The original version of this complaint, sent 3.11.24 via snail mail to the local Area Agency On Aging (with additional copies sent over JPay to an Idaho Statesman reporter, the Idaho Prison Project and House Minority Speaker Ilana Rubel), lists the subject’s age at 72 and neglects to mention that he also takes insulin. The version presented here was sent to the Idaho Commission On Aging, although that version also omitted the mention of insulin. It is published here in accordance with the principles driving the Idaho Department of Correction’s (IDOC) new Day One Plus mentor program.
The Day One Plus organization is currently collaborating with IDOC staff and residents to implement a facility-wide customized mentor program to provide residents opportunities “for self-empowerment, education, and to advocate for themselves and their peers,” according to the application that I recently submitted to apply for a mentor position.
The Idaho Commission On Aging‘s website states that the commission “provides a secure Adult Protective Services (APS) online system for mandated reporters and financial institutions to report suspicions of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults age 18 years and older.”
It also recommends for those who would like to make an anonymous report, “but are not a mandated reporter or financial institution,” to contact their local Area Agency On Aging.
The subject of this post is aware of its contents. He has granted permission for me to widely share this and other information as an advocate and journalist, for nothing in exchange. I have captured his consent on a Resident Concern Form, with the signature of unit staff representing my witness. That form is now working its way through facility mail to an IDOC public information officer.
Ed. – The subject resident’s full name was removed from this post due to privacy concerns.
To: Idaho Commission On Aging
[This message forwarded from a resident of Idaho State Correctional Institution on March 16th, 2024.]
3.11.24
To whom it may concern:
My name is Patrick Irving. I wish to file a complaint regarding the care of Kelly J. [last name redacted], a 69-year-old, partially paralyzed, diabetic amputee who currently resides at the Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI).
Mr. Kelly’s left leg is amputated at the thigh. His left arm is paralyzed and contorted in what I’m told is contracture. He claims to have had a stroke in 1999, and to receive diabetes medication in the form of pills once a day.
On February 27, I witnessed Mr. Kelly being pushed in his wheelchair into ISCI Unit 14B, where he was delivered to cell 4 with one plastic foam mattress, some bedding and clothing, and one medium-sized box of personal papers and property. Half of his bedding was brought in soiled in a plastic bag. He was left on the unit wearing white pants stained with blood and urine, one dirty large green t-shirt, and one shoe in good condition. His hair was long and unkempt, his stench was extremely thick, and the prisoner pushing him in indicated that it had been some time since he showered.
I am not a nurse. I have no caretaker training and my cell is not a handicap-accommodating cell.
I was given but few minutes notice to rearrange objects in my cell in such a way that his wheelchair would fit through the door and next to his bed. I had to move my personal locker directly in front of the toilet.
Due to Mr. Kelly’s physical condition, he was unable to move his mattress and property into his cell and make up his bed by himself. I assisted him by placing his mattress on his bunk, his property below it, and then throwing his clean sheets, blankets and pillow on his mattress.
Not only is the toilet in our cell now completely obstructed by a locker and his oxygen machine, it also lacks safety rails. To dump the plastic jug that he has been given to urinate in from his wheelchair and bed, Mr. Kelly must sit himself up, transfer himself to his wheelchair and wheel himself with his urine container to the unit’s community toilet. The same toilet, which lacks safety rails, is also where he must make his bowel movements.
Mr. Kelly’s bed lacks a handle or grip to help him sit up, and twice I have witnessed him bleeding after managing to sit up and dismount the bed himself. The first incident took place the week of his arrival, the second took place today and required a medical response.
The prison has hired an inmate worker to push Mr. Kelly to the cafeteria to pick up his meals to-go. But he frequently misses lunch as his hearing is impaired and it’s hard to hear the call for chow from our cell. When he returns with his meal from the cafeteria, he sometimes requires assistance opening juice cups, milk cartons, condiments, etc. The same worker pushes him to the prison medical building once a day to take his diabetes medications.
In addition to the wheelchair worker, the prison has hired an Inmate Support Person (ISP) to assist Mr. Kelly in basic living skills. The ISP, a fellow prisoner, was hired two days after the following Resident Concern Form, addressed to Warden Davis but responded to by Lt. Wilson, was returned sic:
Date: 2.21.24
Resident Name: Kelly J. [last name redacted] [IDOC number redacted]
Issue/Concern: ‘Mr. Davis, It has come to my atention through other inmates that Sgt. Zavala has issued a direct order demanding that no inmate is allowed to help me to get in or out of my bed or to change my beding even if I happen to accidentally soil myself. It has been told to me that Sgt. Zavala has made it clear that if any inmate attempts to help me in any way that she will give them a [Disciplinary Offense Report]. Warden Davis, as I am severily handicaped with the use of only one arm and the fact that I only have one leg will you please assign a staff member to help me or a qualified inmate to help me to do all of the human functions that I am not able to do?’
Reply [signed and dated 2.27.24 by Lt. Wilson]: ‘ISP workers do not assist in this regard.’
Note that Lt. Wilson responded the same day that Mr. Kelly was transferred to my cell.
The ISP has since appeared twice; once for an hour, once for 30 minutes. Neither time did he assist Mr. Kelly with a shower. Mr. Kelly’s physical condition renders him incapable of fully dressing and undressing himself. He cannot shower without minor assistance. I was the last person to assist him into the shower on Mar. 2 or Mar. 3.
