Updates

A Public Service Announcement from the Idaho Department of Correction: Know This Before Attempting to Celebrate the Holidays by Drinking Homemade Prison Wine

The IDOC shared this message with its residents over JPay on 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

First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’23

Previous: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Oct. ’23 [Censored!!!]

Welcome to the November 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.

***

EDITOR’S NOTE

In this issue:

Centurion Health strikes again; someone scored lethal injection drugs but don’t ask who or how; the Department of Education is offering a fresh start to student loan borrowers; and the number of shootings this year involving Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies looks grim.

Let’s First Amend This!

***

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS WHEN IT COMES TO CENTURION HEALTH

With three years left on its $299.4 million five-year contract, Centurion Health is once again in the spotlight after woefully mismanaging the medical care of two residents.

Alex Brizee with the Idaho Statesman covered the story last month of how Bobby Templin waited half a year to receive the rush surgery required to repair his broken hand.

Templin documented multiple exchanges between himself and a Centurion worker who claimed that Templin was scheduled for surgery when he wasn’t.

A health service administrator for the company stated in response to a grievance filed by Templin that an extremely limited number of area specialists are willing to accept IDOC residents. (This as the former health care provider for Idaho prisons, Corizon Health, Inc. aka Tehum Care Services aka YesCare, Inc., is reported to have left tens of millions of dollars in local area hospital bills unpaid.)

Templin’s experience was not an isolated incident.

Brizee also reported last month on how Jacob Frey, a man represented by Boise attorney Craig Durham, has filed a lawsuit claiming that multiple Centurion and IDOC employees have mismanaged his diabetes for nearly three years.

According to Brizee, the lawsuit claims that at one point Frey was accused of refusing his insulin for an evening, and that an ISCC lieutenant then ordered other correctional officers not to call a medical emergency in response to Frey’s condition.

The following morning Frey’s blood glucose levels were reported to be nearly double the number at which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends calling 911.

The IDOC unambiguously states its mission on the cover of the resident handbook that it provides to all men as they are received into its facilities: “Protect the public, our staff and those within our custody and supervision through safety, accountability, partnerships and providing opportunities for resident change.”

At what point will medical practices such as those listed in this article be recognized as counterproductive to the Department’s purported mission?

Sources: Alex Brizee, “Idaho Man’s Hand Broke, Healed With Deformity In Prison. It Took Months to See a Surgeon,” Idaho Statesman. Alex Brizee, “Diabetic Incarcerated Man in Idaho Sues Medical Provider, Says Staff Withheld Insulin,” Idaho Statesman. Matte Clarke, “Corizon Executes ‘Texas Two-Step,’ Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners,” Prison Legal News, Aug. ’23.

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FIVE BREAKFAST (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 pc — Banana Bread
2 oz — Bran Flakes
2 oz — Breakfast Sausage
16 oz — Milk 1%
10 gm — Margarine
2 pkt — Sugar
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

LOCKED AND LOADED: LETHAL INJECTION IS LIVE ON THE TABLE

After Fourth Judicial District Judge Jason D. Scott last month issued a death warrant for Thomas Creech, a man convicted of three murders who has sat on death row since 1983, the Department promptly served it and scheduled the execution for November 8th.

Creech was then granted a temporary stay of execution after the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole agreed to hear his defense team make the case for commuting his sentence from death to life in prison.

According to an IDOC press release, Director Josh Tewalt filed an affidavit certifying that the agency possesses the chemicals required to perform a lethal injection.

Creech, now 73, was serving life in prison for two Valley County murders committed in 1973 when, eight years into his sentence, he used a sock full of batteries to beat fellow resident David Dale Jensen to death.

Creech was originally sentenced to death for the Valley County murders but had that sentence reduced to life in prison after winning an appeal.

Following Jensen’s murder he was again sentenced to death by Judge Robert Newhouse and has remained on death row since 1983.

Judge Newhouse is now saying, in Creech’s petition for a clemency hearing , that to execute him now–more than 40 years after the fact–would be an act of vengeance that serves no real purpose.

As of November 1st the clemency hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Once scheduled, Jensen’s family will be allowed to speak at the hearing to the commission’s seven-member board, who will also hear arguments from the defense and the state.

Should the Board vote in favor of granting Creech clemency, Idaho Gov. Brad Little reserves the right to overrule them (but only in cases of murder and treason).

