There has been a real change in the administration. We have not had a single lockdown since May, except for the short, scheduled ones on Tuesday and Thursday (from 1 p.m. on) and “blackout week” — all of which are reported to be a result of funding shortages. The regional director was here last week and he told one inmate that those lockdowns too will stop at the end of this month, when a new fiscal year begins.
(From another inmate: This improvement happened after a quarterly meeting with the assistant warden. We told them that all they had to do was close the range door and not the cell doors and no one would complain. Each range has 50 cells and if we are able to access the “flats,” as they are called, we have access to hot/cold water, telephones, computers and TV. No one complains. The next week, they did that during a lockdown and, as we predicted, there were no issues at all. Now they know there is no reason to lock the cells, ever.)
I am not by any means a fan of this prison administration. I came here in February, having never served any time prior. My first and only experience has been here. From the time of my arrival in February until a mailroom incident in May, I spent half of my time in lockdown. ALL of those lockdowns were manufactured incidents and the abuse we suffered was real. We were taunted by the guards, were served raw meals, and personal property damage was a way of life. People were threatened and physically assaulted for speaking out against it.
But it’s changed. Yes we are still being shorted toilet paper, but we have brand new board games, Peavey amplifiers, a full drum set and ping pong tables. We have a new nacho machine and shaved ice machine and they have been handing out free snow cones to every inmate every hour. The food quality has also gotten much better.