This is His Life

Watch the video interview below: 

America has one of the largest prison populations in the world

Maximum security sunrise: In 2015 Newsweek Magazine reported that over 2.2 million people are incarcerated in American jails or prisons.  America has the largest jail/prison population in the world.

If those numbers are hard to imagine, think of it this way:

If you took the population of Delaware and multiplied it by two and then added the population of Rutherford County, TN - - you would have the number of those behind bars in the United States.

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Or… If you took the population of Washington D.C.  and multiplied it by three and then added 156,490 people - - you would have the number of those behind bars in the United States.

The number of men and women behind bars is larger than the population of 16 U.S. states.

Still not easy enough to wrap your mind around? More people are sitting in American jail or prison cells than the population of 87 different countries around the world.

Jail Vs. Prison Basics:

If you didn’t realize it, jail and prison are very different. Those who are in a prison have already gone through court proceedings and were found guilty. Their time behind bars is usually one year to life.

Typically, those who are in jail are awaiting their trial or unable to make bond. Others sitting in jails across the country are being held for misdemeanor crimes that don’t exceed 11 months and 29 days. Of course, you could be in a jail longer if convicted of multiple misdemeanor charges or if you are enrolled in a special program.

Children without Parents:

The Casey Foundation reported that over 5 million children in the United States have had at least one parent behind bars at one point or another. Those numbers equal one out of every fourteen kids who have had a parent behind bars during their toddler, early childhood or adolescent years.  

The cost of bars:

The cost to keep inmates in confinement equals around $70 billion annually, according to WIRED.com.

Why has the prison population spiked since 1980?

Prison and local jail populations have skyrocketed in the United States over the past 35+ years, but why? Some would blame the problem on laws surrounding marijuana or alcohol consumption. Those who blame such are only correct by a fraction.

Mental Illness is the real contributor to the increased prison and jail system populations.

The Urban Institute reports that over 60% of local jail inmates have mental problems while nearly the same number present mentally ill symptoms.  

State prisoners also have a lot of the same issues as local jails. In state prisons, over 55% of inmates have some type of mental problem and another 48% or so show symptoms.

At the Federal prison level, about 45% of inmates have mental issues while 40% show mentally ill symptoms, according to the Urban Institute.

When he was finally released from prison, he was a prisoner in his own body

When someone tells you they robbed 17 banks during their prime years… What’s your first thought? I guess mine was – Did you make a lot of money? My second thought… Sure, you can hop in my truck!

My friend Jerry and I were in Nashville when we met 64 year old Frank Webster. He talked about how he once robbed banks for a living while living in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Of course, he only had to get caught once for him to receive a pay cut. Needless to say, getting caught also equals out of work.

Mr. Webster was all smiles and laughs. Hard to believe you could even smile after being in prison for so long and when you finally get released – you are literally an inmate trapped inside your own body.

Mr. Webster was known as inmate 00092428 when he spent the late 1980’s into the 2000’s locked up in West Tennessee. In 2014, he had a stroke while in prison.

After the stroke, Mr. Webster was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville. The specialized prison is for those with medical conditions, such as the aftermath of a stroke.

On December 29, 2017, just one day after his 64th birthday, he was released from prison. Finally, he was a free man. This would equal a wakeup call to a brand new world.

Nowhere to go he found himself on the streets of Nashville.

The right side of his body is about 75% paralyzed, so he scoots around on a wheelchair that was given to him. “I don’t have a doctor and I need help with stroke rehab,” he said with a thick mumble due to the stroke affecting his speech.

At night, Webster sleeps at the Nashville Rescue Mission. During the day, he watches cars go by while sitting quietly in his chair.

He pointed down the street suggesting there was a nonprofit he wanted to visit to get advice on where to go for help. It was obvious he could not make it in the wheelchair to 4th Avenue in downtown Nashville. So with a lift into the truck, thanks to Jerry Craddock, we headed towards his destination.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. ”

— Helen Keller

One Hundred Pounds of Weed

He perked up when he told me about his past, “I went to school with Randy Owens where I grew up in Alabama.” For those who are not familiar with the old school country music charts, Owens was tops in his game during the 1980’s and 90’s as he performed as the lead singer of “Alabama.” As the homeless man continued to talk he said, “He’s a couple of years older than me.”