Idaho law prevents correctional officials from being compelled to disclose any information related to the procurement, storage, testing and delivery of lethal injection drugs.

Clark Corbin reported on the Idaho Matters radio show that Director Tewalt sent a letter out to his staff stating that anyone who feels uncomfortable participating in the execution procedures may opt out without facing future repercussions.

Sources: “IDOC Serves Death Warrant to Thomas Creech”. Rebecca Boone, “Idaho’s Longest-Serving Death Row Resident Is Scheduled for November Execution by Lethal Injection,” apnews.com. Julie Luchetta, “Attorneys for longest serving death row inmate in Idaho ask for clemency”, Boise State Public Radio.

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FIVE LUNCH (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 ea — Fresh Fruit/Orange
2 oz — Peanut Butter
1 oz — Jelly
2 oz — Whole Grain Bread
3 oz — Fresh Vegetable
1 oz — Potato Chips
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

A FRESH START FOR STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS

The Department of Education (DOE) has launched a one-time temporary program that offers special benefits to all borrowers who have defaulted on their federal student loans.

The Fresh Start program can be accessed by incarcerated students who are seeking to restore their Pell Grant eligibility and remove student loan default from their credit reports.

Those who qualify must apply no later than August 31st, 2024. They will then be expected to make scheduled payments toward their loans to avoid going back into default.

By asking for an income-driven repayment plan, monthly payments for people applying from incarceration could be as low as zero dollars.

Those with a possible release date of more than 10 years away may be able to qualify for a write-off, which would prevent them from receiving future federal student aid loans or Pell Grants.

People who are incarcerated can access Fresh Start by writing “I would like to use Fresh Start to bring my loans back into good standing” to:

Default Resolution Group
P.O. Box 5609
Greenville, TX 75403

Incarcerated applicants should include their name, social security number, date of birth, mailing address and a note that they are currently incarcerated.

Fresh Start can also be applied for by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or by signing a Fresh Start acknowledgement with one’s school.

For more information about a student loan write-off, contact:

U.S. Department of Education
Attn: Ombudsman Office
830 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
ombudsman@ed.gov

Source: Charlotte West, “Student Loan Debt is a ‘Massive Reentry Issue’,” College Inside. Federal Student Aid Office of the Department of Education, “Getting Out of Student Loan Default with Fresh Start.”

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FIVE DINNER (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 cup — Chili
1 1/2 cup — All-Shapes Pasta
1 pc — Cornbread
.75 cup — Vegetable Blend
10 gram — Margarine
1/2 cup — Ice Cream
8 oz Vitamin Beverage
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

A LOOK AT THIS YEAR’S LAW ENFORCEMENT SHOOTINGS

As of early October, Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies have been involved in 10 separate shootings that have taken seven lives.

Here, Shaun Goodwin with the Idaho Statesman maps the location of each incident and provides a related story: “Boise Area Has Had 10 Police Shootings This Year. Here’s Where, What Happened.

***

THE IDAHO PRISON ARTS COLLECTIVE APPEARS IN THE BOISE WEEKLY

The Boise Weekly shared the story last month as to how beloved IDOC volunteer Michael Richardson came to form the Idaho Prison Arts Collective, a non-profit organization that works in collaboration with the IDOC to bring creative and educational programs to people who are incarcerated in Idaho prisons.

In addition to helping establish four currently running programs at three different institutions, Richardson has also worked with current and former residents to publish two different books.

The Collective states on its website that its mission is to “provide as many opportunities as possible for residents of the Idaho prison and re-entry communities to have transformative arts experiences–and to advocate for the humanity of those in and affected by the carceral system.”

Visit https://IdahoPrisonArts.org to learn more.

Source: Kate Jacobson, “Art=Justice: Local Nonprofit Brings Art Into Idaho’s Prison System,” Boise Weekly.

***

SIGN UP FOR THE ISCI “HOPE NEWSLETTER”

ISCI residents who are preparing for a successful release are encouraged to sign up for the new Hope Newsletter.

The Hope Newsletter is written by an ISCI resident who also works at the facility’s Center of Hope.

The Center of Hope provides those preparing for a successful reentry with assistance for enrolling in transitional housing, Day One services, prison apprenticeship programs and more.

Those who wish to receive the new Hope Newsletter can do so by requesting it through their case manager or by visiting the center’s location in the Robert Janss School.

