Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 101
The world knows you as rapper Tory Lanez. However, the California Department of Corrections will call you by your birth name. So let me begin by saying "hello" to you, Mr. Daystar Peterson. Let me also state that I don't believe you shot at Megan Thee Stallion that day. That ship has now sailed. You are now in state prison. Your world is upside down. Your head is spinning. Congratulations on getting out of [unreadable] isolation and into the mainstream general population of that reception...
UPDATED: to include Barbara Phillips's contact information. Behold, this is the story of Barbara Phillips. We call her "Ms. Bobbie" here on the prison women's prison yard. Ms. Bobbie is here with an LWOP sentence with 26 years down. As California courts implement new resentencing laws, male prisoners regularly get relief from the courts and ultimately leave BEFORE female prisoners. Younger prisoners also get relief before older ones. Now, honestly, you should know that I don't care about either...
This is the latest of several drones in the air close to or over the person grounds recently. Yesterday a drone was spotted in the air by prison staff. Immediately all prisoners were locked in our cells. This time it was a drone used by a company who simply failed to notify the prison. It was cleared up and we were let out of our rooms. With the other drone sighting recently, staff locked down the housing unit over which the drone had been seen hovering. Prisoners and outside accomplices can...
"Not a joke," as Joe Biden would say. Its true. On July 1, 2022 is prisoners will experience the next wave of technological development available to California state prisoners. It's well overdue and partially made possible by Covid-19. These tablets are being issued by parent company GTL, Global Tel Link, which already runs all of California's and many other states prisoner calling services. This program has been delayed by almost 2 years due to Covid. Game changer! Privacy. As prisoners, for th...
6.24.22: I bet you didn't know that CIW is on permanent restriction of prisoners' personal water usage. That's right, but it wasn't always this way. When I arrived at CIW in 2013, I didn't know how good we had it. Now, CIW's cell toilets are on a 15 minute timer for flushes. 5 flushes per 15 minute time span. When you use up those 5 flushes, the toilet simply will not flush until the 15 minutes pass. Sounds fun huh? The sink is low-flow also. Rather than the water flow going downward as with a...
Dear Sacramento Mass Shooter: Mr. SMILEY MARTIN, Should I call you Smiley or Mr. Martin? I think California's Dumbest Criminal suits you better. You're are the Biggest Loser. I clearly remember how it felt waking up to the news of a gang shoot out, in Sacramento, no less. 6 dead. 3 gang members and 3 innocent civilians. Well, I've got a bone to pick you, Smiley. Your brother died in the gun fight. Your name is 'Smiley.' What a stupid name. For a stupid individual. Your mother named you that....
Yeah, I stumbled mentally. I didn't fall. There's a lot bad things on the prison yard right now. I've told you that already. I have not had any drug cravings in a very long time. There has also been a lot of tobacco smoking in this place recently. I am a cigarette smoker on the street. However, due to my recovery from old behaviors, I do not smoke here in prison because tobacco is not allowed. My recovery involves discipline and doing what's right no matter what. It's been about 5 years since I...
My last two stories were drug related. So you probably sensed there was an elephant in the room. It's unfortunately true. Here we go again. Street drugs are prevalent once again inside these walls. I thank God that I'll have 6 years clean in May 2022. The prison is turning into a zoo. Many, many of my peers are on drugs! The dealers are in the two worst housing units. I also thank God I don't live in either of those buildings. The evidence is clear. Already more fights and more alarms from...
It was a normal, quiet Sunday evening on the prison yard. The Oscars were live on TV. While Will Smith was capturing attention with the slapping of Chris Rock, another, far more serious and far more ugly scandal was breaking within CIW's walls. We prisoners were locked into our cells at 830pm, as usual. Something nefarious was taking place after hours. The next morning we discovered that 7 women were missing. 6 female prisoners ( no transgenders ) had been falsely accused of prison rape by one w...
At first, I admit I was skeptical of Warden Houston. I even thought she was anti women, at first. However, over time I was won over by her leadership and her ability to steer CIW through several Covid-19 outbreaks. As a woman, and a woman color, Warden Houston took the reins of CIW in the middle of a Covid surge. Most people would be reluctant to take such a risky career move. San Quentin Men's Prison went through a now infamous Covid disaster after one decision to transfer inmates caused a...
It's hard to believe. This is almost over! My prison stay is almost over. By God's grace. I'll be 38 in a few days. ( Feb. 18th ) It's nothing to celebrate. But my life is about to change! I'll be free very soon. I'll be able to light up a Newport and go to an N.A. meeting in the real world for a change! I'm bracing to the culture shock I'm sure to feel. I'm also preparing for things to not be perfect simply because I'm out of prison. The job market is hot at the moment. I hope to take...
As the days go by, I never cease to be fascinated by the dynamics of prison staff behavior. I've learned so much about the psychology of human behaviors. And the more I learn, the more I want to know. I've become a bit if a mentalist throughout my prison journey. I'm obsessed with watching people and discerning why they do whatever they do. Prison staff are an endless source of material to study. At first thought you might assume that prisoners might be more interesting to watch. On the...
