Correctional Officer Walter W. Farrow

"Old Man Farrow" is what everyone called him, and everyone liked him. He was a sometimes slightly grumpy man, but typically was quiet, unobtrusive, and never abusive to inmates. Officer Farrow ran the Vegetable Room, where I held my first regular prison job. I personally liked Officer Farrow, and felt a warmness in my heart that he was only a week or so away from retirement. On that horrible day, I had the day off from work for a reason I no longer recall. I was shocked and saddened to learn that Officer Farrow had been stabbed to death with a butcher knife by a psychotic inmate who operated the potato peeling machine. This inmate talked to himself frequently, and sometimes did so in a way that made anyone near him wary and watchful for their own safety. I never turned my back on him, as I always felt he was dangerous, and could not understand why such persons were incarcerated, rather than treated in a hospital for the insane. Officer Farrow, RIP. To his loved ones, I am sorry for the grief you endured. This is just one of the many dreadful memories I carry to this day of man's inhumanity to man. Thank you God for not allowing these darker days to ruin my heart of love for my fellow human beings.

none
none

March 28, 2015