***

ICI-O STAFF AND RESIDENTS CONTINUE PLACING SUPPORT BEHIND LEWIS CLARK ANIMAL SHELTER

Lewis Clark Animal Shelter representatives Ayanna Barrera and Abby Seward were greeted by a surprise last month when delivering a new canine cohort to ICI-O’s Paroling Animals with Skills program (PAWS).

When handed a container that had been collecting donations from the facility’s lobby, the two discovered inside it more than $400, including the total amount of the prize-money won by residents who participated in competitions at this year’s Clearwater County Fair.

To help further ICI-O’s support for the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter, please visit the PAWS Program or call (208) 746.1623.

***

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With 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.

10.7.23 — Prison reform advocate Dave Fisher found his experience with incarceration counterproductive to public safety. This inspired him to pull from his experience as an engineer and propose an ambitious overhaul to corrections. View Fisher’s proposal at Prisonreform.info.

10.21.23 — From an early age Terry Kilfian was exposed to an outcast lifestyle. A spiritual awakening three years ago led him to surrender his pride and start Breaking Addiction Ministries. Contact Terry through Facebook or at 775-508-6063.

10.27.23 — Keri Raby and Jessica Gomez have a new transitional housing option for women in Canyon County. With three houses and growing, they offer live-in house managers, resource assistance and weekly meetings. Call or text 208-900-8674 for more information.

Contact Mr. Renick at 208-477-1006 or https://www.svdpid.org. Visit https://www.svdpid.org for more information on reentry resources in Southern Idaho.

***

RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED

District 4 — Supervisor Seth Radimer with a service award for 14 years on the Correctional Emergency Response Team

District 5 — Section Supervisor Jayone Fitzhugh as employee of the quarter.

PWCC — CCM Preston, CO Deanna Blair and Nurse Holly Gault as employees of the quarter

Unclaimed — Sgt. Erein Saldaña for 10 years of service.

Source: Idaho Department of Correction on Facebook

***

RESIDENT AUDITING 101

IDOC Policy 503.02.01.001 states that residents are to provided with an Electronic Message Contraband and Denial Form for every incoming or outgoing correspondence that is censored over JPay.

The Resident Auditing Committee has confirmed that multiple IDOC facilities are not adhering to this policy.

Every time an Electronic Message Contraband and Denial Form is not completed and delivered according to policy, a resident is denied the information they need to challenge the reason for censorship–a due process right that is protected by 14th Amendment.

Residents who have not been provided the requisite form after receiving a JPay censorship notification may compel the form’s production by initiating the grievance process.

Non-residents with questions or concerns regarding IDOC policy may contact IDOC Policy Coordinator Jack Fraser at jfraser@idoc.idaho.gov or 208-672-3430.

***

A RECOMMENDED RESOURCE FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS

The Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC) is an all volunteer organization that is largely funded by small donations from individuals. The center’s 24-page National Prisoner Resource Directory is updated twice a year and is free upon request.

PARC does its best to respond to individual letters but cannot provide legal advice or referrals. Nor can it perform individual advocacy for prisoners experiencing rights violations.

The organization asks that those who find its directory helpful share it with as many people as possible.

Prison Activist Resource Center
PO Box 70447
Oakland, CA 94612

***

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

10.26.23

Hello Dr. Hulbert,

[R]egarding your offer to supply our residents with a few more copies of your book, I appreciate knowing that we are in your thoughts and I will be more than happy to help.

Because I’m now at ISCI, I’m unable to easily connect with IMSI staff and I’m restricted from communicating with the facility’s residents. What I would suggest, if you’re interested in exposing our more problematic residents to your teachings, is reaching out with my referral to IMSI correctional case managers (CCM) Scott Teats and Ms. Hottinger.

I don’t know for certain whether CCM Hottinger is still active but she did work in restricted housing during the time that I passed through.

CCM Teats may remember that he logged my participation in your course just before I transferred. He should also be able to connect you with any of the facility’s other case managers. I would recommend asking whether any residents in C-Unit, IMSI’s mental health unit, may be interested in working through your book.

Here at ISCI, Unit 16, another mental health unit, likely has the highest concentration of candidates for your materials. But you may have a better chance than I of floating the idea that unit staff could keep and refer copies of your book to select residents.

It’s my understanding that we are soon to start two mentor programs at this facility. Surely it would benefit participants of both programs to know your book as a resource and have a few copies on hand.