On Feb. 29 or Mar. 1, I returned from school to find him attempting to exit our cell with his coat wrapped in the spokes of his wheelchair. Unlike other Idaho prison cells, ours does not have an emergency button. It also closes with a regular door that obstructs one’s view inside. I am uncertain of how long he was stuck.
In the time that he has lived on my unit, I have watched Mr. Kelly be wheeled multiple times a day through winter conditions with the waist of his pants falling off his nub, exposing him to weather.
On Mar. 9, Mr. Kelly reported feeling nauseous. I approached unit staff for a plastic bag or trashcan for him to vomit into. I reiterated this request multiple times over the next two days and was eventually informed by staff that they wouldn’t provide either.
On Mar. 11, Mr. Kelly woke me at 02:00 to help him sit up and refix the tube to his oxygen machine, which he was unable to reach from his bed or his wheelchair. I reported the incident and was told by staff that it isn’t necessary for me to continue assisting him. They repeated to me, to Mr. Kelly, and to our neighbor that he is faking his inability to perform basic tasks.
They also said that Mr. Kelly was previously held in the ISCI medical annex, but for reasons unexplained has been banned from ever returning.
Your concern is appreciated.
Patrick Irving 82431
ISCI
PO Box 14
Boise, ID 83707
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.
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.
***
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!
***
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.
[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%
______________________________
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
***
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.”
[Fruit and whole grain bread may be substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
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
______________________________
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
***
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.
[Fruit and whole grain bread may be substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
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
______________________________
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
***
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.
***
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.
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.
***
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
***
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.
***
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.
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.
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.”
The Transparency Department responded that it has no record of the IDOC applying either guide to its operations.
***
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
***
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.
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.
Though I received two JPay censorship notifications. Neither informed of me the reason for the censorship. They also didn’t specify who among my contacts was censored. I learned from my father over the phone that it was he who sent both messages, and that JPay notified him both articles were censored for “Information related to the crime or identity of another offender.” SOP 503.02.01.001
He also told me that the allegation was bogus, that the messages didn’t contain any information that could be used as described in the censorship notification. Whenever he sends me research materials he takes care to obscure the names of others who are incarcerated.
I don’t expect to receive the Electronic Mail Contraband and Denial Form that IDOC policy requires staff to complete and deliver because I’m still waiting for the form from when “First Amend This!, Oct. ’23” was censored.
The Sentencing Project is described by the PARC National Prisoner Resource Directory as “a national policy research and advocacy organization that works for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration. They produce reports on prison-related topics, including prison populations nationally, state-by-state data, life sentences, voting rights and more.”
January 26 — ISCI Captain Gibney has informed Unit 14 residents that an individual who recently passed through the unit is exhibiting symptoms that require testing for tuberculosis.
All non-essential movements from Unit 14 have been canceled for a minimum of 72 hours as a precautionary measure until the test results return. This includes movements for education, work, chapel and visitation.
Moves to the prison pharmacy and cafeteria during meal times will continue, with Unit 14 residents retrieving their meals behind the rest of the facility.
Residents of Unit 14 will also continue to have access to the unit’s outside rec yard.
ISCI management has yet to indicate whether those who encourage remaining cool throughout the quarantine will be allowed to order Kentucky Fried Chicken or pizza.
[Updated 1/27/2024]
P.S. Don’t panic, but remember when in April, May, June and November 2022’s issues of First Amend This! I presented concerns of how Centurion’s medical staff was failing to review our tuberculosis test results, and then falsely documenting the opposite in our medical records?
And do you also remember when in early 2019–the year that COVID hit–I presented the Texas Commission of Minimum Jail Standards, the Eagle Pass Health Department, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention with concerns of how GEO Group’s sanitation practices could easily fuel a pandemic? (See: Battle For Dishsoap At Eagle Pass, Violations of Texas Minimum Jail Standards.)
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.
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.
***
EDITOR’S NOTE
In this issue:
Governor Little looks to build the secure forensic mental health facility that Idaho needed seven decades ago; CBS2 News overshadows a 31-person prison brawl with a dog and its trainer doing their business; how investments into prison education and vocational training programs are paying off; and if you’re going to vote for a prisodent, vote 82431.
Let’s First Amend This!
***
NO ARREST OR CONVICTION NEEDED TO TREAT IDAHO’S MENTALLY ILL IN PRISON
In 1972, Idaho’s health and law enforcement officials presented the legislature with a plan to jointly operate a secure mental health unit for individuals deemed by the courts to be dangerously mentally ill.
But when the plan unraveled four years later, the courts began sending psychiatric patients to prison without an arrest or conviction.
Last year, while working with a $1.4 billion record-breaking surplus, Idaho’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) refused Governor Little’s request for $24 million to construct a secure forensic mental health facility that would put an end to the archaic practice.
ProPublica reporter Audrey Dutton reports that Governor Brad Little will once again request that JFAC fund the new facility.
According to Dutton, the Idaho Security Medical Program is at odds with the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the directors for the Department of Correction and Department of Health and Welfare aren’t comfortable with it either. Both have expressed concerns that the program provides patients with inadequate care and violates their civil rights.
