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Post 1238
Before and After...
Isaac Colden Duran, South Carolina inmate 384356, born 2002, incarceration intake November 2020 at age 18, scheduled for release October 2040
Voluntary Manslaughter
In October 2022, the First Judicial Circuit Court sentenced Isaac Duran, 18, to 25 years in prison for his role in a 2018 murder.
When Duran was just 15 years old, he and three others were involved in the shooting of Stacey Bradley. Duran was convicted of manslaughter, while the other defendants were convicted of murder.
Also involved were:
Mattthew Zalenski, born 2000, South Carolina inmate 384188, scheduled for release May 2056;
Miriam Hannah Leigh Bortz, born 2001, South Carolina inmate 384800, scheduled for release May 2058; and
Demacian Israel Middleton, born 1999, South Carolina inmate 385046, scheduled for release February 2031.
According to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, Bradley was shot outside of the Archdale Forest Apartment Complex.
The sheriff's office also said all four reportedly confessed to the details of the murder, and admitted to discussing a plan to shoot Bradley prior to the meeting.
Court documents stated the defendants drove to the apartment complex to buy marijuana from Bradley.
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This is one of my favorite images of The American Way of Prison Life. I would like to experience what it is like to be in the position of one of the two young men on the left and right.
What stands out at first glance at the photo is their identical, bright orange-colored outfit, consisting of pants and a short-sleeved shirt. The right one looks at the ground, the left one stares ahead. Between them is an older man dressed in black, who takes them both under his arm in a rather conversational, but also with a determined look.
On the second look you see diagonally behind the trio a van with the text 'Police' on the far right, with 'City of Harrisburg' further back, also just legible. The man in the middle is a police officer, as can be recognized on closer inspection by the revolver on his right hip and the badge on his left chest. They've just stepped out of that bus, as another pic of the police offer with the left guy shows.
A third look: on the left trouser leg of both young men, DCP is printed on orange in large black letters. That trio of letters stands for Dauphin County Prison, the penitentiary of Pennsylvania. Both are inmates, and their orange clothing is their mandatory prison uniform.
As its Inmate Handbook found on the internet states: “You will be issued your prison uniform immediately upon arrival”. And a little further on: “You are required to be properly dressed in your Prison uniform at all times” - inside the prison, but of course also outside it. Although the officer who takes them away holds them quite loosely, they make no move to resist or run away.
Two inmates accompanied by just one police officer in between them: you will not often see that. Usually you will find pics of the reverse: two police officers escorting one inmate in between.
On a fourth look at our main pic you however will see that both prisoners – in the case of the left one largely hidden behind his left arm and the envelope he is holding in his right hand, more visible in case of the other - are wearing a wide brown leather belt around their waist. It's a rather tight fit, much tighter than would be necessary to keep his pants from falling down. It is not for that purpose either; where you would expect the buckle, instead a large steel D-shaped ring protrudes, which is fixed to the strap. The latter can be seen slightly better at the left inmate.
Through this sturdy ring passes the very short chain of a pair of handcuffs, which are closed around the prisoner's wrists. These handcuffs leave the wearer very little freedom of movement in this way; he is forced to keep his hands pressed tightly against his crotch all the time, and can no longer do anything dangerous with them. Because the handcuffs are inserted through the ring of the belt, there is no way for the wearer to free himself from that powerless position. The belt itself is buckled behind his back, putting the buckle completely out of his reach.
That buckle of course isn't visible on this pic here, but when you search a bit on the internet, you will find some (not very much) pics of inmates seen from behind showing this arrangement very clear. In fact the belt is a normal waist-belt worn the other way round, the front at the back, the back at the front, with just that big D-Ring fixed with help of strong nails on what has become the center of the front afterwards. This pic combines a front view from one inmate with a back view of another, for sure dressed and restrained the same way.
Although thanks to this arrangement the buckle is complete out of reach of the restrained wearer of the belt, if you have more inmates together, they might help to free each other. For maximum security in that case a padlock, fixing the belt in place, might be added to be absolute sure. If that's indeed done in our case, we can't discover.
To return to our main pic: On a fifth look you finally see - it is not noticeable at first - that a short chain runs between both feet, directly under the end of the orange trouser legs and above their shoes. Both prisoners wear not only handcuffs, but also leg irons.The shackles themselves, which are locked around their ankles, cannot be seen; they are hidden under the trouser legs. The connecting chain is so short that running away is completely impossible.
Already the little step of the left fellow is enough to almost completely tension the chain; a slightly larger one, and he stumbles. Because the shackles are not tied over, but under the trouser legs, i.e. directly around the prisoners' socks, the wearer feels them extra; with every step the chain tugs slightly on the foot cuff. This is much more painful on thin socks (let alone bare skin) than if there is also the fabric of the uniform trousers in between. That also puts a brake on fast walking.
In many cases, however, you will rencounter the reverse: the cuffs of the leg-irons locked not under, but over the pants of the inmate. In that case, the shackles are of course much more noticeable, which some prisoners may experience as more humiliating. On the other hand, it is clearly more comfortable to wear them like that, especially if you have to walk more than just a few meters.
Is there any conscious policy underlying this choice from the side of the prison authorities? You come across both variants very often, it is difficult to say which is more common, anyhow: I have not been able to discover any system so far. That is worth further investigation. Here at least is a pic showing the very intense moment a brand new inmate is getting his leg-irons locked on the opposite way for the first time.
Anyhow: it explains why both prisoners of our main pic willingly allow themselves to be taken here, outside the walls of the guarded prison: not only is any attempt at resistance made by the handcuffs, but also any attempt to escape because of the shackles pointless. This combination of belt-with-handcuffs and leg cuffs is known as 'full restraints'. The use of full restraints is mandatory in most US states as a standard security measure for all prisoners during their transport.
