By Larry West

"Attention on the yard! Attention on the yard! Inmate Smith, B-7-1-3-9-2, please report to the chapel."

These are probably among the most dreaded words an inmate can hear on the yard. Often, an officer will come to their cell and inform them that they are to report to the chapel. The inmates have come to believe that this means bad news and, usually, this is the case.

As a general rule, it becomes the responsibility of the chaplain to inform the inmates when there is a family emergency or a death. I have just told one of the men that his baby daughter died at childbirth because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Yesterday I spent most of the day notifying and counseling with men who had had deaths in their families. This is one of the most difficult parts of the job.

These men, many of whom have an hard, uncaring, external demeanor, often times melt into tears when told that their mother has just died. Often they are flooded with guilt, which I believe, may not necessarily be a bad thing. My feeling is that they need to reflect upon how their mother must have agonized over the things they did to bring about their incarceration; the shame and embarrassment for which they are responsible. They express their regret that they were not able to be there to tell their mother they loved her and that they cannot even attend the funeral.

In the privacy of my office, they can allow their tears to flow, they can admit that they have failed in their family responsibilities, they can express their sorrow and regret. They are forced to face

the helplessness of their current situation and, hopefully, to realize that they are wasting their lives sitting in prison.

If only people on the outside could realize these feelings, perhaps they would stop and think before committing a crime.

Previously, I have had to travel to a parent's home to notify them that their son had committed suicide in the prison. The heartache is enormous. The hopes and dreams are shattered by the bleak, stark reality. I dare to say that anyone who could have experienced the sense of desperation and total abject reality of the situation would surely stop and think before taking their own life - no matter what their circumstances might be.

(It is often easy for many of us on the outside to think of the prisoners as a nameless, faceless population; undeserving of our compassion. Often our frustration with crime rates, an overburdened judicial system, and political tampering of prison systems causes our hearts to become hardened and bitter. However, we should remember the words of Jesus in Mark 2:17, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." May we ever strive to emulate the compassion and love of our Master - 1John 4:7-8.) FS