See what Believe It Or Not I Care (BIONIC) means to the folks at Arizona State Prison-Marana.

Warden Jeremy Casey

“It assists in the security part of it, by being [caring and], showing that caring attitude to the offenders. We’re no better than they are. They just are here to serve whatever sentence or whatever they’re in prison for. But I think it makes security’s job a lot easier, having that BIONIC culture. I think it develops the relationship with the offender population to where we’re supportive, not just here to house them. They’re not just a number to us.”

Resident Lester Gill III

“Yeah, coming here, I was kinda…we all come in here wired, you know, ready for anything. And you get here, and staff speak every day to you. That was unheard of.  I was from another state, and we were taught not to even look at the COs [correctional officers] for more than three seconds. So, for them to make eye contact, speak, and really ask you how you are doing is genuine. It took a couple days. Yeah, it’s been cool; my time is flying. I have about six months left. I don’t even know where my two years went.  It’s definitely an experience.”

Resident Israel Reynoso

“I can go and talk to the warden. I can go and talk to the staff members. I can go talk to somebody and throw ideas at them to create other avenues or things that we feel are helping us. So that’s been really helpful, the fact that I’ve been able to communicate with staff and cooperate with them in certain ways to ensure that we have those programs here. This is not the idea of a prison that you see on TV or anything, you come into a place like this, and immediately it’s laid back. There is no sense of danger lurking around the corner. You don’t feel that you’re threatened by any of the other inmates.  I mean, I think it’s really pretty much that way it is on the ‘outs’. The way you carry yourself, and how you respect others is how you’re gonna be treated. You can find that anywhere you go.”

Resident Lester Gill III

“I just can’t wait to get out and show the better me.”