Previous: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Jan. ’24
Welcome to the February issue 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.
Loved ones are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact the group’s admins at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
Looking to help improve Idaho’s criminal justice system? We ask that you contact Erica Marshall with the Idaho Justice Project. The Idaho Justice Project works to bring the voices of people impacted by the criminal justice system to the legislative table to work on solutions.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
In this issue:
Idaho Legislature looks toward mandatory minimum sentences to combat fentanyl trafficking; the latest on Thomas Creech’s clemency hearing, court appeals and execution status; a tuberculosis test result triggers a three-day quarantine; friends, coworkers and loved ones gather to remember David Manley and Milo Warnock; and ISCI Program Manager Luke Kormylo answers frequently asked questions.
Let’s First Amend This!
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IDAHO LAWMAKERS CATCH FENTANYL IN THEIR CROSSHAIRS
Idaho’s House and Senate have approved a bill that takes aim at the state’s ongoing fentanyl crisis.
House Bill (HB) 406 creates mandatory minimum sentences for any individual who knowingly possesses four or more grams of any substance containing detectable amounts of fentanyl. It also establishes the charge of drug-induced homicide for any individual who supplies a drug that someone later dies from.
The minimum sentences for possessing any fentanyl-positive substance are four years and $10,000 for four grams or more, or between 100 and 250 pills; five years and $15,000 for between 14 and 28 grams, or 250 to 500 pills; and 10 years and $25,000 for 28-plus grams, or over 500 pills. The proposed crime of drug-induced homicide carries an indeterminate life sentence with a maximum fine of $25,000.
A second charge for fentanyl trafficking would double the minimum sentence.
Supporters of the bill say that mandatory minimum sentences are already in place for other illegal drugs, and that harsher laws are needed to combat Idaho’s fentanyl problem. This as Idaho law enforcement officials claim to have recorded drug dealers saying that the state’s sentencing structures dissuade them from trafficking drugs in Idaho.
Opponents say the language of the bill will lead to drug users being prosecuted as drug-traffickers. Furthermore, they argue, the bill prevents judges from exercising discretion during sentencing, and it will dissuade people who use the drug together from calling for assistance during an overdose.
According to Idaho Press reporter Laura Guido, the IDOC reported in 2023 that 37 percent of the state’s prison population was sentenced for drug charges–an indication of how effectively mandatory minimum sentences dissuade drug trafficking networks.
Jean Fisher, a former longtime Ada County prosecuting attorney and the state director for Right On Crime, expressed concerns that minors as young as 14 could be tried as adults for drug-induced homicide, should they give someone a pill laced with fentanyl, writes Guido.
Drug dealers and users currently incarcerated in Idaho say that mandatory minimum sentences have never disrupted their supply chains, and that the bill will likely influence Idaho’s drug networks to refrain from cutting fentanyl with less dangerous substances in order to reduce the weight of a dose and fall under a lesser sentence. Reducing the cut would create a more concentrated pill of smaller size, that could lead to dosing errors.
Two things that nearly everyone can agree on: Idaho’s jails and prisons are already overcrowded and fentanyl is every bit, and more, the problem it’s presented to be.
As this article is sent to press, Gov. Little has yet to signal whether he will sign HB 406 into law.
Sources: Clark Corbin, Logan Finney, Gemma Gaudette, “Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable: January 26, 2024,” Boise State Public Radio. Laura Guido, ” ‘These People Are Dealing Death’: Committee Hears Hours of Testimony On Fentanyl Mandatory Minimum Bill, Will Vote Tuesday,” Idahopress.com. Laura Guido, “Fentanyl Mandatory Minimum Sentence Goes to Full House With No Recommendation From Committee”, Idahopress.com. Bruce Skaug, “The Case For Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Fentanyl Traffickers,” Idahopress.com.
