Stanley Donald, MCI-Norfolk

In prison, you cannot call 911, but you can bang on the cell door until someone hears your cries for help. An inmate has overdosed on synthetic drugs that made him think the devil is chasing him, so he screams, “Help me, somebody help me!” Afraid to get involved, we stand by and watch the inmate swing his fist at the air to beat the devil, and then he falls to the floor into a fetal position until the staff come to strap him to a wheelchair.

Sometimes it’s hard to get to work or a program for rehabilitation because the prison goes on lock-down due to these type of overdoses that occur 2 to 3 times every day in MCI-Norfolk. Inmates who do not use drugs (I am 26 years sober) stay away from those who look like zombies, roaming the prison yard trying to sell stolen items to buy drugs.

The synthetic drugs have become an epidemic in prison, and their evil effects don’t discriminate based on race or age.