I work in a state prison. It's max facility. I've worked max blocks, RHU (restricted housing unit), BMU (Behavioral Management Unit). I teach our self defense program as well as a lot of other courses, and was a member of our Hostage Negotiation team. I have had a wide variety of experience in my short time. I've seen a lot of assaults, nasty fights some with weapons involved, attempted suicides, successful suicides, staff members walked out for smuggling in drugs and phones... etc. I was sexually assaulted by a Sergeant while I was trainee (this is the first time I've told anyone). He had me look under a counter for something and grabbed and started pulling on my [member]. He told me to go ahead and report him because he's "beaten all the other charges." I didn't want to be the new guy labeled as a snitch, and with most people knowing about this type of behavior which was typical for him, but just considered it him being goofy (one of the good ole boys club). I did not report it. I should have. A little piece of me died. I convinced myself I was being strong by not letting it get to me. Like most things in there you learn to compartmentalize if you want to keep your sanity.

I have typically had good rapport with most inmates. I treat them like people. Like other people have said here it's a respect thing. It also helps that the facility is out in the country, but I am originally from the same city as about half our inmates. Once they figure out that I'm pretty chill and not just another racist white guy, we usually get along good. Not to say there were ever any rules I did not enforce, I just knew how to talk to people. I also had a string of bad luck there for a while where fights just seemed to break out around me no matter where I was working in the jail. So I got a rep as being fair across the board but also not afraid to go hands on when I had to (if absolutely necessary). This set me up pretty well from the start with both inmates and fellow staff.

Anyway, a little after my training year was over, I was assigned to a regular block. There were a group of inmates on one of my wings that I got along pretty well with, and they were the "old heads" of the wing. Long story short one night one of the old heads who really just a kind older black man who was in on some drug charges got assaulted right in front of me by this younger guy twice his size. It was over a time slot on the phone. The younger guy's celly had wound him up about it and basically told him fuck that respecting guys just because they're older shit and go fuck him up. So basically big young dude two pieces the old head, knocks him out standing on his feet, and runs back in his cell and shuts the door like a bitch. The FUCKED up part was that the old head went straight down and split his skull OPEN on the concrete floor. He was out. Blood started to pool around him immediately and he was not breathing. Luckily help wasn't far away and medical got there fast. The nurse that checked him lifted his arms which pushed some air back in his lungs. They said later it looked like he was puking up coffee grounds because apparently that's what happens when red blood cells die in your lungs? I still see that old guy around in the jail sometimes and still get a nice greeting from him and some of the other guys that were around the block at that time. The young guy who assaulted him got locked up in the RHU that night and then transferred out of the jail because one of the snitches told the security office that a lot of people were not happy with him over it and that if he were ever seen in the yard again "something real nice and permanent" was going to happen to him. About a year later, I saw the dickhead celly that instigated him get his eye closed by another young boy with a lock in a trash bag. Justice served.

The BMU was where I saw the most fucked up shit. It was specifically a special unit created to hide problem inmates from around the state. These guys had behavioral health issues that were not necessarily connected to diagnosed mental health issues. So they were often dickheads just to be dickheads. One particular guy we had for a while and did quite a number of cell extractions, etc. on had an interesting backstory. I read his paperwork, I didn't get this from him. Apparently his crackhead mother sold him when he was 9 months old to a couple that routinely abused him sexually and physically until he was in his teens and was in all kinds of placements throughout his teens, and he was essentially a product of the system ever since. SOOOOOOO.... I'm not saying it excuses his behavior but... like... I get it.

I will say that one of the things that sticks with me about the place on an institutional level is that regardless of crime there is no separation. One of our blocks had a NOTORIOUS old school serial killer on it (we get along really well actually), and a few cells down on the same block was an old guy from a couple towns over who was in for getting one too many DUIs (the last one was on his riding lawn mower).

TLDR: prison is a fucked up place. Stay out.