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WEEK TWO, DAY TWO BREAKFAST (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread may be substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 pc — Frittata
2 lg — Pancakes
1 cup — Oatmeal
10 mg — Margarine
1-1/2 oz — Maple Syrup
2 pkt — Sugar
8 oz. — Vitamin beverage
8 oz. — Milk 1%
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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THE LATEST ON THOMAS CREECH
The potential mental and emotional collateral damage to result from Thomas Creech’s execution played a central role in last month’s clemency hearing for the longest-standing prisoner on Idaho’s death row.
Creech, 73, is convicted of murdering Edward Thomas Arnold, John Wayne Bradford and David Dale Jensen in Idaho; William Joseph Dean in Oregon; and Vivian Grant Robinson in California. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court noted that Creech admitted to killing or participating in the killing of at least 26 people, according to Ruth Brown with Idaho Reports. He was originally sentenced to death for killing Arnold and Bradford in 1974, but that sentence was reduced to life in prison on appeal. Following the appeal he was returned to the prison’s general population, where he killed fellow prisoner Jensen in 1981.
On January 19, six of the seven-member board for the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole (ICPP) heard Creech and others, including current and former DOC employees and the judge who sentenced him to death, make the case for commuting Creech’s sentence from death to life in prison.
The Jensen family also appeared at the hearing to provide testimony on the impact Creech’s actions have taken on their lives.
Commissioner Patrick McDonald recused himself from the hearing for an unspecified reason, leaving the commission locked ten days later in a 3-3 vote for clemency. Per ICPP guidelines, the tie automatically resulted in a veto.
McDonald’s decision to recuse himself likely had little effect on the outcome of Creech’s request for clemency, as Gov. Little, who has the final say on clemency petitions, stated that he has no plans to interfere with the ultimate penalty, according to Idaho Statesman reporter Kevin Fixler.
On January 30, Idaho’s Fourth District Judge Jason Scott issued Creech a new death warrant, setting his date of execution Feb. 28.
Creech and his attorneys from the State Appellate Public Defender’s Office and the Federal Defender Services of Idaho have since submitted multiple appeals at the state and federal level. The appeals focus on due process violations, ineffective counsel and prosecutorial misconduct. Creech’s legal team is now asking the Idaho Supreme Court to stay his execution to allow time for their claims to process.
Deborah A. Czuba, a supervising attorney for the Federal Services of Idaho, said in a statement, “Ultimately, it will be impossible for them to execute the Thomas Creech of 1974. He died inside a long time ago, replaced by a harmless, remorseful, compassionate old man who has evolved into a valued, respected and beloved member of the prison community in which he has lived and been punished for 50 years.”
Sources: Kevin Fixler, “Idaho’s Longest-Serving Death Row Prisoner Wants a Life Sentence. He Has Surprising Allies,” Idaho Statesman. Ruth Brown, “Idaho Supreme Court Hears Creech’s Case for Stay of Execution,” Idaho Reports. Kevin Fixler, “Idaho Death Row Prisoner Thomas Creech Asks Federal Court to Stop His Execution,” Idaho Statesman. Kevin Fixler, “Latest Execution Date Set for Thomas Creech, Idaho’s Longest Serving Death Row Prisoner,” Idaho Statesman. KTVB Staff, “Motion Filed to Stay Execution of Idaho’s Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate,” KTVB.com.
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WEEK TWO, DAY TWO LUNCH (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread may be substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
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1 each — Fresh Fruit/Apple
1/2 cup — Turkey Salad
2 oz — Whole grain Bread
10 mg — Margarine
1-1/2 oz — Tortilla Chips
1 each — Cookie #1: Blondie Bar
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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TUBERCULOSIS TEST RESULT TRIGGERS THREE-DAY QUARANTINE
On January 26, Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI) units 14 and 15 were placed into a three-day quarantine after a person incarcerated at the facility appeared to test positive for tuberculosis (TB).
TB is a disease caused by the bacterial infection Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually attacks the lungs but can also spread to the brain, spine and other parts of body.
TB can be tested for using blood tests or skin tests, with skin tests more common for carceral settings.
The skin test is performed by injecting a small amount of fluid into the lower arm and then checking the site of injection two to three days later for swelling.
