Rec was at 8:00am. About 8:45, perhaps I am told I have legal mail. I change to my "full" uniform and head down the hall. I had written to the Federal Courthouse and they replied some packet of information. The mailroom guy wipes the envelope and paperwork with little testing wipes. Tiny pieces of some sort of paper that look like a cloudy piece of Scotch tape. It tests positive for heroin. I see the screen on the machine that scans the test wipe turn red. The guard says he will call the courthouse to verify they sent the packet, implying they aren't going to throw me in the hole if they can verify the mail actually came from the court. I am just thinking that if mail from the Federal Courthouse tests positive for heroin, then how many inmates are wrongfully accused and punished where drugs are not really being smuggled into prison but the trace amounts that can create a test suggesting the possibility enable the guards to respond like it is valid.
At rec, another inmate two cells down from me says when they called him out of his cell last night for a urine analysis that the guard required to "see the stream" while he filled the cup. They already strip search you so you cannot have anything on you. He is an addict, admittedly, but I think needing to see the stream is going too far. Also at rec I definitely tweak my back doing the pull-down on the cable column and it hurts really bad. I am dreading the impending whiplash. 7:27pm, the guys, as well as an inmate worker called "Seeto" are talking about "PRC" which is the evaluation once per year to be reclassified to go to a different prison. Guys really want to go to a medium security from here. "Seeto" says he has been locked up since 1997 and was accused of stabbing a guard 19 times in 2015. Because he hasn't gotten a disciplinary ticket in three years and works a job, the point system will allow him to transfer to a medium security joint at his next evaluation. All inmates cannot work a job, so making that a pre-requisite has to be depraved indifference. It is becoming more and more clear why they refused to dismiss the charges from Dodge. The penalties go beyond the presumed punishment. I can't apply for the vocational program or get a job for three years so my evaluation at three years will not allow me to be eligible to go to a medium security joint for at least four years. My neighbor in cell 109 says he has been in and out of prison since before he was a teenager and has never experienced anything so restrictive as what Boscobel does. That sentiment is echoed by a lot of inmates on the range who have done other prison time. Career criminals or career inmates consider this extreme deprivation. Their version of behavior that warrants acclaim is much different than mine. Acceptance seems to be at the root of every inmates circumstances, in one way or another. Even addicts get started by peer pressure or some risk seeking behavior which might award them attention. Maybe further ostracizing and further counter-culturing people is actually the worst thing you can do to people who will eventually be reintegrated to society. The hyper-restrictions and micro aggressive treatment doesn't seem to fix anything. I am surprised more healthcare, and mental health, and developmental health professionals don't make a more involved effort in justice reformation. Prison; where two... million wrongs still haven't made it right.
1 Comment
Ronda Sander
1/16/2024 20:54:08
Seems like the judiciary system needs a closer look at. This just doesn’t seem right at all. Continued prayers for you and all inmates that face this everyday.
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aboutThese are the journal entries of Zachariah Anderson. All entries are originally handwritten by Zach and then transcribed on his behalf. Please note that occasional misspellings and grammar errors may be fixed during transcription for the sake of making the entries easier to read and sensitive information may be redacted. Archives
September 2024
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