Incarceration is not only about custody. It is about control, power, and relationship.

One of the most overlooked factors shaping life inside prisons is the relationship between prison staff and incarcerated people. This relationship directly impacts safety, mental health, rehabilitation outcomes, and—critically—the amount of time a person ultimately remains in custody. In addition, it impacts the type of individual that is returned to our society.

 

The Historical Root: From “Overseer” to Correctional Officer

The word “overseer” has a brutal origin.

On American plantations, overseers were tasked with surveillance, punishment, and domination—not care, correction, or rehabilitation. Their authority was enforced through fear, dehumanization, and violence.

While today’s prison staff hold a different title, remnants of that mindset still surface when incarcerated people are treated as property, threats, or problems rather than human beings.

When authority is rooted in domination instead of dignity, the system reproduces harm—over and over again.

 

How Relationships Affect Time in Custody

The way staff interact with incarcerated people has real consequences:

·         Write-ups, infractions, and disciplinary reports often hinge on staff discretion

·         Parole recommendations are influenced by institutional behavior records

·         Program access (education, work, treatment) depends on staff approval Lockdowns and restricted movement increase stress and disciplinary incidents

·         Retaliatory or biased enforcement can extend sentences indirectly

When staff view incarcerated individuals as adversaries instead of humans, small moments escalate, infractions multiply, and time in custody quietly stretches longer.

Conversely, when staff understand their power and use it responsibly, conflict de-escalates, compliance increases, and rehabilitation becomes possible.

 

Why the Humanity Element Is Non-Negotiable

People in custody are:

·         Sons and daughters

·         Mothers and fathers

·         Trauma survivors

·         Human beings capable of growth

Dehumanization does not produce safety.

Respect does.

Research and lived experience consistently show that environments grounded in mutual respect, emotional intelligence, and humane treatment are safer for everyone—including staff.

When officers are trained to:

·         Recognize trauma responses

·         Communicate without humiliation

·         De-escalate rather than dominate

·         Understand cultural and historical context

…violence decreases, mental health stabilizes, and rehabilitation becomes real.

This Is Not Anti-Staff — It Is Pro-Human

Calling for humane relationships inside prisons is not an attack on correctional officers.

It is a call for better training, safer facilities, and healthier outcomes.

Staff deserve workplaces that do not require them to become hardened, cruel, or disconnected from their own humanity in order to survive a shift.

 

Our Call to Action

We are urging leadership to:

·         Implement mandatory training on trauma-informed care, de-escalation, and historical context

·         Measure staff-inmate interactions as a safety and rehabilitation metric

·         Hold systems accountable for patterns of excessive discipline and retaliation

·         Center humanity as a core correctional value—not an afterthought

Because no one should serve extra time due to disrespect, bias, or unchecked power.

Justice is not only about sentences.

It is about how people are treated while serving them.

 

A Lived Example: Byron’s Journey Inside

Because of Byron’s strong spirit, emotional intelligence, and leadership qualities, he has been able—over time—to develop relationships with some staff that are rooted in mutual respect. That was not the case when he first entered the system.

When people enter prison, staff are trained to distrust, to assume the worst, and to anticipate manipulation, danger, or defiance. This training, while intended to promote safety, often creates an environment where incarcerated individuals are treated as suspects first and humans second.

For Byron, this meant that his confidence, presence, and leadership were initially read not as strengths—but as threats.

Over time, through consistency, restraint, and maturity, he demonstrated that respect does not equal weakness, and that leadership does not have to be confrontational. Some staff were able to recognize this and meet him with professionalism and dignity.

However, the reality remains that strong personalities—particularly among Black men—are often misinterpreted as dangerous, defiant, or intimidating. There are still correctional officers who feel threatened or fearful of incarcerated individuals who carry themselves with confidence, clarity, and influence. In these situations, fear can quietly turn into control, excessive discipline, or unnecessary scrutiny.

 

This dynamic reveals a deeper truth:

When staff are not trained to distinguish between leadership and insubordination, or confidence and threat, the system punishes growth instead of encouraging it.

 

Why This Matters Systemically

This is not just Byron’s story—it is a systemic pattern.

·         Strong leaders are often targeted instead of mentored

·         Confidence is mistaken for defiance

·         Influence among peers is viewed as danger

·         Fear replaces discernment

Without proper training in human behavior, trauma, and cultural context, staff may unconsciously escalate situations that never needed to become disciplinary matters—adding stress, infractions, and extended time in custody.

 

The Deeper Ask

We are not asking staff to ignore safety concerns.

We are asking them to be trained to see the difference between threat and humanity.

Because when correctional systems learn to recognize leadership rather than suppress it, prisons become safer, rehabilitation becomes possible, and justice becomes more than punishment.

Byron’s journey demonstrates what is possible when incarcerated people are met with discernment instead of default suspicion. His ability to build mutual respect did not emerge because the system was designed to nurture leadership—it emerged in spite of it. That reality demands reform. Correctional policies must move beyond training rooted solely in control and fear, and instead equip staff to recognize leadership, de-escalate without humiliation, and engage incarcerated people as human beings capable of growth. When systems learn to distinguish strength from threat, fewer conflicts escalate, fewer disciplinary actions unjustly extend sentences, and rehabilitation becomes measurable—not theoretical. Byron should not be the exception. Humanity must become the policy.

Your signature and sharing of this petition is your sharing of the acknowledgement that the humans behind the wall, deserve human treatment.

Thank you,

Rev. Jamesina E. Greene

President & Founder, A Mother's Cry.