The same could be said for our mental health clinicians. Chief Psychologist Walter Campbell and ISCI GP Clinical Supervisor Matthew Roy would undoubtedly appreciate your interest.

As for individuals here who would absorb your materials, I’m still in the process of meeting people, but I do know one young man who would be thrilled to receive a copy. IDOC policy prevents me from sharing his information but I can direct him to request one through your center–with your permission of course.

Just some thoughts for now. Please let me know what you think.

With reverence,
Patrick Irving

***

SUGGESTION BOX

I suggest the IDOC encourage all case managers to log the efforts and accomplishments of the individuals who makeup their caseload, especially those who aren’t eligible for behavioral programming options.

***

Shout out to Paul Wright and the Human Rights Defense Center!

“The Fox (What Does the Fox Say)”
— Pickin’ On Series

Next: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Dec. ’23

Idaho State Correctional Institution Resident Handbook (Rev. 10/20/2021)

The Idaho State Correctional Institution Resident Handbook is one of the first items issued to male prisoners as they enter Idaho’s prison system. They receive it upon arriving to the facility’s Reception and Diagnostics Unit, where it can take anywhere from days to weeks to be processed.
The handbook serves as a guide through the questions most frequently asked by new arrivals and provides a brief tutorial on IDOC prison operations.

I have transcribed its introduction and contents below.

INTRODUCTION

This handbook is provided to help you smooth the period of adjustment into IDOC. You will find information on various topics. If you have any question that is not covered in this handbook, do not hesitate to contact a member of the unit or management team.

The Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI) consists of Housing Units 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Medical, Medical Annex, and a variety of support facilities.

You will be required to live within the rules as described in the Idaho Department of Correction Policies. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and institutional Field Memoranda. Many Policies, SOPs, and Field Memoranda may be viewed at appointed times in the Resource Center.

Any questions, concerns, or special needs when entering IDOC can be addressed to the case management team. For those of you in the Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU), unit team members will schedule you for the various assessments during the orientation process. Unit team members can also provide you with information and opportunities for education, jobs, treatment programs, and self-help groups that are available. If you have a concern regarding your safety, you should bring it to the attention of a staff member at first opportunity.

CONTENTS

Introduction from the Warden ………………….1
General Rules ……………………………………………. 3
Housing Unit rules……………………………………. 3
Cells…………………………………………………………… 3
Siren Warnings ………………………………………… 6
Specific Rules …………………………………………… 6
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)….. 6
Appearance and Hygiene ………………………. 6
Areas of Access………………………………………….7
Attorney Visits ………………………………………… 7
Barber Shop ……………………………………………. 8
Case Management Team……………………….. 8
Chapel/Religious Programming …………… 8
Classification………………………………………….. 9
Commissary …………………………………………… 9
Commission of Pardons and Parole …… 10
Concerns ……………………………………………….. 10
Disciplinary ………………………………………….. 12
Drug Testing ………………………………………… 13
Food Service ………………………………………… 13
Grievance Process ……………………………….. 14
Hobby Program …………………………………… 14
Identification Cards ……………………………. 15
Indigent Residents ……………………………… 15
Individual Case Plan …………………………… 16
Resident Central Files …………………………. 16
Resident Banking ………………………………… 16
Laundry …………………………………………………17
Library & Copies ………………………………… 18
Mail …………………………………………………….. 18
Master Schedules/Callout ………………… 19
Medical Care …………………………………….. 20
Medication ……………………………………….. 20
Medical Co-Pay ……………………………….. 21
Mental Health ………………………………….. 21
Policy and Procedure ………………………. 21
Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).. 22
Professional Boundaries …………………. 22
Property …………………………………………… 22
Recreation ………………………………………. 24
Resource Center ……………………………… 24
Searches …………………………………………. 26
Special Needs ………………………………… 26
Telephones ……………………………………. 26
Tours of ISCI …………………………………. 26
Visiting ………………………………………….. 27
Work/Training Opportunities …….. 27
Yard Movement …………………………… 28
RDU Rider/Timer/Parole Violator FAQs ……… 29
Final Note ……………………………………. 30

The department is currently housing residents in a total of 16 facilities. Just as each one differs, so do their resident handbooks. Requests for handbooks from other facilities can be made through the Information Center idoc.idaho.gov.

