Arizona's own Hydra on prison management

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Arizona's own Hydra on prison management

Arizona’s own Hydra in private prisons

Most of us know of the Greek mythology monster, L. Hydra, who had many heads and when one head was cut off, another would grow back in its place. This is much like the recent cancelation of the MTC Kingman prison contract that has attracted 5 private prison contractors to come to Arizona. The Hydra, is said to have eight mortal heads and one immortal head thus it is a perfect analogy and metaphor to describe the governor’s plan to put out the bid for the rest of the Kingman contract to other profiteers chomping at the bit to enter Arizona’s prison bidding war.

A wise, retired warden once said, “The contract bidding and wording will be interesting. Whoever gets the contract will stand to gain big $$$$. The State has backed themselves into a corner by their failure to monitor this place, now politically they have to succeed at taxpayers’ expense, $$$$. The mismanagement will be something that will resurface in time, lack of work force and resources to provide proper staff/inmate ratio will be on going. [This Hydra concept of] answering to two [or more] masters leads to failure and mistrust by staff.”

There may be physical differences in this Hydra symbolism but the subtleties and actions are the same. Without much doubt in my mind, the Hydra, also the metaphor for the Arizona Department of Corrections, will be slain by those who know its vulnerability the best and that is the prison population who recognize this monster for what it is – a failed prison management style that will eventually cost the state millions of dollars in default and unexpected expenses.

This mortal head cannot be harmed by any mere weapon but in the case of the Hydra, the harm of near fatal wounds will be self-inflicted due to poor planning and contract oversight. One has to remember that there are siblings to the main Hydra and those can do just as much harm as the monster herself who spawned these evil siblings around her. The Hydra was raised to kill Hercules and history tells the story how Hercules survived this battle and how the Greek mythology tell of this great slayer of the monster.

Just like in reality, the Hydra guards the entrance to the prison world, the underground, the filthiest and most vile place in the state. Not necessarily referring to its inhabitants but rather the culture, the environment and the volatile ambience of these places. The prisons are filled with terror and the main terrorists are the elite group of administrative fools, wielding their power and authority freely and arbitrarily, against the prisoners. That’s how the culture sees it to be in an “us versus them” battle of principles. Perception inside a prison is a reality. You cannot change the truth.

No matter what you do, the Hydra would survive and fight another day. It is invincible and the only weakness known is the multiple mortal heads that are subject to being cut off or fail during battle or struggles. No one was ever able to reach the immortal head except Hercules and even he could not cut it off but rather, buried it under a boulder.

That is the weakness of the Hydra – too many heads to protect and the inability to do so as the prison system is divided by too many heads and too much conflict in culture, politics, mission statements and objectives that by itself creates conflict from within. It too will soon be buried under a political boulder of cynical and undue expenses.