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A CRUCIAL TOOL OF DISCIPLINE IN MOST AMERICAN PRISONS: THE LEATHER WAIST BELT WITH STEEL HANDCUFFS IN FRONT
Well, let's start with a simple pic, which i like very much: a new prisoner, presumably just arrested a few days before, brought to the court-house for trial by two police-officers. They just brought them there with the car you see on the background.
This is always a very humiliating moment for a new prisoner, who in this case indeed does not look very happy. He now has to bridge the distance from the car to the front door of the courthouse, in full view of family, random onlookers and - if the crime for which he is to appear appeals to the imagination - often also the local (sometimes even national) press: the so-called perp walk. This can be just a few meters, but sometimes also a considerable distance.
The suspect no longer appears in his own civilian clothes, but has already put on a prison uniform. Presumably he was forced to wear it immediately after his incarceration in the local jail, prior to his first night behind bars.....
The bright orange color makes him very visible and makes him contrast sharply with the police officers behind him and all bystanders.
The stigmatizing effect of this will not go unnoticed by the wearer of this uniform: it clearly separates the (not yet convicted) criminal from the civil society that will soon keep him behind impenetrable concrete walls for many months or even many years because of the crime he has committed. from a state prison. The forced wearer of such a uniform immediately feels like an inmate, and it influences his mindset and his behavior. It often automatically makes them a bit more docile.
For this uniform, the prison has not opted for a so-called two-piece, trousers and shirt, but for a very basic one-piece jumpsuit, which is simply closed at the front with a row of six or seven silver-colored press studs one above the other. This was indeed done neatly, in accordance with prison regulations, so that the top snap button is not clearly visible. This also applies to the bottom one(s) for another reason. These jumpsuits are often much too big and fit around the wearer like a bag. But it fits well here - and it looks good on him too, I must add.
Most prisoners - but they don't have a say in that - would prefer a two-piece, because it is more practical and you look even more out of place in such a jumpsuit, especially with that row of clearly visible press studs on top of each other. Its compulsory wearing is experienced by many as extra humiliating. Perhaps this also plays a conscious role for the prison authorities, but such a jumpsuit is moreover considered 'safer' because it is more difficult to hide everything in it.
The guy is of course extra recognizable as a prisoner because, as is prescribed in almost all states for the transport of prisoners (and often also in court), he is carefully handcuffed. He wears a wide leather belt around his waist, to which a set of handcuffs is attached in a very simple but effective manner in the middle of the front. This combination is very effective in making any possible attempt at resistance impossible. There are circulating on the internet many pics showing inmates in court shackled this way, like this one.
Only after the belt is placed, with the buckle out of reach of his side at the rear, the cuffs are put on. At the front, where on a normal belt the buckle would be, there is fixed a large steel D-ring that protrudes straight forward. The D-Ring is wide enough to pull an open cuff through it. The short connecting chain between the two separate cuffs then passes through this D-ring, so that one handcuff hangs down on each side. Only thereafter are the handcuffs themselves placed on the prisoner's wrists one by one.
With that they are immediately inextricably attached to the belt, because the prisoner can now no longer possibly free himself from this situation – nor from the shackles, nor from the grip of the D-ring on his shackles. He is forced to keep his hands low in front of his crotch all the time, because the D-ring plus the short chain offer little room for maneuver. He can no longer do anything dangerous with them, and it is also completely impossible for him to hold them in front of his face to avoid the curious eyes of onlookers.
I’ve here inserted a photo of another prisoner in the courtroom itself, this time in a two-piece uniform, which clearly shows how in fact a normal belt has been reversed, with the buckle at the back. In addition, I deliver underneath a detailed photo that shows much better how exactly the handcuffs are attached. A video is also circulating on the Internet, showing how a brand new juvenile detainee is handcuffed in this way immediately after he has had to change clothes and put on his new (this time black-and-white striped) prison uniform. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vzE4JSmzLw
An alternative to the leather belt with handcuffs consists of a steel chain around the waist, to which the handcuffs are attached, sometimes in advance, sometimes on the side. The latter is a much more natural position than both hands right in front of your crotch. Although steel is more uncomfortable than leather, most prisoners - but of course they are never asked - seem to prefer it. This socalled belly-chain offers more freedom of movement, as you can with some physical flexibility move it up or down rather far. The belt is usually stuck to your waist. Because your belt is really fixed, so are your handcuffs. Even swearing an oath in court is this way difficult, as the pic underneath shows. Of course, seen from the opposite perspective, it is very safe and therefore convenient for the guards.
Many prisoners find having to wear such a leather belt, to which the handcuffs are attached by inserting them through the D-ring, and in which case the handcuffs after locking also automatically are attached to the belt too, more humiliating than a belly-chain with handcuffs on it. It feels a bit like being a dog on a leash. The belt indeed can offer a good grip for the guard...
Moreover, a leather belt around the waist is traditionally a symbol of male pride and self-confidence, hence the striking buckles in cowboy culture. There, such a belt embodies male freedom. And that male symbol of freedom is turned into its opposite here: by attaching his handcuffs, to a prisoner it becomes the symbol of his loss of freedom, of his powerlessness.
The photo ends just above the prisoner's knees. Although his feet are not raised, it is almost certain that he is, as its called, 'fully restrained', meaning that in addition to the belt and handcuffs, he is also wearing foot cuffs. That is the standard combination, especially for prisoners on transport. Naturally, these were also applied to the video clip just now. There is little chance that they were omitted in this case. Also he will thus have looked like this outside on the street.
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