Post by James Samuels on Oct 11, 2011 21:14:07 GMT -3
History
The Beginnings
In early 2011, violence among the inmate population at Crystal Lake State Penitentiary in Upstate New York was at an all-time high. Fearing that the problem might escalate even more, Warden James Samuels placed the entire prison on lockdown in early May. Prisoners were kept in their cells 23 hours a day, allowed out only for 45 minutes in the exercise yard, and a 10 minute shower every other day. Meals were to be served to inmates in their cells and visits from family were cancelled indefinitely.
While the lockdown did eliminate violence between inmates, it led to a series of other problems. The inmates became restless and began taking frustration out on themselves and the guards. Attempted assaults on prison staff nearly tripled during the lockdown. In addition to this, human rights groups began calling for Samuels’ job, claiming that he was treating his prisoners like animals.
The problem of what to do with a group of blood thirsty inmates that people want to be treated more like human beings was an interesting one for Samuels. Returning to the status quo wasn’t an option; Samuels knew doing that would just be asking for a string of murders and beatings at the hands of the men who were quickly becoming stir crazy in their cells. The lockdown was never meant to be a permanent solution, not to mention the danger it put his staff in. So that was out of the question as well. What Samuels needed was something new, something that would discourage violence in a non-traditional way.
What Samuels eventually came up with was a proposal that took the corrections system and flipped it on its head. When he first told his advisors what he had in mind, a couple of them considered calling the governor to urge him to have Samuels fired or examined by a shrink. What Samuel’s idea came down to was fighting fire with fire, or in this case, fighting violence with violence.
What Samuels proposed was this: he wanted to establish a wrestling promotion. It was to be based out of Crystal Lake and the wrestlers would be the inmate themselves. Many voiced concerns, but Samuels had prepared for that and had a counter to every perceived negative aspect of his proposal.
The main argument, of course, was that letting convicted felons in a maximum security prison engage in a sport such a wrestling was just asking for trouble and would only escalate violence. To this Samuels replied that only prisoners with perfect behavior would be allowed to participate. Any inmate written up for any violation of prison rules would be suspended or banned from wrestling. Those wrestlers who did not participate in wrestling would be allowed to watch the matches if they were to be written up and would be subject to being placed in solitary confinement.
As far as running the wrestling promotion, Samuels would leave that up to Logan Owens, a man he would hire specifically to oversee the wrestling operations within the prison. Together, Owens and Samuels would decide who was and was not allowed to wrestle and would decide the punishments handed out to any inmate who pushed the limits set for them in the ring.
As far as controlling the competitors, Owens and Samuels agreed to only hire former policemen, correctional officers, or military personnel to referee matches and would allow them to use force as they saw fit. Armed guards, only to be used in extreme circumstances, would surround the ring. Most of these guards would have rubber ammunition, while one would have live ammunition to be used only to be used if a life was being threatened and only if approved by Warden Samuels.
After several months of combing over details and consulting with various attorneys, the governor gave Samuels the go ahead to try his idea on a trial basis. At the first sign of trouble, Samuels will be fired and wrestling at the prison will cease immediately.
As of right now, Owens and Samuels are working on the logistics of running the promotion as well as gauging interest among inmates. The action will start just as soon as they have a roster and staff in place.
The Beginnings
In early 2011, violence among the inmate population at Crystal Lake State Penitentiary in Upstate New York was at an all-time high. Fearing that the problem might escalate even more, Warden James Samuels placed the entire prison on lockdown in early May. Prisoners were kept in their cells 23 hours a day, allowed out only for 45 minutes in the exercise yard, and a 10 minute shower every other day. Meals were to be served to inmates in their cells and visits from family were cancelled indefinitely.
While the lockdown did eliminate violence between inmates, it led to a series of other problems. The inmates became restless and began taking frustration out on themselves and the guards. Attempted assaults on prison staff nearly tripled during the lockdown. In addition to this, human rights groups began calling for Samuels’ job, claiming that he was treating his prisoners like animals.
The problem of what to do with a group of blood thirsty inmates that people want to be treated more like human beings was an interesting one for Samuels. Returning to the status quo wasn’t an option; Samuels knew doing that would just be asking for a string of murders and beatings at the hands of the men who were quickly becoming stir crazy in their cells. The lockdown was never meant to be a permanent solution, not to mention the danger it put his staff in. So that was out of the question as well. What Samuels needed was something new, something that would discourage violence in a non-traditional way.
What Samuels eventually came up with was a proposal that took the corrections system and flipped it on its head. When he first told his advisors what he had in mind, a couple of them considered calling the governor to urge him to have Samuels fired or examined by a shrink. What Samuel’s idea came down to was fighting fire with fire, or in this case, fighting violence with violence.
What Samuels proposed was this: he wanted to establish a wrestling promotion. It was to be based out of Crystal Lake and the wrestlers would be the inmate themselves. Many voiced concerns, but Samuels had prepared for that and had a counter to every perceived negative aspect of his proposal.
The main argument, of course, was that letting convicted felons in a maximum security prison engage in a sport such a wrestling was just asking for trouble and would only escalate violence. To this Samuels replied that only prisoners with perfect behavior would be allowed to participate. Any inmate written up for any violation of prison rules would be suspended or banned from wrestling. Those wrestlers who did not participate in wrestling would be allowed to watch the matches if they were to be written up and would be subject to being placed in solitary confinement.
As far as running the wrestling promotion, Samuels would leave that up to Logan Owens, a man he would hire specifically to oversee the wrestling operations within the prison. Together, Owens and Samuels would decide who was and was not allowed to wrestle and would decide the punishments handed out to any inmate who pushed the limits set for them in the ring.
As far as controlling the competitors, Owens and Samuels agreed to only hire former policemen, correctional officers, or military personnel to referee matches and would allow them to use force as they saw fit. Armed guards, only to be used in extreme circumstances, would surround the ring. Most of these guards would have rubber ammunition, while one would have live ammunition to be used only to be used if a life was being threatened and only if approved by Warden Samuels.
After several months of combing over details and consulting with various attorneys, the governor gave Samuels the go ahead to try his idea on a trial basis. At the first sign of trouble, Samuels will be fired and wrestling at the prison will cease immediately.
As of right now, Owens and Samuels are working on the logistics of running the promotion as well as gauging interest among inmates. The action will start just as soon as they have a roster and staff in place.