June 5Th 2015, Amber S. Jackson, #X15530 / (CIW) Dear [name redacted], Hi. This letter is being written by me to apologize for all the harm that I've done to you. I need you to know that I'm sorry. I'm acutely aware of all the ways my actions in Sept. 2004 hurt you and our family and our surrounding community in San Diego. You don't owe me anything. You don't even have to read this. But I pray that you will read this and that doing so will help your journey of healing. In Sept. 2004 I heated...
On the 9th, all prisons in California will began 2 week modified program (lockdown), even though this prison, CIW, is already on quarantine due to Covid-19. Who's calling the shots? This Department Operations Center is "made up of doctors and experts" who monitor Covid-19 at each prison and the state prison system as a whole. This command center remotely make decisions about what to do next, hence the arrival of the N95 masks. Last night we, all prisoners, were all given 2 surgical masks and...
What's really going on with CDCR? A massive blunder. With officers retiring, some early, others quitting and all the other BS that comes with the negative political climate towards all law enforcement, where is the leadership? Where are the incentives for officers to delay retirement? Where is the marketing and recruiting campaign to inspire new recruits to enroll in the academy? Covid-19 only adds an additional layer to all of it. At the end of the day, CDCR is a critical department to staff....
When the prison doors pop open he comes out struttin' his stuff! He slowly walks down the hall like the player that he is. The ladies love him!! In fact, they adore him. Long before the "trans" BS started in CA's women's prisons, there was one real man. Simon. Simon is very popular. Simon is our unit cat. Not just any cat. He's The Pussy King. Simon lives with another member of the PURR program. He's a permanent resident here. The PURR member he lives with is very old. I think in her 70s. He's...
Remember the chair of the PURR Cat program I first told you about a few months ago? She's also the Inmate Advisory Council White Rep here in my own housing unit. She holds these positions of trust and leadership and uses all she touches to advance her drug and pill addictions. She even diverts her Suboxone sublingual strips by attaching it to the bottom of her denture. She then snorts it or trades it or both. She walks around like she's smarter than the rest of us, even smarter than the very...
The Covid-19 Omicron is a double edge sword. At present, over 100 CIW staff are out sick. Plunging the institution into a condition we've never seen before. And you see it all here in prison. So many administration staff have been out sick that inmate accounting was late getting money to prisoners' books. That's how bad this is. The other edge of this sword is infecting the inmate population and exposing hundreds more. As of Thursday, Jan. 6, I'm now in a quarantined housing unit. We have food...
Hello 2022!! Goodbye to the single worst Christmas I've ever seen in or out of prison! It all kicked off Christmas Eve with the death of a prisoner, to start things off. The woman died of an apparent heart issue. She recently had open heart surgery. She had been sick. She woke up, and collapsed. Medical staff take forever to respond in here. So in the case of a cardiac arrest, you don't want them to be your first responders!! Anyway, the dead woman had a heavy drug history. I knew who she was....
The excuses are numerous but the problem is singular. Not enough correctional officers to run the prison. When officer levels fall below a minimum number, things begin to close. The inmate population was told to expect this in October 2021. However, now the reality and the results are devastating. The list of excuses is endless. Holidays, retirement, early retirement, scheduled vacations, and my all-time favoritem the Covid-19 positives among staff (Whom still get their pay while out sick at...
Vindicated! She's officially back! Unfair decision reversed! The prison population rejoiced at the news! Her presence and her talent are back. The drug program students, including myself, are so happy. Many times the prison makes mistakes. Rarely does anyone right any wrongs. So, this is a special blessing for the population. And we are so glad to have her back. Friday we got word from other drug program staff that she would be back on Monday. We were all happy and excited. She's able to reach...
It's called "PURR." For Pawsitively United Rescue And Release Program. Rescued Kittens are brought into the prison and placed with women as part of this program. They are fed and nursed until they grow and thrive. They're socialized with the women here in the prison as they wait to be adopted out. Many of the CIW's own staff take home these kittens from this program to adopt for their own. There is plenty of wildlife roaming here on the CIW prison grounds. Sometimes a bird falls out of a nest....
Yes, a woman, excuse me, a "trans man," who is on the t-shot, broke down the cell door. No, I'm not exaggerating. This happened in my own housing unit yesterday. Down the hall from myself. That cell is now unoccupied while it waits for repairs. Just anoter pleasure of being in prison with people on a variety of steroids to make their bodies transform into something it's not meant to be. The entire prison population was locked in for covid-19 testing yesterday morning. When a MAN wants out, HE...
All California prisons have an elected Inmate Advisory Council within each unit of each prison. These "members" represent the population and meet regularly with the warden and department heads as well as each other. I was on the advisory council years ago. They are elected by their peers, us. It's a position of trust, where you set an example to others. For example, when I became a member, I stopped littering because I knew my fellow inmates looked to me as someone to model. Each housing unit...
As of Friday, Novemeber 19th, we have a newly discovered Covid-19 case. That respective housing unit is locked down. However, we do have officer shortages. So, desperate times caused CDCR Headquarters to give CIW the official directive to close housing units. Three housing Units. Now, normally, during Covid-19 outbreaks, no prisoner movement would occur, as medical protocols override everything until all prisoners are tested and results come back negative. Not this time. Inmates are being moved...
