Walmart, Denny’s, and Back to EOCI
Mike Markle, Seth Mulkey, Geoff Holden, and Sue Robson ate breakfast at Denny’s in Hermiston, Oregon after visiting the local Walmart. What might seem l like a normal Friday to the unsuspecting eye, was a highly unusual, unprecedented event. What makes it such a rare occurrence? At the time, Mulkey was incarcerated at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI).
Mulkey was released from prison on May 3, 2024, after serving a 20-year sentence. As part of his transition, and to help him acclimate back into society, he was taken on a field trip a week before his release.
“I didn’t really know they were going to do this. They woke me up in the morning and told me to get ready for a trip,” said Mulkey.
Sergeant Geoff Holden, Transition Services Counselors Sue Robson and Mike Markle were chaperones for the day.
“I felt that I stuck out like a sore thumb,” Mulkey said. “I had on khakis and a pumpkin orange sweatshirt.” Mulkey was then provided with civilian clothing for the outing.
“They showed me around town, where things were that I needed. And to the DMV and the parole office,” said Mulkey.
While this type of outing is more common in minimum security facilities, it is unheard of at a medium security facility such as EOCI. Mulkey released directly from EOCI.
The quartet visited Walmart first. Mulkey referred to the store as “really strange” and “weird.” “I’m in this big store … you see people walking around, you see things that you check out yourself,” explained Mulkey (he had never seen a self-checkout stand before). The crew took Mulkey to Denny’s for a late breakfast and gave him twenty-five dollars (all one-dollar bills) in cash to spend. Mulkey purchased a Philly cheese steak omelet. “I was wanting hamburgers, but you can’t have burgers until after 11 am. I had breakfast and that was enough.” His meal cost $17.48, but he didn’t get to keep the change. “Still, it was kind of nice being able to dish out the money,” said Mulkey. After twenty years of incarceration, handling money and interacting with a waitress was an unusual experience for Mulkey. After Mulkey paid for his meal, Counselor Markle showed him how he generally pays – with his phone. “Mr. Markle, I guess he has all his credit cards and everything on his phone, I thought that was kind of interesting,” said Mulkey. “I don’t know if I am going to get that far.”
The event was arranged by Counselor Markle with the goal of helping the AIC prepare for release. A goal which, by any measure, has been achieved. “I feel more prepared now. Less stressed,” said Mulkey.
Story written by Phillip Luna
