Shaneva McReynolds writes: 'Despite writing and passing laws that affect the thousands of people incarcerated in Illinois, very few legislators ever visit a prison and experience for themselves what conditions are like inside.'
Phones hang on the wall at Logan Correctional Center on June 8, 2022, in Lincoln, Illinois.They will join dozens of others who’ve served before, all of whom will grapple with the issues that face our state. One of the biggest issues Illinois — and frankly, the entire United States — is grappling with is the need for public safety. For decades, mass incarceration has been society’s defense in response to any concerns about crime.
I thought I had an idea of what to expect from my experiences in a visiting room — I couldn’t even begin to tell you the number of visits I’ve had with my husband and my brother, who has also been incarcerated. But the visiting room of a prison is not the picture you get when you go from unit to unit inside the facility.
When I talked to the women at Logan about what they needed to improve their lives, they asked for things as simple as hooks to hang their clothes on so they don’t sit on a wet floor when they shower. I wouldn’t even want to undress in that shower, let alone use it. The showers were disgusting.Prisons should be designed for rehabilitating people, not warehousing them. There is a need for change, a need for alternative solutions.
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