Prison psychologist recalls first encounter with correctional environment

Ilze Ušacka, who was among the first psychologists to work in the prison system of restored independent Latvia, remembers her initial encounter with prison. She admits the environment caused great fear – the creaking of barred doors, previously heard only in movies, and the stagnant air heightened her anxiety.

During one consultation, when only she and the inmate were in the room, the man demonstratively sharpened a pencil and twirled it in his fingers. Ušacka was trembling inside from fear, but she knew she could not show her emotions, as the situation resembled a jungle with its own laws. Her experience suggests that if an inmate harbors tremendous resentment, he may later take revenge not just on one person but on a sea of people.