American Friends Service Committee has collected and donated much-needed supplies to prisons state-wide. Among those supplies were 1800 masks. The masks donated to Perryville however are still in the warehouse, along with masks donated by other organizations. And it appears that’s where they will stay until someone in charge discovers that inmates are people too.
We heard recently that, allegedly, Ms. Hacker, a supervisor in the warehouse spotted an inmate wearing one of the “forbidden” masks while she was cleaning the officers’ gym. Keep in mind that there are at least 70 prison staff in the system who have self-reported being infected, and staff moves through many areas, and often transfer between prisons. Upon seeing the inmate wearing the mask, Ms. Hacker took it away from her, stating “She’s only an inmate, she don’t need a mask.“
The inmate refused to continue cleaning the gym without a mask. Another, less health-conscious inmate was found to take on the risky job. As far as we know as of this date, the inmate who refused to work without a mask has not be retaliated against.
A follow up to our post about donated supplies not reaching the inmates: An inmate at Perryville, who has been making inquiries about the distribution of the donated supplies, provided an update this morning. The majority of the donated feminine hygiene supplies and soap were provided to Santa Maria R&A. Some were allocated “elsewhere.” (Where is “elsewhere?” A question worth exploring.)