Hope Revoked: Incarceration in America by Renna Lage

Most 18-year-olds in America are entering their senior year of high school— applying to colleges, working paying jobs, and planning for their future. With stars in their eyes and hearts full of hope, these young people do not know where their lives will lead. The same cannot be said for the young and incarcerated in America, however. For Terry Edmunds Jr. (TJ), the reality is significantly less hopeful. Having been incarcerated since the age of 18, he has not seen past the view of a barbed wire fence for almost 20 years. To make matters worse, Edmunds suffered a life-altering Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in April of 2021 at the hands of another inmate, changing every aspect of his life ever since. He suffers from attention and memory deficits, irritability, anger, slowed verbal and physical responses, and impulsive behavior— all common symptoms of TBIs. These symptoms certainly do not mix well with a system in which you are expected to behave, follow the rules, and, supposedly, rehabilitate. For these inmates, working the system is brutal, inhumane, and simply impossible. Without another form of rehabilitation for disabled prisoners, I fear these individuals will suffer exponentially more than their general population neighbors.

 “Good Tuesday morning mom! I finally have media time! Decent meals today. Not much going on here! Will call in about an hour! Love n prayers, T & J xoxoxoxo 8:08,” Edmunds writes to his mom the morning I am typing this paper. After almost two decades, Edmunds has been passed around to various prisons in the Lincoln, Nebraska area. Currently, he resides in the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution where his out-of-state family comes to visit when they can. His mother Lou Ann, however, is there nearly every week. She uses her prison-approved app to keep in contact with TJ in between visits. She often watches her messages for the green light indicating he is online so she knows he’s alive.

 As one can imagine, the conditions in which families can visit their loved ones are not natural or comfortable, with the environment inside a prison being extremely upsetting. The guards, being just as unhappy to be there as you are, hardly even speak to you except to call out an inmate’s last name and number. That is all TJ is to them, a name, a number, and a criminal record. Never mind the fact that he’s a human being who, while incarcerated, has had to try to work through the grief of losing various important family members–both grandparents, his uncle, my brother, and his brother–without any kind of support. No, he’s just Terry Edmunds Jr., Inmate 67857. Take off your shoes and walk through the machine, he’ll be waiting for you in the visitation room. Maybe this time he’ll be in chains.

I was three the last time I saw the true, free man my uncle was. It is horrifying to witness a nonviolent offender being thrown away by the justice system like they are nothing. Some prisoners have three little nieces and nephews who just want their time with their uncle when their uncle wants to watch them grow up and be a part of a family. Like so many families with loved ones in the system, this hope was stripped away from us a long time ago. It became even more complicated when TJ became a disabled inmate. 

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) happen when the brain is damaged by an external force, causing lingering behavioral issues depending on the severity of the injury. TBIs and the accompanying symptoms are officially recognized as a disability in the United States, so why are these prisoners being held to the same standard as their non-injured counterparts? Traumatic Brain Injuries in prisons are, unsurprisingly, incredibly common. The CDC states that more than two million people are in prisons and jails in the U.S., and 25- 87% of those people have reported having a brain injury (“Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons…”). Men have a 9% chance of ending up in prison whereas women have a 1.1% chance (“Lifetime Likelihood of Going…”). Meaning that you are more likely to suffer a life-altering Traumatic Brain Injury in prison than you are to go to prison. These injuries lead to serious struggles down the road in life like substance abuse, violence, and homelessness. If these are dangerous issues on the outside, on the inside they are detrimental. 

Inmates who exhibit drug-seeking behavior, get in fights, and cannot control what they say or do will either get more time or get their good time taken away. If the end goal of prison is supposed to be complete rehabilitation, there must be options for disabled prisoners. Keeping them locked up and confined in a system that is only actively working against them certainly does more harm than good.

Inmates with TBI are victims of punishment for their lack of understanding due to their disability. The most common is being sent to solitary confinement or the hole. This is a very high price for simply insulting a guard or staff member or saying the wrong thing. Even if prisoners are just lashing out verbally and there is no real threat behind it, they will also regularly have their commissary or visitation revoked. These cruelties are the justice system punishing those already struggling by subjecting them to more hardship by restricting everything that gives them a glimpse into the outside world. It is more than just revoking snacks or visitors; it is revoking hope.

Instead of sending people with mental health problems to jail, there are better ways to help them that are kinder and more effective. Programs like mental health courts and TBI assessments and knowledge can be used to support and care for their needs. Mental health courts are special courts where people get a treatment plan and have regular check-ins with a judge who understands mental health. Education for guards on what TBIs are and how to spot them would lead to a careful and compassionate response to an inmate who is suffering. Assessments on inmates like TBI screenings would be incredibly helpful in not causing any further damage, as well as using it as a tool to recognize those that need to be helped early on. These methods are not only better for the people involved but also save money and reduce the number of people in jail. Treating mental health problems with care instead of punishment is fairer and helps everyone in the long run.

My uncle TJ’s experience highlights the urgent need for specialized rehabilitation programs in prisons for individuals with disabilities. Addressing these needs is not just a matter of fairness but also essential for humane treatment and effective rehabilitation. For prison reform in America, this blind hope is all we have. But hope has been revoked for those imprisoned in the system, embedded so deeply into it that they cannot see the light. Maybe they can return in six months and sit before the parole board to plead for more. 

Works Cited

Bieck, Lou Ann. Personal Interview. 17 September 2024.

Edmunds Jr., Terry. Personal Interview. 4 September 2024.

Ives-Rublee, Mia, and Christina Stafford. “Long-Term Solutions to the Overincarceration of People with Mental Health Disabilities.” Center for American Progress, 13 Sept. 2024, www.americanprogress.org/article/long-term-solutions-to-the-overincarceration-of-people-with-mental-health-disabilities/.

“Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison.” Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison, U.S. Department of Justice, Mar. 1997, bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/Llgsfp.pdf. 

“Traumatic Brain Injury in Prisons and Jails : An Unrecognized Problem.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007, stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11668.

Horn, Michelle L, and David  J Lutz. “TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: IDENTIFICATION AND RESPONSE TO NEUROLOGICAL TRAUMA .” Sam Houston State University, 2016, dev.cjcenter.org/_files/apcj/APCJ%20FALL%202016-final%20v12-2%20-%20Horn-Lutz.pdf_1481581552.pdf.