Restaurant Review: Au Jus Roast Beef at Warren Correctional Facility with Sean Swain

For those of you who have never done a prisoner visit in Ohio, you may be surprised to know that this fine dining experience requires a reservation. I arrived at exactly 2pm, as was instructed. My pants were loose, my bra was free of an underwire (which is not easy!) and I was given my ticket so I could wait before going through the metal detector and getting my hand stamped in invisible ink. Two other women were not so lucky: one was given a pair of scissors to cut her underwire out, and the other had to go buy another pair of pants as her capris were deemed too shot for entry.

I arrived to find Sean already seated at the small yellow chairs, his hands bound to each other and to a belt at his waist. Since he’s in administrative segregation (again!), they would not let us get pictures, nor could he have full movement of his arms. Although this was my third time visiting someone wrongfully convicted of murder, it was the first time I had a contact visit.  Due to my “reservation” being for 2:30 and again at 5, I had to exit the visitation room and go through security completely in between the visits. The good news is a visitor is allowed one hug coming in and one hug coming out, which means I got to give Sean four hugs instead of two. The only struggle was to figure out how to hug someone who is bound in such a way. I put my arms around him and hugged him as best I could, while he smiled and tied to hunch his shoulders towards me in an exaggerated shrug.

I was expecting to be able to take pictures, so had put enough money to cover that on the white plastic card, which cannot be refunded but can be re-used, except only at that facility with that particular prisoner. I wasn’t sure when I am coming back through this way (well, that’s not quite true – I have a visit scheduled for Monday at Lebanon CI, which is down the road from Warren), so I figured let’s eat up. Sean and I split two surprisingly good roast beef sandwiches with dipping sauce. I wasn’t necessarily thinking of the challenge of eating with my hands bound when I made the choice, though it turned out to be delicious and we ordered another.

Of course, the conversation was the best part of the meal. This is, after all, the future Last Governor of Ohio. Particularly of interest were his conversion story to Islam, and 9th century autonomous zones under Islamic "rule". 

As I stood at the wall, lined up in single file, the correctional officer kept calling out on his walkie talkie that he needed additional help to be able to get us out and the prisoners back in. "They can just let us walk out with them" I said to the woman next to me. "I wish," she replied. 

Let's make that wish a reality. 

Tomorrow: two dates at one unit!