9/10/19

Post:
Re: Out of Segregation Pelican Bay SHU
Since 2018

In April 2018 I was finally let out of the Corcoran SHU, where I was held for three more years. So, in April, I went but to Corcoran Mainline. I haven't been on a mainline in 30 years, so I was a little nervous. These prisons are totally different from the ones I knew. They are built different and they are run different, and the prisoners are different. I felt like I was from a completely different era, world.

A lot of prisoners are young. They walk around thinking they're tough and now a lot of them use crystal meth, a drug that wasn't around when I was younger, before I went to the SHU. This crystal makes them very paranoid. They think everyone is thinking about them, conspiring against them. And some will do stupid things, like telling guards that others want to kill them. I had one guy tell me that he was being watched and that someone wanted to rape them. But it was just all in his mind.

But some of these guys are die hard addicts. They hallucinate and try to commit suicide. Then in the prison they have, what's called Triple CMs, these guys are under mental health care. Some are on some serious medications and are crazier than hell. They didn't have this crap when I was out on a mainline. They even have a unit called EOP, and the guys in there are really on serious mental health medication. And they do a lot of crazy shit. They cut themselves and others. And you need to watch them. Always keep them in front of you.

When I first came out of SHU, I was with a friend of mine. We came out of SHU together. The yard I was on was a 270, which is a program yard. I was on orientation for a week and from my cell, I watched how they ran dayroom and yard. The dayroom is bigger than any I have ever seen.

End

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Pablo Piña, D-28079
Kern Valley State Prison C-1-117
P.O. Box 5103
Delano, CA 93216

9/11/19

RE: Release From SHU
Continued

So there I am on orientation. My cellmate Crow came with me out of the SHU. And I'm checking about the way things are ran. The showers, the chow, and dayroom. And the yard.

We have to wait for two weeks to go to committee before we can come off orientation. As I said this, the first time I have been out of the SHU in 32 years. I've never seen a dayroom this big. It's about 30 times bigger than the place I was in at Pelican Bay SHU. I talked to one of the portels and he told me that there were a few guys from San Jose there and I know one of them. So, he told me how the program is. And he told me what other people were in the prison from San Hose.

Then I learned that a guy named Rooster from Sacramento was there. And I've known him a long time. I met him in Tracy in 1977, I think it was. Man, I was glad to see him. The last time I saw him was in 1982. We both changed. We're older now. But one thing we still have in common is that we both still exercise daily. So, we're still in very good shape. I was only there about three weeks and shipped out. But it was good to see him.

So, I'm checking out the people in the dayroom and I see there are some gay guys there. I've never been around them. In the other prison, they are not allowed on the yards. But they do their thing, and everyone else does the same.

There's a lot of drugs, so there's a lot of fights over people not able to pay. As soon as I got off orientation, I was given a job in the kitchen. So I was able to move around more, and I had access to extra food. And I walked from 12 PM to 7 PM. I was gone all day. Which I liked because I was away from all the everyday bullshit on the yard.

End.