Introduction to this Topic by the Editor

I need to give you a little background on Perryville so this will be more understandable. This prison was built in the early 1970’s by male inmates, for male inmates. The women didn’t come here until about 1990. AS in all government, the cheapest bid got the job. By all reports, this prison was raised fast, and I suspect, with the minimum of supervision of the builder/inmates. These are eye witness reports from the current women residents.

Explaining the Shower Picture

This is an accurate sketch of a real shower in “B” yard, Santa Cruz unit. Do you see the loose wires hanging in the lower door jamb? I was told they were “live” because this shower light is still on. I won’t test this theory! I’ve tried to portray all the standing water in front of those wires. All the shower units have standing water because the drains are all plugged.

Standing water = black mold we see everywhere

When inmates complained about the condition of this shower, they just took off the door and left it open. In the shower next to this one (not pictured) is the same filth.

The regulators (hot and cold) will not engage so moving the handle from Hot to Cold does nothing. The temperature the DOC sets is what you get. In the winter the water is cold and in the summer, it’s hot. The water pressure would increase dramatically if they would soak the shower heads in Lime-aWay to remove 50 years of accumulated minerals.