Patients who are civilly committed by the courts to the program are treated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) and the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, where they spend as many as 24 hours a day in conditions shown to exacerbate mental illness.
New Hampshire is the only other state with a similar program. It is now building a new 24-bed secure mental health facility. Once complete, Idaho will be the last remaining state to prescribe a prison setting for psychiatric patients.
As recently as November 7, members of JFAC toured the Southern Idaho Correction Institution, a minimum-security men and women’s facility that sits adjacent to IMSI.
Idaho Capital Sun reporter Clark Corbin wrote that IDOC Director Josh Tewalt encouraged “legislators during their visit to rethink prison and corrections in terms of coaching and rehabilitation instead of punishment.” Tewalt also shared how 1,000 people in IDOC facilities are currently housed above their security levels. “When considering corrections and prison budgets,” wrote Corbin, “Tewalt urged legislators to support adding the right beds.”
JFAC co-chair Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, said after the visit, “The benefit of visiting the actual site is to see with our own eyes the effects of the decisions we have made. So, at the prison we are seeing the impacts that’s having on the lives of residents there and how it’s preparing them in a much better way to be introduced to our society.”
Horman and colleagues left the complex without visiting the unit at IMSI where patients of Idaho Security Medical Program are held.
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 pc — Chuckwagon patty
1 cup — Farina
8 oz. — Milk 1%
3 oz. — Biscuit
0.75 oz. — Country breakfast gravy
2 pckt — Sugar
8 oz. — Vitamin beverage
————————————————
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
***
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS SOUTH OF BOISE IN DECEMBER
On December 10, Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) resident Milo Warnock, 45, died after being attacked by a fellow prisoner in what the Ada County coroner has ruled to be a homicide. According to Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Warnock was serving a two-to-ten year sentence for driving under the influence.
The Idaho Statesman reported last month that 31 people incarcerated at IMSI clashed on December 23rd in two parts of the facility. Chemical agents were deployed to break up the brawl and one person was taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. An IDOC spokesperson told the Statesman that the agency wasn’t considering the brawl a significant event.
CBS2 News last month launched an investigation into why a participant of ISCC’s dog training program was allowed to remain outside alone with the dog that he is training for two hours on Christmas Eve. The CBS2 news team announced in a live television broadcast that it submitted a public records request for security footage of the two doing their business in a fully secured area. The story oddly overshadowed the IMSI brawl, to which the news team devoted a brief and indifferent mention before training its sites on the dog and its handler.
U OF I PROFESSOR PLACES FIRST FOR POPTALK ON PRISON EDUCATION INITIATIVE
University of Idaho (UI) professor Omi Hodwitz recently presented a POPTalk (Power of Possibility) showing how UI’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI) is providing people in Idaho prisons with new worlds of opportunity.
Hodwitz’s speech was one of eight back-to-back three-to-five minute presentations delivered by UI faculty members to a crowded Vandal ballroom. She was awarded first place by an audience vote.
The PEI launched in 2021 as a postsecondary education program using U.S. Department of Education Second Chance Pell Grant funding. “In short, the PEI allows UI students and faculty to provide in-person assistance and study alongside students who are working to complete their own coursework,” writes Herman Roberts, a reporter for UI’s student paper, The Argonaut.
According to Hodzwitz, UI’s on-campus students and their incarcerated counterparts have collaborated to publish books and peer-reviewed articles. They have also presented research conducted together at international academic conferences.
The PEI currently serves the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center and the Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino (ICI-O). It also has plans to expand to at least one other Idaho prison.
Individuals who commit to advancing their education at the university level while incarcerated have been shown to reduce the rate at which they recidivate by nearly a half, or more with advanced education. A report released by the nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution RAND, shows that for every dollar invested into prison education, five are saved by reducing the rate at which people recidivate within three years of their release.
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1.5 oz. — Peanut butter
0.5 oz. — Jelly
2 oz. — Wholegrain bread
1 — Fresh fruit/banana
1 — Weekend muffin
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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IDAHO ED NEWS COVERS IDOC PROGRAMS
Freelance writer Katie McGuire last month published an article in Idaho ED News about the vocational training and education programs currently offered in two Idaho prisons.
Individual serving any length of sentence at the Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI) and ISCC are provided a range of opportunities including: General Equivalency Diploma studies, professional video editing, carpentry, masonry, cabinetry, HVAC, custodial training and more.
With the IDOC projecting that 98 percent of the people in its custody will one day be released, these opportunities play an active part in improving public safety,. The agency works with various accreditation programs to ensure that employers can verify the amount of training that residents complete.
It also offers free financial literacy courses to residents at ISCI, and over Zoom to others who qualify. Citing financial stress as a primary driver of crime, financial literacy instructor Jack Dujanovic now teaches his courses online to formerly incarcerated individuals, their spouses and the spouses of residents. (Click here for more info.)
McGuire writes that Ted Oparnico, the education program director for the IDOC, would like to continue expanding the range of programs the agency offers. But with the current rate of inflation surpassing annual increases in available grant funding, the IDOC requires more legislative involvement to do so.
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
0.5 oz — Meatloaf
0.5 cup — Parsley Potatoes
0.75 cup — Vegetables
1 pc. — Cake
2 oz — Wholegrain Bread
10 gm — Margarine
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
————————————————
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
***
ABOUT THAT BIGASS BRAWL, THOUGH…
At what size does a prison brawl cross the threshold of significance?
