When I read this I thought of when I was trying to help my brother get a transfer to a different prison from the one he was in, because he was in such danger, until at length a spoke to a prison official who said to me something like, “Mr. Hossfield, I know he’s your brother, and I don’t mean to offend you, but do you know how we know if a prisoner is lying?”

I replied that I did not.

“They’ve opened their mouth.”

I don’t remember what we said after that, but I was to learn that he was quite right. My brother was indeed lying to me* in order to get me to write emails and make phone calls on his behalf.

So I’m guessing that they view the visitors the same way they view the prisoners.

*I forgave him in view of the very real danger he was in, which must have aroused fear the like of which I have never known. But he was adding untrue details to his story and manipulating me into repeating them. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting.

I visited him numerous times in prison. It is indeed depressing and humiliating. I always got a few drinks while waiting for airline connections on the way home.