Counting Costs

Mississippi gets a bad reputation for so many things- obesity, heart disease, poor education, a 20% poverty rate. But sometimes we get things right. Did you know that the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was the first penal institution in the U.S. to permit conjugal visits? It's true! They also call them "extended family visits," the "three-day house," or -among the prisoners- simply the "tonk house." Mississippi is one of six states that allow them, including California, Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, and Washington. Conjugal visits are acknowledged as a positive thing and are credited with saving marriages, keeping families intact and reducing the rate of sexual assault, as well as reducing the level of violence in general.

The unfortunate thing is that Commissioner Epps is doing away with this program throughout the Mississippi DOC after some legislators started complaining about the cost. Irony of ironies, no dollar amount associated with orchestrating the visits is available. So... Mr. Epps is discontinuing a positive program that has proven to reduce the incidence of sexual violence (57 per 100,000 with, compared to 226 per 100,000 without), and provides incentive for good behavior. And on what factual info is he basing his decision? None. You think he would have learned from his experience with Unit 32.

Epps states, "There are costs associated with the staff's time, having to escort inmates to and from the visitation facility, supervising personal hygiene and keeping the infrastructure of the facility... Then, even though we provide contraception, we have no idea how many women are getting pregnant only for the child to be raised by one parent."

Did you know that 43% of all families with children at all income levels in the state are not married? 80% of all poor families with children in Mississippi aren't married. Married couples with children comprise around only one-fifth of poor families in Mississippi. All MDOC prisoners who are eligible for conjugal visits are married. And if Mr. Epps didn't realize it, being a parent is more than just bringing in a paycheck.

Here's a suggestion from this lowly, uneducated prisoner: Get the facts together. THEN make a decision. Also, a fee to cover all costs of the visit can be charged to the visitor when it is scheduled. MDOC already charges a prisoner for the cost of transport when they request transfer to a particular facility. The cost for soap, condoms, tissue, sheets, pillowcase, face towel and bath towel should not be hard to cover.

Mr. Epps does not address the issue of private prisons or regional facilities that allow conjugal visits within Mississippi. Really, Mr. Epps only addresses "extended family visits" and not just regular conjugal visits. Conjugal visits only last an hour or two, and the expenses are minimal. At private prisons and regional facilities MDOC is not being charged more for these companies to house prisoners receiving conjugal visits, and these companies aren't complaining. So, what are the true reasons for discontinuing conjugal visits?

"The benefits of the programs don't outweigh the cost in the overall budget," said Epps. The general public don't realize that when a DOC staff member has sex with a prisoner, it is considered rape. What is Mr. Epps going to do when the incidence of prison rape (prisoner-on-prisoner, prisoner-on-staff, and staff-on-prisoner) increases? The cost to prosecute one rape case would cover the cost of the 155 prisoners eligible for conjugal visits to participate in the program for a full year. What about the marriages that will suffer? What about the spouses out there that will end up pregnant by another man because they have lost that bond with their incarcerated partner? What about the costs you can't tally on a budget report, Mr. Epps?

If you think conjugal visits are something that should be continued, please follow the link and sign the petition requesting that this program be reinstated.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/conjugal-visits
 

Prisoners and their loved ones don't have many things they are allowed in order to maintain bonds, so please don't allow this program to become a casualty of political kowtowing. Every signature matters, so let your voice be heard. All of the prisoners in MDOC thank you.

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Close enough for government work...

If you are familiar with my history from the blog posts here, then please excuse me for repeating myself. For those of you who do not know, the first place I was housed after being sentenced and being processed through Central Mississippi Correctional Facility was Unit 17 at Parchman, MS. To the best of my knowledge, this is where they still carry out executions of those condemned by the State to die. After Unit 17, I was later housed for years with the death row prisoners at Unit 32, when I was classified on High Risk status and was being moved at least once a week. I grew up around these guys, so death penalty issues are something I try to keep abreast of.

A recent Gallup poll showed that support for the death penalty is at its lowest point in 40 years - at 60%, down from a high of 80% in 1994. In 2011 the sole American manufacturer of the anaesthetic sodium thiopental announced it was ending production of the drug under pressure from the government in Italy, where its plant is based. (Love to Italy!) Despite struggling to maintain supplies, the 32 death-penalty states effectively ran out of the drug this fall. Other European manufacturers have refused to provide the drug because of a European Union statute prohibiting the export of any product that might be used in capital punishment, especially in light of evidence that lethal injections sometimes cause agonizing deaths.

Probably the most gruesome instance of lethal injection gone wrong occurred in Florida in 2006, when the state tried to execute Angel Diaz, who'd been sentenced to death two decades earlier. The 3-drug cocktail used to kill Diaz was supposed to take around three to five minutes to render him unconscious and motionless. Instead, Diaz writhed on the gurney, grimaced, shuddered, gasped for air, and even tried to mouth words... for 24 minutes. A second dose of the drug meant to render him unconscious was administered. Ten more agonizing minutes elapsed before he died. Post-mortem examination revealed 12" long chemical burns on Diaz's arm. The IV needle had punctured Diaz's veins, so the injected chemicals went straight into his flesh, burning it and causing great pain. He was apparently conscious as he suffocated to death.

