The Power of One, through the eyes of the young protagonist named Peekay, exemplifies the treatment of prisoners at the Barberton prison. When Doc is taken to the prison, Peekay visits him and begins to learn the methods of boxing from a boxing squad at the prison. The prisoners at Barberton are South Africans under the control of white prison guards. They are treated poorly, discriminated against, beaten, and forced to wear tattered clothing. When inspectors come, the prison forces the inmates to wear neat uniforms. As soon as the inspectors leave, the tattered and dirty clothing is forced upon the inmates once again. Borman, a violent warder, murders Geel Piet, a good friend and trainer of Peekay, in the gym of the prison. In a way, this gives Peekay strength and another person in his life to fight for and keep in the back of his mind while boxing. Also in prison, there are groups of people separated by their tribes and views. They do not get along well. The experiences in the prison makes Peekay stronger and a better person. It is where he shows his intelligence and creativity to bring the prisoners together for outdoor piano concerts on Sunday nights. This is when he becomes known as the "Tadpole Angel" and is a major developmental step in his life. The horrid treatment of prisoners does not just happen in literature though. Prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison were sexually and physically abused, tortured, and killed by American soldiers during the war in Iraq. This shocked many Americans, but the hard truth is that prisoner abuse happens across the United States in various prisons. Inmates are beaten with batons, fists, and feet; shot; stunned with electronic devices; doused with chemical sprays; choked; slammed onto concrete floors and into concrete walls; burned; and sexually abused by prison guards. Inmates are emotionally scarred, physically harmed, and some end up dying. Most officers are professional and do their job, but the few that act out and harm inmates are usually overlooked. Even youth in juvenile detention centers are abused. In Arizona, disturbing sexual abuse and violent punishments were reported. The Maryland State Police had to file charges against staff and a youth facility for restraining a juvenile while three others kicked and abused the youth.
I feel that prison guards commit these acts because they know that they can get away with it because of the position they hold. They feel as if they hold the power over the lives of the inmates and take out their anger on the prisoners. It is disturbing and wrong how anyone can torture, abuse, and harm a person. No matter what the prisoner has done to earn their stay at the prison, it doesn't change the fact that they are a human being and should be treated as such. Their punishment by law was being sent to prison and no prison guard has the authority to take matters into their own hands and harm an inmate who is just trying to make it by in the already stressful and harsh setting. Other inmates also make life on certain prisoners extra difficult. They may take their anger of being caught and punished out on other inmates. Some prisoners refuse to leave their cells in fear of being beaten while others fear returning to their cells if their cellmates are abusive. I understand that prisons are not suppose to have perfect conditions with opportunities for easy life, but prison guards and certain inmates have taken it too far. These horrifying acts need to be put to an end with abusive inmates being moved to restricted areas and abusive guards being fired and charged for their actions.
