Another American I visited in a German prison, Mark,* was charged with a much more serious offense - murder. He explained to me that went out one night to a bar, drank so much that his memory was blank for a portion of the evening. He didn't remember meeting a woman in the bar. He didn't remember taking her home. And he didn't remember murdering her. He had no memory of the woman. He really, really didn't think he should be charged with murder when he couldn't remember what happened to him. I don't know how he would have felt about a guilty by reason of loss of memory option. What he really wanted was not to be charged because he couldn't remember. But he had been found guilty. I had a hard time feeling much sympathy for him, but it was important for me not to let him know how I felt.
I visited Mark more than once. My responsibility was entirely to make sure he wasn't being mistreated and that he had access to legal representation. I wasn't his advocate in the legal system, just as a American citizen in prison. But he didn't fit the image of a hardened criminal. He was a former GI who was stationed in Germany where he met his wife so that he stayed in Germany with her after he got out of the Army. He didn't claim to have any problems with his wife. He claimed he wasn't having an affair. He claims that he only remembers going out for a few beers.
Later, he was arrested, tried, and convicted for murder.
Now this is a time when the curious person in me would have asked him a lot of questions about what happened, to be able to at least describe, if not solve, the mystery. But taking the conversation in that direction might look to Mark as though I was there to help his defense. So instead our conversations were short, focused on how he was doing. He didn't spend most of his time in a cell, unlike what TV programs show. Instead, he, like all other prisoners, had time to watch TV, read books, as well as working in the prison.
There were going to be a lot of consular officers in the future who would end up visiting Mark in prison. Maybe they still are.
The third American I recall visiting in prison was also a former GI, Jerome*, who remained behind in Germany, although I don't recall whether he also married a German. I learned more from him about the circumstances of life in prison from him since he had many complaints about his treatment. Jerome described the work he did at the prison for which he earned a small amount of money. His complaint was that he couldn't buy what he needed in the shop where his earnings could be used because they did not stock products for African hair. My boss usually picked up the products she knew he wanted and gave them to him, through me.
I don't know, or don't remember, anything more about Jerome's circumstances. I think that means I was doing my job, assessing whether he was being treated well without getting involved in any way.
*a name, not necessarily the right one
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