Prison glossary - State issue

 

State issue: A term used loosely by prisoners and staff to refer to anything the prison is required by policy to provide a prisoner. Some items -such as toilet tissue, soap, toothpaste, and razor- are passed out on a weekly or biweekly basis. Other items -like clothes, bed sheets, towels- are issued only once every 6 months or yearly (if that, depending on where the prisoner is housed).

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Prison Glossary- Mailroom

Mailroom is where all incoming and outgoing mail is processed. Usually the mailroom is staffed by two or three people whose sole job is processing the mail, which can be a task. Depending on the facility, incoming packages are fluoroscoped like at an airport. Letters to prisoners are opened and checked for contraband or suspicious material relating to criminal activity. Unless the prisoner is on some form of censorship because of a criminal investigation, incoming and outgoing regular mail is not scrutinized or logged. Incoming legal mail is not opened outside of the prisoner's presence and must be signed for and logged in. Also, some books and magazines must be signed for and a log kept. With letters there is not a limit on how many a prisoner can receive or how long a letter can be here in the MDOC system. To be on the safe side, don't include anything with a letter until you have checked with the prisoner to see if they can receive it. Be sure to include your full name and address on outside of the envelope, plainly visible, and the prisoner's full name, DOC number and address. Don't put any stickers or things like that on the outside of the envelope unless you know it is okay. Some books and magazines are not allowed, so check before ordering. All books and magazines must come from a bookstore, publisher or vendor like Amazon.com. If it is about weapons, martial arts or tattoos, then the prisoner won't be allowed to receive it. Pornographic magazines depicting penetration are not allowed. The amount of books/magazines a prisoner can receive varies from facility to facility. Outgoing mail is not sealed before it is inspected for contraband and is not scrutinized and logged unless the prisoner is under investigation. Depending on the prisoner's housing, mail is either deposited in a designated place or is picked up by a C.O. when they make their rounds. Mail is passed out Monday through Friday, usually during the evening shift by the C.O. working the floor, but the policy for delivering books varies from facility to facility. Legal mail (mail to attorneys, judges, or public officials) must go through the law library, and that process is initiated by the prisoner by completing an Inmate Legal Assistance Program request form stating that the prisoner has legal mail to be posted.

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Prison Glossary - ILAP Request Forms

ILAP Request Forms- These are used by a MDOC prisoner to request services from the Inmate Legal Assistance Program (ILAP) through the law library of their respective facility. Services listed on the form are:

• Packet on Post-Conviction Collateral Relief
• 42 U.S.C.A. 1983 Form (civil litigation)
• 28 U.S.C.A. 2254 Habeas Corpus Form
• Conference because I cannot read or write.
• Conference because I need clarification on a certain area of the law, or my case has advanced to a point where I cannot proceed alone.
• I need emergency assistance in meeting a deadline
• Copy of cited cases
• Copy of statutes
• Rules of court
• Supplies- pen/paper
• Copies
• Mail services
• Notary services

The prisoner must be listed as indigent to receive some of these services. In most instances the ILAP is operated as an "exact-cite paging system," meaning that the prisoner must know exactly what they need and how to request it specifically.

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Prison Glossary - Law library

Law library- This varies from facility to facility, and usually the space set aside for the law library is only minimally large enough to pass as such. The law library is part of a set of standards that statutory law outlines the prison must provide, such as access to courts and access to counsel. There will be a certain amount of legal research a prisoner must be able to do, and many facilities no longer keep actual legal tomes, relying instead solely on services online like Thompson WestLaw and Lexis-Nexis. Both of these are good, but the prisoner must know how to ask the law library staff for exactly what he/she wants. To request law library services, a prisoner completes an Inmate Legal Assistance Program (ILAP) request form and gives it to a CO or turns it in to the control tower. If the prisoner is in general population and the services they request require it, they will be called out to the law library on the scheduled day for their housing unit unless it is shown they must meet an emergency deadline. For prisoners in a lockdown setting, they must rely on what is termed as an "exact-cite paging system." Meaning, if they do not know exactly what they need and exactly how to request it on an ILAP Request Form, then they will not receive it.

