WITNESS
James H. Bruton has over thirty-four years of professional experience in corrections. He was the Warden at the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights, the state's maximum security prison, from 1996 until his retirement in 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Bruton was the Deputy Commissioner of the Institutions Division in the Minnesota Department of Corrections. He has also served as the Superintendent of the Ramsey County Correctional Facility; the Executive Officer of Adult Release, directing Minnesota's prison release system; the Director of Internal Affairs at Oak Park Heights; and Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Corrections Board (State Parole Board).
Mr. Bruton has been an Adjunct faculty member for the University of St. Thomas' Criminal Justice Department since 1987, and is also an Adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and Century College. He has been a consultant with the National Institute of Corrections and an expert witness for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. Mr. Bruton is the author of The Big House: Life Inside a Supermax Security Prison, published in 2004, and a contributor to Super Max Prisons: Beyond the Rock.
Back to Witness List
|
STATEMENT
Unfortunately, some prisons do not operate on the principles of dignity and respect. In those systems, officers think that by threatening new inmates, they will set a tone of superiority. They think that by treating inmates with disdain, they will maintain control. They are wrong. Contempt breeds contempt. Mistreated inmates react with hostility and resistance. What's more, this resentment against constant mistreatment continues past the release date when offenders are returned to the community and are expected to associate appropriately with the general public.
I met inmate John Smith the day after his transfer to Oak Park Heights. What he told me reaffirmed the importance of treating inmates with dignity and respect.
First, Smith thanked me. He said that after being processed in, escorted to his cell, and locked in for the night, he was surprised to hear one of the officers say, "Good night. We'll see you in the morning." This simple pleasantry, Smith said, had been absent from his previous prison experience, and helped ease the anxiety that exists with an institution transfer.
Then Smith told me about a previous transfer experience. In that instance, he was greeted with the following question: "Where would you like your body sent if you're murdered here?" It set the tone for the rest of his stay.
Prisons do not run safely through intimidation. They don't run safely through fear of automatic rifles or corporal punishment. Prisons don't run safely by accident; they run safely by design. And it all starts with how you treat people.
This is the most critical of all management principles in prison operations. It forms the foundation upon which every thing else is built. Security and control — given necessities in a prison environment — only become a reality when dignity and respect are inherent in the process.
Excerpted from his book, "The Big House: Life Inside a Supermax Security Prison."
Note: Some witnesses submitted documents in addition to the written statement they prepared for the hearing. In most cases, those documents are not available on the Commission's web site.
|
|