  • Idaho Falls, Kuna, Nampa and Twin Falls Community Reentry Centers (Male)
  • Boise Community Reentry Center (Female)
  • Correctional Alternative Placement Program (Kuna, Male)
  • Idaho Correctional Institution–Orofino (Orofino, Male)
  • Idaho Maximum Security Institution (Kuna, Male)
  • Idaho State Correctional Center (Kuna, Male)
  • Idaho State Correctional Institution (Kuna, Male)
  • North Idaho Correctional Institution (Cottonwood, Male)
  • Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center (Pocatello, Female)
  • South Boise Women’s Correctional Center (Kuna, Female)
  • South Idaho Correctional Institution (Kuna, Male and Female)
  • St. Anthony Work Camp (St. Anthony, Male)
  • Saguaro Correctional Center (Eloy, Arizona, Male)

The Fish Tacos Nearly Killed Me but the Pizza Brought Me Back to Life (w/Video)

As if prison life weren’t already a rollercoaster…

Five days after the fish tacos left me feeling like my captors were attempting to have me Harambe’d, I received the most magnificent slice of pizza a prison kitchen has ever served.

All things considered, it would be unfair of me not to follow up here with my compliments to the chef.

Idaho Prison Mainline Menu–Week Two, Day Two Dinner

Hands-down the best slice that’s ever slid through the window of an Idaho prison kitchen. Topped with pepperoni, onion, pineapple and cheese, here the ISCI kitchen fully redeems itself for my 10.25.23 experience with fish tacos.

Raisins sprinkled over spinach tossed with apples allow the side to be served with a sweet note.

Skip the cake, unless you’re desperate. And if you are desperate enough to eat it, try hitting it with the liquefied vitamin beverage to soften it up give it some flavor.

2 pc — Pizza
.5 cup Spinach Apple Salad
.5 cup Fruit
1 pc — Cake
8 oz. Vitamin Beverage

Most Disturbing Meal That I Have Ever Been Served In Prison (w/Video)

Idaho State Correctional Institution, 10.25.23.

“Week One, Day Four — Dinner” as described by the new Idaho Department of Correction Food Service Menu 7.1:

3 oz. Breaded Fish
2 Each Tortillas
.5 Cup Adobo Slaw
.5 Cup Fruit Salsa
.5 Cup Roasted Sweet Potatoes
8 oz Vitamin Beverage
.5 cup pudding

I have no idea of what happened to the fruit salsa and Tortilla #2. All I know is that this is the last thing I remember before developing an insatiable hunger for human intestines and brains.

Please… tell my mother… I love her… and… I’m sorry… those dankish, beef-witted canker-blossoms… kept raising… our… commissary prices.

[Publisher’s note: The Book of Irving has started a new YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@BookOfIrving82431. We intend to post JPay videos from Patrick that include a look at resident meals, and vignettes of prison life that can be fit into the restrictive JPay infrastructure. We will endeavor to guard the privacy of other residents who may be caught in the background. Let us know what you think.]

Patrick published in the Prison Journalism Project – Humor Section: Communicating With Tech Support From Prison

Patrick’s article is a non-fictionalized account of his recent experience with JPay tech support. Here it is!

[Publisher’s note: I have worked in both internal and customer-facing tech support teams at a couple of large companies you may have dealt with. I’ve also helped design and provide the comms infrastructure for many of the call centers  with whom you may be forced to engage.

Sorry about that.]

First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Oct. ’23 [Censored!!!]

Previous: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Sept. ’23

Welcome to the October 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.

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.

***
EDITOR’S NOTE

With the exception of a few light edits, this issue is presented as it was originally censored after being sent over JPay’s messaging system for publication on October 2nd. The reason for censorship, as alleged over JPay by an IDOC employee who continues to remain anonymous, was to prevent me from passing secret messages through its contents to my father, the publisher. A funny accusation or a conspiracy down in flames? Find what you will at your own risk and expose me through comments.

In this issue:

Wrongfully convicted Joseph LaCroix to be reimbursed for his time incarcerated; Money, Inc. reopens old wounds while wafting over facts; a prison nurse and a former prosecutor are brought up on criminal charges; the Idaho Prison Arts Collective is holding a benefit fundraiser; and why the hell won’t NAMI respond to requests from residents in our facilities?

Let’s First Amend This!

