Patriot News/PennLive
Posted Jul 16, 8:09 AM
By Cynthia Link*
Graterford Prison is where I started my corrections career over twenty years ago. When I retired in 2018, I was its superintendent, responsible for the safety and well-being of hundreds of employees and 3600 prisoners.
My work was deeply rewarding, but nothing prepared me for the level of human suffering I experienced in the restricted housing unit where death-sentenced prisoners are held. Few outside of my profession realize how difficult capital punishment is for the staff; even when executions are not being carried out, housing death row prisoners can be profoundly damaging.
The corrections profession learned long ago that working with death row prisoners causes trauma, and officers working on death row today are regularly monitored for mental health concerns. No officer is permitted to work there longer than two years, and most “tours of duty” on the row are much shorter. Although staff members leave the environment, psychological effects can persist for years.
Read more at https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2019/07/the-death-penalty-punishes-pas-corrections-workers-too-opinion.html.
Ms. Link served as the Superintendent of Graterford Prison from 2015-2018.
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