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
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.
Life In An Overcrowded Fishbowl On the Surface Of the Sun
That is a description of the San Carlos unit under DW Jones. Carlos has MORE than the maximum allowed inmates, because residents that are at the hospital, or IPC are counted as living there.
When the ACLU lawyers were here they said no one should be on the top bunk without guard rails….there never have been guard rails. The Fire Marshal says no beds on the aisles (called “the street”) but the DOC puts them there anyway. There was a sign up in the medical lobby, ” maximum occupancy 11 persons”, but that was REMOVED.
Carlos is a fishbowl because there is no privacy whatsoever. None. Carlos is a dangerous place to live because of UNDERSTAFFING. Many nights there is only one or two guards for the whole unit.
Recently, at midnight, a lone guard asked an inmate if she would let him know if someone had an emergency. Inmates being asked to be responsible for other inmates? During the day it’s not much better.
The DOC simply does not have enough female guards to cover a women’s prison. There are certain things male officers cannot do, so females are spread really thin.
Why is it like the surface of the sun? The bays have huge skylights that let in an abundance of natural light, but DW Jones has his officers turn on ALL the fluorescent lights, every single bulb, in addition to that. Talk about your carbon footprint, government waste, and punishing the women. Seven days a week those lights blaze on at 6:30 am, and for 15 hours straight.
Those gals that put in a full day’s work Monday through Friday….no sleeping in on the weekends for you. Wrap your face up like a mummy to ward off the harsh lights, but it doesn’t work, does it? No rest for you, no reprieve from the surface of the sun.
Asking for Mental Health=Punishment
(Ed. This is the same woman, telling the different mental health care she received in two states, Arizona and California.)
“My name is Evelyn. I’d recently been transferred from CIW in California to Perryville when I found out my father had passed away. I went to medical at the San Carlos unit and told the guard that I felt like hurting myself. At first, he tried to talk me out of it by saying, ” It’s better here than there.” (meaning the Watch building) I insisted, so he handcuffed me and I waited for a van to take me to watch.
Once there, I was stripped naked and given a smock that didn’t close, so I had to clamp my arms together to keep it from falling off. I was given two blankets and a thin mat. I was on constant watch for 3 days, which meant a male guard was staring at me all the time. I did not see a mental health person until the next day, and that was a nurse for 5 minutes.
Recreation was 30 minutes but only at 4:30 am. Water was from a faucet, no cup. Food was sandwiches only 3 X a day. It was freezing in that cell. I didn’t get clothes till the 3d day.
Throughout this ordeal, the only mental health person I saw was 5 minutes per day, no counseling, only one question, “You gonna hurt yourself?”. It took 5 days to get my 1st book and first hot meal. After more than a week of torture, I was back at my Bay without ever having counseling or offered medication. I finally saw a psychologist who could prescribe 2 weeks after my initial cry for help.”
That was my experience with Perryville’s mental health system.
This is what happened in California when I asked for help. I was never handcuffed. I received a smock with Velcro fasteners. A Registered Nurse saw me immediately as I walked into the cell. No male guard gawking at me, only cameras operated by the same gender. Three hot meals a day, paper cup and spoon. Recreation twice a day, and allowed to socialize with others. Got my clothes back on the 2nd day. Access to the library at all times. The max stay is 5 days. I had constant counseling with a medical professional, and a psychologist was on site at all times.”
Pregnant Women Starved and Neglected in Perryville!
(Editorial note: To the Pro-Life Republicans in this (still) red state. If you really value the unborn and support young mothers, then why do you let incarcerated women be hungry, and neglect their medical needs? These are three women telling the same story.)
“I’m hungry all the time, but especially on the weekends when we only get two meals…breakfast at 7 am and dinner at 6 pm. Dinner takes even longer to get a meal because diets eat last, so I have to wait till after 7 pm. Pregnant people are supposed to get 3 extra milks, one peanut butter sandwich, and a small egg or chicken salad per day, IN ADDITION to a regular meal. It never works out that way. The white shirts and kitchen officers are mean to us. Sometimes we don’t get the egg salad, and if we complain they say, ” I’ll give it to you this time but if you bother me again I’ll write you up.” Or for breakfast, we don’t get our extra milk and they say, “You got one, go away.” Consistently, one or more of our ‘extra’ food is missing.
