by Ryan Rowland
Logically, the territory of Westsylvania should have become one of the United States. And it would have but for the stubborn nature of its citizens who refused to relinquish their newly-gained independence and join with the other former British colonies. Somewhat isolated by terrain in the Allegheny Mountains, it still called itself a 'state', but in the original sense of the word as an independent nation, unlike those which completely surrounded it. In 1840, it had renamed its capital city to Luxemburg (dropping the 'o') in honor of that similar-sized landlocked European country. But though proud of its sovereign status, it functioned almost as if it was one of its U.S. neighbors, and even used the same currency. Residents freely crossed its open borders to and from neighboring states, and its culture was very similar except in one curious detail.
Many of the original settlers in the area had belonged to a religious sect that held firmly to the belief that physical punishment was necessary to cleanse the soul from sin. And while the old faith was virtually extinct, a strong belief in corporal punishment remained in the secular traditions of most residents. While it had lost favor in other areas, it thrived in Westsylvania as the accepted way to deal with rebellion against authority in both the public and private sectors. Parents were encouraged to discipline, but not abuse their children, order was maintained in schools, and minor infractions of the law were dealt with primarily by inflicting a bit of pain upon the posteriors of offenders. And courts had upheld the right of business owners to require their employees to submit to it as a condition of employment. A firm hand, hairbrush, or similar implement was often used in domestic situations, while the paddle, strap and cane were employed for official procedures. The horsewhip and cat o' nine tails had been used in earlier days, and a few whipping posts were preserved on courthouse lawns as reminders of that past. But during the early twentieth century, public floggings had been mostly abandoned. Lesser offenses were now punished behind closed doors, usually on the buttocks rather than the backs of offenders, and incarceration was used for more serious crimes. However, within the state's jails and prisons, corporal punishment was still used to maintain discipline and impose penance for crimes. Judges often ordered that prisoners receive periodic corporal punishment as part of their sentences. A few attempts had been made to abolish such measures as 'cruel and unusual punishment', a concept shared with the U.S. But the Westsylvanian High Court had rejected those arguments and ruled that a moderate corporal punishment that caused no permanent injury was not excessively cruel, and in Westsylvania, it certainly was not unusual.
Having lived all her life in Westsylvania, Samantha Moore was certainly no stranger to corporal punishment. It was ingrained into the local culture, and submitting to it was a natural part of life. She knew that there were some people who even gave and submitted to punishments as an erotic game! But in her experience, it had always been justly and fairly applied. She'd been spanked by her parents, paddled and caned in school, and strapped by her employer. But in each case, it was justified correction for some minor offense or shortcoming. It hurt and she hated it, but it was nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn't a 'bad' girl, and wasn't punished any more than most of her peers. Everyone made mistakes, and mistakes were punished. That's just how it was. It's how you learned not to make the same foolish mistakes again.
But her faith in the fairness of how everything worked was suddenly turned upside-down. Samantha had received some money as a gift on her twenty-second birthday and was shopping for a present for herself at the Luxemburg mall. Not finding anything that struck her fancy in her favorite department store, she was about to leave when someone bumped into her before hurriedly running out of the store and disappearing. She stumbled and nearly fell, and by the time she regained her balance and turned to look, she saw only the back of another young woman who was dressed similarly to herself.
"How rude!" Samantha grumbled. "She didn't even apologize." Such ill-mannered behavior deserved a good spanking. She continued on her way and had just stepped out of the store when she felt a hand on her arm.
"This is the one!" a stern voice said. Samantha turned to see the store detective, along with a police officer. They demanded to look in her purse, where they found an expensive bracelet from the store's jewelry counter.
Samantha stared at the bracelet in shock and vehemently denied she had taken it. She explained that someone had bumped into her and it must have been the real thief who dropped the incriminating evidence into Samantha's purse after realizing she'd been observed.
"Sure, that explains everything," the police officer said sarcastically. "Okay Miss, since you like bracelets so much, I have a pair here that will fit you perfectly." Ignoring her protests of innocence, he pulled her hands behind her back and snapped the cuffs on her wrists.
