My how it's been a long time since I blogged about our journey with Russell! Not because we don't have anything to share or things haven't happened since the last post, but really more because life and all its scheduled commitments have a tendency of getting in the way.
Beverly and I made a pact with each other when we first reconnected with Russell, that we would make sure to visit him at least three times a year. Once in August before school starts, once at Christmas time, and always on or around his birthday on June 2. This was our annual birthday trip to visit Russell, since his birthday is Monday and he turns 22. Remember he's been in prison since he was 15, so he's creeping up on seven years so far behind bars. Seven years and many more to go.
It took a while to actually get through security to see him because their computer system was down, which made them have to do everything by hand. When a guard has to look up your name on the printed out visitor list and make a phone call to the main visitor station, it takes a bit longer. Once we got through the first check point and made our way across the barbed wire walkway and into the second check-in station, we handed the guard our driver's licenses and they gave us Russell's printed visitor sheet that shows everyone who is on his visitor list, the dates he has had visitors, and his current "status." If you remember when we first got back in contact with Russell almost four years ago, he was in segregation. That means he was in an isolated cell with no roommate, couldn't go outside during recreation time, and when he had visitors, had to be brought to another individual cell, handcuffed. I'll be honest, but that was always difficult for Beverly and I to watch.
In prison, it's all about your level status, and the status any prisoner (I hope) wants to reach is what is called G1/G2. At this level, you can have physical contact visits with family members, make phone calls, work to make some money, and at times enjoy some nice treats from the commissary. When prisoners get to have physical contact visits, they occur at little picnic tables situated throughout the inside of the visitation area, as well as outside where a prisoner and his visitor can enjoy some sunshine. After visiting Russell in segregation many times, we told him we were sick of him being in seg, so it didn't take long for him to make G4 status. He actually wrote and told us he had a surprise for us, but wanted to tell us in person, so the time we went to visit him for our surprise, it took us a little while to figure it out. It wasn't until the guard told us what number section to sit in and we actually sat down, that we realized we weren't sitting in the small segregation visitation cell area. Beverly and I just looked at each other and let out a scream and yelled, "He's not in segregation...that's our surprise!" When Russell came walking down on his own with no handcuffs, we screamed again! He just smiled and said, "Surprise!" We knew Russell was on a great path to improving himself and his time behind bars. Not long after that, we got a letter from him telling us he made G2 status, which meant we were definitely on the right path to making it to the picnic tables!
Today when we took his visitor sheet to hand it to the guards at our final check in station, we noticed it said G4. That could only mean that Russell did something to get in trouble and get his G2 status revoked. When Russell finally came down to sit at our station and we all picked up the phone, the first thing he said was, "I got into some trouble and I'm G4 again." Because Beverly and I keep on Russell to make good choices all the time, he always gets embarrassed to tell us when he messes up. And he always apologizes to us. We asked him what happened, so he told us. Every now and then, the guards will do a sweep of the prisoners' cells, and when they do, it isn't done very neatly. When they came in to sweep Russell's cell, they ended up throwing his clothes over the railing, where they landed on the concrete floor three stories below. This didn't make Russell very happy, so he decided to go running down the stairs to retrieve his clothes, but when he did, a female guard, who was in front of him, thought Russell was charging at her, so she whipped our her pepper spray and gave him a few squirts. Russell swears he was just rushing down the stairs to get his clothes, and kept repeating to us that he would never hurt a girl. Bev and I believe Russell, but what we expressed to him is that if someone doesn't know him, they would definitely think he is scary and capable of doing harm because of the way he looks. Because of that incident, Russell spent two weeks in solitary confinement and lost his G2 status. He tried to fight the charge and get it dropped, but they denied it. Beverly and I explained to Russell that he has to get a grip on his emotions because regardless of what he thinks is "fair" or whether or not he actually did what he is (or might be) accused of, he will never win in there. We told him that the next time something like that happens, and it probably will, he just needs to take a deep breath and give himself some time to get his emotions in check. A moment of anger or what Russell deems fair or unfair, isn't worth losing what he's worked so hard to accomplish. He promised it wouldn't happen again, and when he comes up for G2 status in October and gets it, he'll make sure to not let it go.
We really had a great visit. Despite a setback and some disappointment, Russell is still on a much better path than when he first entered the system. All he needs to focus on now is taking some deep breaths...and a picnic table.
