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The United States currently imposes life sentences on thousands of inmates each year. About one-third of these inmates are sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In other words, short of a commutation by a governor or the President of the United States these men and women will serve the remainder of their natural lives in prison.
Victor Hassine and Erin George are just two of the many offenders sentenced to die in prison for their crimes. Victor was sentenced to prison for life without the possibility for parole, and Erin was sentenced to prison for 603 years—essentially a life sentence. Victor and Erin approached their punishment differently. Victor seemingly never gave up hope that he might one day be a free man. During his more than two decade imprisonment he worked extremely hard to “rehabilitate” himself and create an institutional record that would someday justify his release from prison. He became an outspoken critic of the penal systems in the United States, and he wrote award winning poems, stories and books in a valiant effort to draw attention to what he considered the inhumane treatment of America’s prison population.
Erin George, on the other hand, approaches her sentence quite differently. She has tried to remain as anonymous and ruffle as few of the correction’s establishments feathers as possible. Nevertheless, Erin found a purpose for her life in prison no less noble and important than Victor’s. She is devoting her life to sharing with the world the stories and experiences of countless women prisoners buried in the bowels of America’s prisons. And perhaps more important, she shares with us the profound impact a life sentence has on one woman—Erin George.
Despite his hard work and best efforts Victor Hassine never received the commutation he dreamed of. On April 27, 2008, Victor Hassine committed suicide in his cell after learning his request for commutation consideration was summarily dismissed by the Pennsylvania State Pardons Board. Erin George is still in prison quietly serving her sentence.
After reading Life without parole: Living and dying in prison, and A woman doing life: Notes from a prison for women write an essay no longer than six pages that address the questions and issues described below.
1. Erin George and Victor Hassine describe in lively detail the daily experiences of inmates serving prison sentences that they may never outlive. They use humor, sarcasm and amazing skill to bring the reader into their world, and they touch upon similar aspects of their prison experiences such as prison food, their relationships with other inmates, and the constant quest to remain human in an inhumane environment. But in many ways their books are quite different. In no more than three pages compare Erin George’s portrait of prison life with Victor Hassine’s. How are they similar and how are they different?
2. Throughout their books Erin and Victor share countless incidents, insights and stories that try to capture the meaning and flavor of serving a life sentence. In no more than three pages identify and describe, in detail, two of Erin’s most memorable stories and two of Victor’s most memorable stories and explain why they are important to you. That is, what lessons or insights about life did you learn from these stories that you could apply to your life?
Grading Rubric
All papers must be typed, double-spaced and contain a cover page that contains your name, the course name and section, and the date. Your essay cannot exceed six pages excluding the cover page, and all pages must be numbered and stapled. Papers where the pages are not numbered and stapled will not be accepted no exceptions! Essays that exceed six pages will be penalized (5) five points.
Your paper will be graded according to the following criteria:
A. Did you fully answer each question?
B. Are your ideas and perceptions stated clearly and logically?
C. Is your essay well written? That is, is your essay well organized, clear, critical, and free from spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors? Poorly organized essays that contain excessive spelling and grammatical errors will be penalized by up to (2) two points.
D. Late papers will be penalized 10% of the total points for the assignment.
E. The instructor doesn’t accept assignments via email except when unforeseen and unplanned emergencies arise. The instructor will use his discretion to determine when such circumstances prevail. Planned vacations for weddings or other personal holidays or events do not constitute unforeseen and unplanned emergencies. Students can always turn in their papers early to avoid the late penalty.
