CADRE

Here at Bastrop I have joined the Suicide Watch, cadre. No, this is not knew to me, I have served in this group at FCI Pollock and FCI Three Rivers as well.

This "Cadre" as it is called is voluntary.

What it is designed for is to involve the inmate population with those among us who are having suicidal thoughts or actions. In prison when staff hears of, or encounters someone who is contemplating or actively attempts to harm themselves they are removed from population and put on 24 hour a day watch until the staff Psychology determines that they are no longer a threat to themselves or others. As you can imagine in this day and age when the Federal Prison System cannot adequately staff the normal operations they certainly would have difficulty providing additional staff to sit outside of a medical cell and watch, 24 hours a day, an inmate who is having issues. So, WE, the inmates provide the bulk of that service; overtime pay for officers verses our voluntary time; we get paid nothing, or next to nothing. 

Why do we do it? you ask. Well: first we do it to help ourselves. Yes, we get atta-boys and we get credit for this service that MIGHT, in some cases, not mine though, help us to get out early. In addition to that, some folks get the satisfaction of feeling good about themselves for helping others ... which is the more noble reason, I suppose. But some of us do it because we actually believe in the program. We believe that sitting there outside of that cell, and ... just interacting with another prisoner who is struggling with life and the atrocities of being torn away from your family and outcast, warehoused by the Justice System (Do not believe what you are being told. There is very little rehabilitation being given to prisoners. That is a lie.) to be OUR part in helping them to cope with something we have ALL experienced. Yes, it is our fault, for the most part, that we are here. But what I have learned over my nearly thirty years behind bars is, that no one is inherently bad. People are made bad by bad environments. Truth is, most of these folks in here with drug cases were raised by drug involved families, most of the child abusers were themselves abused ... I myself used to be very judgmental concerning these inmates. Couldn't understand the ignorance of addiction. It took me decades to fix myself concerning this mindset. I am better now. And I can tell you that, believe it or not, most of these people, men and women, in prison are decent folks. 

I'm rambling aren't I ... Look. I used to think that the guys who were locked up for trying to harm themselves were just acting-out to get attention or some kind of a free ride ... and some do that, but most don't. Some of us are actually struggling with incarceration, compounded by events on the outside we are powerless to fix. And, without trying to make myself a target in here, I can tell you that, a lot, not all, but a lot of the prison staff does not care. And that is what got me involved in the Cadre Program, I actually met a prison Doc who did care, and that caused me to care. So, to keep this short I am proud to tell you that I am helping where I can.

Peace be with you. Mark

 

FCI Bastrop, Texas 1-22-2026