Part 1 (1/2)

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

A Memoir

by Neil White

AUTHOR'S NOTE

For more than a century, Carville, Louisiana, served as the United States' national leprosarium Individuals who contracted the disease were forcibly quarantined at its remote location on a bend in the Mississippi River By the 1990s, the number of patients at Carville had dwindled to 130, the very last people in the continental United States confined because of the disease The facility had hundreds of empty beds, so the Bureau of Prisons transferred federal convicts to Carville In the Sanctuary of Outcasts In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is the story of the year I was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Carville, Louisiana is the story of the year I was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Carville, Louisiana

A Note on the Word Leper Leper I wish the word leper leper were not in our vocabulary For the individuals who contract leprosy, this ancient term is deeply offensive: the label defines individuals solely on the basis of their disease and further alienates them from the world Early in the book, I have included the ternorance-when I first arrived at Carville I lived with, watched, and ultied friendshi+ps with the residents of Carville, many of elcomed convicts into their home For this reason, I have used the term were not in our vocabulary For the individuals who contract leprosy, this ancient term is deeply offensive: the label defines individuals solely on the basis of their disease and further alienates them from the world Early in the book, I have included the ternorance-when I first arrived at Carville I lived with, watched, and ultied friendshi+ps with the residents of Carville, many of elcomed convicts into their home For this reason, I have used the ter caused by this branding, the ma associated with leprosy My hope is that the book will reflectof, and empathy for, this coinable injustice and tragedy After the ”Summer” section, as narrator, I do not use the word For the rely as possible to depict the suffering caused by this branding, the ma associated with leprosy My hope is that the book will reflectof, and empathy for, this coinable injustice and tragedy After the ”Summer” section, as narrator, I do not use the word For the remainder of the book, the terue, sequestered within quotations is confined to dialogue, sequestered within quotations

PART I

My First Day May 3, 1993

Live oak trees separate the front of the colony from the Mississippi River levee

CHAPTER 1

Daddy is going to caested it ”Words like That's what I told ested it ”Words like prison prison and and jail jail conjure up dangerous ies for children,” she explained

But it wasn't ca uardhouse I suard looked at his clipboard, then at , then at his watch ”You're forty-fivetall, certain my punctuality would deuard pointed to a concrete bench next to the guardhouse and told rounds were orderly and beautiful Ancient live oaks, their gnarled arrove between the prison and the river levee The coned me to this prison-was a series of classic revival-style two-story buildings The walls were thick concrete painted off-white, and each building was connected by a two-story enclosed ay Large arched s covered by thick screens lined the walls There were no bars on the s Nothing but screen between prison and freedo in the hallway He stopped at the last arched , the one closest to the guardhouse, and looked out He was a sh the screen his face looked almost flat He stood at theand nodded as if he had been expectingwith his hand He had no fingers

I stood and stepped over to the guardhouse ”Is that an in toward the uard said

”A sick inmate?”

”You'll find out,” he said, and went back to his clipboard

I looked back for the er at the ondered if he had lost his fingerslicense plates or in some kind of prison-industry accident Or God forbid, in a knife fight I returned toabout instead of locked in a cell

The prison sat at the end of a narrow peninsula formed by a bend in the Mississippi River, twenty e The strip of land was isolated, surrounded by water on three sides My wife, Linda, and I had driven ninety quiet, tense minutes north from New Orleans We left the radio off, but neither of us knehat to say As we passed through the tiny town of Carville, Louisiana, a road sign warned: paveate, I'd stood at the passengerLinda looked straight ahead gripping the steering wheel with both hands I'd leaned in through theto kiss her good-bye A cold, short kiss Then I watched her drive away down River Road until she disappeared around the bend

As I sat on the bench, waiting for the guard, I resolved again to keep the proe the same husband, the sa positive; that I would come out with my talents intact; that I would have a plan for our future

A guard in a gray uniforolf cart He stopped in front of the bench and stepped out of the cart A tall, muscular blacksilver key chain rattled when he walked

”I'm Kahn,” he said

I introduced myself and held out my hand He looked at it and said, ”I knoho you are”

I put my hand back by ift from Linda and a reminder of better times I had packed shorts and T-shi+rts, tennis shoes, socks, an alarm clock, five books, a racquetball racket, and assorted toiletries, as if I were actually going to caet in

We drove down a long concrete road that ran along the right side of the prison adjacent to a solf course, and I wondered if inmates were allowed to play We passed at least ten identical buildings that looked like dormitories The two-story enclosed hallways that connected each building for the prison The place was enoruessed

I had done h school I had been captain of my debate team I understood the pros and cons of capital punish decriminalization, bail reform, and community-service sentences I won the state debate chaued with great passion that testing new medications on federal prisoners would expedite the FDA's seven-year process to prove drug safety and efficacy, that the financial drain on taxpayers would be greatly reduced, and that these tests would give inmates an opportunity to earn money, pay restitution, and seek redemption, while thousands of innocent lives would be saved When I was debating theon prisoners, I never dreaolf cart at the last of the white buildings He grabbed h a metal door The walls were newly painted, and the floor ell polished and shone like Kahn's shaved head I walked behind him down a narrow hallway, and he pulled the chain from his pocket He unlocked a dooron as we stepped inside

Except for a wooden table, the roo on the concrete floor, positioned himself behind the table, and assumed a military stance

”Front and center!” he commanded I wasn't sure where to move He put his hands on the table, leaned toward me, and yelled, ”I said front front and and center center!”

I stepped between the table and the wall and stood still facing hiain

”Strip down,” he said I removed my shi+rt, pants, and shoes and took off my watch I lifted each foot and pulled off my socks ”All of it,” Kahn said

I removed my underwear and dropped it on the floor The concrete was cold on my feet I held my hands at my side, but I wanted to cover ed My ritual of rich business lunches-seafood appetizers, fettuccini Alfredo, filet non with bearnaise, and chocolate decadence-coupled with an abundance of red wine at night had added forty pounds Kahn rattled off a set of coht Bend forward, run your fingers through your hair Lift your left arh your hair After each command, Kahn paused and examined the exposed area He continued Lift your penis Lift your scrotum Turn around Face the wall Lift your left foot Now, your right Bend over Spread your cheeks Lift your penis Lift your scrotum Turn around Face the wall Lift your left foot Now, your right Bend over Spread your cheeks

I glanced over my shoulder to make certain I had heard correctly

”Bend over,” he repeated, irritated, ”and spread your cheeks”

I bent over and placed my hands on each side of my buttocks I slowly pulled them apart As I held my position, I felt blood rush to s ”You know,” I said, ”I won the DAR Citizenshi+p Award in high school”