We then started talking about his past. “In 1976 I went to prison after I got caught with 100 pounds of marijuana.” Ironically, the arrest happened in Colorado where it is now legal to smoke pot. “At one point, I owned two houses,” he told me. “I bought the weed off of shrimping boats in Florida,” he explained. He ended up spending four of an eight year sentence behind bars in Colorado.

This past May he was asleep outside of a Chattanooga gas station when unknown persons attacked him. While sleeping, he was beat with a brick and his legs and ankle jumped on to the point of breaking. He spent three months under medical care while in the hospital and later rehabilitation.

They never found who assaulted him, but he lives with the scars of it daily. In fact, his heel even had to be reconstructed which leaves him in pain when walking.

“Given a choice between grief and nothing, I’d choose grief.”

— William Faulkner

Arson X2 = Prison Time

Raymond asked, “Do you know who I look like?” I said, “No, who?” He smiled, “That guy on Breaking Bad.” I laughed a little, “The professor? Yes, you do!”

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He then talked about his stay in the state prison. He was sentenced to 15 years for a double arson case a number of years back. Evidently, the wrong people tricked and beat up Raymond. In revenge he burnt down their two mobile homes, one of which was new.

Without skipping a beat and owning up to the crimes as he talked, he said that alcohol was a factor in his decision making process.

After getting out of prison he met a girl and eventually met a second significant other called meth. “I’m getting off it,” he told me. In fact, Raymond has been clean since the first of February.

“I am more afraid of alcohol than of all the bullets of the enemy. ”

— Stonewall Jackson

From Prison to Recovery

A Murfreesboro man by the name of Dustin Keith Brown will be facing the courts on Friday in Rutherford County. However, he will be in court for a more positive reason. 

Brown, who already served time for three felony drug charges and maintaining a dwelling for the use of drugs, will be asking for a reduction in fees and fines. 

While in prison, Brown underwent drug treatment and spent 32 months behind bars. After being released he got a job and has been on the right track. 

“Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it. ”

— David Foster Wallace, writer

Looking Back: The shut down of the Tennessee State Prison

The old and now deserted Tennessee Prison opened in Nashville during the year of 1898. It later closed down in 1992. But, do you know why it shut down?

The prison shut down due to a class action lawsuit filed in 1983. The Federal Courts issued a permanent injunction that prohibited the state from ever putting another inmate into the old Tennessee State Prison.

The Grubbs V. Bradley case led to the determination that the conditions of living behind the walls was unfit for human habitation. Some prisoners had as little as 19-square feet in their prison cells.

Scotty Grubb and four additional inmates filed a suit on behalf of themselves and others being held in the prison in 1983. The suit alleged rampant violence, improper medical care, poor sanitation and overcrowding. Violence, according to court documents, included rape, robbery, stabbings, inmate vs. guard violence, guard vs. inmate violence and murder.

In the medical hospital on site, prisoners who were trustees were said to be involved in the direct delivery of health care. The inmates, who were completely exempt of certifications, licensure or training in the health care industry, assisted in examinations, surgeries, cleaning medical equipment, reviewing inmate medical records and more.

As a result of the court findings, the old Tennessee Prison eventually shut down.

Tennessee Department of Correction opened a the new Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at Nashville in 1989.

Source:

Grubbs v. Bradley, 552 F. Supp. 1052 (M.D. Tenn. 1982)

Walking the streets

His cheeks were sunken in, his body frail. It looked as if he had not had a square meal in weeks if not months.

Howard was first sentenced to prison on January 20, 1981. He was later released on parole, but found himself in and out of trouble. Today, he wanders the streets of Nashville in search of change at the age of 57.

“Why did you do to get sentenced to prison,” I asked. “I killed four men in a poker game,” he told me. When I asked him to describe what happened he simply responded, “They cheated me.” I asked, “Do you still play poker?” He told me no with a slight smile. I then asked him, “Do you still kill people?” With a laugh he said, “No, I learned my lesson.”

“I want to quit drinking, I’m tired of this,” he said while looking down at the cracks in the sidewalk. It was as if he and I were the only two on the streets talking. “I’m ready for rehab,” he said with a disappointing frown. I gave him the phone number of a rehab center that offers scholarships for the homeless. He took the number and calmly walked away as if he were about to cry. "I'll call tomorrow," he said when he left.

