The Forum > Article Comments > A view from a living hell > Comments
A view from a living hell : Comments
By Bernie Matthews, published 12/5/2006One man's story from the prison that never was.
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Having been involved in the NSW prison system during the time Bernie mentions, I can assure you that he speaks the truth. Its a violent place, lots of screws join the service when they fail to become cops or the armed services rejects them for some reason. There are many misfits looking after prisoners, they get joy out of seeing people suffer. The same goes for prisoners, so when you have these two groups together, sparks can fly. I know Katingal, its not a nice place. I also know tracs at Goulburn gaol and have seen it in action on many occasions, its not for the faint hearted.
Changes began when Tony Vinson took charge of the system, he started to humanise the system. I dealt with senior screws that were transferred out of Grafton and investigated, they were hard men who caused a lot of problems and were vicious in their work. They believed that beatings and deprivation worked, it didn't take long to prove them wrong.
We will always have crime and we must lock up those that commit crime, but the system still isn't what it should be. People should come out of jail changed for the better, education does that. If we remove the corruption from the system and educate the crims properly, we may go forward.
Bernie wrote this very well, yet kept many things back. Everything goes on in jail that goes on outside, its just more intense.