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Spotlight 8 Wednesday, April 16, 1986 Prison t By J.D. TUflKALY Staff writer Kdilor's note: This is the first part of a story describing this stuff writer's participation in the rre-mat intervention program at Central Correctional Institute in Columbia. Some language that may be considered offensive has been left in to provide a realistic picture of prison life. The story will conclude in Friday's The Gamecock. A halt hour earlier, they had gathered: petty thieves, rich kids caught with cocaine, first-time pushers and middle-aged ! : \ ill ^I J ft Columbin Correctional Institute prisoner 'A Week 01 brings mus By MARY ANNE GREEN Staft writHf An outdoor concert starring Jason and the Scorchers on Field A is the featured attraction of Carolina Program Union's Spring Ming, which starts tonight. "A Week on the Nile," the theme of the annual event, is centered around "Jewel of the Nile," to be shown later in the week in the Russell House I heater. Comic David Naster starts the Hint; oil at 8 tonight in the Russell House Ballroom. Admission is b 1 A lood festival on Greene Street is planned, featuring cuisines irom the International Council o! Students, from II . . ? , ? i ~ TI 1 ci.111. m (j.iii. i urnsuay. I he theme movie, "Jewel of the Nile," will be shown 7 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Also I riday, dorm groups compete in "A Day at the Races" on Field A. Contests include a bathing suit contest for both sexes, an obstacle course and a relay race. A Video Dance Party featuring popular music videos starts at K p.m. in the Golden Spur Admission is % I. During the day Saturday, the Travel and Tour committee is sponsoring a trip to Charleston, t or participants will spend the day at ttie beach and shopping downtown. I he Georgia Satellites open the show at 6 p.m. Saturday for lason and the Scorchers, who sold out recently at Rockafellas'. Students are admitted free with USC II).; admission is $3.50 for the public. CPU's SPKINO "A Week On featuring: FESTIVAL on ORI Thursday, April I our scar - '-V .j** \ ' businessmen who'd picked up hookers or wrote bad cheeks. It :-i. was a They, like me, were in Pfip- \ Trial Intervention, a program that helps first-time minor offenders stay out of jail. For those accepted, based on a police officer's decision, the arrest records were cleared. They pay a $250 fee, make restitution to the victim, perform community work and take a tour of Columbia Cor- N rectional Institute, and all records are erased. Uncomfortable, the group . looked across the prison overpass and pretended to be above it all. \> mm *3 jj ^mhhhhhbh Courtesy of JACK HIUWIG 3 gaze out the window of their cell J it !' L i tne rone ic, movie fi V Pi David Master Comedian For more information on the events, call the CPU office at 777-7130. ifre d ossom shop Mowers & Uitts | Greater Columbia Delivery Bank Cards Wclcome Member FTD "For Corsages Call" Blossom Shop 2001 Divine St. 799*3730 FLING 1986 i The Nile" SEME ST. SpB l7th 1ms es firstThey'd seen "Seared Straight" programs on television. The prison trustees would scream and tell horrible stories. Anyone i could put up with a 20-minute lesson in bad acting. They weren't worried. They made small talk and stood around in polyester pants and rhnrrh ? nr? io^nc nr W..WV7 IIV JVUIIJ \J 1 Wll~ nis shoes were allowed. They all were nervous and tired of waiting. Finally, someone took roll call. The group crossed the bridge to the prison. A guard walked them tojhe front,gate. They were frisked ^and passed through a metal detector. A guard stamped eVeryone'> hand. \ Inthe''waiting area were Coke arid candy' machines, religious magazTftp^v and clean bathrooms. Children1^ "paintings covered the walls. A visitor thcrfc could be comfortable.