I spent the entirety of last weekend in the Cheshire County jail. I want to thank the Sheriffs who cuffed and transferred me as well as the Corrections Officers in the jail for their professionalism and courtesy. I made it clear that I did not intend to resist and you made it clear that you did not want to hurt me. I respect you for the level of humanity you treated me with, considering the system itself is inhumane. There may be a few bad guys among you, but I could not identify them during my brief stay. Also special thanks to Lieutenant Kevin Clark for allowing me a personal phone call when the in-cell phone wouldn’t work with my girlfriend’s cell phone.
Unfortunately, while I’m sure you all do your best to do your job as instructed so you can keep food on your family’s table, you should know that what you are doing as part of your job is wrong. Many of you already know this. In fact, the superintendent of the jail, Richard Van Wickler, is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. As you know, the jail is full of people who have not done harm to another human being. I refer of course to “consensual criminals”, like drug users. This appears to be the main reason another jail is being built – you’ve run out of room to hold your political prisoners!
Don’t you wish you were only incarcerating real criminals? You know, people who actually hurt others or damaged property? I understand that quitting your job may make you feel better, but then you may be replaced by someone less humane than you, so I’m not certain that is the solution. Obviously you’ll be fired (whether you’re the superintendent or a CO) for doing the right thing and turning loose all your peaceful prisoners. Perhaps you can start by joining with your superintendent and becoming a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
What else can COs who object to being a part of incarcerating peaceful people do to protest? Please post your ideas here in the comments.
