Christmas behind bars

Krystal Crickett keeps a calendar in her cell in the Ector County Detention Center, one of her few links to the outside world. But instead of crossing off the days until Christmas, she has her sights set on another square marked "25" — the one in February, the day she will walk out of jail a free woman with another shot at life.

"I’m trying not to even think about it," Crickett, 24, said of the approaching holidays in a recent jailhouse interview. "Being away from my family is the hardest part of being in here."

For many people, the Christmas season ushers in a relaxing time of family gatherings replete with big meals, surprise gifts, traditions and holiday cheer. But for the millions of inmates clocking time in jails and prisons around the country, the holiday can serve as an ugly reminder of their misdeeds and the bars that separate them from their families.

Most lockups in West Texas make some attempt to acknowledge the holidays, either by serving special meals or relaxing rules about television viewing. But more than a dozen interviews with local law enforcement officials, inmates and their families show the holidays take a perceptible toll on the incarcerated nevertheless.

Inmates often feel guiltier about their transgressions toward the end of the year, and though they typically look forward to visits from family members, it can be painful for them to see their children on the other side of the Plexiglas.

"It’s really hard for them to be in jail this time of year," said Cpl. David Lopez of the Midland County Sheriff’s Office, who has worked in jails for several years. "You can see it in their faces."

It’s a time of year when many lockups instruct guards to keep an eye out for self-mutilation as suicides occur with greater frequency, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the agency responsible for overseeing state jails and prisons. Officials in Midland and Odessa reported similar peaks in inmate suicides during the holidays.

"People get down in the dumps," said Mark Bivens, an inmate who has spent many years in prison and has been awaiting trial for more than a year in Ector County on drunken driving charges. "There’s definitely more thought around this time. The younger ones with families, I know it hurts them a bit more."

For the families of the incarcerated, the separation can be just as painful if not more so, said Leland Maples, an Odessa jail chaplain and founder of Loved Ones of Prisoners, a local ministry that provides inmates’ children with Christmas presents each year.

"The family members suffer the same length of sentence as the inmate does," Maples said. "It’s not like having someone in the military. Families many times go underground because nobody brags about daddy being in prison."

Statistics suggest more families in Ector County are affected by incarceration than most areas of the state. Texas has the second-highest incarceration rate in a country that locks up more people than any other in the world. And at about 4.56 inmates per 1,000 people, Ector County has the 12th highest incarceration rate of 254 counties, according to a report released this month by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

"It’s Christmas. You’re supposed to have your whole family," said Ricki Busby, 18, of Odessa, who grew up with her father behind bars on a robbery conviction. "I remember always putting a stocking up on Christmas even though he wasn’t there. It was like he was dead."

Nancy Veatch, whose daughter Christina will spend her fourth Christmas in a row in federal prison, said the pain is particularly acute for prisoners who have children.

"She feels guilty about not being able to shop and give her daughter gifts, and that’s our greatest sorrow," Veatch said. "That’s the heart-wrenching thing about recidivism: the children are hurt so much and left without parents."

Despite their incarceration, several inmates celebrate the holidays. They are allowed to create and receive Christmas cards, though it depends on the lockup as to whether they can tape them to the wall.

Bivens, the Ector County inmate, said he doesn’t have much of a family. But he’s developed a reputation as an artist in the jail and has drawn about a dozen cards for his colleagues’ family members.

Santa Claus doesn’t visit jails in West Texas, but many prisoners receive candy and treats from local ministries. And then there is Christmas meal. Most counties said they serve some version of a turkey dinner with dressing.

"We always feed them special," said Noka Rubner, a supervisor of the Andrews County Jail.

In Midland, many inmates purchase chips and other junk food from the commissary after their Christmas meal and compile their own holiday smorgasbord, deputy Lopez said.

"Everybody knows what day it is, and they do tend to do things," he said.

In Ector County, jail officials said very little changes on Christmas Day except for the special meal.

"I think there’s more of a calm over the jail this time of year," said Lt. David Byerly of the Ector County Sheriff’s Office. "I think with some there may be some remorse that they’re feeling because this is a family time of year."

For Crickett, the inmate with the calendar, Christmas will be just another day closer to her release.