I resided at IMSI from March 2019 to October 2023, and not once did a 31-person brawl extend from my unit onto the rec yard.
I drafted and presented the following proposal on behalf of IMSI residents in July. I share it again here because I believe it adds context to the challenges that IMSI staff and residents have been facing together for years. IMSI management had yet to respond to it by October 4th, the day I was transferred to a neighboring facility.
Date: 7.31.23 To: IMSI Leadership From: A-Block Representatives Re: Parole-Required Programming, Religious Services, Education and Incentives
WE, the residents of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI), propose a meeting between IMSI leadership and representatives selected from the general population, to discuss the ongoing absence of parole-required programming, religious services and behavioral incentives; and to mutually outline and commit to the steps that must be taken to see them return.
We understand that this facility struggled to maintain safe and orderly operations throughout the course of COVID-19, due in large to understaffing and a lack of available resources.
But we have also documented understaffing being used to excuse the absence of religious services, programming and ad-seg reform since before COVID-19 came into existence.
Having observed a surplus of new staff working our units, we have collectively concluded that understaffing is no longer the issue it was once presented to be.
We understand the part that violence has played in preventing us from receiving the same meaningful opportunities and programming options as those currently offered to residents of other facilities.
Because we also understand how meaningful opportunities and programming options are proven to improve our rate of success upon reentry, we have come to agree that all IMSI residents–including those who remain here despite being classified at lower security levels–deserve safe and equitable access to programming, spiritual services and visits with loved one
READ: Our resident population has taken the necessary steps to ensure a higher level of safety for all staff, residents, volunteers and visitors.
We, the residents of IMSI, diverse in our interests, ethnicities and religions, implore IMSI leadership to match our initiative by meeting with our representatives to explore in what ways we can commit to reaching solutions together.
***
ISCI CELEBRATES FESTIVUS WEEKEND WITH FEATS OF SKILL AND STRENGTH
ISCI residents faced off December 23 in the first series of double-elimination tournaments to be held since COVID-19.
The carnage began on the basketball court in the gym at 8:20 a.m., when the first two of seventeen six-person teams began firing rubber inflated munitions in a prison dodgeball purge.
Teams of doubles also competed in tournaments of handball and pool–but without the primitive survivalist fear and unfounded aggression that makes a true athlete.
First and second place teams were awarded grab bags of goodies, and the ISCI Audio-Visual Group was there to film the day’s events. “We’re just collecting samples of some of the cool things we got going on [at ISCI],” said one cameraman who requested to remain unidentified.
Select footage is expected to be televised at other facilities.
***
ICI-O’S DOG PROGRAM RECEIVES SENSATIONAL COVERAGE
Given up on, abandoned, neglected, mistreated–too often this is the story of the inmates who train dogs under the pressure of prison gangs in northern Idaho…
John Webb with KHQ.com last month described the program in such a way that you might believe its purpose is to solicit shock and empathy from the community.
Richard Alaniz is the executive director for Faithful Fields, a partner to the PAWS program. He says the goal of the program is to help anyone who might otherwise struggle to afford a service dog or an emotional support animal–the cost of which can range anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000.
To help support PAWS and similar programs, reach out to Faithful Fields or your local animal shelters.
KIDS IN BONNEVILLE COUNTY SHOP WITH COPS FOR CHRISTMAS
Last month the IDOC joined the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho Falls Police Department, the Idaho State Police and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to take 38 Bonneville County kids shopping for Christmas presents.
The annual Shop with a Cop event is now over 30 years strong. Nate Sunderland with East Idaho News reports that in its time it has served well over 1,200 children who, in addition to shopping, enjoy activities like riding in police cars and getting to meet with Santa.
Santa, too, enjoys the event. He arrived this year in a snowcat. In previous years he arrived by helicopter, tank, race cars, classic cars and even a hot air balloon.
With over six years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1FM, 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.
12.2.23. Darrell Taylor from Ten Mile Christian Church is a returning guest of the show. He has worked with people involved in Idaho’s correctional system for decades and helped to pioneer the holiday program Cookies for Corrections
12.9.23. Jesse Asoau is the cofounder of the Life by Death movement. Formerly incarcerated himself, he now finds creative ways to encourage others to test their limits. LifebyDeathMovement.com.
ICI-O — Ofc. Darrel Gray with a 20-year Certificate of Service.
EBCRC — Residents for raising $871 in donations for the Hays House, a safe shelter for youth who are runaways, homeless, or victims of abuse or neglect.
District 5 — P and P administrative assistant Gina Hart for five years of service.
Unfortunately, the NRCCFI lacks the funding to provide free copies by mail. Please ask your clinician, case manager, prison library or loved ones for assistance obtaining copies.
***
INMATE SERVICES AT WORK
[This message has been forwarded from a resident of the Idaho State Correctional Institution.]
