Death and Dying. Darned unpleasant behind bars!

Death and dying are on my mind. Earlier on this Saturday I played the organ for a memorial service in our church. That prompted some reflections. 

Death and dying have been a part of this old man’s life for decades. 

In the 1950s, when I got married, I was a news reporter. My new bride, Marcia, was an emergency room nurse. I covered accidents where there were fatalities. Family was there. Marcia treated patients who didn’t make it. Family was there. 

Later in life, while serving some 50 years as a church organist, I played for many funeral services. Family was there. Meanwhile, Marcia became a certified hospice nurse, sitting at the side of men and women in their final moments. The beauty of it was, Family was there. 

Well, then came my third career. I began working with prisoners and it wasn’t long before I and my new organization were dealing with death and dying for the incarcerated. The big difference: Family wasn’t there! 

Marcia and I came to realize that being attended by family can bring deep comfort to a dying person. But, often behind bars that just didn’t happen 

Here’s what I’ve learned in the past 25 years: 

- Dying in prison without loved ones present can cause deep emotional harm to both the dying individual and their family.

- Inmates often face their final moments alone, sometimes physically restrained or chained to medical beds.

- Dying prisoners are routinely denied the right to make meaningful medical or end-of-life decisions regarding their care.

- Terminally ill prisoners frequently experience untreated or undertreated physical pain due to substandard institutional medical protocol.

- The absolute fear of dying forgotten and disconnected from family remains one of the most severe emotional burdens of long-term incarceration! 

That’s why we’ve chosen this topic for HFP’s annual Voices of Humanity film festival on October 1. Morbid? No! Important? Yes! 

Film #1 

Years ago, knowing first-hand the benefits of hospice care, I did my best to try to introduce a similar program in Michigan prisons. This many years later, our featured video will discuss hospice in prison in an award-winning HBO documentary: Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall. 

Film #2 

Because a number of men and women die in Michigan prisons each year with no family or friends present, and even, in come cases, no one to claim the body of the deceased, I pressed our Board of Directors for permission to produce an annual service remembering all who died while in custody the previous year. Our evening will conclude with a screening of our first memorial service: Lest We Forget. 

You can still make reservations. I hope to see you there! 

"To remember the lonely and the forgotten is the highest act of human dignity."

– Elie Wiesel

 

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