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Prison Glossary- Sick Call

Sick Call/ Sick Call Request: If a prisoner is having any kind of medical issue and needs medical attention, unless it is an emergency, the prisoner is required to fill out a Sick Call Request form. This form asks for the prisoner's name, DOC#, housing area, nature of the complaint, and if the prisoner agrees to a $6.00 co-pay fee, if they are not indigent. The Sick Call Request is given to a C.O., or either deposited into a designated box or turned in to the control tower. After the Sick Call Request is collected the next day, it is processed and -depending on the backlog- the prisoner is called out for Sick Call. In a general population setting, the prisoner is informed by the control tower that he is wanted at the clinic. He is given a slip of paper stating his destination and the time of departure from his housing unit, and is cleared to walk to the clinic. In a lockdown setting, the  prisoner must be escorted by at least one officer (sometimes two), after being restrained in waistchains and shackles.

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Prison Glossary - Places - Clinic

Clinic: This is the name of the medical department where a prisoner is taken when they have a medical issue. Unless it is an emergency, the prisoner must complete a Sick Call Request form and turn it in. When it is processed the prisoner will be called out for Sick Call, varying on the prisoner's housing situation. The clinic at WCCF is stocked with the equipment to do triage and handle all the basic medical issues, as well as X-ray films, dental work, optometry work, and tele-conference with a psychiatrist.

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Prison Glossary - Places - Dayroom

Dayroom- In a general population setting, the dayroom area is outside of the cells in a central area of the pod or zone. Often there are a couple of tables, and maybe a TV to watch or a microwave, but not much else.

Please also check this post with a description of a dayroom at WCCF.

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Prison Glossary - Places - Control tower

Control tower- These "towers" are inside the prison and are manned by a guard who observes two or three pods and controls the cell doors, cell lights, pod lights and pod access doors with an electronic control panel.

Please also check this post with a description of a control tower at WCCF.

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Prison Glossary - Places - Housing Unit/ Section

Housing Unit/Section- These are made up of groups of pods. For example, if C-pod, D-pod and E-pod are accessed from the hallway through the same "sally port" and observed by the same control tower, this would be considered Housing Unit/Section CDE.

Please also check this post with a description of a Housing Unit at WCCF.

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Prison Glossary - Places - Pod

Pod- This is a term used by private prisons mostly. A pod is made up of at least twenty-four cells and up to thirty-two cells, with a central dayroom area and a set of shower stalls all of which can be observed from a control tower. In state prisons, pods are often referred to alternately as zones.

Please also check this post with a description of a pod at WCCF.

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Prison Glossary- General Population

General population- Prisoners in the general prison population are housed in that setting because they have been classified "open" C-custody or any of the less restrictive custodies (B- med. & min.; A- med. & min.). In this environment prisoners can be around those prisoners of the same custody status or those of less restricted status without being in restraints. Prisoners classified to "open" C-custody can be housed in the same cell as those of the same custody. B-custody and A-custody prisoners can be housed in the same cell, but not with C-custody.

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Prison Glossary - Yard Call

Yard call- Respective of the housing of the prisoner, this refers to mandated recreation time. In general population where prisoners are housed two per cell, they are to be allowed out in a dayroom area or outside of the housing unit, in a gymnasium or on an actual yard on the prison grounds. A yard on the prison grounds sometimes has things like a volleyball net, maybe a basketball goal or two, a set of dip/pullup bars. In an open dorm setting, the prisons get a lot more leeway in providing yard call, especially with "open" C-custody. Closed C-custody (long term segregation) yard call is mandated at five hours per week, which is provided in recreation pens made of steel mesh and are approximately the size of the prisoner's cell. The prisoner is escorted to and from the recreation pens while wearing waistchains and shackles.

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Prison Glossary- Mississippi Department of Corrections Hierarchy

The Department of Corrections (DOC) hierarchy can seem a bit confusing, but here are the basic positions, from top down:

Commissioner of MDOC- a politically appointed position, the Commissioner has the final say in the running of the Department and is its prime mouthpiece.
Deputy Commissioner- there are three of these positions: Institutions (DCI), Community Corrections (DCC) and Administration and Finance (DAF). They are a step down from the Commissioner and more involved in running the DOC, especially the DCI.
Superintendent- there are three State facilities (MSP, CMCF, SMCI) with one Superintendent each. They are responsible for the operation of their respective facility and answer to the DCI and the Commissioner.
Warden- appointed by the Superintendent, the Warden is responsible for their Area or Unit. They approve any in-house rules and such, but it is still basically a political position. Prisoners rarely speak or interact with a Warden.
Deputy Warden- usually one or two per Area or Unit, they are picked by the Warden and approved by the Superintendent. They are responsible for security plans and things like programs, and you see them more often than the Warden.
Assistant Warden- usually one or two per Area or Unit, they are picked by the Warden and approved by the Superintendent. More of the grunt work is delegated to them and they are seemingly on the same level as Majors and Captains.

