It goes without say that inmates have a form of hierarchy. While those who are convicted of murdering police officers are generally at the top, those who harm women and children typically find themselves at the bottom. Recently, 25yo Darius Sessoms, decided to abruptly end the life of 5yo Cannon Hinnant, in front of his two sisters. The child, who was simply enjoying riding his bike, was tragically shot by the neighbor. Though the motive has yet to be released by the Wilson PD., the suspect was apparently friends with the family, having dinner and drinking a beer with the father the night proceeding the shooting. We have a grieving family, a deceased child, and a complete scumbag in custody. What happens now?

While the question may seem a bit obvious in that he would be granted a life sentence, we are going to discuss what prison will be like for Darius, as we said, he’s at the bottom of the inmate hierarchy. Upon being convicted, It’s very likely that Darius will sit in jail, in some cases, this can last for several weeks as he awaits transport. For him, this isn’t going to really matter, it’s not like he’s got a life outside the DOC system. During this time, sitting at the county jail, it wouldn’t be to farfetched to believe that something could potentially happen. Inmates within these facilities, have a habit of throwing their fists. As word regarding his conviction spreads, the number of inmates wanting to knock his teeth out will increase. In severe cases such as this, it’s not unheard of that the inmate be placed in solitary confinement as they await to be transported. Of course, while jail comes with it’s own risks, prison is where the real storm could be.

As you can imagine, prison has inmates of various crimes, many will never see the free world again. For a man such as Darius, these individuals will become his greatest threat. The general mentality of a “lifer” is this: “I am never leaving this place alive, I have nothing to lose.” But our would-be inmate, Darius, has plenty of time to figure this out. Upon arriving to the facility, he will go through the intake process. Just as he had in jail, he will get a “mugshot,” finger printed, clothing and various other items such as bedding, and finally he will get his very own ID card with his lovely photo on it. Once he completes the intake process, this is where things begin to change. Every prison has their own way of handing inmates once this process is completed. For this, I am going to detail what some of the facilities I worked at did.

Most likely, he won’t be put into general population, not immediately at least. Many facilities have an evaluation period, especially if the state has what they call an “intake facility.” An intake facility is a prison that is designed for new arrivals within the system. This means that every new offender, as DOC defines them, goes to this one facility prior to being relocated, if that is to be done. During this evaluation period, they are generally placed into a “maximum security” setting. What this means is they are locked down for twenty-three hours a day, aside from weekends when they are locked down for twenty-four hours. Every aspect of their life is controlled. Depending on the facility, they may get three showers a week, though some only do two. In order to leave the cell, they are cuffed and escorted by roughly two or more guards. If they opt-in for going outside (rec. time,) they get one hour. If the facility has cages, as they are generally called, the offender is uncuffed and allowed to walk around his own little piece of hell. If the facility has a secluded yard, they remain cuffed and closely monitored by officers. This process is generally a minimum of a month.

So, let’s say he’s passed that point and is now in general population. First and foremost, he will be placed into one of two categories: Medium security or Maximum security (which we explained in the previous paragraph.) The medium security yard gives the inmates much more freedom.  Though they remain supervised at all times, most long-term inmates have already figured out the advantages they have, especially if they are wanting to eliminate a child killer. If an inmate were to make this choice, it isn’t implausible that it would be carried out in the yard itself. If it’s monitored, why would they do this? Simple: There are hundreds, if not thousands of them at any given facility. Though officers walk the yard, there simply isn’t enough of them to cover every aspect of that location. By the time an officer would notice that a situation had taken place, those involved would had already fled the scene; as most of you can guess, there are very few, if any inmates, who are going to tell. Though it is likely to happen in front of one of the many cameras, most inmates, especially the “lifers,” have already learned how to circumvent that problem. After all, they have 24/7 to think up strategies on keeping various crimes hidden from the officers.

Presuming something like this happened, there are practices in place. Obviously, this scumbag would be taken to the medical ward and potentially transported to a nearby hospital, depending on the severity of his injuries. Upon returning, he will most likely be placed into protective custody. This means that he is removed from general population, placed into a maximum security unit, and becomes a thorn for some poor guard who is most likely already having a great day. This phase, protective custody, varies on a case-by-case level. While in this custody, an officer will conduct an investigation. They will question inmates, generally living in the same unit as the victim. They will then review camera photage. If the attack is on camera, great. If not, the case is generally left dormant, the victim eventually returned to general population, and the unknown suspect(s) gets to wait for another chance.

This article is all speculation, it isn’t saying that this will happen. However, this is a very real risk that Darius faces upon arriving at a facility. We wanted to present not just what this vile excuse for a man faces, but a little insight into how the prisons operate. The culture, the mentality, and so on, are completely different from that of the outside world. If you have worked in a facility previously, than you already know what it is that I’m talking about. Just as with any society, you have your “good” citizens. But, within this society, you also have your troublemakers. For a man, such as Darius, these are the people he will most likely come to fear. After all, as I have said, as far as the inmate hierarchy is concerned, he’s at the very bottom with the child predators.

If you want to read about a child predator, be sure to check out our previous article:

Sinclair hires sex offender, denies alleged comments made by him