La Prigione

The morning of February 28th was an unusually beautiful Saturday. The sun was shining with all of its might and the sky was as blue as the ocean itself. Additionally, there was a cool breeze that made the day even more annoying pleasant, which would have otherwise been slightly toasty. For Paul, however, none of this would matter. He would be touring a cold, dark federal penitentiary on the outskirts of town and one of the lowest-rated rehabilitation centers in the nation, according to Yelp. Paul woke up at 6:30 AM to get ready for his long day with Judge Virgil, who would be arriving at his home promptly at 7:25 AM to drive to the penitentiary. Paul put on his khaki dress pants, collared dress shirt, belt, and his dress shoes and socks. Just as prophesied, Judge Virgil arrived in his silver, mint-condition 1985 Ford Mustang as Paul's watch ticked to 7:25 AM. Paul woke up his parents to say goodbye for the day and headed out the front door and hopped into the sleek car.

The 32 minute car ride was likely the least notable event in either of their lives and was also up there with the most uncomfortable moments of their life. 1,920 seconds of deafening silence. Upon their arrival to the prison, the guards, who were likely briefed on the field trip, waived Judge Virgil through the gates and into the visitation parking lot. Right as the clock struck 8:00 AM, the pair stepped into the visitation center and laid eyes upon a huge bear of a man. He was wearing a suit that definitely had to be tailored due to the nature of his size. He growled something that Paul could not understand, but Judge Virgil understood completely. After a few moments of speaking and growling, the man walked away. Judge Virgil explained he was the warden, who was a good friend of his. They would have full access to the prison and Judge Virgil would have free reign to lead the tour.

Judge Virgil began the tour of the prison by starting in the minimum security wing, where non-violent offenders were held. They were able to speak with people who had just violated their parole, had not paid their fines, been caught with illegal drugs, and petty thieves. Paul was very concerned by the age of many of these offenders, who were not much older than him. Luckily, these people had very light sentences and the majority of their records cold be expunged and they could likely be hired, but the idea of being locked up and unable to live his natural life was beginning to dawn in the back of his mind. As the day progressed, Judge Virgil began moving them deeper and deeper into the prison toward more violent offenders and perpetrators of crimes that Paul could never dream of actually committing, like aggravated assault, sexual assault, murder, torture, and even serial killers. Paul became very afraid of their proximity to them and hated having to speak such people with broken souls and hearts, some of whom felt no regret or remorse for their actions. However, Judge Virgil persevered and forced Paul to see the depths of human evil. Judge Virgil almost caved and allowed him to head back, but he knew the lesson must be taught for true change to take place. Plus, Paul had begun to shiver and had been on the verge of crying for a while now. Judge Virgil knew this was for the best, but couldn't help but care for him.

Promptly at 1:00 PM, the tour ended, and a newly scarred Paul and Judge Virgil had emerged. They sat down to eat the prison lunch, a nice cherry on top of the tour, and finally Judge Virgil spoke at length. He explained why he had allowed him to be so close to such evil people and forced Paul to interact with these cretins of society. Paul was on track to become one of them, and he needed to see their evil before he had become numb to the evils of man. Sometimes, fear really was the best teacher. Judge Virgil explained that his father, also a man of the court, had given this exact lesson and tour to him when he was 15 and also on the wrong path. Their small town had just been established, and the rules were a lot more flexible back in the day, but the lesson was taught all the same. They finished what the prison called casserole and what sane people would call poison, and headed out to their next stop. As the gates of the prison closed behind them, Paul felt like his heart and mind had opened.

Bibliography: Alighieri, Dante, and Mark Musa. Dante Alighieri's Divine comedy. Bloomington: Indiana U.P., 1996.

Author's Note: This portion of my story is supposed to mirror the story of the Inferno portion of Dante's Divine Comedy, but in a modern context. I thought about this idea after thinking about how I could apply the elements of one of my favorites works of literature in a modern context. The prison represents Hell on earth and how people are punished, as well as how people are given more isolation and security based on the severity of the crimes, instead of physical punishments, like in the story. In America, cruel and unusual punishments are unconstitutional and illegal; but isolation and years off your life carry their own harsh realities and cruelties. That is what Paul is starting to realize in this point in my story.

Image Info: A depiction of a prison Judge Virgil and Paul may have visited. https://pixabay.com/photos/prison-cell-slammer-prison-cell-1652896/