Randy Pierce, writing about his experiences during the past few months as an inmate in the Gist Building, State Jail, Beaumont, Texas:
My daily routine is to get up between 1:30am- 2:30am for breakfast, eat, go back to sleep. Get up at 5:45am for work at 6am to 2pm. Dorm janitor, mop, sweep, clean toilets, sinks, all janitorial duties. Eat lunch about 10am then back to the dorm, more sweeping, mopping, then get off work at 2pm. Go to exchange dirty clothes for clean clothes (whatever they give you sometimes too small, too big, underwear with no crotch). Come back to the dorm then eat dinner between 3:30 and 4:30. Back to the dorm, watch TV, or read, write letters, mainly write letters and read. Take a shower then lights out at 10:30.
No school, lucky if you get to go to the library. Usually get recreation from maybe 6pm to 8pm daily. Depends on the weather and/or the mood of the guards. This is considered a minimum security facility, actually it is a State Jail and TDCJ is not really supposed to be here. There are counts every two hrs, where you rack up in your bunks for count. The guards are verbally abusive, most of them. There are a few that actually treat you as if we are humans. But most of them could give a shit less about how they treat us. It is very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. No dignity, you shit shower and shave in full view of your fellow inmates and the guards over your dorm. And of course most of them are women. So you have no pride either, very degrading. I really don’t like it here. The last two years professionally haven’t been too well either. I have had three different jobs and was fired once they found out this case was pending. While it was still in the indictment phase. So of course that did not help my career any, having that many jobs.
Personally I hate what I did. I wish I hadn’t done it. I am very sorry for what I did, and I felt that I needed to repay my debt back. I also felt that I was guilty and deserved to be punished. I never expected getting punished this severely, so I am really worried what kind of person I will be when I do get out. Normally I am a giving and caring person. Typically honest (excuse this incident), reliable with integrity. If something constructive doesn’t happen here, I am afraid all of that will change. I feel it is already happening after only four months. I now understand why people become career criminals. I made one mistake in my life, after 44 years, and I am very very sorry for what I did. You can believe it won’t happen again.
This article appears in December 24 • 1999.