Did johnny cash spend time in folsom prison

Johnny Cash's Influence On Corrections - Criminal Justice,

Summarize what you learn about Johnny Cash's influence on the history of corrections.

According to the Federalist, it took a lot of work for Cash just to convince his record label to allow him to make the album. “It took a shakeup in leadership at Columbia Records that saw Bob Johnston, an executive known for his disagreements with his superiors, put in charge of Cash’s production before The Man in Black found an enthusiastic partner willing to go to bat for him and his crazy idea of recording a live studio album at a California state prison.” Two years after his visit in 1966, Lloyd Kelly, the prison’s recreation director, Cash, June Carter Cash, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and Cash’s band, the Tennessee Three, two recording engineers, a still photographer and a few others walked in through the metal gates of Folsom Prison and performed and recorded two live shows.

When Cash and company walked through Folsom Pris- on, it was a maximum-security facility that housed over 1,000 inmates. But when he took that stage in that prison cafeteria and his low baritone voice reverberated off the prison walls, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” and right before the shout of every inmate’s voice became indistinguish- able, it certainly did not feel like a maximum-security facility any longer. According to the National Registry, “Cash and those gathered seemed to feed off each other. Together, they engaged in a musical tour de force of pas- sion forgiveness and redemption.” Gene Beley, one of the only living reporters who was there that day, remem- bers the full scope of emotions that went through every inmate, “It was probably the first time they were allowed to give such emotion ... It was quite an education ... You know, you visualize murderers and thieves looking like

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“Yes, we, the Statlers, were at Folsom with John. Also at San Quentin and other pris- ons all over the world performing shows for the prisoners. There are albums and videos of all of us inside the gates but I’m not sure they ever capture the seriousness of the moment when you first realize the desolate feeling of being there. When you walk in and those heavy steel doors clang together behind you, there is a sickness in your stomach that makes you aware of the isola- tion you have stepped into and the loneliness of the men captured there. Each time we took the stage in a prison, we were struck by the ... faces of the men looking back at us. They were hun- gry for entertainment and yet untrusting of any outsiders until we proved ourselves to be there for their good. Leaving was never the relief one might think it to be, because there was always that sense of guilt that you were able to walk out into the daylight, but you were leaving other human beings behind to a life and a hopeless reality you could only imagine.”

Folsom State Prison is a California state prison located 20 miles northeast of the state capital of Sacramento.

In an exclusive interview with Corrections Today, Statler Brother

Don Reid described his experience at Folsom Prison with Johnny Cash:

Photo courtesy The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Carol M. Highsmith, photographer

28 — January/February 2019 Corrections Today

really bad guys. Probably 50 percent looked like the boy next door. They were just like high school kids at a big concert.” According to the Federalist this was felt because of Cash’s previous concerts that were not recorded, “Cash had been doing songs throughout prisons well before recording this show and he would continue to do that well afterward, so his set list was a fine-tuned machine by this point, perfectly pitched to his audience.”

Cash’s record label, according to the National Regis- try, were not hopeful in its overall outcome regarding a general audience and sales. However, their initial predic- tions, thankfully, were wrong. According to History, “The Folsom Prison album helped revive Cash’s career and reputation, allowing him to turn his outlaw image into an asset, not a professional liability.” This new-found asset became something greater for Cash than the unexpected reception and popularity of the album itself. According to his youngest brother, Tommy Cash, in BBC News, “He always identified with the underdog ... He identified with the prisoners because many of them had served their sentences and had been rehabilitated, in some cases, but were still there the rest of their lives. He felt great empa- thy with those people.” The live recording that day caused ripples not only in Cash’s own career, but for a whole group of people and worldwide system.

His fight for prison reform Cash performed for the inmates at Cummins Prison in

1969, which was filmed for local television, but he also took it one step further and donated $5,000 of his own money for the building of a prison chapel and he also challenged Governor Rockefeller to match his donation.

