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| From the Bench: My first prison tour |
| By theosakisreview.com - Judge Mary B. Mahler |
| Published: 10/19/2011 |
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Remember the scene from the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, when Tim Robbins’ character, Andy Dufresne is sentenced to prison? The camera pans over the tall, ancient walls of the prison to reveal a small internal city of various building among large cellblock housing units. Well, that’s how prison really is. Shortly after taking office, I learned Minnesota district court judges must attend a half-day tour of one of the 10 Minnesota Department of Corrections Prison Facilities during each term. This mandate ensures judges appreciate actual results of sentencing individuals to the custody of the commissioner of corrections. By way of background, there are eight adult and two juvenile facilities. I elected to tour the Stillwater facility, but quickly learned it is actually located in neighboring Bayport, Minnesota. The Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater looked exactly as I had imagined: tall, stone-looking walls with coiled, razor wire curling along the top. The stone walls set back from the iron fence that runs along the sidewalk and directs you up steps to the main entrance. Once inside, the age of the facility is immediately apparent. The lobby looks like an old train station with a large wood desk, floors covered in small white and green tiles and long rows of wood chairs. The facility was built in 1914 as an industrial prison; it is the state’s largest close-security, level four (with five being maximum security) institution for adult male felons. Read More. |
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