If we have to go to a mandatory program and miss more than 5 meals in a week, they cut us out of our pregnancy food entirely! If it wasn’t for the kindness of strangers…my fellow inmates, we’d starve. As it is, my belly feels empty all the time.
I’ve never been to prison before and had no idea the meals were so skimpy. For a typical breakfast tray during the week, all I get is 5 potato pieces, a handful of cereal, and milk. What comes out of that kitchen is disgusting.”
(Ed. None of these 3 ladies has received an ultrasound, prenatal vitamins, or seen the OB/Gyn, and they’ve been here approximately two months. One of the girls is especially worried because she has a heart condition that makes her a high-risk pregnancy, and another is stressed about being given a drug called Suboxone, which might lead to serious birth defects.)
Closed Custody Yards on Cruz and Lumley…Hotbeds of Suicide Attempts
It's been a year since COVID hit, and the women isolated from the outside world. The women on Closed Custody fare even worse. They are locked up for virtually the entire day, except for their 'kennel rec' and meals. Is it any wonder they act out angrily every night?...
Prison Reform bills—Dead On Arrival
All three bills, HB2167 Oversight on the DOC, HB2713 Earned release credits, and HB2165 House arrest for non violent offenders, killed by Warren Petersen (R) of the Senate Judiciary committee. Next election, vote the asshole out!! The last guy didn't let any reform...
What do COIII’s do in Perryville?
According to the women....not much. We get a large number of complaints about absent, never-there, clueless, and downright lazy counselors. For instance, CPS had been trying to contact the mother of a runaway child and was never able to track down the mother's COIII....
Screwed up Lumley
Reprinted from a recently received letter: "What a %#@ Unit this is. We only get 2 toilet paper rolls per week....what happened to that robust supply that the DOC promised us? They only comply when the ACLU and media make them give us toilet paper." "Here's what they...
Tidbit from Lumley
Our intrepid reporter from there, has this to say. "I've been on 4 units in Perryville, and have never seen such lack of dissemination of information. On every other Unit they take notes of the Townhall meeting, type it up, and post on a bulletin board for everyone to...
A robust supply of feminine hygiene products at Perryville? NOT!
Why ADC's continued stinginess with TP, pads, and tampons?? We don't get it. Carlos has intermittent problems with supply, Maria has complaints about them, as does Cruz. Recently, we've had letters from Lumley about supply issues. Each Lumley inmate gets 2 TPs per...
An Open Letter in support of Prison Oversight Bill
To Molly Gill/MGill@FAMM.org. Your article in the Republic, "This is the only way to clean up our squalid prisons", was outstanding! You hit every nail on the head. Infrastructure in Perryville is more than crumbling...it's downright dangerous to live here. What I...
BREAKING NEWS: FREE AT LAST WE ARE FREE AT LAST!
Early Thursday morning, Deputy Wardens on Maria, Lumley and Cruz, made the rounds to deliver the good news. No more all day lockdowns, kennel rec, or dehumanizing rules to break the spirit of the women! Thank you readers, and thank you to our sponsors of this website....
Lumley–Living the Nightmare!
(From our inmate star reporter, A yard, Lumley Unit.--Ed.) The draconian rules change every day and with each officer....nothing is consistent or follows the so-called schedule. For instance, A-yard rec was supposed to be from 6 am to 9 am. Oops! Did they forget about...
Arizona Dept. of REHABILITATION and RE-ENTRY? What Crap!
What a joke! How does keeping Medium women locked in their cells for most of the day help with "rehabilitation"? How do the DOC clowns live with themselves with such lies in their name? Does raking dirt and rock deliver a better resume' when they try to get a job on...
Women’s Rec time cut from 13 hours to 2 and a half
Medium ladies used to get out at 5 am to count at 11 am. Then out from noon to 4 pm count, and out at 5 pm to 8 pm lockdown for the night. On 2-9-21 the DOC put up an elaborate schedule for separate main yard/tier out-of-cell time. Main yard rec means, you go to main...
Director Shinn makes ALL medium custody inmates’ life miserable
Dear readers, it's not just the girls that were thrown into the burnbag, but the boys too. Shinn was red faced because of the recent escape, so he decided to take it out on all medium inmates, because that was the custody level that escaped. DOC's usual knee jerk...
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