Stan Moody

POB 240 Manchester, ME 04351 207/626-0594 Stanmoody1@aol.com

Imprisoned on This Side of the Bars

Author Stan Moody has served in the Maine Legislature, was a prison chaplain and has written scores of articles on prison reform. He is a board member of Solitary Watch and has received the ACLU-ME Civil Liberties Baldwin Award. Stans articles can be read at http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody and https://moodyreport.wordpress.com.

November 9, 2011 As a young electrical engineer designing and testing spy satellites for Eastman Kodak Co. in the 1960s, I brought an evangelical fervor to the task. I have referred to that fervor in the past as defense of the corporate soul. The Internet, that technological grandchild of the early satellite age, has uncovered the moral weakness in defense of the corporate soul. America may slowly be lurching away from Omert, institutional code of silence. Survival Trumping Personal Ethics: Two current instances of survival trumping personal ethics are the dissembling of Presidential candidate Herman Cain and the pathetic story of Joe Paterno, the winningest football coach in the history of top-level college sports. Because he has been highly successful in business, Cain insists that he is above moral reproach. His accusers, on the other hand, bit players in institutional culture, are suspect for failing to sacrifice personal dignity on the altar of the greater corporate good. He points to their troubled personal lives, ignoring the stresses inherent in the corporate sandbox. Paternos worship of the corporate god has indirectly led to enslavement of another kind pedophilia allegedly of scores of young boys. I did what I was supposed to do simply doesnt cut it. Elevating the policy manual to biblical proportions is a weakness that cannot be mitigated by the glory of the gridiron. Cain and Paterno are locked behind prison bars on the respectable side of our criminal justice system. They represent the possibilities of great achievement. Thousands perhaps millions have rallied in their successes. On the other hand,
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the price has been the destruction of human dignity. Thousands in future generations will be impacted by their actions and failure thereof. The Murder of Human Dignity: The murder of human dignity is a mere casualty on the road to greatness. As a chaplain at the maximum security Maine State Prison, I witnessed firsthand the worship of the institutional god. Two hundred years of secrecy and solidarity have created an internal system stripped of human dignity for both staff and prisoners. Current, well-intentioned efforts within the Maine Department of Corrections are timely and well-received. Yet, the kid system of patronage of both prisoners and staff survives and prevails. Cain and Paterno have enjoyed the freedom that prosperity and success have afforded, while remaining enslaved to the illusion of institutional holiness. Cain has been resurrected to the right hand of capitalism. For Peterno, the greater good is a winning strategy on the football field and survival of the good old college spirit. Their accusers can point to neither prosperity nor success. They stand on the thin, uncertain ground of victimhood or that of a higher calling of their own choosing, the battleground on which the soul of our nation is presently at war. Omert at Maine State Prison: Among the instances of Omert within the Maine prison system stand the 2009 deaths of Sheldon Weinstein and Victor Valdez. Weinstein died in Solitary Confinement (Segregation) four days after a prisoner assault. He died within two hours of my having requested toilet paper for him (he had been using his pillowcase) and after a robust conversation. An autopsy revealed death from a ruptured spleen, information withheld from his family until 6-weeks later. In Valdezs case, the most salacious but unconfirmed scenario is that he died from injuries received in Solitary Confinement, was whisked to Emergency at Maine Medical Center 80 miles away and declared DOA. No medical examiner; no autopsy; promptly cremated. The Fallacy of Internal Investigation: The final arbiter is something called internal investigation, the seal of approval on questionable institutional behavior. Penn State reportedly conducted its own investigation and opted in favor of the greater good of gridiron glory and school spirit. Cains internal investigation was conducted by his presidential campaign staff that looked him in the eye and believed him. Weinsteins death took on another investigative form. It was carried out by the Maine State Police while witnesses were carefully screened by prison administration conducting its own investigation. That screening alone clearly conveys to the witness what is in his or her best long-term employment interest.
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For Valdez, there was no need for investigation. The evidence was summarily destroyed. The war cry from the institutional womb has morphed from stay-thecourse to dont be disruptive; the focus shifting from Iraq to Wall Street. The message: Give us just a little longer, and well steal your honor!