[Disclaimer: This website does not independently verify inmates’ stories. We only give them their First Amendment right to speak. An inmate wrote us this account and said she was working as an informant on behalf of the D.O.C.]

Dateline Santa Cruz: “Ms. R, a 20-year-old self-proclaimed member of the Bloods, is in Perryville on several aggravated assault charges. Her “homegirl” on C yard (the closed custody yard) had a ball of heroin the size of a baseball to sell to the unit. Alleged street value, $30 for an aspirin sized tablet. “Homegirl” managed to slip parts of this heroin through the fence from C yard to R, who lived on D yard. The women are barred from visiting between yards, but apparently this is rarely enforced.

I was roommates with R and I saw the whole thing go down, but I hate illegal drugs and have never taken them. R bragged to me that C.O. J______ was in her hip pocket and said: “He lets me on C yard to do my business and knows exactly what we are doing.” R did not escape the cameras, however, and was seen toting large bags of store from yard to yard. R told me if I snitched on them she would “{set me on fire” and flicked her lighter at me. (Ed. note: inmates are not allowed lighters, but allegedly they cost $10 and can be bought.)

I made a report to SSU, the drug enforcement and gang unit of the D.O.C. I identified all five members of this drug ring and the officers that let them get away with it. I was transferred to another unit for my own safety.

In my opinion, D.W. A is a bad administrator of Santa Cruz. The inmates run the yard. Every day they smoke with impunity anywhere they want and drugs are rampant. To be fair, the staffing shortage is so acute that we only have one guard per yard, all shifts. We had a CO-III pull a shift from 6 am to 10 pm straight on D yard. Someone is going to get hurt.”

Up until recently, an inmate could buy a lightbulb for $0.78. Then came the outrageous $2.00 lightbulb. But Keefe/Trinity, not done bilking the inmates out of ther hard-won dime, jacked up the price to $7.00!!

I’ve heard of $2,000 toilet seats purchased by the government, but a company charging $7 for one lightbulb – and not offering any cheaper alternative is PIRACY. It is GREED! A prisoner, making 10-cents an hour would have to work 70 hours to get one.

This summer the DOC got “a good price” for work boots made in China. These are the boots supplied to the ladies that work in the kitchen, yard crew, painting, and maintenance. There was a reason they were a “good price.” These boots literally fell apart after one day. Inmate N.C. said “I got my boots on Tuesday, and after working my shift, the sole had peeled away from the shoe, and the “leather” upper shredded into what looked like dark paper.”

Yep, your tax dollars getting the very best.