The correctional officers are the ones that prisoners are in contact with every day and are the ones who truly have to implement any decisions that filter down from the top, and suffer any consequences that come from it. Their ranks from highest to lowest are:

• Major- almost on the level of an administrative position, you don't see them often.
• Captain- more visible than Majors, but seen only when they make their rounds.
• Lieutenant- part of the staff you see daily, they are more hands-on.
• Sargeant- usually work right along with your C.O.s, they are visible on a daily basis.
• C.O.- technically every guard is a C.O., but the lowest ranks are referred to as C.O.s and are your grunt workers who get their hands dirty dealing with the prisoners.

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Prison Glossary - RVR

RVR is an abbreviation that stands for Rule Violation Report. A RVR is a form that is filled out by a prison employee who has witnessed or has become aware that a prisoner has violated one of the MDOC rules. The employee, once aware that a violation has occured, must author the report and it must be issued to the prisoner within 24 hours. The RVR is to state the prisoner's name/DOC #/housing unit, date/time, rule alleged to have been violated, the circumstances and details, any witnesses the prisoner intends to call, who authored the report and who delivered it, and if the accused waves their right to a hearing. 

Categories of violations (with respective punishments):

Category A (Minor Violations) - for such as possession of any item or quantities not on the allowable items list, faking illness or injury, failure to abide by any institutional schedule or documented rules, or not following dress codes or grooming standards. Punishment ranges from a warning or reprimand, to loss of all privileges up to one month, excluding exercise periods.

Category B (Serious Violations) - for things such as improper or unauthorized use of state equipment or materials, refusing or failing to obey an order by staff, tattooing/piercing yourself or others, vulgar language, horseplay, gambling, stealing, possession of serious contraband (money, gang material, drug paraphernalia), giving or receiving anything of value to or from another. Punishment ranges from loss of all privileges for up to two months, disciplinary segregation up to 20 days for each offence, loss of up to 30 days earned time for each offence.

Category C (Major Violations) - has a shorter list of violations, but for a reason. Violations in this category are such as destroying state property valued at $100 or more, destroying or tampering with locking or security equipment, using mail to obtain things by fraud, escape, possession of major contraband (firearms, knife or sharpened instrument, tools, explosives/ammunition, illegal drugs, electronic devices or parts, stolen property valued at more than $100), assaultive action resulting in serious injury, murder, hostage taking, or inciting a riot. Punishment ranges from requirement of restitution, to custody review, disciplinary segregation, loss of all privileges up to two months, loss of all earned time and referral to the District Attorney if warranted.

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Prison Glossary - Custody Status

Custody status is a status applied to a prisoner which determines how and where the prisoner is to be housed, what is to be made available and what restrictions will be placed on them.

Initial classification (Mississippi) 

When a prisoner is sentenced in Mississippi, they are transported to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County and turned over to MDOC, or picked up by bus from the county jail by MDOC. CMCF is where they are processed into the prison system and where they are initially classified.  There are custody statuses that the prisoner is classified into depending on how many points they score, determined by the Inmate Classification Score Sheet. 

List of custody statuses (from least restricted to most restricted):
A - minimum and medium out (0-4 points)
B - minimum and medium out (5-10 points)
C - open (11-18 points)
C - closed ((long term status) 18+ points)
Security Threat Group (special status)
High Risk Status (special status)
 

Classification Criteria:  

Classification criteria determine how many points a prisoner scores.

1) History of institutional violence (jail or prison, score most serious RVR within last 10 years)
2) Severity of current offence (score most serious offence if there are multiple convictions)
3) Severity of prior felony convictions (score most serious prior felony conviction within last 10 years)
4) Escape history (last 10 years)
5) Current age
6) Institutional disciplinary report (last 12 months)
7) Severity of most serious report
8) Performance in recommended work/treatment programs (during last 6 months)

Identification:

The prisoner's custody status is visibly identified by the pants they are issued to wear. 

A-custody wears pants with green and white horizontal stripes; 

B-custody wears pants with black and white horizontal stripes; 

open C-custody wears pants with red and white horizontal stripes; 

closed C-custody wears a yellow jumpsuit or yellow pants and shirt.

 



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