Then-IDOC public information officer Jeff Ray told Boise’s KTVB News that the person who originally appeared to test positive was later found not to have an active form of TB. Ray also said the IDOC will continue working with state epidemiologists and Centurion, the current health care provider for Idaho prisons, to ensure that proper health procedures are followed.
I previously reported in First Amend This! issues April, May, June and November of 2022 that employees of Centurion, after refusing to review the results of TB skin tests performed on residents at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, were discovered through a public records request to have falsely documented the opposite.
Sources: Tracy Bringhurst, “Possible Tuberculosis Case Tests Negative at Idaho State Correctional Institution,” KTVB.com. “Basic TB Facts,” cdc.gov
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WEEK TWO, DAY TWO DINNER (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread may be substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
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3 oz. — Chicken
0.5 oz — Cheese
0.5 cup — Tomato Sauce
1.5 cup — All-Shapes Pasta
1 cup — Garden Salad #2
1 oz — Ranch
2 pc — Garlic Bread
1 pc — Cake #6, Marble
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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REMEMBERING DAVID MANLEY
by ICI-O Lieutenant Greg Heun
[This article was originally published in the Clearwater Tribune. It is presented here in accordance with the Idaho Public Records Act.]
David Manley was recently honored with an unveiling ceremony at the Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino’s (ICI-O) Robert Janss School after passing away from a battle with a cancer.
Mr. Manley was an instructor at the school who implemented many ground-breaking ideas that later spread to other schools within the Department. Manley’s vision was to increase residents’ access to higher levels of education. Working with the University of Idaho, he brought in the Inside Out program, the first college class ever offered inside an Idaho prison. He then worked with Lewis-Clark State College to bring in additional college classes.
The entire Manley family was present as a portrait of Mr. Manley was unveiled. The portrait, painted by resident Mathew Bell, is now on display at the entryway to the school.
Former ICI-O resident and author of the book “Twenty to Life,” David Steece, spoke at the ceremony about how Mr. Manley helped to change his life. Mr. Manley is noted in his book.
In honor of all he brought to the IDOC, the Department has renamed its Cutting Edge Award the David Manley Award.
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REMEMBERING MILO WARNOCK
Friends and family of Milo Warnock joined together Jan. 13 at the Hyatt Place hotel in Meridian to celebrate Milo’s life.
Milo, 45, was brutally beaten to death Dec. 10 while in his cell at the Idaho State Correction Center in Kuna.
Milo is survived by his son Mason, his sister Hallie, his brother Clint, half-brothers Murray and Yancey, and parents Mike and Kathy. He is also fondly remembered by his coworkers at YMC Mechanical Contractors in Meridian.
Milo graduated from Lewiston High School in ’96, later moving to Boise where he lived for 25 years.
An avid cyclist, Milo was sent to prison to serve a two-to-ten year sentence for felony DUI after misfortune delivered him late to two mental health court appointments.
“By all accounts, Milo was a hard worker, curious, kind-hearted, funny, intelligent and intellectual, someone who reveled in deep thoughts and discussion about deep ideas,” opinion writer Scott McIntosh shared in the Idaho Statesman.
Mike and Kathy Warnock told McIntosh that they spoke to their son every day while he was in prison. They said that Milo was used to self-administering the medication that he was prescribed for depression in the mornings, and that it was his attempt to continue this practice that ultimately resulted in him being punitively placed in the maximum-security unit where he was fatally assaulted.
Sources: Scott McIntosh, “An Idaho Prisoner Was Beaten To Death 6 Weeks Ago. His Family Seeks Answers,” Idaho Statesman. Kaylee Brewster of the Lewiston Tribune and Teddy Feinberg of the Idaho Press, “Family Seeks Justice for Son Slain in Idaho Prison,” Lewiston Tribune.
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PROGRAMMING FAQS
by ISCI Program Manager Luke Kormylo
[From a January memo issued to residents of the Idaho State Correctional Institution. Edited for clarity and length, and presented in accordance with the Idaho Public Records Act.]
Q: What’s the latest news with regards to programming?
