Glen Adams, Psy.D. Ass' r. Prof.!Behavioral Sciences Kimberly Baker-Abrams, M.S.W. Ass't. Prof.!Behavioral Sciences Ken Cameron, Ph.D. Asso. Prof.!Behavioral Sciences Sharen Crockett, M.S. , L.C.S.W. Prof.lFamily & Consumer Sciences Ellen Daniel, Ed.D., C.F.C.S. Prof.lFamily & Consumer Sciences Debbie Ford, M .S.W. , L.C.S.W. Ass'c. Prof.lBehavioral Sciences Michelle Hammond, M.A. Inst.fBehavioral Sciences Kenneth Hobby, Ph.D. Prof.lBehavioral Sciences Kathy Howard, Ed.D. Asso. Prof.lBehavioral Sciences Dwight Ireland, Ed.D. Prof.lBehaviora! Sciences Terri Rine, Ed.D. Ass'r. Prof.lFamily & Consumer Sciences Lisa Ri tchie, Ed.D., Ass't. Prof.lFami ly & Consumer Sciences Terry Smith, M.S .W ., L.C.S.W. , A.C.S.W. Asso. Prof. & Dir. Social Workl Behavioral Sciences Jack Thomas, Ph.D. P~of. & Dept. Chair/Behavioral Sciences ELizabeth Wilson, Ed.D., C.F.C.S. Prof. & Dept. Chair/Family & Consumer Sciences Criminal Justice Majors Gain First Hand Knowledge Trip to Angola Prison Teaches Students About Death Penalty, Prison Jeremy Pierce, senior, never expected one class trip to change his life. Yet that is exactly what happened as he and 14 other criminal justice majors traveled to Angola, La. during the December of 1998 to visi t the Angola Prison, formerly known as the Louisiana State Prison. Not only was the trip the first time many ofthe studems had actually visited a prison, but it was the first time a Harding group had made a trip of this kind. "Visiting a prison and seeing prisoners is fascinat ing in an odd way," Pierce said. "I suppose there is nOt any way to make people understand what prison is like except to go there. I know that I will never look at prisons the same way again. " Pierce and the other students made the trip as pan of Michelle Hammond's Professionalism of Eth ics in Criminal Justice course. every time our bus drove past a work group, they all smiled and waved at us," he said. "I was also surprised by the freedom with which the prisoners could move about the prison yards." As part of the two-day evem, the students toured the prison 's facilities, met with a panel ofprisoners currently on death row and even entered the room in which crimi nals are put to death. Last year's panel included Wil bef( Rideaux, a currently-convicted felon in the Angola Prison who has been nominated for an Academy Award based on his work on the documentary The Farm. Al though the class watched the film based on the Angola Pri son before the trip, meeting Rideaux as well as the other members proved to be a highlight of the trip. "Rideaux is nOt a typical prisoner; you could see him on the street," Pierce said. The class affords students who may be imerested in pursuingcareers in crimi nal justice fields theopportunity to debate relevant ethical dilemmas. "I think it is However, for many, the visit to the death room was the most memorable experience. "I thi nk it is important for them ~o get first -hand knowledge about the death penalty and form opinions abom the death penalty on their own ," Hammond sa id. The trip is now made at the end ofeach semester. In order [Q prepare for the trip, Hammond requires that each scudenc read the novel DeadMan Walking, written by Sister Helen Prajean, a spiricual advisor [Q death row inmates. The actual evems on which the novel and later screenplay are based took place at the Angola Prison. Important for them to get firsthand knowledge about the death penalty and form opinions about the death penalty on their own.') - MitheUeHammond "I think the partofthe trip that had the most impact on me was when we had the chance to sit in the room where they [prison officials] administer the lethal injecti ons," Mark Jarvis, who went wi th the group in 1998, said. "I can only imagine the tension in the room at the time a sentence is carried oue." H ammond said she hopes that each group of students uses the experience as a basis for which to fo rm their personal and ethi cal opinions in their career fields. For Jarvis, thi s was exactly the case. Studems walk down the actual cell blocks and in the prison yards that they have studied for the past semester. However, aside from Hollywood's recent interest in the Louisiana prison, it has earned its own infamous reputation as one of the largest and. bloodiest prisons in the United States, accordi ng to Hammond. "The trip was great. I experienced feelings and thoughts that I had never had before toward prisoners, the death penalty and prison in general," he said. "I would recommend the trip to anyone." Due to its reputation, Keith Hruska, junior, noted his surprise at the inmates' friendliness . "I expected these guys [the inmates] to be giving us evil looks, but 70 Academics "Ovetall, this trip to Angola reshaped the way I look at prison life, " Hruska said. "I no longer take everything that the media says at face value. I have seen what prison is and what TV makes it oue to be, and they are twO tOtally different things. " -Elizabeth R. Smith
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