|
 Yet that is the task assigned to Robinson, one of 2,800 inmates at
the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility, the drab, low-slung jail
on the city's outskirts that the pope will visit in September during
his first tour of the United States.
With six weeks to go before the pope's arrival, it is a busy and
anxious time for many of the employees and inmates. Workers are
modifying corridors to accommodate Francis and his entourage.
Inmates are waiting to find out which of them will be chosen to meet
the pope. And staff members are busy checking and double-checking
security protocols.
"A visit by the pope, it's an extraordinary thing," said Lou Giorla,
the city's prison commissioner and the man who is overseeing
preparations for the Sept. 27 visit. "It'll be a chance for the
world to take a look."
One of 17 stops on the pope's first U.S. tour, the visit to the
inner-city jail is a reminder of the emphasis the Argentine pontiff
has placed on social justice issues since being named head of the
Roman Catholic Church in March 2013.
 The pope's stop at the Philadelphia facility will be the latest in a
series of prison visits by Francis, an outspoken opponent of the
death penalty and lengthy prison terms. He has counseled teenagers
in juvenile detention in Brazil. In Bolivia, he kissed inmates in
the country's most violent prison.
His visit also comes at a time when a growing number of Democrats
and Republicans are questioning tough criminal sentencing policies
that have left the United States with the highest incarceration rate
in the developed world. Barack Obama, who last month became the
first sitting U.S. president to tour a federal penitentiary, has
called for legislation overhauling sentencing rules.
'LEVEL OF HUMANITY'
Advocates for prisoner rights say they are pleased the pope has
decided to put the issue on his agenda during the U.S. tour, which
will include attending a conference on family life in Philadelphia,
plus stops in Washington and New York.
"It's really going to bring a level of humanity to the prison world
and show that prisoners are people and deserve to be recognized,"
said Ann Schwartzman, policy and program director at the
Pennsylvania Prison Society, an advocacy group.
The Curran Fromhold facility, named after a warden and deputy warden
killed by inmates at another Philadelphia jail in 1973, opened in
1995. It holds defendants awaiting trial and convicted criminals
serving sentences of 2-1/2 years or less.
Sitting on a 25-acre (10-hectare) lot at the city's northeast edge,
it is one of the newest of the six Philadelphia prison system
facilities. Aside from the barbed wire that tops its outer walls, it
looks like a modern high school from the outside, where murals
painted by inmates stretch along the walls of the front parking lot.
[to top of second column] |
Inside, the atmosphere is more intimidating.
Guards screen visitors with metal detectors, and heavy steel doors
separate inmates dressed in blue or bright orange jumpsuits from the
world outside. Video surveillance is constant.
The pope's visit is scheduled to consist of a brief meeting in a
gymnasium with about 100 male and female inmates and their families.
The pope is not due to tour the jail.
Giorla, who learned in February that the Vatican was considering one
of his jails for a papal visit, said his staff hoped the pope would
use the occasion to recognize the value of their work, which he said
was mostly overlooked. Still, he expressed certain reservations.
"This is an unpredictable environment so you never know what's going
to happen," said Giorla, who started out as a guard in
Philadelphia's prison system 33 years ago.
The entire complex will go on lockdown during the papal visit, and
the U.S. Secret Service is set to take over security for the pope.
City courts will close, delaying any prisoner transfers.
Prison authorities will have to assure no disruptions in basic daily
routines, including serving 25,000 meals, giving 10,000 doses of
medication and conducting a count of prisoners three to five times.
In the prison's furniture shop, Robinson and another inmate,
31-year-old Brandan Hargrose, are getting ready to do their
handiwork on the chair, which is being carved out of a solid block
of walnut at another prison unit. Its design is in keeping with the
simplicity that has become this pope's hallmark.
Neither man is Catholic but both said they would want to meet
Francis.
"I'd be glad to see him," said Robinson, his neck covered in tattoos
and his head shaved. "It gives us hope that somebody still cares."
(Editing by Frank McGurty and Will Dunham)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