12.27.23
Dear Ms. Yamaguchi,
My name is Patrick Irving. I am a contributor to Prison Journalism Project, a member of PEN America‘s forthcoming Incarcerated Writers Bureau and the author of First Amend This!, an Idaho Department of Correction newsletter. I am writing with great respect to the mental health advocacy work of your press client and Mariel Hemingway Foundation co-founder, Mariel Hemingway. It is my hope that you can find time to share with her two intriguing articles that focus on what may be both the highest-risk and most frequently overlooked population in Idaho:
I also wish to share with you that this year I aim to organize and operate a creative-problem solving, civic outreach service group from the Idaho State Correctional Institution. My goal with this group is to assist the missions of organizations and agencies like the National Alliance of Mental Illness, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the Idaho Department of Correction and even, if possible, the Mariel Hemingway Foundation.
You are welcome to keep us in mind as you go about your course of work.
Many thanks,
Patrick Irving 82431
ISCI Unit 14B-4B
Boise, ID 83707 bookofirving82431.com
Some of you may have noticed that not long ago I removed a significant amount of old content from this site. I did so feeling that much of my earlier work requires too much effort to read and prevents visitors from viewing more relevant posts.
But now that I am preparing a January 25th video presentation for an audience of forensic linguists, I find that referencing that older content will add supportive context to my thesis.
If you notice the reappearance of old threads containing rudimentary works, know that they’re being repurposed and will be removed again mid-February (but still available to anyone who reaches me with a request).
My thanks to Annie with Aston University in Birmingham, England, for inviting me to present and for contributing to this text:
ABSTRACT
“Exploring the Benefits of Progressively Integrating Language Structures Behind Bars”
In 2014, Patrick Irving committed acts of arson while in a drug-induced psychosis and sent to prison to serve two consecutive 20-year sentences. Four years into his prison term, an unlikely exchange with Karl J. Friston, a renowned neuroscientist from the Institute of Neurology at the University College London, inspired him to begin piecing together an exhibit of prison records, personal notes and ephemera, and release it as an improvisational experiment that he continues to run from incarceration.
In this talk, Irving will address the following questions: What happens when we fail to communicate and reinforce the beliefs behind the relabeling of carceral fixtures to the people who are incarcerated? And how do we go about better reinforcing and modeling the beliefs that drive these language shifts?
Irving will draw on his own experiences as complemented by his original writing and drawings, including the more refined works that followed, to reflect on his own journey of incarceration. He considers the role that language plays in the institutional setting: for example, how important is it for persons impacted by the correctional system to be able to articulate their experiences, as well as the significance of transparent communication between the prison and its inmates (or rather its “residents”.) Irving also traces his own behavioral changes and current trajectory through several pivotal exchanges that have rippled out from his work.
***
BIO
Patrick Irving from the Idaho Department of Correction’s Robert Janss School is currently serving a 15-to-40 years prison sentence for two counts of arson. He is a contributor to Prison Journalism Project, a member of PEN America’s forthcoming Incarcerated Writers Bureau, and the author of “‘First Amend This!’, an IDOC Newsletter”. He uses the blog bookofirving82431.com to share his efforts, progress and experiences while incarcerated. His writing has been published by the Idaho Law Review, SolitaryWatch.org, The Harbinger, Prison Journalism Project, JSTOR and The New York Times.
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.
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.
***
EDITOR’S NOTE
In this issue:
I can neither confirm nor deny the demand for trauma-informed care in corrections; Ada County fails to pass a jail bond and wants to raise the rate of rent the state pays for jail beds; Idaho splits the bill for an Arizona prison with Hawaii and Montana; Ameelio offers an alternative to charging prisoners and their loved ones exorbitant rates to communicate; and how one Idaho prison is enticing good behavior.
Let’s First Amend This!
***
NEEDING TO SHARE WHILE SHARING THE NEED (FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE IN PRISONS)
Carolyn Komatsoulis with Idaho Press reported last month on how earlier this year the IDOC launched a series of pilot programs to treat staff and residents for corrections fatigue, trauma and stress.
The programs were funded using a $500,000 allocation from Idaho’s 2022 Legislature. The funding was made available through June 2023.
“For staff,” writes Komatsoulis, “the Department of Correction provided programs including individual psychotherapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (an intervention for trauma), mindfulness and trauma-informed yoga. There was also a call-to-talk careline and burnout and stress coaching. About 170 staff accessed the services.”
Komatsoulis also reports that between April and June over 600 residents across 11 facilities participated in mindfulness training, yoga and other trauma-informed curriculums.
Having attempted to follow the rollout of these programs, and do so from the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where I lacked access to the programs and the people who participated, I have information that contrasts with Komatsoulis’s report.
I began submitting monthly public records requests to the IDOC last summer, after it announced that it was making grant funding available to qualified providers.
Throughout the fall the Department responded to my requests for grant applications and awards with “no records found.”
I waited through the winter and reached out in the spring to IDOC’s public information officer, Jeff Ray. Ray informed me through a JPay-email relay (facilitated by my father) that the IDOC awarded a total of 13 contracts to providers earlier in the year.
“Generally,” Ray wrote, “we are pleased to be able to offer mental health services that help staff and residents enhance their psychological wellbeing. Our only concern right now is that we’d love for more folks to avail themselves of [sic] the critical resources.”
I submitted another public records request after our exchange, and this time I received a total of 14 contracts–including two signed and dated August ’22–ranging from $2,476.28 to $83,826. Combined they were not to exceed $442,739.12 without written approval.
