Convicts get chance to change their lives

OROFINO, Idaho – The fighting spirit that landed David Wilson in prison for murder has left his aging blue eyes.

When he first came to the Idaho Correctional Institute in Orofino in October 1997, he was a self-described “hellraiser.” But as time went on, the reality of his life sentence for murder and armed robbery became clear, and Wilson grew tired of fighting and watching his back.

“All my life I was a career criminal,” Wilson, now 48, said while sitting at his computer in a booth just outside the prison’s recreation yard. “This is my first time in life giving back.”

Wilson is a founder of the prison’s new Honor Unit, a refuge from the violent life of a convicted felon that he and others found to be tiresome.

For them, it’s a chance to build meaningful lives behind razor wire.

The unit takes up a wing of a former mental hospital. The thick steel doors are constant reminders of incarceration, but colored linoleum tiles and makeshift drapes on the windows are in contrast to the cold, sterile common areas in the prison’s A block. Instead of featureless concrete and plastic, unmovable furniture, Honor Unit inmates share a room with bright windows and a pool table.

The wing looks and feels more like a retirement home than a prison.

On a hot Friday afternoon in late June, prisoners dressed in blue jeans and buttoned-up shirts circulate freely through the wing.

Some are returning from work. They unbutton their shirts, lie down on their beds and flip on their small personal televisions. Some read, and others work on art projects. Their living spaces resemble a military barracks: neatly made beds, bathrobes on the wall, small fans clipped to beds. Some have calendars with pictures of classic cars. Others have photo collages of their families.

The atmosphere was so relaxed, a reporter circulated among prisoners as Warden Kevin Kempf wandered to other parts of the floor, talking to inmates and listening to their concerns.

Inmates find the unit a sanctuary from a prison life many cannot handle.

“We’re trying to find things to do to make life better for us,” said Robert Johnson, 35, who was convicted of double murder and is serving a life sentence without parole.

Since the program started this year, there hasn’t been a single fight requiring officer intervention. Back in the A Block, officers typically handle at least one such situation every week.

In exchange for the less restrictive living environment, prisoners are kept on a strict schedule of working, volunteering and schooling. They hold traditional prison jobs, like kitchen work and floor cleaning. They mark all of their hours on time sheets which are approved by supervisors.

The hours earn them points they can spend like money on rent for staying in the Honor Unit. Points can also be spent on art supplies and other goods.

“I plan my day now,” Wilson said, displaying a small notebook filled with detailed descriptions of jobs and the time they took. “Before I just did my time.”

Prisoner reward systems aren’t uncommon, but the Orofino idea is among only a handful of such units in the nation, said Edward Latessa, head of the Division of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati.

These inmates are no longer combative, Latessa said. “It’s not an uncommon concept to take lifers and put them in programs to help stabilize them.”

When inmates aren’t working, they often occupy themselves doing artwork. Prisoners spend off-hours crocheting, drawing and making other crafts.

Robert Wilhelm, in prison since 1995 and serving a life sentence for drug trafficking, made a model ship out of matchsticks, a hairnet and corn-dog sticks from the commissary. Jerry Barcella creates large colored pencil drawings of wildlife.

Many inmates gathered around a table to show photos of their work. Some of the men who crochet were more reserved with their bragging, hoping to keep down the ribbing for practicing such a delicate craft.

Most put their projects up for auction, with the proceeds going to victim compensation funds and accounts for battered women and children.

“When you’re giving back instead of taking, it feels right,” Wilson said.

The youngest warden in the Idaho prison system, Kempf, 34, dismisses any claims that the prisoners are getting off easy.

“Coddling would be letting them sleep all day,” he said.

The Honor Unit, he said, is a way to help the public by giving prisoners a chance to change their lives for the better. With 90 percent of inmates leaving prison and going back out into the world, rehabilitation is critical, he said.

“The facts are a large percentage will be released back into the community,” Kempf said. “It’s vital that we as a community do things to reduce the problem.”

The rehabilitation programs go first to those who will be released back into the community. Any leftover spots go to lifers on the Honor Unit.

At Orofino, long-term inmates came up with the Honor Unit idea and presented a detailed proposal to prison officials in April. When they join, members are required to be at least five years away from parole. They must have been at the prison for at least six months.

Guards vie for the assignment of handling the Honor Unit because they’re the easiest to handle.

“Some of the inmates say this place is more social than their home lives,” Deputy Warden Eric MacEachern said. “It’s more than just three meals and a cot.”