Another classic autumn day, travelling about 250 miles through some beautiful country “Madison County Texas” but not THE Madison County (Iowa).
Huntsville Texas has many Texan prisons surrounding it and also has a unique Prison Museum which is a must to see, particularly if you are on an Aged Prisoner Study Tour
The Estelle Unit is about 20 Miles from the town of Huntsville, surrounded by woods with the longest entry of all prisons visited so far. Prisoners, dressed in white are seen working, clearing trees, with mounted guards providing supervision.
You know you are in a different world when you park your car at the Estelle Unit.
There is no doubting there is a different approach to security at Estelle than other facilities I have visited.
(The Estelle WWW
indicates that prisoners are classified from 1 to 4 (rating to 5) which is a
similar of classification to other units visited)..... Guard towers are manned, and you may not
enter the secure prison grounds unless you are accompanied by an official staff
member. After the first two barred gates; one undergoes X-ray scanning, shoes
off, metal detector scanning, all pockets emptied, belt off and back through
metal detector gate and a final body frisk. Then you pass through another
barred gate where you Exchange ID for a visitor pass (DO NOT LOSE THAT PASS);
you then you lose count of the barred gates you pass through before you get to
the medical treatment area. (There are barred gates every 30 yards or so that
must be remotely opened by a guard.) The corridor you pass along is very wide,
about 5 yards or so, with yellow lines running about a yard out from each wall
along the corridor. Inmates must keep to the wall side of the yellow lines.
Movement is very restricted. Running perpendicular to the corridor are outcrops
of cells. (This is the main prison area) Eventually, after walking about 400
yards, you reach the medical unit area.
I was warmly welcomed by Shelly Hanson, Unit
Manager who gave up her morning to show me around the medical unit.
The Estelle Unit opened in 1984.The Estelle High Security Unit was designed in response to an increase in prison violence in the Texas prison system. Around 1991 Texas Department of Custodial Justice (TDCJ) planned to build a separate facility for elderly inmates. In 1995 the unit received its current name.The Estelle Unit is a part of a large compound, sharing space with the Ellis Unit, which is 3 miles (4.8 km) away from Estelle. As mentioned, the area housing the Ellis and Estelle units is wooded. The Estelle High Security Unit is a self-contained facility north of the main Estelle prison facility. Of interest, but not part of this study, the high security unit is one of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's "super seg" units, which have many administrative segregation cells.
The security
unit houses many of the most violent male prisoners in the State of Texas.
Given the high security arrangement at the Estelle
and Ellis units; the interactions observed between guards and inmates were
noted to be very formalised.
The management of the medical unit
at Estelle is contracted to the University of Texas Medical Branch http://www.cmhcc.state.tx.us/. (A similar arrangement to Barwon and St Vincent’s
Health Care) A 66 bed dormitory (half
walls separate inmates) forms the Geriatric
Centre; it houses older prisoner who can essentially self care. The shower
and toilet area has been adapted to enable wheelchair and walker access.
Flooring is flat with minimal trip hazards. All bed are fixed. There are a few
“double size” spaces for inmates that have extra equipment to maintain their
independence. Cleaning of the Geriatric centre is performed by younger inmates
but there is no carer / orderly inmate model at Estelle.
If an inmate requires
supported care, they are assessed and transferred to the medical area.
The medical area is staffed by a range of nursing, nursing assistant, medical, mental health and allied health staff and offers a large range of health supports for prisoners of all ages (including older prisoners):· 24/7 emergency care and triage
50 beds, 33 beds and 37 beds, with a varying arrangement of
single bed, single bed secure, single bed isolation and two, three and four bed
rooms.
Given the Unit provides health support for a range of custody level
inmates; there are clear guidelines for how a inmates will be housed depending
on their classification, ranging from GP
5 & “Ad – Seg” (including Death Row) = single cell – door locked at all
times, to GP Level (1-4) may be housed anywhere. Some rooms are extra secure
with no power outlets to prevent incidents of self harm.
Full dietary management of inmate’s needs is overseen by a dietician, providing various supported diets for renal impairment, diabetic and other specialised diets.
The medical unit will transfer acutely unwell inmates
to a Corrections Approved Hospital – accompanied by 2 corrections officers.
There is no formalised recreation program. Inmates have access to televisions and books.
Transition arrangements for hospice inmates may include transfer to an aged care provider, if one can be found, only if the inmates receive clearance through the corrections process. Most older prisoners do not receive such clearance. Other transitional arrangements are arranged through the parole division and were not observed or fully discussed during this visit. Options for transition into the community were not obvious. There were no known aged care providers who would accept ex prisoners and a review of the parole divisions WWW http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/divisions/parole/parole_huntsville_placement_release_unit.html indicates transition may be into contracted Residential Re-entry Centres (halfway houses). A review of these facilities for Texas http://www.bop.gov/business/RRC_directory.pdf suggests they offer transitional housing options, and or minimal supported housing (see below)· http://www.uss.salvationarmy.org/uss/www_uss_waco.nsf/vw-sublinks/5B270A9C9B76D5D3852574260065F248?openDocument· http://www.voa.org/Get-Help/National-Network-of-Services/Housing/Affordable_Housing_Initiatives/Affordable_Housing_Helps_Rebuild_Lives.html
For future reference http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/overview.asp
As an aside, Texan’s have some wonderful expressions:·
Why you are sweeter that a sugar packet (heard
in a bar)·
I will get some serious “butt chewin” – being
told off·
“my honey” – partner
The next prison review is on Tuesday - Mississippi.
Between now and then I have decided to make my way to Memphis; if you need to ask why, don't, just follow the link - http://www.sunstudio.com/
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