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?

I was escorted to Isolation room #1 with contagious Shingles.

This is how Peaville organizes it’s hospital center, located on Lumley unit. IPC (Inmate Patient Care, short-term stays), is next to the SNU (Special Needs Unit, long-term care), and the Isolation rooms are within IPC. There is this big sign ‘ISOLATION, Do Not Enter Without Authorized Staff!’ It’s a typical wide hospital door, inside is bed, sink, toilet, and exam area.

I must admit, I didn’t notice the lack of a doorknob until I was in bed. Every time nurses or doctors enter, they have to remove the Kotex, and push it between the door and door jam to keep the door closed! So if you have a patient with a communicable disease, like Covid, you’re just a Kotex pad away from spreading it!!! What!?

Again, let me remind you of the DOC’s $1.3 Billion dollar budget…….

The recipient of this letter asked the inmate where infrastructure money should go for this years budget.–Ed.

“Sorry I didn’t get back to you in time for your meeting, but our Wi-Fi was down and it just now came back on:

Re: Locks. I’ve consulted gals on Cruz and Maria, and have not heard from them yet. A year ago I was on both those units, and Maria’s was in good shape but there were quite a few broken ones on Cruz. On Lumley, just about everything is broken…I’m on A yard and every single cell has to be manually keyed out….this yard had the automatic system ripped out a long time ago. But that doesn’t mean the locks are ‘broken’, it just takes a long time for the guards to key us out. I try not to think about a fire.”

“Now, what has been an ongoing problem in Peaville is SHOWERS. Do you remember the watercolor painting I did of a Cruz shower? All showers in the units that are 2 man cells are deplorable. Even shinnsplints was quoted in the press as saying, “These are the worst showers I’ve ever seen anywhere.” Boy howdy. Every town hall on any unit has the ubiquitous question, “When are you going to fix the showers.” The answer is universally the same, “We don’t have the budget for that.” They can’t even buy shower curtains???? Today I took a shower in a broken tile, covered by broken drywall, filthy shower covered in mold and rust with no shower curtain. 95% of all showers have a broken regulator, which means there is no way to adjust the temperature of the water. About 40% are closed due to plumbing failure, which makes showering a competition among women. With no curtains, the girls stick Kotex on the window so the guards don’t get a free show. Of course, the men rip them off because it’s a *security issue*…..uh-huh.”

“If shinnsplints is really allocating serious money on infrastructure, he should start with showers. Because the plumbing is so bad in Peaville, and the showers leak copious amounts of water, the concrete is dissolving to the point of exposing the rebar. Some stairs and top tiers will collapse soon….its that bad. “

“Where do these clowns spend 1.3 BILLION dollars? I’ve been here 12 years and all I’ve seen is a downward spiral of programs, education, and crumbling infrastructure. Tell me how your meeting went.”