Waking up on death row every morning is always the beginning of a nightmare. My day starts when most of society is still asleep. At 3:am in the morning, I am awaken by the louds sounds of a correctional officiers shouts, "Chow time, cut your lights on and have a seat on your bunks." This is a vocal signal that breakfast is now being served, and that the psychological games for today have just begun. Metal against metal began to sound out loud as the officiers open and slammed these metal doors against one another, causing a slight irritation with sleepy inmates. Once seated on our bunks, the officers places a tray of cold and very little amount of food inside the slot that's inthe middle of the call door; he then commands you to come and get it, like a master does his dog while training him. Most of the time the food is thrown all over the tray like scrappings being piled up to be thrown away in the garbage. Once the process of feeding breakfast has been completed, we usually try to fall back to sleep again before the next shift of officiers come to work. (which is less than two hours.)By the time you are abble to fall asleep, the lights quickly comes to back on in your cell for count. The officiers come through and ask for your name and T.D.C number. Lights are turned back off only to be turned right back on again 15 minutes later for recreation to begin. Recreation is for one hour and consit of an area slightly bigger than the cage we are housed in. We are totally isolated in this cage, and the only contact we have with each other is eye contact. (Have you ever seen an animal pacing back and forth in his cage at the local zoo? Then this is the image of a death row inmate during recreation.) The officier comes back to your cage to ask if you are going to rec.hoping that you are still sleeply and willing to refuse. Once it has been confirmed that you intend to go to rec.he then asks you to go through the humiliating routine of being stripped naked. He asks for your clothes, tells you to raise your hands, run yourfingers through your hair, stick out your tongue, lift your testicles, turn around, raise your feet, bend over and spread your cheeks. Once this process of humiliation is completed you are handed back your undershorts and shoes; told to back up to the door to be handcuffed and then escorted by the two officers working the Pod, to the recreation cage. Once secure inside this area they remove the handCuffs and give you the rest of your clothing. After rec.is up we are made to go through the wHole process of being humiliated again. We are then taking back to our cells and remain there untIl the officiers are ready to take us to shower. Showers are located at the end of the walk way, which is only several feet from your cell, but you are stilL asked to strip naked and go through the whole strip search routine before being taken to the shower. You are handcuffed behind you back and escorted by two offciers. Everywhere you go you are stripped search and handcuffed behind your back to reinforced the psychological mind game that you are powerless and therefore less than a human being. Once returning to our cells after shower we are there for the remainder of the day, unless you are visited by family and friends, or have some kind of medical appointment. We are served two more meals throughout the rest of the day, receive mail, pased out half clean necessities, ie. socks, undershorts, jumpsuits, sheets and towels that have all ben worn or used by many other inmates. As the end of the day, we say our prayers, lay our heads down and began preparing our minds for the wake of another nightmare. Anthony Graves.