When an execution is carried out correctly via injection, the condemned is given a cocktail of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. Sodium thiopental is administered to induce unconsciousness. Once this has taken effect, pancuronium bromide is then added to halt respiration, and potassium chloride is given to stop the heart. The condemned- in theory- shouldn't be able to feel the effects of the last two drugs, which actually kill the individual. However, in practice the executioners are often inept and apathetic to any suffering experienced by the condemned.

Promoted by state medical examiner Jay Chapman as a humane alternative to traditional forms of execution such as the electric chair, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection, in 1977. Injections were meant to transform executions into a less gruesome affair. To avoid any comparison with "putting down" animals with a single drug, Chapman suggested a three-drug cocktail, and it became a national standard. Affirmed in 2008 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the cocktail was determined not to violate the 8th Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment."

Unable to obtain the anesthetic sodium thiopental, states with the death penalty are improvising. Some are using a single dose of the anesthetic pentobarbital to excute prisoners, usually bought from loosely regulated compounding pharmacies. William Happ was executed in October by Florida, using a new three-drug combo that replaced sodium thiopental with the sedative midazolam. Midazolam causes memory loss and relaxation, but not necessarily unconsciousness. Happ took 14 minutes to die -twice what executioners planned- while his head shook throughout, and his eyes remained open until the 10th minute. The Texas DOCJ, which has carried out 37% of all U.S. executions since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1976, has gone so far as to allegedly submit a falsified prescription to Pharmacy Innovations, for patient "James Jones"...actually the warden of the Huntsville Unit, which houses the execution chamber. Some states have gone so far as to buy lethal injection drugs with petty cash or individual employees' credit cards.

Expect more claims of lethal injection being cruel and unusual in violation of the 8th Amendment. In the meantime, what will the courts -and the public- allow the DOCs to do in the name of "justice"? If you are a voter, your voice counts. Contact your representatives, let your opinion be known, speak up. Silence amounts to consent in these matters.

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New services (coming soon)

One thing I have wanted to do with the blogs since their inception is to vet products and services for those of you who have friends and loved ones in the DOC system. Next year will be my 16th consecutive year as a prisoner of MDOC, so I have an idea of what guys want and what they might need to help them do their time more easily.

I would like to see your feedback on this particular topic. We are thinking about starting out by doing book reviews with links to purchase a copy of the book that meets the requirements of prison mailrooms (paperback, not spiral-bound, no CD inclusions, etc.). So many folks are overwhelmed by trying to do something for their incarcerated loved one because of the numerous and often arbitrary restrictions that they don't even know where to begin. I hope that we can make the process a bit easier.

Once we see how this works out, we will consider adding other services. Keep in mind that these blogs are maintained for me by my loved ones who volunteer their time and energy. They have gone through -and are still going through- what you are going through right now. You aren't alone in all this. There are people who understand and who care. I want to see these blogs spark a community of those affected by the prison industrial complex, who support one another.

A quick reminder... Holidays are one of the most difficult times for prisoners and those who love them. Try to make allowances because it's a stressful period for almost everyone. Love and light to you all.

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Update on Wilkinson County Correctional Facility

Thanksgiving Day is on my mind as I write this. What are you thankful for? We shouldn't need a special day to think about what we have to be thankful for, but it isn't a bad thing. I am thankful for my loved ones. I'm thankful that the atmosphere here at the facility seems to be improving in certain respects and only isolated incidents have occurred. I am thankful that Warden Shaw seems genuinely concerned seeing the prison run as it should.

One thing that has changed is the facility's name. This is no longer Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, but is now known as  Wilkinson County Correctional Center (WCCC). There are 22 pods where prisoners are housed, and 16 of them are "general population" and are no longer locked down (not including the two pods where prisoners are housed on protective custody status). There are only 4 pods where prisoners are housed on long-term segregation status, and one of those is an "incentive program" where prisoners classified on high risk or security threat group status are allowed to earn their way back into general prison population. There are two halls at WCCC- the West and South halls. So far, the general population pods on the South hall have not been allowed to go to the dining hall to eat, but are served trays off a cart on their respective pods. All the pods on the West hall must go to the dining hall if they want to eat.

Education programming is in the initial stages of being established. 

There are 3 levels to the GED program:
 - Basic level 1, taught by Mrs. Ware
 - Basic level 2, taught by Mrs. Scott (whom I tutor for)
 - Pre-GED, taught by Mrs. Alexander

Two vocational programs will be offered, in which prisoners can earn certification:
 - Painting
 - Facility maintenance

Alcohol & Drug programs are offered in two course lengths:
 - the short program last 8 weeks
 - the longer program lasts 6 months
 

Religious programs will soon be held as Chaplain Barnes settles into his role here at WCCC. This is what I'm looking forward to.
 

Recreation opportunities include:
 - basketball tournaments
 - table tennis
 - a bodyweight workout station donated by the police academy
 - chess
 - checkers
 - dominoes
 

Some in-cell programming is made available through the Case Managers in the form of interactive journaling. Also, an evidence based program called Moral Reconation Therapy is in the works, and focuses on cognitive behavioral treatment. Pre-release for prisoners with 6 months or less left to serve on their sentence will soon be available.

As things progress I will do my best to keep you updated. Thank you all for your patience with me and my lack of new posts as of late. I hope to remedy that. Thank you for caring and for all your feedback, suggestions and support.

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