First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Dec. ’21

Previous: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’21

WELCOME to the December edition of First Amend This!

This publication provides an insider look at issues affecting the Idaho Department of Correction community. If you wish to assist this effort, share the link, copy and paste, or print and send this issue to another.

Friends and families are encouraged to join the  Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact them at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
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EDITOR’S NOTE

This month we celebrate our two-year anniversary with the very first issue to be presented from population.

No longer broadcasting from that ornery orifice once optioned in Ad-Seg, we’ll now be able to more easily collect the experiences of others and promote civic engagement while expanding our auditing crew–or so we’d like to think.

Not to be limited to those serving sentences, we’re hoping to offer a bit more from our staff and the families and friends that serve our time with us.

Those looking to get involved are encouraged to contact our recorders or other friendly organizers, like the Idaho Justice Project.
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CELEBRATING TWO YEARS WITH AN ANNIVERSARY RECAP

In 2007, I was one of many who participated in a private prison program under the purview of IDOC. Every day for nine months they drilled into my head that the purpose of life is to hold others accountable. The program, called Lifeline, worked better than it should; I felt myself transformed into a hybrid auditing cyborg who’d go on to commit more crimes and then come back to continue his passion.

Eleven years later, outsourced to a corporate confinement center located on the Mexican border, I found myself battling with capitalist killers in a cell that went dark after someone pulled the power. Double-dipping in the darkness that week in segregation, I fashioned a foot that was fated for ass by crafting new gospel in the form of the Book of Irving.

It was around the same time that I heard they killed Kim Taylor, that those hired to handle our medical emergencies knew not how to use their life-saving equipment and Warden Waymon Barry couldn’t care less about an autopsy. Surrounded by negligence, I took it upon myself to begin auditing from the inside and prepare some presentations for media and oversight.

But mine was a behavior that was not to be tolerated; it quickly became apparent that holding others to account was no longer an exercise then-Department heads found welcome.

Flown back from Texas on inflated punitive charges, I watched as those responsible for my retaliatory transfer investigated themselves for misconduct and then ruled in their own favor. My legal work was pilfered, my property was accosted, and I was told that I could sue if I had not yet learned of caution.

So I tried; and from that process I developed an intimate understanding: in order for a prisoner to file a claim in the courts, they must first convince their prison staff to see their claim gets mailed.

Twice I discovered that my claims had not. Still in my possession–my twice-sent claims unopened; they sat in my facility on somebody’s desk for weeks before returning to my cell in what I presume was an accident.

Hundreds of letters to lawmakers were next, with hundreds after that to media and advocates; and for over eighteen months I diligently documented the very creative ways that my freedom of speech of was annulled.

While all this was enough to really set a feller off, it wasn’t until the Office of Professional Standards refused to acknowledge the concerns later presented in our first issue that we decided to launch from an Ad-Seg cell in December 2019.

And here we are now…

Let’s First Amend This!
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DEAR DEPUTY WARDEN NICOLAS BAIRD

I have now been banned from studying self-help materials from the library for over six months. This over a book that was returned through my Ad-Seg door. (See: First Amend This!, July ’21.) I filed a grievance and was told my library privileges would return after 90 days, despite the fact that one could’ve confirmed I returned the book by searching my cell. Is it now this Department’s position that I am not to be able to better myself for up to 32 more years because either the staff or the librarian made some kind of error, or is it possible that you might be able to assist me?

Please consider.
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THE POWERS THAT BE ARE UPSETTING OUR MOTHERS

The loved ones of prisoners at IMSI have not been able to visit for two years of holidays.

For the duration of COVID-19, the Idaho Maximum Security Institution has been fortunate to report minimal cases. Likely due to the fact that those imprisoned at this facility are offered minimal time out of their cells and contact with others.

With all visits taking place behind plexiglass partitions, visiting sessions at this facility are restricted in such way that sharing oxygen isn’t possible and minimal staff are needed to supervise. And yet this desolate depression of modern convention holds the only visitation room that has yet to reopen since the start of COVID.

Frustration is felt among facility residents. For the second year in a row, Idaho’s close custody prisoners have found themselves informing their families that no effort’s been given to allow them to visit.

Facility staff, aware of this issue, aren’t excited about it either. They understand the benefits of in-person visits with families and are “hoping something will happen,” but what that something is isn’t made clear. A concern form inquiring didn’t yield a concrete answer.

