Kingdom Of Inmates

20 Pages 4887 Words

“KINGDOM OF INMATES”: It’s all a Game

Introduction

Victor Hassine wrote a clear and true representation of the prison system in Life Without Parole: Living in Prison Today about his life in prison. He was educated and trained in law and has been in prison for 17 years. This is a story of the inner dealing and conditions of living behind bars. I will discuss his beginnings at Graterford State Prison, the punishments, the escapisms used to forget about where one is behind bars, the violence that is prevalent, the subcultures, conflicts between the old inmates and the new inmates, the underground economy, gangs, prison politics, race relations, friendships, interviews of inmates by Hassine and prison rape.

Getting used to the beginnings

Victor Hassine was sent to Graterford State Prison in Pennsylvania on June 4, 1981. There were many things to get used to it turns out in prison, unlike the outside world, and he was surprised at how he felt going in. The noise was the thing that shocked him in the beginning of his stay in Graterford. He states that the noise was an “echo that never ended”(6). His first impression of the men in Graterford was unlike anything he had experienced before, none of the inmates seemed human to him at first and he was, as one might think, as scared as he had ever been in his entire life as he was walking to his future home behind bars.

Getting Classified

Getting classified was a ritual all new inmates had to experience entering the prison. This was a time consuming process that “ultimately led to nothing” in Hassine’s opinion (9). He was issued first issued his belongings that had a number on everything he received, AM4737; this number was to be his identification for the rest of his stay in Graterford. He was ultimately labeled a “square john “ because he had no experience in the system and was naive about the inner-workings of the prison. The classifica...