The article discusses two types of prison neglect in America: visible neglect, characterized by deteriorating conditions like mold and contaminated water, and administrative neglect that downplays these issues through bureaucratic tactics. The Michigan Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility exemplifies this problem, where reports of mold and poor ventilation have been ignored despite ongoing litigation. Nationally, a pattern of denial and deflection emerges, revealing a systemic failure to address environmental hazards in prisons, ultimately compromising inmates' health and safety.
Tag: Prison Life
Locked Down: How Prison Lockdowns Undermine Mental Health and Rehabilitation in U.S. Prisons
In many U.S. prisons, “lockdown” no longer describes a rare emergency response to a riot or a narrowly targeted security incident. It has become a recurring operational mode: housing units sealed, movement halted, yard and dayroom time canceled, phones restricted, visits suspended, and education, treatment, and job assignments paused—sometimes for days, weeks, or even months. Reporting in recent years has documented extended lockdowns tied not only to violence but also to chronic understaffing and overcrowding, raising a stark question: When a prison can’t run its basic schedule safely, are we still operating a rehabilitative institution or merely warehousing human beings behind steel doors?
We Bear US
International debut of unique UK and US prison art exhibit at Ann Arbor Art Fair. In the depths of the Covid pandemic lockdown, 31 people isolated in prisons in the UK and US produced extraordinary artworks exploring personal experiences of incarceration. The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), based at the University of Michigan, has partnered in the project from conception and is now collaborating as co-curator for the art fair exhibit. Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair July 21-23, 2022
un-Happy Birthday
(When Milestones become Millstones) Birthdays are a personal event that are celebrated from our first to our last year except for some religious groups such as the Jehovah Witnesses. In the western world they mark the passage of time and our developmental progress. Some have special significance such as turning 16 and getting a driver’s license or 21 and getting to drink legally. When I turned 18 it meant that I was eligible for the military draft. Middle age is generally considered to be 45. The standard retirement age is 65. We often judge our success or failure in life by evaluating our progress on achieving goals by certain ages. Getting married in our 20s. Having children by our early 30s. Having the kids out of the house by our 50s. Having the mid-life crisis in mid-life. If we achieve our goals by some certain age, we feel a measure of accomplishment and peace of mind. But being sentenced to serve time in prison changes the math for many. When the judge pronounces the sentence the first thing you do is figure out how old you will be if/when you get out of prison. All of the normal milestones are tossed out the window. Now it is simply a matter of whether or not you will live long enough to see freedom. The thought of missing X number of Christmas’, Independence Days, or birthdays never factors into the equation when a person thinks about committing a crime and is therefor not a deterrent. There may be however some truth to the idea that it might cause a person to hesitate when thinking about committing another crime. There is also a quality factor to consider in addition to the quantity of time when looking at prison time. Serving time in college to get a degree, while living in dormitories, going to class, the library, the gym or track, and working on campus just isn’t in the same league with doing time in prison. In prison there are only two options: Either you do your time, or Your time does you. I never did understand why guys would rather max out than take a parole. I think they were just afraid that they couldn’t trust themselves to follow the rules and would come back to prison due to a parole violation or catching a new case. Some guys are like that. Given their freedom that they don’t know what to do with it and waste it on stupid things and go back like the 10 Israelite spies and give a negative report of the promised land. Coming back to prison may either serve as a wake-up call to say, “Hay Stupid, what were you thinking?” or self-condemnation, “You are a fuck up and you got what you deserved!” How a person deals with adversity says a lot about their character. When you get knocked down do you get up or give up? Do you re-evaluate your plan and make the necessary changes or do you keep going thinking that it will somehow be different this time? Admitting mistakes is hard for a proud man and prison is full of them. Truly pride does come before a fall.
Eulogy for Pops
I recently learned of the passing of an old friend. His name was “Pops” to those of us who knew him in prison. Pops and I lived in the same housing unit for the last year and a half I was incarcerated. When we met he was in his late 70s. His greatest fear was of dying while in prison. Fortunately, he did make parole. He was received into the home of a friend where he lived until the time of his untimely death. He was not one to minimize his crime, but fully accepted responsibility for it. In his testimony he spoke of how God worked through his situation to no just save him but transform him into a new creation. In prison his life was a light shinning in the darkness.
January 2015 Testimony
They say that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. I tutor for the GED program and on several occasions my students have introduced me to their people in the visiting room as "the guy who's helping them get their GED." Now I'm proud of that because they recognize that I want them to succeed, but that is nothing compared to what happened to me recently.
August 2017 Letter
It really boils down for a Christian to realize who it is we really work for: God or man? Man may set the task, the hours, the pay, the work rules but we answer to a higher authority. Doing the right thing in the right way is never wrong. In a dark place you will shine bright when you exceed expectation, do the job without grumbling and complaining, giving your all to the task without counting the cost.
Fund Raisers
The Prisoner Benefit Fund, or PBF for short, plays an important role in the daily life of prisoners in the MDOC.
Green Dot
Green Dot or its financial equivalent is what many of the “haves” use to maintain their lifestyle while in prison. By purchasing these cards with cash at grocery stores they can be difficult to trace but as good as cash to settle debts. Easy to acquire and use, it serves a purpose that its creator never envisioned.
Butt Naked Fish
Not much needs more to be said about food service in the MDOC than to mention “Butt Naked Fish.” This will elicit a visceral response from anyone who has served appreciable time as a prisoner. BFN is an unbreaded fish fillet that has more in common with particle board than Van de Kamp’s.