Cash not only performed for inmates and made their day, but he pressed on to make every day for them better. Prison Fellowship says, “In addition to his many perfor- mances inside prison walls, Cash was a tireless advocate on behalf of those for whom he performed, even speaking before Congress about the nature and purpose of incarcer- ation.” On July 26, 1972, Cash came before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on prison reform with two former inmates by his side. Cash also had the support of Tennessee Sena- tor William E. Brocks who proposed legislation for prison rehabilitation reform. According to Prison Fellowship, Cash proposed several reforms, including the segrega- tion of hardened criminals and first-time offenders, the

reclassification of certain offenses to allow for alternate rehabilitation programs and the use of counseling to pre- pare prisoners for release.

The live recording that day caused ripples not only in Cash’s own

career, but for a whole group of people and worldwide system.

During the subcommittee, Cash revealed not only what was wrong with the American penal system, but how it could be improved. That was where Cash’s heart was in all of this. According to BBC News, “Cash’s conversations with the men at Cummins clearly touched him.” These are Cash’s own words that he gave before the Senate Subcomittee:

“I have seen and heard of things at some of the concerts that would chill the blood of the average citizen. But I think possibly the blood of the aver- age citizen needs to be chilled in order for public apathy and conviction to come about ... ”

Cash took every chance to talk about prison reform and he did not stop at the subcommittee that day. Cash also proposed improvements for prison conditions with six sitting presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush throughout his lifetime. His drive for prison reform came from his own personal belief that there is power in rehabilitation.

The one and only, Mr. Johnny Cash People resonated with Cash’s music because it was

full of rebellion, darkness and sometimes even hopeless- ness, but his fight for those he sang was one of hope and intention. Streissguth says in BBC News, “I think Cash had a feeling that somehow he had been endowed with this fame in order to do something with it, and one of the ways he could do something with it was talking

Corrections Today January/February 2019 — 29

ACA stating, “Your accreditation represents the satisfac- tory completion of a rigorous self-evaluation, followed by an outside review by a team of experienced, independent auditors. Every profession strives to provide a high qual- ity of service to society. To know that you, your staff, and other officials are complying with the requirements of the accreditation process is indeed a statement of a high level of commitment to the staff and persons under your care.” Folsom State Prison, as it is now named, is also ACA ac- credited and still proudly remembers the presence of the Man in Black, who did far more than sing a song.

Cash, as a media presence, was able to connect with inmates

in an entirely new way.

Cash, as a media presence, was able to connect with inmates in an entirely new way. The misconception that he had served hard time gave inmates a voice, one that they never had before. Cash, through music, revealed their humanity and his public position allowed him to move within unique spaces to bring about real change.

Molly Law is an associate editor at the American Correctional Association.

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Like father, like daughter

Roseanne Cash carries her father’s fervor for causes that are bigger than herself. Just as her father fought for inmates’ rights, Cash’s new album, “She Remembers Everything,” affirms wom- en’s perspectives. Like father, like daughter, Roseanne Cash’s “mind is on what it takes to dislodge entrenched patterns and hierarchies.”

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Country and Western Singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash visit former President Gerald R. Ford at the White House.

Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush with 2001 National Medal of Arts Recipient Johnny Cash.

about prison reform. He connected with the idea that a man could be redeemed.” Although some of the reforms Cash proposed did not happen in his lifetime, many are in place and the fight he began is still being carried out by so many today. For instance, Cummins is a very different place from the one Cash performed and donated money for the building of a chapel, “The chapel for which Cash had campaigned so passionately is one of the lasting lega- cies, not only of Cash’s visit to Cummins but of his entire prison reform crusade. It is durable, concrete evidence of Cash’s interest in commitment to the men he met behind bars.” According to BBC News, Cummins Unit-Arkansas Department of Corrections is now a modern prison that focuses on inmate reform and preparation for when they are released. Cummins has been ACA accredited since 2009 in which they received a congratulatory letter from