In The Life Of A Connecticut Prisoner #10
By Richard Stevenson

- Greetings free world! I'm sorry it took this long for this issue but as usual we were subjected to a necessary extended lock down and are being subjected to unnecessary abbreviated lock downs. I believe all of them can and could have been avoided. Let me explain.

This past October a C/O was stabbed in the neck and another assaulted. Television news explained their injuries as minor (DOC would agree unless they want to take away a right or privilege from its prisoners). This could have been avoided. The prisoner who initiated the assault informed the administration that he had been held at the SuperMax prison (Northern) isolated in a single cell for 12 years and couldn't deal with being in general population. He asked to go back but was denied. There was some sort of confrontation with an officer and he just lost it. When another officer came to assist the prisoner's cell mate came to "assist" him. As such, the entire facility went on lock down while the state police and DOC investigated.

As might be expected there is much retaliation against the rest of us though the prisoners involved were transferred out. One must keep in mind that even though this is only a level 4 (Maximum Security) facility most of the prisoners are locked in their cells an average of 21 hours per day. The staff here will find any excuse possible to lock us down even further. The vast majority of maximum security prisons around the country refuse to do this knowing the physiological repercussions. These people have a tendency to do things just jackass backwards.

In addition, we are now regularly locked down for one eight hour shift twice per week to do staff training. No matter what excuse they give officially the reason is because back in the 1990's all training was done at a small facility here in Cheshire specifically for that. The C/O's contract require that they be given 40 hours of hand to hand combat training per year. Fulfilling this responsibility all officers were to report to this training facility at a given time. However, it was discovered that some were stealing from the state and double dipping. They were punching in at their reporting facility as well as the training facility. To my knowledge no one was fired. Nor does it appear that anyone had to compensate the state.

During this training (which only last for an hour or two though the lock down is an entire shift) a few of us are allowed to go to work out in the Industries Shops. Being the nasty sadists that they are some officers are refusing to allow us to shower after work in violation of the Administrative Directives and OSHA regs.

So these are the people who are supposed to set an example for us.

Rich.