Death Row Chaplain: Unbelievable True Stories From America's Most Notorious Prison by Mark Schlabach

Author:Mark Schlabach [Schlabach, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Personal Memoir, Retail
ISBN: 9781476777771
Amazon: 1476777772
Publisher: Howard Books
Published: 2015-05-19T04:00:00+00:00

9

The Baseball Experiment

AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE of working as the chaplain at San Quentin Prison, I was still searching for ways to connect with the inmates. Having spent so much time inside the walls, I’d reached the conclusion that prison is about punishment, not rehabilitation. Being sentenced to life in prison, or even death, means being held captive, and I wanted to find ways to offer inmates an outlet from the mundane rituals of incarceration. I don’t think people understand how maddening life in prison can be. You wake up in the same bed, wear the same clothes, complete the same tasks, and eat the same meals every day. As others have said, the clock moves slowly in prison: it’s as if the pages of the calendar never turn.

I was involved in the sports programs at San Quentin for several years. I coached the defensive line and linebackers on the prison’s eight-man tackle football team. We played against military teams from the local bases. I played chess and dominoes with inmates. I came to understand that it was my job to preach only when I had inmates inside the chapel. When I was outside the chapel, I spent my time trying to get the inmates to come in. I learned that the best way to do it was to spend time with inmates while participating in activities they enjoyed.

Sports programs have been an important part of the rehabilitation process at San Quentin for many years. Inmates play basketball, tennis, soccer, and other sports at the prison yard. I believe sports offer them a way to stay in shape physically, as well as an opportunity to relieve the stress that comes with being isolated from their families and living in such a dangerous place.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.