“Addiction is the primary way people escape the modern world. Unfortunately, it is destroying the modern world.” ― Christyl Rivers

Now out of prison, but in a prison

Memphis, Tennessee is ranked as having the second highest crime rate in the United States according to some surveys and number three in others. Regardless of the ranking, life is hard for many.

“How did you get the scar under your right eye,” I asked with curiosity… He looked a little to the side while never letting the grasp of his cigar ease, “When I was in prison in Texas, a man punched me in the eye.” As he continued to tell me the details of the event he said that he did not know it was cut so badly until he went into the bathroom and noticed blood dripping down his face. “The guy then came in the bathroom and apologized saying that he was sorry, he just learned that his mom died,” he explained.

“I went to a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas,” he said with a smile. He told me he was sentenced to 20-years, but only had to serve 8. I asked what for and he said that he was already a convicted felon and was caught driving his mother’s car while armed. He also ran from Memphis Police, wrecking the car he was driving.

He spoke highly of his mother who is now deceased and said, “I told my mom before court to just say that the gun was hers and that I didn’t know it was in the car, but she said she was not going to lie for me.”

As for Beaumont Prison in Beaumont, Texas, he said the federal courts often send convicts there from Tennessee. The prison population totals 2,129 inmates. It is known as a “High Security Penitentiary.”

He told me it is next to impossible to find a job as a felon, but lives in a home with a roommate. He has been out of prison for the past 7 years.

"Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars." - Beck

Poker is my game

"I spent 30 of my 62-years of life in a federal prison," he told me.

During our conversation I asked, "So you play cards I see?" He smiled and replied, "Wanna play me in poker?" I laughed as I told him that I am not very good. "I'm the best, people didn't even play with me in prison after a couple of years because I would always win," he said with a slight chuckle.

Despite his good game hand, he had a lot of hurt in those squinted eyes and his toothless mouth.

"I'm not like a poker player. I'm not into bluff. My way is to look someone in the eye and tell them the way I'm intending to go. My cards are always on the table." - Tori Amos

Half Life in Prison

“I spent half my life in prison,” he told me looking down. “Why,” I asked with curiosity. “Guns and drugs, I was sentenced in federal court at age 30, today I am 62,” he said. Then he chuckled, “But, I met a girl the other night… I’m staying with her over there [pointing to a nearby rundown motel], she’s 30.” I laughed a little and responded, “Well good for you.” He then smiled real big and said, “She’s a pretty little thing.”

Bernard Kerik a former police officer, convicted felon, and consultant who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001 once said, “Going to prison is like dying with your eyes open.”

Empty Places: The old Tennessee State Prison

This evening I journeyed back into the infamous Tennessee State Prison. Some call it the Castle while others simply label it a fortress. See my previous visit HERE.

The abandoned and decrepit prison is located near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The massive structure first opened in 1898.

The prison had a death row area that included solitary cells for troubled inmates on the row. Death row also had an electric chair for the final days of some inmates in Tennessee.

The prison closed in 1992 and has graffiti on some of the cell walls that suggest some were released in 1990 as the prison began the shutdown process. Other inmate graffiti calls on help from Jesus. It is fascinating, sad and creepy all at the same time.

Empty Places: Tennessee State Prison

The infamous Tennessee State Prison is located near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The massive structure first opened in 1898. As you walk around the now silent grounds, you will see towering rock walls that were stacked by hand. On top of the wall that surrounds the prison are three wires that were once fueled by a small electrical substation to make them deadly to the touch. In fact, only one prisoner survived a climb over the live wires after he wrapped them in sheets. That prisoner did not walk away, but instead was transported to medical with serious burns all over his body. 

The prison had a death row area that included solitary cells for troubled inmates on the row. Death row also had an electric chair for the final days of some inmates in Tennessee.

The prison, which closed in 1992, is now overseen by the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. However, the grounds are still cared for by the Tennessee Department of Corrections. In other words, you may still see inmates walking the grounds. 

Today, the deserted prison remains under the watchful eye of a 24-hour guard and staff. The interior of the structure is off limits to the public due to the large amount of asbestos inside.