Rick Van Wickler, Compassionate Jail Superintendent, and Drug War Opponent

Rick Van Wickler is the superintendent of the Cheshire Department of Corrections, which operates the county jail, aka the Keene Spiritual Retreat. Rick has for years been speaking out against the insane “War on Drugs”, which is really just a war on our friends and family. Here’s his recent appearance as part of the Beyond Bars “Safekeepers” campaign, where he explains his path to finding compassion for the people he is tasked with keeping in a cage, many of whom don’t belong in jail, but are forced there by an inhumane system. Van Wickler brings a level of humanity to an operation where it’s normally hard to find. I really appreciate that we have him running the Cheshire jail, rather than some sadist, as is frequently the case in other “Departments of Correction”: