Seeking redemption: A death row inmate's journey into LA County's largest psych ward
LOS ANGELES -- The yelling surprised no one. Yet still Craigen Armstrong was concerned.
Ray was always acting out. This time he had just come back from medical and was standing at the glass wall, screaming at the sheriff's deputies on the other side. He was furious, accusing one of them of sleeping with his wife.
Armstrong and the other inmates in the cell block hoped the disruption would blow over. But Ray only got louder and more frustrated.
"He had severe delusions," Armstrong said as he recalled the incident.
Deputies began to muster. They had tried to talk to Ray and would typically intervene with a psychiatric clinician — per protocol — but the situation was getting worse fast. With no other option, they issued their command.
"Take it in!" they yelled. "Everyone, take it in!"
The inmates in the block tensed.
Seated in the chairs and sofas of the dayroom for morning karaoke, they stood, filed to their cells and closed the doors, but Armstrong held back. Twelve years on San Quentin's death row had taught him how easily old traumas are awakened by new assaults. He worried about Ray, who lived with symptoms of schizophrenia.
Armstrong knew he risked a reprimand for not following orders. At any moment, the deputies would storm the unit. He knew they saw Ray as an unresponsive inmate, but he saw a patient in distress.
He feared that Ray would fight back. His fists were clenched.
"Hey, Ray, I want you to come in here," Armstrong said, encouraging the inmate to return to his cell. "I want you to be safe."
If there were a fight, someone would likely get hurt, and all that he had worked so hard to get — the DVD player, monitor, plants, snacks, toiletries — could get trashed in the struggle.
"I want you to be safe," Armstrong repeated and explained that the deputy didn't know his wife, had been on shift all morning, hadn't even left the floor.
Armstrong saw custody staff taking up their shields. Ray kept screaming. They were about to move. Pepper spray would be used, a Taser the last resort. Armstrong stepped closer and reached out and touched Ray.
The two men locked eyes, and like a flipped switch, Ray fell silent. His expression went slack, and as if nothing had happened, he returned to his cell. Armstrong made sure his door was secure.
Rules are often bent on the fourth floor of Twin Towers Correctional Facility, where many inmates are like Ray — volatile and frightened, the worst symptoms of their mental illnesses kept in check by a balance of medication and monitoring.
When Armstrong first heard about working here, it sounded like a