I started reaching out through letters and emails to the providers who were awarded contracts. I asked if they’d be willing to share from their experiences working with justice-impacted people, and also whether they’d recommend any wellness tips or reading materials to help promote wellness.
Dr. Ryan Hulbert sent me a copy of “Driver’s Ed for the Brain”–the book that he authored and used to guide his bibliotherapy sessions for residents. Another provider accepted a short list of questions, and then failed to respond with answers. A third provider responded by making a phone call that prompted prison staff to question me in my cell: Did I write so-and-so a letter and why? How did I obtain her address? Could my credentials be confirmed? Would I like to work as a GED tutor?
The confrontation was uncomfortable enough for me to divert my attention from the remaining providers to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).
According to the nonprofit organization’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, “NAMI provides advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.”
Despite identifying myself as a journalist who works from within the peak of high-risk populations, NAMI refused to respond to multiple letters and follow-up emails.
The organization has now refused my requests for information 20-plus times in the last five years.
I also reached out to IDOC’s research department. I asked for findings that illustrate the health effects associated with working in corrections. One of the department’s research analysts agreed in September to have materials delivered to my facility.
For reasons unknown they never arrived.
Komatsoulis writes in her article that, according to the IDOC, the programs produced data suggesting that those who participated benefited from doing so.
But when the IDOC filled my public records request for all End of Project Reports and final evaluations in October, I found that it was able to produce just two of the 14 requisite reports–not nearly enough to confirm how many people participated in the programs and to what benefit the funding was used.
After her story was published, I wrote Komatsoulis through a JPay-email relay. “I noticed in your article that you were able to verify the number of facilities and people that participated in these programs, and also that you were able to obtain participant feedback. Any chance you’d mind sharing how you were able to obtain this information?”
Komatsoulis didn’t respond to my request for information.
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessive brewing of alcohol.]
______________________________
1/2 cup — Scrambled Eggs
1 cup — Oatmeal
1 cup — Hash Browns
8 oz — Milk 1%
10 gm — Margarine
2 pkt — Sugar
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
————————————————
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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ADA COUNTY FAILS TO PASS JAIL BOND, ASKS STATE TO PAY MORE FOR TAKING UP JAIL BEDS
The Ada County Commission proposal fell less than one percent shy of the two-thirds majority vote required to approve a bond that would have allowed Sheriff Matt Clifford to expand the jail’s booking area, sally port, kitchen, warehouse and bed space.
Citing information from the Sheriff’s Office and Patrick Orr, the Sheriff’s spokesperson, Idaho Statesman reporters Ian Max Stevenson and Alex Brizee reported last month that the jail averages 1,008 people a day and is looking to add 294 more beds to its current total of 1,116.
According to Stevenson, Commissioner Rod Beck has suggested to lawmakers that the expansion wouldn’t be necessary were the jail not holding on average 140 state prisoners for the IDOC.
Beck is now asking the Legislature to increase the rate that the IDOC pays to house state prisoners in the county jail.
Clifford told the Statesman, “Programs that allow people in police custody to stay out of the jail through alternative sentencing are no longer able to keep the jail’s population below capacity.”
In fiscal year 2022, the IDOC paid Ada County $3.8 million for use of its jail beds.
Orr says that it costs an average of $117.34 a day to house a person at the jail. But the state only pays the jail $55 a day the first five days to house a state prisoner, and $75 daily after seven days.
In 2019, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office sued the IDOC for allowing its prisoners to remain in the jail for unreasonable periods of time following their sentencing hearings. When the jail’s population dramatically dropped during the initial response to COVID-19, then-Ada County Sheriff Stephen Bartlett withdrew the case.
“We understand the frustration our partners at Ada County are feeling because we’re facing the same challenges,” IDOC public information officer Jeff Ray told the Statesman. “However, adding beds is only part of the answer. In the long term, we need to reduce the demands by addressing the issues that fuel crime in our communities. Doing so will require innovation and investment on all levels of government.”
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 ea — Fresh Fruit/ Banana
1 1/2 oz — Peanut Butter
1/2 oz — Jelly
2 oz — Wholegrain Bread
1 pc — Weekend Oat Bar
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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IDAHO, HAWAII AND MONTANA SPLIT THE BILL FOR AN ARIZONA PRISON
The state of Montana has signed a $7.9 million deal to house 120 prisoners over the next two years at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona–where prisoners from Idaho, Hawaii and Montana are also being housed.
The deal comes as Montana is preparing to perform a $228 million dollar upgrade to increase the capacity of the Montana State Prison (MSP).
The official website for Montana reports that the state’s DOC director, Brian Gookin, negotiated with CoreCivic to make limited educational services and vocational training available to the men being transferred.
CoreCivic touts itself as one of America’s largest private vendors of incarceration, with roughly 80,000 beds and 67 facilities across the country, according to its most recent SEC 10-Q report.
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessive brewing of alcohol.]
______________________________
1.25 cup — Ham & Scalloped Potatoes
1 cup — Garden Salad #3
1 oz — French Dressing
1/2 cup — Fruit Crisp
2 oz — Wholegrain Bread
10 gm — Margarine
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
————————————————
Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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NON-PROFIT COMPANY OFFERS AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE TO ICSOLUTIONS AND TELMATE
The Connecticut-based nonprofit company Ameelio has developed technology that allows individuals who are incarcerated to communicate for free with their loved ones.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman are among Ameelio’s financial supporters, and prisons in Colorado, Maine, Illinois and Iowa have already begun integrating the company’s services.