***

LACROIX TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION

Fourth District Judge Peter Barton has awarded Joseph LaCroix $319,297.74 for the five years and nine months he spent incarcerated after being wrongfully convicted by Bonneville County courts.

LaCroix was convicted in 2017 of failing to register as a sex offender for a criminal charge brought forth by Oregon and adjudicated without a conviction while he was a juvenile.

That charge, Seventh Judicial District Judge Michael Whyte wrote in an order to vacate on March 24, “never met the statutory requirements that require one to register on Idaho’s sex offender registry.”

LaCroix was granted an additional $3,298 in attorney fees and is the third known person to be awarded compensation under Idaho’s Wrongful Conviction Act–after Christopher Tapp and Charles Fain, who both spent decades in prison before being exonerated.

Idaho passed the Wrongful Conviction Act in 2021. The act applies only to individuals who served time after being convicted of a crime for which they were later exonerated. Those who qualify can receive $62,000 for each year they spent incarcerated, and $25,000 for each year on parole.

According to Ruth Brown with Idaho Reports, Legislative Services reported June 30 that the cash balance of Idaho’s Innocence Fund is $2,440,565.

Brown also reports that Judge Barton granted LaCroix his certificate of innocence on September 5, and that it was left to the IDOC to determine what, if any, reentry services it could provide LaCroix for up to 30 days past his release.

Source: Ruth Brown, “State of Idaho Ordered to Pay More than $319,000 to Wrongfully Incarcerated Man,” Idaho Reports (Courtesy of Big Country News).

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FOUR BREAKFAST (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
3 pc — French Toast
1 cup — Farina
2 oz — Ham
2 pkt — Sugar
10 gm — Margarine
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
8 oz — Milk 1%
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

MONEY, INC. RATES THE IDAHO STATE CORRECTIONAL CENTER THE NATION’S 8TH WORSE PRISON

Earlier this year Money, Inc. published an article in which the 2,128 bed facility now known as the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) was rated the eighth worst prison in the nation.

But that rating was based on how the prison was once operated by Corporate Corrections of America (CCA), and not how the facility has been operated under control of the IDOC.

CCA, the first corporation to create a profit model for modern-day imprisonment, was established in 1983. The company has since changed its name to CoreCivic.

Under CoreCivic’s care, ISCC, formerly the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC), gained national notoriety for fostering a level of violence that earned it the name “gladiator school.”

Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone once reported that there at one point was more violence at this facility than all other Idaho prisons combined.

Sometime after the state took control of the prison in 2014, the company finally acknowledged–from the shadow of prisoner lawsuits and an FBI investigation–that it had violated its state contract by short-staffing the facility.

Once in the state’s control, gratuitous violence was allowed to continue in the facility’s close custody units, as the facility’s administrators failed for some time to invest in the same inexpensive sliding latches used to secure cell doors at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

Before the steel sliders were installed at ISCC, prison staff frequently exposed residents with safety concerns to residents prone to violence by remotely unlocking their cells (whether in error or with intention).

Those familiar with the situation credit the threat of sporadic violence with discouraging some residents from leaving their cells for recreation and dayroom.

Despite the IDOC’s sordid history with CoreCivic, the Department currently maintains a contract with the company to house prisoner overflow at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona.

Sources: Dana Hanson, “The 20 Worst Prisons in America,” Money, Inc.. Michelle Heart, “Idaho Facility Makes List of Worst Prisons in America’,” KIDOtalkradio.com. Madelyn Beck, “Why Idaho Still Depends on Private Prisons Despite Fraught History,” Boise State Public Radio.

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FOUR LUNCH (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
1 ea — Fresh Fruit/ Banana
1/2 cup — Ham Salad
1 1/2 oz — Tortilla Chips
2 oz — Whole Grain Bread
1 ea — Cookie #5 (Oatmeal Raisin)
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

COMPARED TO ISCC…

The 428-bed North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI), located near Cottonwood, Idaho, provides education and treatment programs to men who have been sentenced under the terms of Idaho’s retained jurisdiction program. According the IDOC, because of NICI’s mission and its location, it feels more like a treatment center than a prison. https://youtu.be/NSd_bNi5mVo

Source: “Inside NICI,” Idaho Department of Correction News

***

FORMER PROSECUTOR INDICTED ON DRUG CHARGES

A man who served for 34 years as a Jefferson County prosecutor has been taken into federal custody after being indicted on multiple drug charges.