^, V 'y They weren't visitors. Waiting, some, told jokes. \ Others told stories. And then it hit. Eight or nine huge men crashed through the door, looking ready to kill. "Yo, up against the wall. Gotcha ass over there. I wannd see a line, single file, startin' here," said the first man who burst into the room. Lined against the wall were 30 bewildered people. "If you got anything worth keepin' and ain't ready to kill for, leave it behind," said the leader of the prisoners and the group's tour guide. "We ain't got nothin' to lose, and rippin' you off won't make it any worse." The group wasn't as terrified as it should have been. A blond boy thought it was funny. He stopped laughing when two men slammed him against the wall. "What the hell you think so funny, boy?," the leader asked. "You think this is a ioke? Yon open your mouth again, and I'm gonna bust it up. You hear me, boy?" ROAST BE FRIES, AN I DRH Offer gcxxJ af rxirticif Please present coupc rriusf pay any sales ta j , a cent Offer expires I Good Only 4 Hardee's of < 825 South M I _ Jai time offi 1 Tf ^ . . . An unidentified prison guard mans his The boy just nodded, and they let him down. The guide turned his attention to the crowd. "My name js 735-84739," he said. "I'm ddhr triple life. I ain't got nothin' ta lose if 1 was to slit you open right here. I'm here to show you my home, and 1 don't want no shit out of any of.you." > v-->' The inmates checked them otot, and the group began the tour. 735 grabbed the blond boy and pu| him in front. p "You stayin' wi' me, boy," said to the kid, "I gotta let them know you's mine when you come back. We kill fo' pretty boys.Hke you." J# They moved out of. the yellow visiting room intofhc hard, cold, institutional ( blue-gray prison. The guard opened the last gate and slammed and locked it behind them, leaving them alone WE EF SANDWICH, I ID LARGE SOFT NK $1.99 R xiting Hardee's* restaurants M >r< before ordering Customer j : < due Coupon value 1/lOOth of April 30,1986. j ? mm Columbia \ aln Street ideer. A (<-j 1986. Hardee s F snders s ' 71 I I Wk ' r : 1 aSL2Umml '^KKr f.mm j^ma miwZMjBSi BBf 4 KmHe station in one of the watchtower* at tl with their guides. They were definitely not visitors. They followed the leader in, careful to stay in line. They saw what happened to the blond boy. The prisoners made us hold hands, which was humbling. * * V r\n nroK ~ ' i \j\.i giau uiai (JVJI3UII 5 lltfllU and don't let go or you might get lost and never be found," the guide said. The guide grabbed the hand of the blond boy, who remained quiet. Holding hands was meant to make them feel as if they were scaled children in a nightmare. They did. Down the hall was the prison school. For many, education was the way out. For others, it was the religion center. And for a few, it was the asylum and the infirmary. But for most, the only way out was (he morgue. mm I BISCUITS I( )ffor good at participating H< Mease present coupon before must pay any sales tax due C< a cent Offer expires April 3( I Good Only At: Hardee's of Columbl 825 South Main Stre< ! u..J. H IMIOi SH HH Dur,n9 Break fa ood Systems. Ire traight / I Bkf I g Courtesy of JACK HIILWIG )b Columbia Correctional Instituto The group turned right at the tunnel, an underground hallway that led to the cells. On the right was the cafeteria. "The cafeteria is the most uangerous piace ncrc, me leader said. "More people have died in here than in the chair. You come in, wait in line and have five minutes to cat. The food ain't good, but it's all we got. Would you be willing to die for a piece of chicken? Some people have." Next was the tunnel's lockup area. Just a small section with a gate at each end. "This is my favorite place to kill someone," the guide said. "These are slam-lock gates. If you slam them, they lock. If 1 don't like you, I just wait to catch you in here, have someone slam the gates, and one of us is gonna - die. It ain't gonna be me." To be continued Fridav. ; J mm i# ma wmw 7ak" " I $1.39 I arctee's* restaurants ^ ) orcierir>g Customer i ; xipon valuo l/K)Oth of 1 >, 1986. ~ 1 5 i ms. ft i st Hours