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.
Aramark: “Just give the women the leftovers!
(In the years we’ve been reporting on the prison food, this isn’t the first time this quote has been documented. We hoped the new vendor, Aramark, would not be sexist, but we were wrong. One of the reasons we think this doesn’t change is Aramark hired the same Trinity workers and just gave them a blue shirt to wear. Same attitude, a different color shirt. Many reliable sources were interviewed for this story, and we have the real names of Aramark (Trinity retreads) employees, but we’ll just use initials.–Ed.)
COMPLEX KITCHEN- Perryville: There are 3 Trinity retreads, R, C, and S. Ms. R. reportedly has been working there for 26 years. Complex kitchen also feeds a men’s prison and all Perryville units. These supervisors have repeatedly told the female inmate workers to ” keep the men’s menu exactly as written, cuz they’ll get mad if it isn’t.” “Just give the women the leftovers.” When the gals ask why this is, all 3 supervisors say, “Because that’s the way it’s always been.” Recently the kitchen ran out of sweet potatoes, which were on the menu for both genders, and indeed the men all got sweet potatoes. What did Perryville get? Mashed up, dehydrated regular potato slices from breakfast, in a cold lumpy paste! Supervisor C. said, “The women will take whatever and no one cares.”
Inmate workers all agree Aramark has superior fresher ingredients than Trinity. They were also impressed that Aramark prepared food only one day in advance, versus Trinity’s three-day prep which tended to spoil. Workers appreciated the little things, like butter instead of water in baked goods. Apparently, Aramark requires a full “state issue” serving, so that’s good too.
Now brace yourself. Our sources are terrified of what will happen when the REAL Aramark employees go home. What? Since the transfer of Trinity to Aramark, full-time Aramark employees from back east were staying in hotels, and supervising everything from food service to hiring people. (retreads) In a few short weeks, they are all flying home! That leaves Perryville in the clutches of Trinity’s failure team and bad habits. There are guardrails on the retreads now, what will happen to the food when Aramark supervisors leave? We’ll be keeping our eye on it, and reporting back to our readers.
Blanket Punishment, Group Punishment, it’s all the same
Punishing an innocent group of people for someone else’s sins is the favorite cudgel of Perryville staff. A lifelong nonsmoker says, “When the smokers leave their butts all over the yard, the DW closes it down to ‘punish them’. When the smokers get inside they light up anyway in a confined space, so the only folks getting punished are the very people that never put a cigarette butt on the ground in their life.”
Apparently, Complex Kitchen jobs are the most hated in prison, and the worst shift is 2 am. Those people just don’t want to go to work, so several guards turn on the overhead lights, shine flashlights in faces indiscriminately, and yell to wake the dead…..at 2am. It never seems to dawn on them to only wake up the folks who work there…..not the others that need all the rest they can get.
Full time, M-Fri workers like Televerde, Garment, and Hometown Heros, really look forward to their one chance at recreation on the weekends. They have had that time ripped away by ‘blanket punishment’ because the whole yard is shut down until all the Complex workers go to work. The only thing this accomplishes is to give Complex folks more time to sleep in, and aggravates the M-F folks to the point of fighting and unrest.
Several months ago someone in Garment lost a pair of tweezers. Instead of mobilizing with metal detectors and a search team, the staff decided to “scare” ALL the inmates by threatening to take away their visits, fundraisers, baseball games, and rec time, until the tweezers were found. We wish we could step into the deranged mind of a DOC person just for a minute….to see how they work. Why would taking away visits from a 70-year-old granny, who doesn’t even know where Garment is, help find one tiny tweezer????
DOC Bounced So Many Checks Vendors Refuse to Do Their Fundraisers
Can someone please tell us how a government entity with a budget of 1.7 BILLION dollars annually, can bounce checks to companies in the greater Phoenix area? Fundraisers are something the residents look forward to, because it’s a way to supplement the meager offerings of the commissary.