The store had a no-nonsense policy of prosecuting shoplifters. If the pilfered item was of only nominal value, the manager might decline to press charges provided the miscreant voluntarily submitted to a sound thrashing with his sturdy paddle. But the value of the bracelet was too great for that. Samantha cried as she was taken off to jail, but was sure the misunderstanding would be cleared up soon. It wasn't until the lawyer who was assigned to defend her advised her to plead guilty and ask for mercy that she realized it was seriously possible she could be convicted even though innocent. Even her own lawyer didn't believe her!
Justice was swift in Westsylvania, and Samantha was caught up in a wave of public fervor to get tough on crime. At her trial, she tearfully made an impassioned plea, insisting that she was innocent. But to her horror, the jury quickly returned with a verdict of 'guilty'. The judge told her that because it was her first offense, he would like to be lenient. He would have preferred to order that she be paddled, strapped and caned on three consecutive days before being released. But lawbreakers were supposed to show contrition and apologize in order to deserve mercy. Because she was unrepentant and refused to acknowledge her guilt, he was going to sentence her to three years in the Westsylvania Correctional Facility. However, she could be released earlier provided she hard labor. He further ordered that her sentence would include one corporal punishment each month administered by the warden showed remorse and maintained satisfactory behavior while submitting to the correctional facility's program of strict discipline and with an implement of his choice.
"Case closed!" the judge said firmly as he slammed down his gavel. Her court-appointed lawyer told her he could do no more for her. If she wanted to appeal her case, she would have to hire another lawyer, which she couldn't afford. And even then, she had no sound legal argument to contest the verdict, so it was extremely unlikely the state's high court would reconsider her case. Samantha sobbed in despair as she was led from the courtroom.
She was still in a state of shock as she was processed into the Westsylvania Correctional Facility Number Two, which was for nonviolent offenders serving shorter sentences and with a likely chance of rehabilitation. It was divided into two sections, with one side for men and the other for women, each with its own warden. The guards on the women's side were female, but gender equality didn't extend to the upper echelons of the Corrections Department, and the warden was a man. At age twenty-nine, Michael Bryson was remarkably young for his position, and had a reputation for being strict but fair.
As soon as Samantha arrived at the prison, she was warned to do exactly as she was told and she would be subject to corporal punishment if she failed. That was no surprise. She had been subject to corporal punishment her whole life, but she knew that it would be a lot worse here than what she was used to. She knew that judicial punishments were normally given with the offender stripped bare below the waist. That would be especially humiliating if it was done or witnessed by the male warden. She would try her best to follow the rules and stay out of trouble, but she felt sick as she remembered that her sentence included routine punishments even if she behaved perfectly.
After being strip-searched and issued a prison jumpsuit, towel, and basic toiletries, Samantha was taken to a large dormitory-like cell with a row of bunk beds for twenty inmates. The officer told her to find a bunk and wait until someone came to take her for her 'welcome' visit with the warden. Only two other inmates were present in the cell, as most were out on various work assignments. One, an older woman, jeered at the 'fresh meat' as Samantha searched for an unused bunk. The other, even younger than Samantha, introduced herself as 'Julie' and was kindly sympathetic. The only unused beds were top bunks, and Samantha climbed up and lay down, sobbing at the unfairness of it all.
Michael Bryson looked up from the file on the new inmate as Officer Gina Lewis escorted her into his office. Gina had worked as a corrections officer as long as Michael had been warden, and he knew she had designs on him. It was not surprising. Still single, Michael was a handsome man who was naturally attractive to women. But Gina wasn't his type and he had been careful not to encourage her. He acknowledged her with a courteous nod and turned to look at the new inmate who stood there with head bowed. She had honey-blonde hair and even with the prison jumpsuit, he could see she had a nice figure. But in his position, he'd learned to be immune from the charms of such women. They were just inmates who had committed crimes and were here to be punished and hopefully rehabilitated. Officer Lewis nudged Samantha forward until she stood directly in front of the warden's large oak desk. He commanded her to look up at him.
Faced with the man who would have total control of her destiny for the next three years, Samantha looked up fearfully and was startled at what she saw. The warden didn't give the impression of the harsh disciplinarian she'd expected. He had a serious, no-nonsense look, but she sensed sensitivity and compassion too. And his ruggedly handsome face was one to inspire a young woman's romantic fantasies. Her heart skipped a beat and she briefly imagined meeting him in more favorable circumstances. Then reality returned and she assumed a posture of meek submission.
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