A: We have been making great headway with our waitlists and are presently enrolling people in classes about five to six months before their parole hearings.
Q: What do residents need to do to get enrolled in classes?
A: Realistically–nothing! We automatically refer people to programming based on their proximity to release. Residents are welcome to follow up with their case managers to confirm that they’ve been referred to the waitlist, but with approximately 50 classes going at any given moment, trying to forecast a specific starting date is almost impossible. For this reason we ask that residents don’t send concern forms asking when they’ll be enrolled. We’re placing people in classes as quickly as we possibly can.
Q: How do you determine who gets into programs?
A: We prioritize residents based on whether they have a tentative parole date, how close they are to a parole/revocation hearing, or if they are on a rider. For example, someone with a parole date is higher priority than someone who hasn’t had a parole hearing yet, and someone who has a parole hearing next month is higher priority than someone who has a hearing months or years from now. Residents are not prioritized based on their arrival to the facility.
Q: Will those who are not enrolled in classes when they see the Parole Commission automatically be denied a parole date?
A: Absolutely not. The Commission looks at many different things during parole hearings: individuals’ attitudes about their crimes, their behavior while on supervision and within their institution, the effort they invest into developing their parole plan, community support, employment plans, supporter input, etc. Being enrolled in programs is not the determining factor on whether someone is granted parole
Q: Can parole-required programs be completed in the community?
A: The IDOC is responsible for getting residents through classes at the facility before they’re released for parole.
Q: Is there a way for someone to be “fast-tracked” through classes?
A: Unfortunately no. Our programs have a set minimum duration. But we do everything we can to get those with upcoming parole hearings into classes as soon as possible. As for those sentenced to rider programs, most begin programming one to two months after arriving to our facility.
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HONORED AND EDUCATING
by Ofc. Melissa Earley
[This article originally appeared in IDOC on Facebook. It is presented here in accordance with the Idaho Public Records Act.]
The Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) recently celebrated the accomplishments of many of its residents who graduated with their General Equivalency Diploma (GED) in 2023.
This celebration was a first where residents from all housing levels celebrated with food and drink while visiting with their families.
Currently, IDOC’s close custody populations are restricted from having contact visits, but these men, who worked to make a change and attained their GED, were granted the opportunity to don a cap and gown and take photos with their loved ones in celebration.
This occasion marked the first time residents were formally recognized for their accomplishments with a commencement ceremony at IMSI.
Those in attendance:
Alejandro Valadez Mariscal
Dominique Nichols
Ernesto Guzman (2022)
Ezri Garcia
Derek Hudson
Matthew Kitrell
Miguel Molina
Joseph Gould
Not in attendance:
Aaron Marriott
George Kiefer (2022)
Garrett Smutz (2022)
Kaden Tullis
Adan Arroyo (2022)
Rudy Garcia
Richard Borja (2022)
Javon Walker
Chad Taylor
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HARDBACK BOOK BAN BACK IN EFFECT
On February 6, 2024, Chief of Prisons Chad Page notified residents of the Kuna prison complex over JPay that, due to recent amounts of contraband arriving in hardback books, hardback books are now prohibited mail items.
Those legitimately obtained before February 9, 2024 will be allowed to remain in residents’ property, but may be subjected to confiscation upon transferring facilities.
Facility heads may make exceptions on an individual basis for educational or religious hardback books that are not available in paperback or soft cover.
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RENICK ON THE RADIO
With over six years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1FM on Saturdays at 12:30 pm. The program, funded by a Southwest Idaho advocacy arm of https://www.svdpid.org, shares what it’s like to live incarcerated in Idaho and then come out of incarceration and live on parole.
1.13.24. Returning citizen, advocate and entrepreneur Jeffrey Epperson discusses how he turned his life around from within an Idaho prison, and what he credits with assisting his success upon release.
Contact Mr. Renick at 208-477-1006 or visit https://www.svdpid.org for more information on reentry resources in Southwestern Idaho.