As this issue is goes to press, we are also hearing that ISCC has been unable to provide visitation since September .

Those interested in seeing visits return are encouraged to contact the administration and request immediate action.
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LAWMAKERS UNDER FIRE FOR FAILING TO ADDRESS IDAHO’S PRISON PROBLEMS

The Idaho Statesman Editorial Board isn’t pulling any punches. In an editorial titled “Prison Problems Are the Latest Sign of Dereliction of Duty of the Idaho Legislature,” the majority makeup of Idaho lawmakers were roasted for cutting $400M from the Gem State’s budget while watching prison staffing shortages perpetually worsen.

In the same period which Idaho’s budget surplus ballooned from $800M to $1.5B, Idaho’s leading Republicans continued to ignore concerns of safety and burnout presented by prison employees amid multiple violent, newsworthy incidents.

In attempt to mitigate the employee shortage, along with a variety of new-hire and retention bonuses, IDOC implemented a pay increase in September to push starting wages from $16.75 to $19 an hour. The incentives, financed using federal CARES ACT funding, will require the approval of Legislature to continue into the long-term.

It’s a budget request that may face scrutiny as the pay raises and bonuses have yet to achieve their desired effect. Pointing to figures from the Idaho State Correctional Center, the Statesman confirmed that employee openings rose from 38 in April to 75 in September, with only two positions being filled by November.

Per the Statesman’s editorial board, “If the state is going to take people into custody and put them in prison, the state has a constitutional obligation to keep them safe and keep the people who work there safe… Unfortunately, the situation of the state prison is yet another indication that the Idaho Republican Legislature is falling down on the job of providing proper funding for basic government services.

Sources: Idaho Statesman Editorial Board, “Prison Problems Are the Latest Sign of Dereliction of Duty of the Idaho Legislature.”
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FORMER PRISONER SEEKING $2.8M IN LEGAL FEES

A former client of the Idaho Department of Correction is suing the State to recoup the cost of legal fees for a battle that was fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

Diagnosed in 2012 with gender dysphoria–a condition in which the dissonance between a person’s gender identity and gender assigned at birth is significant and hurtful–Adree Edmo filed suit in 2017 after being refused the means to conform to her gender identity. Her complaint asserted the State was violating her Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide her with adequate medical treatment .

At Governor Little’s direction, Idaho spent $456,738.80 in legal fees attempting to avoid the $75,000 gender confirmation surgery that, covered by insurance, was of no immediate cost to the state.

In 2020, as the Department was waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if the case would receive their attention, local media covered Governor Little’s staunch opposition the idea that such surgeries should be provided to those incarcerated.

Edmo’s case is still the subject of national attention as the first surgery of the sort ordered by the court.

The Department was given until Nov. 22 to file a response to the request for legal fees. Should reimbursement be ordered in full, Idaho Conservatives will be able to boast of spending $3.25 million to set a progressive precedent for gender-related surgeries.

Sources: “Former Idaho Inmate Who Sued for Gender Surgery Seeks 2.8 Million In Legal Fees, Rebecca Boone, Associated Press. Betsy Russell, “US Supreme Court Rejects Idaho’s Appeal in Transgender Inmate Surgery Case,” Idaho Press.
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NEW INFORMATION EMERGING FROM THE APRIL 10 INCIDENT

The ISCC incident that erupted in April is again receiving attention from prominent members of Idaho media. Jacob Scholl with the Idaho Statesman shared new details this month, obtained by public records requests and interviews with staff.

In addition to the fire, the fights and the hospitalizations we heard about, we now learn that H-Block residents left the unit clear long before staff were “prompted to evacuate them.”

In effort to escape smoke from the fire, they took to the yard through a wall that belonged to a bathroom, and kinda just hung out until the corral team came and collected them.

Prison staff in Scholl’s article expressed their dismay over how a call for backup yielded one lonely straggler. This to a living area with 304 residents who, according our sources, were allegedly upset by the amount of force used to remove one of their own from the unit .

As of the publication of Scholl’s article, the Ada County Prosecutor has yet to press charges.

Source: Jacob Scholl, “Details Emerging About April Prison Disturbance,” Idaho Statesman.
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IDOC SERVINGS SIZED SMALLER FOR VAGINAS

Sunday is Starve Day at Idaho prisons. Between breakfast and dinner lunch is limited to muffins, bagged up at breakfast to munch on at noon. The men  all receive two every week, which is twice the number served to the Department’s female clients.

