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.
Why is the Director of Women’s Affairs Kept Secret in Perryville?
In the Fall of 2023, Director Thornell announced a new high-level position in the DOC….Assistant Director of Women’s Affairs, Amber Marshall. Dr. Thornell realized that incarcerated women in AZ had been neglected for too long, so he created this position.
Amber Marshall has experience as an officer and is enthusiastic about her new position. The problem is, the women of Perryville have no idea she exists! There was one mass email sent out in late 2023, and Ms. Marshall has attended several Townhall meetings at various units. In our opinion, there should be posters on every bulletin board, and ways ladies can get in touch with her.
An inmate advocate who interviewed her said, “She wonders why she doesn’t hear from the women she serves.” We have a theory! The deputy wardens and staff don’t want the ladies to know about Amber…..after all, she is a direct conduit to Thornell. All units are secretive, it’s a part of their culture. We are on a mission to correct that, and have advised our sources and advocates on each unit to spread the word.
Lumley: Another Tragic Death In Perryville
We’ve been working on this story for a week. Last Friday we first heard of an alleged suicide on Lumley, D yard. As usual, we did our due diligence tracking down witnesses and getting collaboration.
There is something new in the air at Perryville….. suspicion and secrecy. Our usually talkative sources have been very closed-mouthed about this one. We did get first-hand witnesses to conversations between staff about the event, and scored one witness that had been working on Lumley at the time.
Reportedly, an inmate had been complaining to Medical about not getting her psych meds renewed on time. She allegedly went to medical that day begging for her prescription, and was told “The pharmacy hasn’t given it to us yet.” According to the source, this lady was found hanging in her room at about 11:15 am and was unresponsive. The coroner’s van reportedly arrived a few hours later.
We’ve also checked our media folks and THEY didn’t know about this one either, but they reported the other Perryville deaths. What’s going on? If true, this would add to Thornell’s embarrassment over female mortality in his prison.
Rumor has it, that staff have been told to shut up and not talk to anyone about Naphcare or inmate deaths.
Reuters: Naphcare had the highest DEATH RATE of inmates!
Reutors News published a report that reviewed 500 jails and prisons and found that Naphcare had the highest death rate among healthcare contractors. The runners-up in the death march were Corizon, Wellpath, and PrimeCare.
Despite this dismal performance, AZDOC awarded Naphcare a 1.4 billion dollar contract in 2022, representing a 74% increase in what they were paying Centurion.
The Arizona Republic revealed a cozy relationship with Larry Gann, the then Director of Medical Services for the DOC. Larry testified in Federal court that he worked for Naphcare as Director of Nursing in 2006, and then worked for them for the next nine years, becoming vice-president in 2015. Cozy indeed.
We have often wondered why some inmates are rushed to the hospital via ambulance, while others are transported by DOC van in a much slower process. In a Prison Legal News article, we think we found the answer. In contracts with other prisons, Naphcare received $1,000 in monthly bonuses if they ordered no more than 15 ambulance trips. Another $1,000 bonus was paid if there were under 30 referrals to off-site physicians in a month.
David Fathi of ACLU Washington, DC said, “It’s hard to imagine a more blatant and inappropriate disincentive to provide care than a financial penalty.”
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...
More cruelty from the DOC
Just when you think the inmates can't take anymore, the DOC delivers more pain. Because the Florence prison screwed up and let 2 male inmates escape, the DOC is determined to take it out on the girls too. We are waiting for our sources on Maria and Cruz to come in,...
The men ruin everything for the women….again
Through the years, the men have been responsible for food and hygeine items being eliminated from the store menu. The men make hootch out of something (i.e. corn, potatoes, sugar, oranges, apples, etc ect.) and the women get that taken away from them too. The men use...
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