As we saw the people who had been directly ahead of us in line move through the metal detector, I told Stephanie we should be next. "WHITE!" Just one name -- again. We looked at each other. [Stephanie's last name is not White.] They had skipped Stephanie -- number 6 -- and called me. "Let's go," I said, and we walked to the desk, with Stephanie stepping up first to sign in since she had the lower number. She had placed her shoes in the bin and, as I was doing so, walked through the metal detector. It alarmed. She asked the prison employee -- Crawford -- what he thought it might be. "I can't tell you that but it's 100% - you have to pass the metal detector to visit."
Realizing that the belt to her blouse had a metal loop, she began to remove it. I politely shared with Crawford that I had spoken with the associate warden Mr. Smith, who had told me that if the metal detector alarm went off, the prison employees were supposed to use the hand-held wand to determine the problem area so it could be resolved. "Oh, really. I'll have to get with him about that. That is not our policy." I suggested to Stephanie that it might be her bracelet, so she removed her bracelet and watch, then walked through again. No alarm. Then I walked through, and you will not believe what happened: NOTHING.
The alarm did not go off.
JB: What did the alarm not going off signify?
JW: Sunday was my fourth visit since Gary was unlawfully moved to Forrest City on February 6 th and I was not allowed to visit until July 20 th . On each previous visit, the metal detector seemed to be set at a very high sensitivity level, as it had been when Stephanie went through, when they had summoned and were expecting me . I had previously had to remove my glasses, bracelet, earrings and watch. They hsd even tried to have me remove my wedding rings. But on Sunday, I didn't. I had intended to, but when the alarm went off with Stephanie, I had only put my shoes and money in the bin. Nothing else. I had on the same glasses, bracelet, earrings and watch -- the same exact glasses, bracelet, earrings and watch. But no alarm. And truthfully, my watch alone has more metal than Stephanie's bracelet and watch combined. We can each draw our own conclusions about the metal detector, but it is clear that the sensitivity level is not set the same for each visitor.
JB: Hmmm...
decked out with flags and AL car tag by Judy White collection
JW: The group of visitors was then moved from the entry area to the visiting room inside the "secured perimeter" of razor wire and multiple fences. Once we were in the visiting room, Crawford assigned seats to visitors and, once again -- for the third time in my four visits -- we were assigned to sit in the designated RESERVED FOR SPECIAL HOUSING UNIT seats near the desk where the prison employees sit and stand "watching" us. I mentioned this to Crawford, who insisted the seats were all assigned to visitors in the exact order of their numbers. How then, I wondered, was I assigned to sit in the same exact seat when I was number 7 as I had been when I had been number 26 at the last visit? Again, it is quite clear that I am somehow "special."
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