June 12, 2011

Unlawful Imprisonment

Dear Reader,

I welcome you to my blog, whoever you are. I'm writing to update you on my current prison situation.

I am currently confined at the California Correctional Institute (CCI) in Tehachapi, California in the administrative segregation unit (ASU), infamously referred to as "the hole" or "ad-seg". It's a miserable and depressing place to be!! :(

While the hole is usually used for the disciplinary detention and segregation of "dangerous" or "disruptive" inmates, it is also a temporary placement for inmates with "safety concerns" or other classification case factors which prevent them from being housed, such as "lack of bed space" at a particular facility. This is the case with me. As for myself, I've been languishing in ASU since November 3, 2010, over seven months for non-disciplinary reasons. I'm pending a non'adverse transfer to Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) in Delano, California. However, my transfer has been unduly delayed because of a capacity limit at KVSP.

===

June 15, 2011

While the rules state that an inmate is to be transferred within 30 days of endorsement or referred to chief, classification services for an alternate transfer recommendations, the rules apparently don't apply to prison officials (see California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Section 3379). I have an inmate appeal pending review at the final level, but it's my experience that the grievance system is a joke and any violations of procedure by staff are either denied or justified through obfuscation of the facts and intentional misconstruction of "rules."

Hopefully, with any luck, I will be out of here soon—after two years in previous control units and seven months in ASU here. Ugh!

The living conditions in these torture units are deplorable, illegal, inhumane, and severely punitive. I speak of the deprivation of inmates' personal property (e.g. books, magazines, letters, photos, cosmetics, food, canteen items, etc.), sometimes never to be seen again. Furthermore, I refer to the brutality against inmates which occurs occasionally, the discrimination against LGBTQ inmates, the lack of adequate medical care and outdoor exercise, and the unsanitary food service.

===

June 17, 2011

My daily routine in the hole is wake up around 5:30 AM, wash up and brush my teeth, comb my hair, and then I sit for meditation.

I'm a full-time Siddha Yoga student and an initiated disciple of Suomi Chidvilasanda, affectively known as Gurumayi by her devotees. So I perform sadhana (spiritual practice) each day—meditation, breathing, chanting the mantra (Om Namah Shivaya, which means "salutations to Shiva"), and I study the guru's books and teachings.

I have a regular exercise regimen about five times per weeks and have outdoor yard access in a kennel-like cage approximately once a week for two hours. Other than that, it's 24 hours locked down in a cell each day. Luckily, I have a good cellmate who is like a brother to me. We get along well.

besides what I already mentioned, I have some magazine subscriptions to Allure, Elle, Glamour, Maxim, and Lowrider. I read, write letters, and participate in political activism for LGBTQ prisoners and women's rights. I am an avowed feminist and prison abolitionist. So I try to occupy my time with positive and productive activity every day.

I welcome your comments, pen-pal correspondence, and material support (such as books of stamps, etc.). Additionally, I need your political support and "letters of protest" to the warden about my unjustified and extended solitary confinement!

Thank you! :)

In struggle,
Jenni
XOXO