Twisted
Date: 8/3/15

Yesterday, I watched a death row prisoner being escorted off the block by a lieutenant and three guards (CO). One CO was leading him by a tether attached to the cuffs restraining him from behind, while the other held him by the arm. The other CO followed the procession with a video camera to record the entire movement.

The prisoner was being moved to a prisoner observation cell (POC) for a few days because he made threats to harm himself. Although this prisoner is very mentally unstable, his actions were more of a ruse so he could move back to the other capital case block where he could give hand/blow jobs out in the yard.

Personally, I don't have anything against him or his proclivities, to each their own. But I report this story to demonstrate what this lockdown environment does to people. This environment causes hardships that makes men become so desperate for human contact and affection that they would seek out and accept the affections of another man, even in spite of STD status (HIV).

Prison life is hard (no pun intended), and my concern isn't about the HIV positive yard pump. It's how the minds of men on lockdown become so twisted and perverse that they stick their dicks in anything. More and more prisoners are being kept in solitary confinement, which causes a form of psychological degradation. The administration is very much aware of this, but don't care. Their only concern is care, custody, and control. They've talked about this, even did studies and wrote reports declaring how unconstitutional and immoral the practice, yet still utilize it. The supreme court has even declared that solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment.

Death row solitary confinement is lockdown in a small 8x12' room for years without end. It comes with sensory deprivation in the form of social darkness (hindering family and friends' communication and support) or psychological depatterning in the form pf constant artificial lighting that prevents prisoners from sleeping or feeling the passage of time. Incidentally, both of these methods were originally developed as forms of torture. Twenty-two hours a day and twenty-four on the weekends, we're locked in our cells.

I've been in this nightmare for 20 years. I've survived by focusing my anger about my wrongful conviction on correcting the injustices perpetuated against me and bring awareness about this in spite of the criminal justice system, and the country that I love, efforts to destroy me, mind, body, and spirit. I'm using my god-given talents and my story to help others. I donate my artworks to crime prevention programs and to fundraisers that help victims' families, etc. The positive feedback I've received helps me heal and inspires me to improve my life, tell my story and continue making a positive contribution to society. I refuse to let "the man" keep me down, or get me twisted.

Daniel Gwynn