美国国家公共电台 NPR To Reform Prison System, Corrections Officer Put Himself In Solitary Confinement

To Reform Prison System, Corrections Officer Put Himself In Solitary¹ Confinement² 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0005:37repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser³ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Season 2 of the A&E series "Behind Bars" began last week. This time, we get a look at the challenges corrections officers face policing a prison that has the dubious⁴ distinction of being the site of the bloodiest⁵ prison riot in American history.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BEHIND BARS: ROOKIE YEAR")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's most dangerous spot. Real - here amongst real killers⁶ - you know what I'm saying? Psychos.

MARTIN: It's the Penitentiary⁷ of New Mexico. And the man in charge is the secretary of corrections in that state, Gregg Marcantel. He's a Marine⁸ Corps⁹ veteran and a 30-year beat cop, but is fast becoming known and respected for his unorthodox approach towards reforming the state's prison system. Secretary Marcantel, thank you so much for being with us.

GREGG MARCANTEL: Thank you for having me. What a blessing¹⁰ to be here.

MARTIN: How do you feel about the notoriety that comes from a TV show like this? Because they're clearly looking for a dramatic story. They have picked your prisons because it's dangerous. Is that the kind of publicity¹¹ that is complicated in some ways?

MARCANTEL: You know, the reality is - and you mentioned it in the introduction - is that over 30-some-odd years ago, we had what still stands as one of the most bloodiest prison riot in American history. We wanted to make sure that never happened again. But what can happen if you're not careful is that your single view of success can be avoiding another riot. And your expectations of inmates¹³ can, over the decades, be simply that you expect them to behave a certain way. You expect them to be violent.

Part of what I think you have to do to reform what we do behind prison walls is have the courage to set new expectations and hold those inmates accountable for pro-social prison environments instead of pro-criminal environments. The people that are placed in our prisons are going to return to our communities. They're going to join us in the grocery lines, with our families in the movie lines. They're either going to come back better or worse.

MARTIN: So how do you go about getting your hands around that problem? I mean, people have been talking about this for generations, the need to come up with different programs to rehabilitate¹⁴ inmates and to reduce the recidivism¹⁵ rate. What are you doing that's different?

MARCANTEL: There were some inmates that have got some very troubled, very violent histories, so the change had to be more baby steps. And so we designed a cognitive¹⁶ behavioral course. And the idea was - is that if you complete this, we will then let you take the next small step. So as we move forward, these folks graduated into a purposefully designed cake decorating course. So now we have guys that are so tattooed¹⁷ on their face some of them you can't even see much of their real face, and they're now working together decorating cakes. You know, there's progress. What we've got to do is we've got to embrace the reality that is our responsibility to create atmosphere and create circumstances for people to make choices.

MARTIN: I read that you decided¹⁸ to put yourself in solitary confinement. What was it like?

MARCANTEL: I started off sort of from the posture¹⁹ of what it looks like for those people that we can't put them into general population 'cause they're too dangerous. But they still get rights. I had an iPod to listen to. I had all of those things. So - and then halfway²⁰ into it, I wanted to be transitioned into a disciplinary setting that is part of a behavior modification²¹ plan. And I was reduced to a pen, paper and a bible. Even within the short span of three days, I began to run out of things to think about and I then began counting cracks on the wall (laughter). You know, your mind goes everywhere. I'm not going to claim that three days in an environment like that taught me the whole world, but it got me up close and personal and allowed me to make better judgments²² from a policy perspective.

MARTIN: A big part of your job is thinking about how corrections officers do the work that they do. It's stressful. In the first episode of the A&E show, we hear from a young correctional officer named D'Angelo, and this is moments after he's gotten into a fight with an inmate¹². We've got that clip. Let's hear that now.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BEHIND BARS: ROOKIE YEAR")

D'ANGELO CHAPARRO: The academy, they told us how to handle use of force. When you're actually in a confrontation²³ with an inmate where your blood is flowing and your adrenaline's pumping, it's kind of hard to do exactly by the book. Since I'm from, like, a wrestling background, it's kind of easier for me to put hands on people. In the heat of the moment, you just kind of revert²⁴ to what you know.

MARTIN: It is a dark, stressful situation that these correctional officers are placed in on a day-to-day basis. How do you train these people in a way that helps you get to your goal about raising the expectations of inmates?

MARCANTEL: You chose the most brilliant example in D'Angelo. It takes a very unique human being. They have to be ready and willing at the drop of a dime²⁵ to visit violence if it comes their way. They have to have attention to detail and be very aware of their environment at any given moment. They have to also be complete enough human beings to invest their time and talent every day into other human beings that most of the world has the luxury of simply throwing away.

MARTIN: It's a big leap of faith, isn't it?

MARCANTEL: It's huge. It's a risky²⁶ leap of faith, but it is what's noble about this work.

MARTIN: Gregg Marcantel is the secretary of corrections in New Mexico. He appears in season 2 of "Behind Bars" on A&E. Thank you so much for your time.

MARCANTEL: It's been a blessing. Thank you so much.

1 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

2 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

5 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 penitentiary   

n.感化院；监狱

参考例句：

• He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
• While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候，她的父亲死了，家庭就拆散了。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

11 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

12 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

13 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

15 recidivism   

n.累犯，再犯

参考例句：

• Many areas and work units have experienced no recidivism at all for as long as ten or more years.不少地区和单位出现了连续几年、十几年没有发生重新犯罪的好典型。
• It needs to supplement the personality factor to confirm the ordinary recidivism.在普通累犯成立的条件中,应增加罪犯的人格因素。

16 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

17 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

20 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

21 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

22 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

23 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

24 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

25 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

26 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。