There are 3 levels of incarnation for the mentally ill. For some unknown reason, the state decided to kick all the women patients out of ‘Flamingo’ (who comes up with these names?), the mental hospital for female inmates in Phoenix. These are the ones that can’t function in the general population, in fact they can’t function anywhere. We’re not exactly sure where they put these folks in Perryville….. its a secret.
Then there is the mid-level, for folks that have to still be closely monitored, and finally, the place for the Severely Mentally Ill (SMI) that will be reintroduced, eventually, to the outside. The latter category is housed on Lumley’s ‘A’ yard, wing 1. The top tier houses the SMI’s, and the bottom tier is LDU (Lumley Detention Unit).
By the way, according to the ACLU and Parson’s vs. Ryan, they are NOT supposed to be housed anywhere near each other. But when does the DOC ever do anything they’re told to do?
Here is an interview with a porter that works in that area. “I don’t have enough sanitary supplies to do my job properly or safely. The prison is stingy with gloves and paper towels. The SMI’s upchuck and pee all over their rooms, and I’m supposed to clean that up with my bare hands? Yesterday, one of them set fire to her room, and we had to evacuate everyone. It took me 4 hours to clean that up. These people are in a constant state of turmoil. They are locked up most of the day alone in their cells, only getting out for pills and so-called therapy (they get to use coloring books). Between LDU (the disciplinary problems), and SMI, there are about 3 ICS’s (emergency response) per day. That’s a lot. One gal is not allowed sheets because she tries to hang herself, and another is constantly removing her clothes, and then there is the one that throws herself against the wall. Sometimes it’s the guards’ fault. A woman on a heavy dose of drugs, was forgotten about at morning pill call, and she threw a tantrum you could hear in the next zip code.”
Why are we torturing these individuals?