TRANSFERRED!!
Sunday
June 7, 2015

For those who've been following my blog, I was just transferred from the California Men's Colony - East Facility (CMC-East) to the Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP). The prison administration claims that they transferred me because they recently "discovered" that the CMC-East Facility was in the "Valley Fever Epidemic Area," and that, as a result, it was necessary to transfer me, and everyone else with compromised immune systems (HIV+, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C while on Interferon, etc.), but I personally find that kind of difficult to believe. For starters, most of us have been there for years, some of us for decades (I was there for close to 9-years), without any problems. Secondly, when we raised this issue when they stopped watering the grass a few years ago, they said that they'd tested the soil, and Valley Fever wasn't present. Last, but certainly not least, if Valley Fever was present in the soil, and posed such a serious threat to our health and safety, then why in the world did they continue with their heavy construction? No, I smell a rat, but there's not much I can do about it one way or the other, unfortunately.

In the meantime, I'm just trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Being forced to transfer away from the CMC meant that I lost my job, which hurt tremendously. It took me several years of hard work to get on the waiting list for that job, and a little more than a year to reach my $0.85 per hour rate of pay, just $0.10 an hour under the maximum level allotted to California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA, or PIA) inmate/employees. Now, I've got to start all over from the beginning, even though their rules and regulations state that, if the loss of employment is for reasons other than the inmate/employee's misconduct, their supposed to be given a similar position and pay. When I raised this issue with my counselor, her response was that "this isn't the CMC!" And "you're not going to be a problem child, are you?"

Why is it that when an inmate tries to obtain justice for a wrong done to him, we're "problem children?"

Another complaint I have with this transfer is my loss of beads. For those who know me, I make jewelry out of beads, hummingbird necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. Some of these I sell, some I give away to various charities, but most I simply give away to people who've decided to write. It took me years to save up the money I needed to place my orders, not because the beads were that expensive, but because the prison ends up taking a minimum of 75% of anything coming in, and another 10% of anything going out. Either way, my beads were properly purchased in accordance with all of the rules and regulations of the prison system, but when I transferred here, I was told that this prison only allows its inmates to order a maximum of 200 grams of beads. Since I had well over 10,000 grams, they confiscated all but 200 grams and are insisting that I dispose of the remainder. As of this moment, I'm attempting to challenge their decision, but if this place is as corrupt as the rest of the prison system, then it's not going to matter much what's right or what the rules and regulations say about my property being permitted to remain in my possession under the "grandfather clause". The only thing that's going to matter is them standing behind the decision of the officers in R&R, no matter how wrong they are.

The thing that really bothers me the most about all of this? They're supposed to be setting the example for us to follow, showing us how to follow the rules and regulations of society, yet they're even quicker to break the rules and regulations than we are. Now what kind of example does that set?

Finally, even though I've only been here for a couple of weeks, I can't say that I'm impressed with the quality of medical care whatsoever. Without even seeing me a single time, they cancelled almost all of my prescription medications and confiscated those that I came with. When I was finally seen the other day by a doctor, he refused to renew my medications or chronos (medical excuses outlining any limitations), stating that he'd have me called back in about a month to review them. Of course, he said this right after he said that he didn't have the qualifications to examine me, that he'd be referring me to a doctor who did.

Again, I'm not impressed. I was sent here for medical reasons, and from what I've seen so far, the treatment is, if anything, worse, as impossible as that seems.

Shawn L. Perrot CDCR# V-42461
MCSP C13-219L
P.O. Box 409060
Ione, CA 95640

shawnlperrot@hotmail.com