Visiting Luther Luckett Correctional Complex

I had a meaningful visit today with Hal Cobb, the incarcerated co-founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars program, at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. Although his crime occurred 40 years ago, the Kentucky Parole Board continues to revisit every detail each time he appears before them—details that are already in their files and have been heard many times before. A cynical person might wonder whether some board members take a certain pleasure in hearing “true crime” stories repeated again and again. It is so sad that our parole board is mostly clueless as to who is a risk and who deserves freedom.

            I am fortunate to be on Hal’s visiting list, and we always run out of time long before we run out of conversation. It was also good to see a fellow TPH mentor Les Townsley there visiting his mentee, M.I., with whom I have corresponded.

            As always, I cherished the opportunity to speak with other families in the holding room before they visited their loved ones. One couple was there to see their son, who is part of Shakespeare Behind Bars. He has been incarcerated for 20 years and still has several years left to serve. Their story reminded me of the collateral damage inflicted on families by our system of mass incarceration—and by the “throw away the key” mentality that too often sustains it.

            Of course, the coffee machine was not working—and somehow that small frustration adds to the cruelty of visitation. I miss my ‘extra shot of Lightner’ in each cardboard cup of Coffee.