The men also receive more of following, often with the same ratio in serving sizes: Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, French toast, Farina, pancakes, hash browns, breakfast hash, roast beef, bread, cornbread, vegan bread, hamburger buns, vegan buns, ketchup, peanut butter, potato chips, corn dogs, turkey, tuna salad, ham salad, peanut butter, margarine, rice, refried beans, 3-bean salad and baked fries.

When asked to speculate as to the reason, IMSI residents and staff were quick to point out that men are required to carry the massive weight of a penis and well-fed women tend to have themselves a hard time finding husbands. Their logic continues: husbands for the ladies will be required for their survival, as minimal effort is given to prepare them for the workforce and good housing is impossible to come by as a felon.

We disagree with their reasoning, but when no other food service is capable of rationing the portions of convalescing female patrons without drawing the kind of scrutiny that changes a regime, then what kind of sense can be made of this, really?

It is easy to imagine the cascade of cancelling that would occur were a school to serve the girls a little less than all the boys–or were nursing-home grandmas to be served less oatmeal than male counterparts on the advice of a professional with an interest in saving some money.

SUBTLE ASIDE: Perhaps the women would do better by switching to Common Fare meals: prepackaged meals, provided by a vendor, indiscriminate in serving sizes, they’re the costliest option.

Sources: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.0
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JPAY FINED FOR CONSUMER ABUSE

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken action against JPay for violating the Consumer Financial Protection act by siphoning tax-payer benefits from the formerly incarcerated.

As reported by the CFPB in October, a consent order was issued after it was concluded that JPay engaged in unfair, deceptive and abusive practices by conditioning the receipt of government benefits upon opening an account with a particular financial institution.

Within several violations outlined by the CFPB, the agency found that JPay abused its market dominance by forcing the imprisoned to submit to contractual fees in order to access their own moneys using prepaid debit cards. According to the CFPB, “Consumers could not protect their interests in the selection and use of JPay’s cards because they were denied a choice on how their own money would be given to them upon release.” This practice lead to over 1.2M release cards being issued to consumers who were unable to view their accounts or close them without accruing fees.

The CFPB also found that consumers were charged unauthorized fees when debit release cards were loaded with additional funds.

Per the consent order, JPay must eliminate the majority of fees on their prepaid release cards, refund approximately $4M to the consumers they abused and pay $2M in civil penalties to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty fund.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB has the authority to take action against institutions that violate federal consumer financial laws.

JPay was founded in 2002 as an electronic money transfer service company for the incarcerated and their families. Before being acquired in 2013, they reported turning a profit of more than $500M. Their parent company, Aventiv, currently profits directly off of over one million imprisoned by charging for telecommunications, money-wiring and media services in over 3,500 correctional facilities across North America.

While JPay currently contracts with IDOC to provide multiple services, it’s Access Corrections who provides the Access Freedom card to those fortunate enough to return to their communities with cash in their accounts.

According to IDOC’s website: “Access Freedom debit cards allow newly released individuals to have immediate access to their funds in real-time, at ATMs, banks, and through most point-of-sale (POS) retailers. Access Freedom cards have several free-use options, including POS transactions and cash-out options.”

But for those who search further and find the FAQs: “Account Closure Fee for a cash-out of balance of card paid out by check……..$10”

Sources: Aaron Greg, Washington Post. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Alexandra Marinez, “As the Holidays Approach, Incarcerated People in Florida Say Goodbye to Physical Mail,” Prismreports.org. www.idoc.idaho.gov.
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COVID NEWS

Since the start of COVID, over 49,374 tests have been administered to IDOC residents housed in-state, with no testing taking place throughout 2021 for Idaho prisoners outsourced to Arizona. A majority of those housed in-state have caught COVID.

The visiting solution remains fluid. Please view the IDOC website for cancelations and closures.

All residents who have received a COVID vaccination are encouraged by the Department to sign up for a booster vaccination shot. This booster is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Anyone who has received a Johnson and Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer vaccine can receive a booster at this time. Please submit a concern form to medical if you would like to receive the booster.

Anyone who has not yet been immunized against COVID is also highly encouraged by the Department to get the initial immunization now.

Those with COVID concerns are invited to forward their grievances to:

ACLU Idaho
PO Box 1897
Boise, ID 83701

View COVID numbers here.
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COOKIES FOR THE INCARCERATED!

