Monday, October 11, 2010

Over-the-Fence Wiessbier: The Name

Most prisons that people think of have high fences with concertina razor wire at the top and guard towers all around.  The prison I work at is a minimum security facility and has none of those things.  The only barbed-wire fence we have is to keep the cows in and the only razor-wire we have is around the facility generator to prevent sabotage.  The fence at our outer perimeter is a 4-foot pipe fence and the fence around the inmate living quarters is a 6-foot chain link fence with nothing on top. 

Needless to say, escaping from our institution is very simple - one only needs to go "over the fence" and one is free.  However, no one who has ever gone "over the fence" has been free for long.  And, once they are caught, their prison stay is usually lengthened and they are sent to a maximum facility with all the standard security - high razor wire fences, guard towers, and the like.  So, going "over the fence" is a bad idea.

Most inmates at our institution understand this and have reconciled themselves to knowing that, while supposed "freedom" is only a short fence or two away, greater freedom will come if they just stay put and finish out their time.  Once in a while, though, an inmate gets a burr under his saddle and goes "over the fence."

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