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RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED
District 5 — Allan Raffs with the Ted Babbit Award; Gina Hart as employee of the year; Jayone Fitzhugh with the Leadership Award; Leo Fierro with Instructor of the Year; Lindsay McNally with the Hammer of Success Award; Rachel Jolovich as Rookie of the Year; Vincent Ortiz as Team Player of the Year; Sonia Rico as Employee of the Quarter.
ICIO — Officers Marilyn Szymczak and Tyeler Basingame with POST certifications; Miles Dibbern as Employee of the Quarter.
ISCI — Cpl. Carroll by a Unit 16 resident who says that Carroll exercised compassion while holding him accountable and educating him on the danger his actions were posing to others. Ofc. Hollis by a Unit 16 resident who says that Hollis spent extra time on the unit after witnessing him exhibit concerning behavior, which ultimately dissuaded him from attempting to commit suicide.
ISCC — Lt. Jay Lau as Supervisor of the quarter; Ofc. David Thompson as Employee of the Quarter.
PWCC — Cynthia Fisher for 20 years of service.
Other — Sr. PO Leo Fierro for receiving his Basic Probation & Parole Certification.
Sources: Idaho Department of Correction on Facebook
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RESIDENT AUDITING 101
Last month we asked the Transparency Department to verify whether the IDOC will be replacing JPay and ICSolutions with a different communications provider this year.
The Transparency Department responded, “We will be releasing an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) to accept proposals from contractors to provide these services but have not done so yet and have no new contract at this time.”
We also asked whether the IDOC is currently utilizing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s “Engaging Community Coalitions to Decrease Opioid Overdose Deaths Practice Guide” or the “Opioid Overdose Reduction Continuum of Care Approach (ORCCA) Practice Guide.”
The Transparency Department responded that it has no record of the IDOC applying either guide to its operations.
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RESOURCE FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
The “Surviving Solitary” resource guide is published by Critical Resistance and sent free to currently incarcerated individuals.
The guide contains resources, techniques and exercises to help individuals placed in solitary confinement combat the physical and mental health effects of isolation.
Critical Resistance
P.O. Box 22780
Oakland, CA 94609-2301
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INMATE SERVICES AT WORK
Mathew Barry Johnson is a psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is studying the secondary trauma that results from executions.
[This message forwarded from a resident of the Idaho State Correctional Institution.]
1.28.24
Dear Professor Johnson,
My name is Patrick Irving. I am a contributor to the Prison Journalism Project and a member of PEN America‘s forthcoming Incarcerated Writers Bureau. It was while writing the February issue of my newsletter “First Amend This!” (@bookofirving82431.com) that I came across your name and focus on the secondary trauma resulting from executions.
You may find it interesting to know that after sharing a roof with Idaho’s death row inmates for four and a half years, I was recently transferred to a neighboring, lesser-security prison, where I immediately found myself affected by the reports from a close-by firing range. Told by prison staff that the range is exclusively used by the law enforcement agencies of Idaho, I now register every early morning salvo of small eruptions as an ode to whomever is next scheduled for homicide.
You are likely already aware of how after failing for years to replenish our DOC’s supply of lethal injection chemicals, Idaho last year became one of five states to legalize the firing squad as a form of execution.
Leading into the executions, our prison staff receive mental and emotional support from the DOC’s executive management team. But Idaho’s prison population, also subjected to the excessive media coverage surrounding execution updates, is in no way encouraged to take advantage, if needed, of available mental health services.
After reading Hannah El-Hitami’s work, “Torture in Syria: ‘Silence Is a Form of Abuse’,”* and speaking last week to an international audience of academics on forensic linguistics in a prison setting, I can’t but help to hope that some of this may interest you.
*Translated from “Folter in Syrien: ‘stille ist eine Form der Misshandlung’,” published by Frankfurter Rundschau.
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SUGGESTION BOX
Let’s hold a prison fundraiser for the Idaho Food Bank!
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Hearts out to the families of Milo Warnock, David Manley, Junior Garcia, David Jensen, Edward Arnold, John Bradford, William Dean, Vivian Robinson and Thomas Creech. I’m here if you wanna chat. Holler for any reason.