What’s keeping Idaho from doing the same?
In an op-ed published last month by the Idaho Statesman, Scott McIntosh shares how Idaho is encouraging predatory service providers to pay for play in its carceral market: “Canyon County received about $130,000 last year from its contract with Telmate. Ada County received $540,000 last year from Telmate. The IDOC received $1.5 million from its provider, ICSolutions.”
By investing in services like Ameelio’s, he posits, and allowing people who are incarcerated to keep in better contact with their support networks, Idaho could reduce its rate of recidivism and save money in the long run.
The Commission of Pardons and Parole has scheduled Thomas Creech’s commutation hearing for January 19th, 2024.
Creech is represented by the Federal Defender Services of Idaho and is seeking to reduce his sentence from death to life in prison.
Creech requested the hearing after being served with a death warrant in October.
Now 73 years old, Creech has resided on death row since 1983, following his conviction for beating fellow prisoner David Dale Jensen to death with a sock full of batteries.
He was originally sentenced to death for killing two people in Valley County in 1974, but was allowed back into the prison’s general population after that sentence was reduced on appeal.
Boise’s KTVB news reports that Creech is also scheduled by the court for a review hearing in February.
The IDOC has announced that it has obtained the chemicals needed to perform a lethal injection.
A SYNOPSIS OF IDAHO’S EFFORTS TO SCORE DEADLY DRUGS
With a shield of secrecy protecting the measures taken by the IDOC to procure its lethal injection drugs, many are wondering how and from whom did the agency finally score.
Will the secrecy laws be enough to keep the nation’s most innovative reporters from cracking the case?
IDAHO SETS A NEW STANDARD WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR PROGRAM
Boise’s CBS2 News took time out of its November 7th broadcast to show residents* at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) being rewarded for good behavior with a trip outside to view the October 24th solar eclipse.
But what the news station failed to share was how behind this reward was the inference, “Behold! The gods are angry with the actions of the others who live among you!”
Nevertheless, says Lefty’s cousin Tucker who is friends with Tommy “Good Legs” Brinkerhoff, the ISCC resident population is looking forward to being let outside again come the next solar eclipse.
The Idaho Maximum Security Institution recently upgraded an old white-walled conference room to a fully functioning training and mat room for staff.
This process allowed us to showcase some of our residents’ talents in painting and furniture design.
Residents Jeremy Wilhelm and Zachary Johnson designed and built the shelf to celebrate staff achievements and awards.
They, along with residents Daniel Alldrin, Larry Halbert and John Vallenciano, Jr. helped paint the room and provided artwork for the P.U.R.P.O.S.E. mural.
The PURPOSE initiative is about getting clear on direction and expectations, aligning our individual and agency goals, and finding purpose in our work.
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CHRISTMAS DINNER
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessive brewing of alcohol.]
______________________________
2.5 oz –Turkey
2.5 oz — Ham
1/2 cup — Holiday Gravy
1/2 cup — Cornbread Casserole
1/2 cup — Mashed Potato
1 cup — Garden Salad
1oz — Homemade Ranch Dressing
1 pc — Pecan Pie
1 — Roll
1 — Margarine
1 — Fortical
————————————————
Source: IDOC JPay notification to residents.
***
A MESSAGE FROM THE IDOC: KNOW THE RISKS OF BREWING PRUNO
[The message was delivered to IDOC residents over JPay 11.17.23. It is presented here in accordance with the Idaho Public Records Act.]
Pruno: A Recipe for Botulism
You may have heard about a cheap, quick way to make a kind of homemade alcohol that goes by many different names, including pruno, hooch, brew, prison wine and buck. No matter what it’s called, it can give you more than a cheap buzz. It can give you botulism, a life-threatening illness.
What is botulism?
Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin (poison) that attacks the body’s nerves and can lead to paralysis and death. Because the disease can paralyze the muscles used in breathing, people can die soon after symptoms first appear. Even those who get medical treatment right away may be paralyzed and hooked up to a ventilator (breathing machine) for many weeks.
One way people get botulism is by eating or drinking something that has the toxin in it. Some prisoners in California, Arizona, Utah, and Mississippi have gotten botulism after making and drinking pruno. Almost all of them had to be hospitalized for treatment, and many were put on a ventilator for days or even weeks. All of the botulism outbreaks linked to pruno have occurred among prisoners. However, anyone who drinks this kind of alcohol is at risk.
How can pruno give me botulism?
When people make pruno, they usually ferment fruit, sugar, water and other common ingredients for several days in a sealed plastic bag. Making alcohol this way can cause botulism germs to make toxins. The toxin is what makes you sick.
How can I stay safe?
If you make pruno, you put yourself and anyone who drinks it in danger of getting botulism. The alcohol in your drink won’t render the toxin harmless.
We don’t know how to make this kind of alcohol safely. But we do know the batches of pruno that gave people botulism used at least one of these ingredients:
Potatoes
Honey
Food from bulging cans
How would I know if I have botulism?
If you drink pruno and have symptoms of botulism, get medical help immediately.