Time is running out to assist Mark Renick in gifting the Kuna Idaho prisons’ population with big, welcome bags of beautiful holiday cookies. If you would like to assist the effort, please contact Mr. Renick or St. Vincent de Paul and ask how you can help.

This is the first year Mark has targeted all Kuna Idaho prisons with his notorious act of kindness, appreciated by everyone. Formerly known as Cookies For Max, the event was previously limited to IMSI.

If you wish to assist, please contact:

208-477-1006
svdpid.org
systemicchangeofid@gmail.com
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RENICK ON THE RADIO

With five years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1Fm, Saturdays at 12:30 pm.

This month Mark welcomed Erica Marshall with the Idaho Justice Project. Erica forming a state-wide coalition to present our lawmakers with solutions to Idaho justice problems. She is calling out to all justice-affected families to ask that they share their stories. Visit Idahojusticeproject.org for updates and details.

Ryan Hertling and German Robies from IDOC’s One Stop Reentry Shop in District 4 appeared in a two-part episode (part 1, part 2) to discuss the services and partnerships available through their workplace, as well as some of the challenges the newly released face. There was some mention about the Department moving forward with plans to help those attempting to successfully reintegrate into their communities by putting the formerly incarcerated to work, and to have them be recognized as community assets.

Learn more about Mark’s advocacy projects @ svdpid.org.
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RESIDENT AUDITING 101

Public records requests have been made for following: the Keefe commissary contract, meal costs, the list of all public records requests submitted within the last six months.

A grievance pursuing the absence of records pertaining to charitable donations has stalled in the appeal process without notice or explanation. To date, no records have been kept to confirm where the charitable donations we make as prisoners have been going.

A public records request asking for the number of parole-eligible  who are filling our facilities has informed us that 1,872 prisoners are being held past their fixed-time.

The public records custodian is now attaching the following statement to all public records requests:

“Any release of public records (textual, audio, graphical, pictorial, digital, or otherwise) in response to a public records request is not permission from the IDOC to allow you to republish or otherwise make use of the records in violation of relevant state or federal law, including but not limited to, privacy, trademark, and/or copyright law.*

“IDOC is dedicated to transparency. If you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact your Record Custodian.”

*According to our understanding of federal law, IDOC is not eligible for trademark or copyright protection. Public records are considered public domain works, therefore, permission need not be asked and allowance need not be given to “republish or otherwise make use of the records.” But do your own research, of course.
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AND NOT FOR NOTHIN’

Want to know why IDOC didn’t reclassify a significant number of those who accrued Class A disciplinary charges in Texas?

Because the Texas Commission of Jail Standards never approved the Eagle Pass Correctional Facility to hold close-custody prisoners. Were IDOC and GEO to reclassify all those who accrued severe disciplinary charges (per policy), they would’ve had to pay to bring quite a few back home. It was an intentional misdirection, one that jeopardized the safety of staff and our out-of-state residents. Had the Texas Commission of Jail Standards been aware, they would have taken action.

The reason I didn’t tell them? I had friends in Texas that didn’t want to come home to Max.

Unfortunately for those of ours housed in Arizona, Arizona is lacking in private prison oversight, leaving it nearly impossible without the courts to hold facility heads to account.
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INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

Dear Jaime Calderon,

We spoke in September when you toured Ad-Seg to collect suggestions and feedback for possible programs. It was then that I passed you an outline for a reflective reading program I had taken the initiative to implement alone. You asked that I follow up with you in a month, which I did by way of concern form around the end of October. I’d still like to discuss my proposal’s potential. As promised, the program has already proven to attract participants from general population, whom I’ve been encouraging to consider an adaptation of their own.

While I’m happy to inform you that I’m receiving nothing but very good feedback, I’m having a hard time understanding why this effort has been ignored.

On behalf of others interested in contributing to programs, please acknowledge my effort so others know that theirs are welcome.

Regards,
Patrick Irving 82431
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SUGGESTION BOX

It is no small violation of Idaho family values to prevent loved ones from visiting during the celebration of Jesus. We suggest IDOC put forth a little extra effort and reconsider their commitment to honoring Baby Christ.
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Aggressively salutated merriment to the lot of you!

See you next month.

“Cien Kilos de Reyna”
— Los Originales De San Juan

Next: First Amend This!: An IDOC Newsletter, Jan ’22