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| N.C. Inmates Say Prison Industry Brings Pride, Rehabilitation |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/02/2003 |
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Unlike most other inmates at the close and medium custody prison, these 13 prisoners enjoy a wage comparable to the outside work force. They have started paying their financial debt to society while still behind bars. The prisoners are employees of Global Kinetics of North Carolina, a torque converter re-manufacturer. They work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. inside an old prison laundry remodeled to meet the Florida company's needs. The plant is strictly business. Lathes whir and the clinks and clanks of metal being filed fill the air. Behind protective curtains, welder arcs flare as the prisoners labor over their assignments. Since January, company employees have refurbished 5,500 torque converters, devices that act as clutches for automatic transmission vehicles, said Randy Lee, Caledonia superintendent. The experience gives the prisoners a taste of working on the outside while they are serving their time. The inmates, prison and company officials couldn't be more pleased that Global chose to participate in the Prison Industry Enhancement Program, which brings private industry inside prison walls. 'It is a blessing,' said Otis Quick, serving a 27-year stretch for armed robbery with a dangerous weapon. Quick made $5 a week when he first entered prison in 1998. He now makes $1,300 a month with Global Kinetics. Quick sends $433 a month home to his wife. She said, 'That took a lot of stress off me.' The money goes to send two daughters through college, one a senior at N.C. A&T State University and the other who will be a freshman at Bethune-Cookman College in Florida. 'I feel like a working man,' he said. 'They don't have no problems getting me up.' Quick said his salary makes other inmates jealous. 'They try to start fights with me.' The 48-year-old Quick said he walks away from fights. They could mean immediate termination. To work at Global Kinetics you have to be infraction-free and apply for a job just as you would on the outside. 'The competition for the 13 jobs was fierce,' said William B. Carroll Jr., a Caledonia program director, who turned in 80 applications to Global officials. As the business expands, so will the competition. The company plans to increase the number of employees to 60 and run a shorter second shift, Lee said. While it might seem the successful Global is taking away jobs from a Roanoke Valley work force hard hit by plant closings, company official George Tuskey believes the job experience will serve the inmates well. 'Everybody in here is going to go back on the outside. These guys are going back out as your neighbors and total outsiders. The focus of prisons should be rehabilitation,' Tuskey said. 'We could give him $100 and send him back in the neighborhood and he kills somebody and comes right back to prison. Those who need jobs and those who don't do not need to be victims of crimes.' Tuskey said the company's inmates can walk out of prison and easily get a job in the wide-open field of torque converter remanufacturing, making upwards of $15 an hour when certified. 'He suddenly has value. We're giving them more than skills. We're giving them pride.' Ron Phillip, 39, never worked a real job in his street life. The Trinidad and Tobago native was a drug dealer who made a lucrative living as a cocaine trafficker, clearing $40,000 to $50,000 a day. 'It's a whole new world. I never punched a clock,' Phillip said. Phillip makes only $7 an hour inside the plant, but it makes him feel good. 'There's a difference when you get that check. Knowing you're making an honest buck makes me feel better inside.' Cpl. F. Whitaker, one of the two correctional officers inside the plant, sees a difference between these inmates and the ones in the general population. 'There's a lot of difference between working here and working on the inside. On the inside you're on pins and needles. These are the more intellectual inmates. There's not a lot of horseplay.' 'The fact the inmates are serious about their work helps them make a quality product,' said Eli Gerson, who founded what is now known as Global Kinetics in the 1980s. 'I like it a lot. I get a lot of satisfaction. This is the best crew I've had in my whole life. The quality out of here is A-1.' Tuskey said civilians often tire of the intense physical labor that comes with refurbishing the converters, some of which weigh as much as 80 pounds, and don't come back the next day. Inside the prison plant, the inmate employees know it can only help them. 'They're paying for their crime instead of a free ride,' Lee said. 'Prison industry is a good thing.' The higher-than-normal prison wages are good for several reasons, Caledonia officials said. Not only are federal, state and Social Security taxes taken from their checks, 5 percent goes to the State Victims Restitution Fund. Since its beginning nearly four months ago, the inmates have paid more than $1,400 for victims' restitution, more than $2,000 for personal restitution, attorney fees and court costs and more than $3,000 in child support. With that pay comes responsibility. Andre Howard was a chief petty officer in the Navy, responsible for making sure aircraft landed safely on carriers. From there his life went downhill and he was eventually sentenced to 14 years as a habitual felon for drunk driving. Howard, 45, said the job is more rewarding than any other in the prison. 'It helps support my family and any restitution, also victims' compensation.' Howard sends $400 a month to his family, who use the money to pay monthly bills and save a little for him. The job has helped Howard learn more about himself. 'The main thing is I've got to be more accountable for my actions,' Howard said. |
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