Reply ID: up4h

Hello, Alyssa:

First things first, thank you for responding to my response to your letter because you are the first person to write back, and I have been on Between the Bars for over three years.

Alyssa, you asked some really good questions, and I am glad that my answers might have helped you. So let's begin with your new questions.

1st question: Is it unhealthy for human beings to not have any form of sexual release/pornographic material?
Of course it is unhealthy. Human beings have three core functions: find food, find shelter, and find a mate. In prison, all three have been taken away from us. C.D.C.R. gives us shelter and food but allows us to interact with unobtainable C.D.C.R. women workers. It's torture and very cruel.

As a C.D.C.R. inmate, I can no longer own photos of any naked women, including photos of your own wife. Once C.D.C.R. took away the naked photos, people started companies that began to see photos of women in bathing suits, bras and panties, etc. I collected baseball cards as a kid, so i twas the same type of thing, just creepier. :(

If you get caught with any pornographic photos, the correctional officer will issue you a rule violation called a 115. Once you're found guilty, then the Lieutenant can and most likely will take away the following "privileges": dayroom, phone calls, yard, packages, store. They can forces you to work at your job but not pay you for up to three months. All of this can happen because I want to look at a naked female picture. People turn gay because they are lonely and, for a lack of a better term, horny and desperate to feel the touch of another human being.

As for me, I don't like it when people touch me because I don't know what the other person's motives are. Plus, every single man touches his penis throughout the day and some don't wash their hands.

Do conjugal visits help C.D.C.R. control people's behavior?
Yes!!! C.D.C.R. took away the family visits from lifers about twenty years ago, and the violence exploded on the yards. There was no reason to program and follow the rules.

Now when a lifer is told to go and stab another inmate or guard, the prisoner will think twice, go on a family visit with your wife, kids, mom, etc., or go to a security housing unit "SHU term" for five years. Also, the prisoners with sex crimes such as child molesting and rapists are not permitted to have family visits.

Does the prison look down on masturbation?
Yes, people have gotten their third strike "life sentence" because they were caught masturbating. Don't get me wrong, some prisoners have exposed themselves to female guards and staff because they are creepy bastards. The prisons in California now pass out condoms, but the motto is no means no. And yes is not allowed.

Great questions, Alyssa. Thank you for saying you like to read my blog. If you have anymore questions, please ask. I would really like to read your paper, but at least let me know what grade you got.

Sincerely,
Roland

2/21/17