Announcement!

Behind the Wall is Live! https://www.patreon.com/ThePrisonOfficer

Silence doesn’t stay empty for long. When correctional agencies refuse to talk about what happens behind the wall, someone else will gladly explain it for us, and they’ll usually pick the most extreme version. From the ILEETA conference, I take one simple line, “nature abhors a vacuum,” and apply it to one of the biggest challenges in corrections: who controls the narrative of prison life, jail incidents, and use of force.

We get specific about what the public rarely sees. A 30-second YouTube clip won’t show the hours of de-escalation that happened before a cell extraction. A headline counting jail deaths may skip the cause, the medical response, and the reality that correctional officers perform CPR, cut people down, and intervene in violence far more than outsiders assume. In a world of doom scrolling and sensationalism, partial facts become “truth” fast, especially when movies, scripted TV, and even inmate podcasts fill in the blanks.

We also push back on the idea that this is just a PR issue. Our goal is light, not spin. That means sharing real context, owning mistakes when they happen, and inviting the people who shape policy to see the real environment: legislators, judges, and community leaders taking honest tours, not staged walkthroughs. If we want smarter conversations about public safety, accountability, and prison reform, we have to start with accurate information.

Subscribe to the Prison Officer Podcast, share this with someone who thinks they already know what prison is like, and leave a review with the biggest myth you want corrected.

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Also, check out Michael's newest book - POWER SKILLS: Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills for Correctional Officers, First Responders, and Beyond https://amzn.to/4mBeog5

See Michael's newest Children's Books here: www.CantrellWrites.com

Support the show

=======================

Support the mission and go deeper with The Prison Officer Podcast on Patreon. Behind the Wall, you will get exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, leadership discussions, and tools designed for correctional professionals who want to grow, lead, and perform at a higher level.

👉 Join here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ThePrisonOfficer

Contact me: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!

#prisonofficerpodcast #leadership #podcast @theprisonofficerpodcast

Contact us: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrisonOfficer

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!

What if your first real job at 20—walking onto a men’s medium-security yard—became the foundation for a lifetime of leadership, policy savvy, and humanitarian impact? That’s Judi Simon Garrett’s story, and it upends a lot of what people think they know about prisons, “solitary,” and the people who run complex systems under pressure.

Judi explains why training that centers presence, words, and posture mattered more than keys and cuffs, and how overtime on the toughest posts built credibility that no title could.

Judi breaks down the myths around solitary confinement, reframing it as restrictive housing with services, checks, and human contact. The leap is from prison to a more controlled prison—not from a living room to a dark cell—and sometimes that move protects both staff and the individual. We talk about safety, suicide prevention, and the hard truth that a few people cannot safely live in groups. Then we pull back to language and policy: why lumping everyone in custody under one gentle label hides critical differences, how rehabilitation is a door people must choose to walk through, and why measuring systems only by recidivism misses the point.

We also honor the Bureau of Prisons legacy—from Sanford Bates to modern growth—highlighting professional culture, continuity of leadership, and a mission that kept programs alive even as populations surged. Judi shares candid leadership lessons: humility over ego, influence over authority, context over commands. Finally, we pivot to her current work leading aid for Jewish communities in Ukraine, where logistics, transparency, and storytelling now deliver food, medicine, and care to tens of thousands. It’s a full-circle look at service: macro policy that keeps people safe and micro moments where one family gets the help they need.

If this conversation challenged your assumptions or gave you a clearer view of corrections and leadership, share it with a friend, subscribe for more thoughtful episodes, and leave a review to help others find the show.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/judi-simon-garrett-24a2b4157/

Jewish Relief Network Ukraine - https://www.jrnu.org/

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Support the show

Also, check out Michael's newest book - POWER SKILLS: Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills for Correctional Officers, First Responders, and Beyond https://amzn.to/4mBeog5

See Michael's newest Children's Books here: www.CantrellWrites.com

Support the show

=======================

Contact me: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!

#prisonofficerpodcast #leadership #podcast @theprisonofficerpodcast

Contact us: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrisonOfficer

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!

In this episode of the Prison Officer Podcast, host Michael Cantrell speaks with Justin Stevens from Desert Waters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to correctional officer wellness. They discuss Justin's journey through the corrections system, the importance of leadership and training, and the role of peer support in addressing mental health issues within the field.

The conversation also touches on the normalization of trauma in corrections, the need for a wellness culture, and the public's perception of corrections professionals. Justin shares insights on how Desert Waters is working to improve staff wellness through training and resources, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality in peer support and the need for a shift in how corrections staff are viewed by the public.

justin@desertwaters.com

https://desertwaters.com/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Also, check out Michael's newest book - POWER SKILLS: Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills for Correctional Officers, First Responders, and Beyond https://amzn.to/4mBeog5

See Michael's newest Children's Books here: www.CantrellWrites.com

Support the show

=======================

Support the mission and go deeper with The Prison Officer Podcast on Patreon. Behind the Wall, you will get exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, leadership discussions, and tools designed for correctional professionals who want to grow, lead, and perform at a higher level.

👉 Join here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ThePrisonOfficer

Contact me: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!

#prisonofficerpodcast #leadership #podcast @theprisonofficerpodcast

Contact us: mike@theprisonofficer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrisonOfficer

Take care of each other and Be Safe behind those walls and fences!