Let’s just take one example, but there are so many others….Sally’s Beauty Supply. This was the main source African Americans had for ethnic hair products. The girls would scrimp and save for this event. Sally’s got burnt too many times by DOC’s rubber checks, so they bounced the DOC! No more Sally’s:-( According to a staff source, he alleges the DOC now has to go farther and farther out from Phoenix to find vendors that will deal with prison fundraisers.
COSTCO will take the prison debit card (no check) but will wait up to 2 months to fill the order. Residents have written in that fundraisers are not nearly as good as they once were, and take twice as long. There is one thing that is a constant, however……. the prison takes the inmate’s money as fast as they can.
The Most BRUTAL Thing I’ve Seen in Perryville
11-26-23 8-9am. In the 15 years I've been in Perryville this was the most brutal incident that I've witnessed in person. There are horrible documented stories of brutality to women here, and I've seen my share. Pile on's of 7 grown men on a 90lb woman are not unusual,...
Warden, Would You Eat In A Restaurant That Had No Dishwasher?
We were astounded to learn that San Carlos has NO DISHWASHER. How that escaped our attention for so long is mystifying, but we recently had a slew of letters about it. In interviewing residents that worked at Carlos kitchen, we were able to get a clear picture of the...
No-Care Naphcare sued for $26.75 Million!
This was the verdict in Washington State, for the death of Cindy Hill after being denied care for a ruptured a intestine. Naphcare was accused of "subjecting inmates to risk of serious harm" and "putting profits over the medical wellbeing of inmates." The complaint...
New Data from World Prison Brief
This organization counted 2,068,800 US citizens incarcerated. That is an astounding 25% of the world's total prison population. Keep in mind we comprise only 4.17% of the world's total population in 2023, giving America the highest per capita rate of incarceration....
McDonald’s Happy Meal Has 50% More “Nuggets”
The profiteering Trinity gives women an average of 4 chicken nuggets in a bag, while McDonald's CHILDREN'S meal has 6. The women receive food portions not deemed adequate for a child. Half-sized food portions are the norm, and mechanically separated chicken (bone,...
DOC Tells R and A Women to “Fail the Mandatory test!!
Those low-down bastards. Anything-to-make-a-buck Perryville. Now the staff is telling the girls to fail the test in R A so that Mandatory will be a "major program" when they go to the general population. What they DON'T tell them is 1) Top pay will be 10 cents/hour 2)...
Oregon And California Prisons All You Can Eat Salad Bars…And More!!
We've had the opportunity to interview ladies here, that were transferred from other state prisons. What a tale they tell. Oh, how Arizona punishes its people. The West Coast prisons have fresh salad bars for lunch and dinner. The residents can grow their own gardens,...
TABE Money Making Scheme Explained By Advocate
"I am an advocate for all families that are being affected emotionally and financially by ADCRR's current and unlawful use of TABE 11 and 12 grade, pre-college curriculum, in place of 8th-grade literacy, statute 31.229 and DOC 910, section 3.0 for the financial,...
DOC’s Latest Money Making Scheme Revealed!
(Letter received from minimum resident) "I am currently enrolled in Mandatory. (Ed. note: Until recently, mandatory was a 8th grade equivalency test all inmates are required to pass. Not passing this test affects everything in their life during incarceration.) I have...
Adult Protective Services Just Like the DOC?
A recent article in the Republic said about APS, "Numerous gaps were found in the state system of providing protection to vulnerable adults who are unable to protect themselves because of physical or mental impairment, or they are incapacitated." "Allegations of...
It’s time to FIRE OFFICER CHEATHAM!!
We have received many, many complaints about this transport officer. It's time to put his name on the internet and let Dr. Thornell know that this is the type of guard that risks lives. Reportedly, he has always been known for his erratic and dangerous driving, even...
Another Inmate FICO Goes Down In Flames!
We've been writing about the for-profit healthcare vendors destroying inmates' credit scores since our inception. Instead of getting better, it gets worse. Here's our latest example..... Ms. M. In 2021 she was sent by ambulance to Abrazo West Valley Hospital for...
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