Symptoms include:
Blurred or double vision
Drooping eyelids
Slurred speech
Difficulty swallowing
A thick-feeling tongue
Dry mouth
Muscle weakness
Difficulty breathing
Paralysis
***
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, 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.
11.18.23 — Returning citizens and St. Vincent de Paul employees Sara Deaton and Geneen Gillogly discuss breaking free from negative lifestyles to reestablish one’s purpose and self.
11.25.23 Stephanie Wells is a returning citizen and the reentry coordinator for All American Publishing. Wells and her employer, who has long hired justice-involved individuals to sell advertising for school sports, are now working with the IDOC to open a call center at a women’s facility.
IMSI — Ofc. Ben Potter with the PA94 Tactical Edge Award; Sgt. Nathan Roe with Top Instructor Award.
SICI — Ofc. John Henrie with Top Student Award.
NICI — Sgt. Josh Marks for keeping a resident safe while he was at risk of committing suicide; CCM Nathan Collins for noticing a shift in a resident’s behavior and intervening before he engaged in further self-harm.
A tip from former resident auditor Clarence Sorensen on reducing the costs associated with submitting public records requests from prison to Idaho entities: “Ask that all responsive records be printed lengthwise on the front and the back of the page using size-appropriate font. This will increase the amount of content that you receive in the 100 pages that you are entitled to for free.”
Public records requests submitted by the Resident Auditing Committee in November:
The complete log of public records requests from October and November ’23.
The total number of grievances filed by IDOC residents over Centurion Health’s billing practices, including the number of grievances that were filed but denied their process for not being filed within 30 days of the date that the incident occurred.
All ongoing court cases that involve the IDOC, Centurion Health and/or its contractors.
***
RESOURCE FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
The PARC National Prisoner Resource Directory lists Just Detention International (JDI) as a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse and exploitation in all forms of detention. JDI publishes a resource guide for incarcerated survivors, as well as a Survivor Packet that includes contact information for local rape crisis centers and legal aid organizations; and a letter of hope from another prison rape survivor. The organization serves people nationally and prisoners may communicate confidentially with JDI using legal mail.
Just Detention International
Ms. Cynthia Totten, Esq., Bar #199266
3325 Wilshire Blvd, Ste. 340
Los Angeles, CA 90010
I’m looking to form a creative problem-solving, civic-outreach service group–a small group of IDOC residents who are motivated to support their communities and their communities’ efforts through creative and constructive methods that build transferable experience.
I am interested in materials that explore:
Creative problem-solving
Solutions-oriented journalism
Community-centered healing — approaches and philosophy
Leadership and networking
Civic organizing and restoration
Resource development
And anything else that you feel might supplement our mission.
Please send all materials to:
Patrick Irving 82431
ISCI Unit 14B-4B
PO Box 14
Boise, ID 83707
Many thanks.
***
SUGGESTION BOX
I suggest filming a series of conversations between people associated with Idaho corrections and the community at large, and then airing those conversations over institutional channels. This to better provide the spectrum of individuals who are currently in custody with more exposure to the mission, goals and beliefs that are driving Idaho corrections today.
Financial literacy instructor Jack Dujanovic has spent the better part of a decade educating people who are incarcerated on how to budget and invest responsibly, regardless of their level of income.
He is now offering free financial literacy courses to all returning citizens, their spouses, and the spouses of anyone who is currently in custody of the Idaho Department of Correction.
The next Zoom course is in January 2024. Those who meet the requirements are encouraged to sign up for it now.
View or download the course flyer below for enrollment info.
Mark Renick and his team are at it again, collecting store-bought cookies, donations and volunteers willing to help sort, bag and distribute roughly 6,000 bags of cookies destined to people in Idaho prisons.
Thanks to a collaboration made possible by the Idaho Department of Correction, the cookies will be distributed throughout the growing prison complex in the desert south of Boise during an annual event that continues to gain momentum.
Those looking to support this year’s Cookies for Corrections can contact Mr. Renick at 208-477-1006 for more information or drop off their store-bought donations by end-of-day December 8th at the following locations:
St. Vincent de Paul
Ada County Reentry Office
3217 W Overland | Boise, ID 83705
St. Vincent de Paul
Canyon County Reentry Office
3110 Cleveland Blvd.
Caldwell, ID 83605
(inside Idaho Dept. of Corrections)
St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Idaho
5256 W Fairview Ave.
Boise, ID 83706
KBXL
1440 S. Weideman Ave.
Boise, ID 83709
Financial contributions can be made online, dropped off or mailed to the Fairview Ave. office. Please make checks payable to “St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Idaho” and add “Cookies for Corrections” to the memo line.
Hear Renick and Darrel Taylor with Ten Mile Christian Church discuss Cookies for Corrections on Renick’s KBXL 94.1fm weekly radio show Victory Over Sin.
The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) today notified residents of the Idaho State Correctional Institution that a certified Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) compliance auditor will be visiting the facility from January 8 to January 11 to determine the agency’s compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice’s PREA Standards for Prisons and Jails.
According to notices posted throughout the facility, information relevant to the IDOC’s compliance with these standards should be submitted at least 10 working days prior to the audit.
Please send all written materials or comments to :
J.C. Bell
Certified PREA Auditor
P.O. Box 91
Roxboro, NC 27573
