December 12, 2014
Not too long ago two students in my horticulture class had to be expelled for breaking the rules. These two students who are also on cell isolation in my unit were apparently having sex in the school
bathroom that's designated for the students. Unfortunately this kind of thing happens all the time in prison, which is why I never use the bathroom or wander off to hidden or secluded areas of the prison unless absolutely necessary. Luckily for me this kind of thing is much more uncommon here at the level 2 Madison penitentiary than it was at the level three Lebanon penitentiaries where I used to reside. I remember having to skip taking a shower on several occasions due to finding inmates having sex in the shower, leaving me no choice but to take a bird bath in the sink in my cell. Lebanon had a big, 4 man shower area out in the open, with no curtains, they called it 'the car wash'. Here at Madison we have single man showers, with curtains for privacy, exposing only our feet so that inmates can see if the shower is occupied, but more importantly so that the guards can see if there's more than one inmate in the shower having sex or whatever else it is that they do. Due to the changing of times and the social acceptance for gay men and woman, I'm not going to comment on what I think, what I believe, or how I was raised, but what I will say is that prison is not the place for sexual relations and I say this because there's no privacy in prison. I shouldn't have to be subjected to walking in on any person having sex with another, whether it be two men, two women, or a man and a woman. Sex is a private and personal act and I surely don't want to have to walk in on two other people doing such a thing. These are just some of the nightmares stemming from my time in prison that will haunt me for the rest of my life; fueling my drive for a secure, successful and law abiding future as a contributing member of society that I so desperately want to remain a part of for the rest of my life after release.
Steven Dybvad
