Infrastructure Nightmares

 

Introduction to this Topic by the Editor

I need to give you a little background on Perryville so this will be more understandable. This prison was built in the early 1970’s by male inmates, for male inmates. The women didn’t come here until about 1990. AS in all government, the cheapest bid got the job. By all reports, this prison was raised fast, and I suspect, with the minimum of supervision of the builder/inmates. These are eye witness reports from the current women residents.

Explaining the Shower Picture

 

This is an accurate sketch of a real shower in “B” yard, Santa Cruz unit. Do you see the loose wires hanging in the lower door jamb? I was told they were “live” because this shower light is still on. I won’t test this theory! I’ve tried to portray all the standing water in front of those wires. All the shower units have standing water because the drains are all plugged.

Standing water = black mold we see everywhere

When inmates complained about the condition of this shower, they just took off the door and left it open. In the shower next to this one (not pictured) is the same filth.

The regulators (hot and cold) will not engage so moving the handle from Hot to Cold does nothing. The temperature the DOC sets is what you get. In the winter the water is cold and in the summer, it’s hot. The water pressure would increase dramatically if they would soak the shower heads in Lime-aWay to remove 50 years of accumulated minerals.

ACLU coming to Perryville before Judge Silver’s big decision

ACLU coming to Perryville before Judge Silver’s big decision

The ACLU always gets its ducks in a row before going to court. In the long-running Jensen v Thornell lawsuit this is especially important. Judge Silver announced she would render a major decision in the case toward the end of August.

Lawyers for the ACLU will be interviewing patients and reviewing medical records, to prove to the Court how life-threatening it can be to reside in an Arizona prison. Families and inmates have written us with terrifying stories of medical malpractice and deliberate indifference, which we have forwarded to the ACLU.

This time, we hope Judge Silver does the right thing and puts the whole prison system under receivership!

Cruz: Global warming to another level

Cruz: Global warming to another level

Our whole staff is about to get out of Arizona for a summer vacation, but we need to file this story first.

Last year Channel 12 shook Thornell awake and made him realize, a) His officers lie about the cell temperature numbers, b) It gets up to 109 in those concrete coffins they make women live in, c) The money for air conditioning was misappropriated (stolen) years ago.

This year Channel 15 is taking up the gauntlet and focusing on Perryville women’s blistering heat. Thornell cheaped out this year though. Last year each woman on Cruz got a Keefe 7lb bag of ice every day plus an ice cooler. This year they get one “scoop” of ice twice a day, most of which melts before they get home.

This year they have two holes in their wall OPEN to the outside, because the contractors were unable to finish the project. Now they have added heat plus dust. Can you readers imagine what that unmitigated heat is doing to the elderly, disabled, cancer patients, and the pregnant?!!

We treat strays in animal shelters better than this!

Aramark: Our new food vendor as of September 1st

Aramark: Our new food vendor as of September 1st

After more than a decade of making residents sick and their wallets lighter, Trinity/Keefe has finally been given the heave-ho by ADCRR. If you look through the archived articles we’ve written about rats and rotten food directly attributed to Trinity, you’ll understand why we’re happy to see them go. May they rot in their “shmeat”!

We’ve been sitting on this story for a month now. Why rush to press when there was so much info and interviews to gather? We actually have a source, that talked to real live women in three states, that have Aramark as their food vendor. They like it. The gals especially enjoyed the food that could be bought by them, like Keefe’s Trinity meal, and the meals available for purchase by their families, like Keefe’s Secure Pak. We’re not sure we believe the $20 steak meal, salads, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, but one can always hope there’s a Santa.

Apparently, the daily food in the chow hall is tasty and healthy. Go ahead and look up their catalog online like we did…wow. That $50 banquet is going to make some lucky inmate very happy.

Of course, here’s the caveat….. what will the DOC let them sell? Keefe allegedly had good food in their catalog too, that doesn’t mean the DOC let inmates buy it. If the ADCRR wants to keep them eating nothing but junk food, then by golly that’s all Aramark is going to sell.

We have to report the not-so-good side of Aramark too, so here it is: Prison Legal News, May 2024/ “Aramark, Prison Food For Thought.” That article will make your hair curl. The reality for Perryville women will probably be somewhere in between. We interviewed people who remember when Keefe first started. They had good stuff too, large portions, etc., but every year their quality and quantity tapered off into garbage. All profiteers that make money off mass incarceration, can’t be expected to provide good service to inmates. After all, the inmate is NOT the customer….. the state is…and that’s who they have to keep happy.

Do DOC Staff Have the Right To Deny An ICS?

Do DOC Staff Have the Right To Deny An ICS?

The short answer is no. So why do they try? We've been sent names of a lieutenant, a sergeant, and even an RN, that are allegedly (according to family) trying to REFUSE an inmate asking for immediate medical attention. Nowhere in policy does it say they can do that....

Medical Grievances Skyrocket Under Naphcare

Medical Grievances Skyrocket Under Naphcare

Medical staff source: "We have received an unprecedented amount of grievances from patients in Perryville, regarding deliberate indifference and gross incompetence. We've had to divert a needed staff member to field these grievances full-time."

Another Cancer Casualty On Carlos

Another Cancer Casualty On Carlos

GG was another 41-year-old looking forward to returning to her tribe and family when she received a grim diagnosis... multiple myecloma. In the weeks leading up to this, she was treated by the No Care Naphcare staff for "gas". It was twisted irony that 16 hours before...

Medical Off-Site Appointments Being Turned Away

Medical Off-Site Appointments Being Turned Away

As we have reported in earlier stories, Banner has stopped taking Naphcare insurance. This is another installment in I-dont-believe-they-did-this saga. From inmate's email. "I had been waiting four months for an endoscopy. Finally, I knew my appointment was imminent...

Only ONE Wheelchair Van for All of Perryville?

Only ONE Wheelchair Van for All of Perryville?

Reportedly, there is one, made-for-wheelchair/lift-type van in this whole place. Wheelchair-bound inmates say virtually nothing is handicapped accessible in Perryville. We've written before on Medium custody buildings built (1970s) before disability laws were...

75% Staffing By Oct 7th “Not Possible” According To Senior Staff

75% Staffing By Oct 7th “Not Possible” According To Senior Staff

The Order and Injunction signed by Judge Silver mandates that essential staffing levels be at 75% by Oct 7, 2023. When interviewing employees on San Carlos, the largest unit in the state, about this mandate, first they laugh. They think the whole notion of that...

W.E.’s Story

W.E.’s Story

(This is W.E.'s story) " I was born in September of 1950. I have diabetes, heart disease, and COPD. The first week I was at San Carlos an LVN (who shouldn't be doing injections anyway), overdosed me by 10 cc's of insulin. Instead of 4 cc of insulin, she gave me 14! As...

One Woman Taken To Hospital While 7 Others Go Into Seizures

One Woman Taken To Hospital While 7 Others Go Into Seizures

Dateline: San Carlos. Mid-morning an elderly woman fell out of her bunk, face first, and unresponsive. An ambulance and firetruck arrived at the gate to take the stricken inmate to the hospital. The guards emptied out C bay and made them stay near the basketball...

More cAGEing stories from our series on the elderly

More cAGEing stories from our series on the elderly

JM: Is 80 years old and has been in Perryville since 2005. She has diabetes, and hypertension, and has had multiple heart attacks while incarcerated. The prison delayed proper treatment until her latest heart attack, at which time she was at the hospital getting a...

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