashowcrcurtain in the middle of each
cell. Toilets sal in plain view adjacent to
the showers.
In jail ihcrc was no such thing as privacy. Every shower had a camera and
every toilet was open lo all eyes.
As ihc tour came to an end outside the
old jail, ihc guard pulled a Marlboro from
his shirt pocket. He lit the cigarette and
took a deep drag.
"For ihem |thc inmates), this is a cake
walk." the guard said, exhaling smoke.
"Il's like high school, they're just gelling
together with ihcir homies. And guess
who's paying for it — you and I, die
taxpayers."
"They've [the inmatcsl got il made —
wc fix their meals, do ihcir laundry.
They've got a roof over ihcir head and a
bed to sleep on — plus they don'i have io
pay taxes." he said, shaking his head with
AMERICA'S CRUISE VACATION STORE sm
We Promise Great Cruise Vacations™
3-Day Mexican Baja Cruise!
From $309/perSOn. (selected dates)
Umlled Availability
CRUISE HOLIDAYS
5791 North First St., Fresno
_^-  209 438-7447
VHOL/D/irSmmr.     800 666-4244
jCRUISEk
PLEASE PRESENT
AD FORA
20% DISCOUNT
1
1
t*NGXCK8*Ci
Assassins Unlimited
The Ultimate Espionage Game!
Have you ever dreamed of playing the
most realisticfsafey fun game EVER-
Get in touch with us today!!
EVERY MONTH,as a member, you will track down
and tag other members of our club. The top 20
members are awarded great prizes.
What type of great prizes do you
ask?
How does a grand prize of
$1,000.
a month sound!
But is it safe?
Assassins Unlimited has been in the making for
more than five years .All potential members must
take an integrity audit ana have a full background
investigation done on them that includes criminal,
driving, and financial records. All rules are written
around  safety   as   well  as   ease   of play!
"Now Starting in the North-Fresno Area"
For more information
contact
Assassins Unlimited at:
277-2449
or write us at:
Assassins Unlimited
2059 W. Bullard #339
Fresno, CA 93711
"A.U., Duck!
"The E^rtb is POLLUTED
by jt» people   *$ r ; ^   BA3&H24 5
--> K>A*JAH 24^5
%,. y.i
mif'i
£&;
Thfr&ripivij^jptVti^^ on Earth.
Man* of us Were taught >#/p^ky *Thy Jctng-
dopniome, tb* will be done on Earth.  ''
0|.ri.^'.lja*fte a Paradise WitWat .
-,„ *•* Poflut^n otvEarth?  -
■ iVin •>'■')■ it •*}\V«■'•* .**..•'■ ■*.•"■• ¥.■.**■ *!•*.■.>V"
■\, -   "Paradise- Without Pollution""   .
.Address.
753 E. Barstc
Limit two Der customer
gfecr
>w (At First Street)
T      smGuff/iiB."'
j  BURGER. LARGE FRIFS.
1 AND 32 OZ. SOFT DRINK.
UP*
L	
$500 Moves you in!!
2 & 3 BR Townhouses with Fireplaces
4885 N. Chestnut