Kailtyn Hart with East Idaho news writes, “Robin Dwain Dunn, 68, was indicted on one federal count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwitt announced in a news release Friday.”

According to Hart, Dunn retired as a prosecutor in 2016 and worked as a Rigby city attorney for three decades before stepping down late last year. He was serving as a municipal attorney at the time of his arrest.

The number of people Dunn prosecuted for methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout his career remains unknown.

Source: Kaitlyn Hart, “Former Prosecutor Formally Indicted on Hard Drug Charges,” eastidahonews.com.

***

WEEK ONE, DAY FOUR DINNER (MAINLINE)

[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
______________________________
3 oz — Breaded Fish
2 ea — Flour Tortillas
1/2 cup — Adobo Slaw
1/2 cup — Mango Salsa
1/2 cup — Roasted Sweet Potatoes
1/2 cup — Pudding
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
————————————————

Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1

***

CENTURION WORKER CHARGED WITH SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Former Centurion Healthcare employee Lena Phelps, 27, was charged last month with having sexual contact with a resident of the Idaho State Correctional Institution.

According to Idaho law, prison contractors and employees who engage in sexual acts with residents can be charged with a felony that is punishable with up to life in prison.

Boise’s KTVB news reports that Centurion currently controls the healthcare options of 7,500 IDOC residents. The company replaced Corizon Health, Inc. as the healthcare provider for Idaho prisons in Oct. ’21 and is currently contracted for a minimum of five years.

KTVB contacted Centurion to follow-up on Phelps’s arrest but the company failed to respond by the time the story ran.

Source: Tracy Bringhurst, Morgan Romero, “Contracted Healthcare Worker at Idaho Department of Correction Arrested with Having Sexual Contact with Inmate,” KTVB.com.

***

SUICIDE AWARENESS DESERVES ANOTHER MONTH

The IDOC shared last month on its website the importance of reaching out to individuals experiencing crises and some of the many resources available to those in need.

Learn to recognize risk factors and learn more about the five step you can take to help: https://www.betheoneto.com/risk-factors

Information and resources specific to Idaho: https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov

Resources specific to veterans, youth, LGBTQI+ and others: https://988lifeline.org

[Shared here in addition:]

The Idaho Association of Free and Charitable Clinics provides a range of assistance to any and all uninsured Idahoans who walk through their doors. Locate their clinics and learn more @ https://www.idahoafcc.org.

To find resources made available through the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, please visit https://www.nafcc.org

***

IDAHO PRISON ARTS COLLECTIVE FUNDRAISING BENEFIT

The Idaho Prison Arts Collective, a non-profit organization that works closely with the Department, will be holding a benefit fundraising event on October 7 at the Boise Rock School. The funds raised will be used to cover the costs of the transformative art programs the collective offers IDOC residents.

Founder and executive director of the Collective, Michael Richardson, discussed the event September 30 on Victory Over Sin, a Christian radio show hosted by former IMSI resident Mark Renick on Boise’s KBXL 94.1fm .

Richardson, an avid community volunteer, says that he conceptualized the Collective after volunteering to teach a prison writing class. That class, he says, evolved into a collage class, and from there he was inspired to identify more ways to introduce creative opportunities to IDOC residents.

The Collective currently spreads music, mindfulness, painting, dance, writing and computer coding programs across several IDOC facilities.

The benefit fundraiser will include an auction and raffle with multiple prizes donated by community members and businesses, including gift baskets, a Boise “staycation,” a cabin stay in the Sawtooths, gift certificates and more.

People are welcome to pledge their support at the $1 and $5 level, and those who can’t make the event are welcome to contribute throughout the rest of the year.

View https://idahoprisonarts.org for more information.

***

RENICK ON THE RADIO

With 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 an 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.

9.23.23 Rene Book with Rising Sun (sober living) has personal experience with addiction and incarceration. She is now using that experience to partner Rising Sun with other services that can help to better meet their client needs.

9.30.23 — Founder and executive director of the Idaho Prison Arts Collective, Michael Richardson, discusses the transformative arts programs that his nonprofit organization provides in Idaho prisons. View http://idahoprisonarts.org for more information.

Contact Mr. Renick at 208-477-1006 or https://www.svdpid.org. Visit https://www.svdpid.org for more information on reentry resources in Southern Idaho.

***

RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED

Statewide — 32 graduates of Correction POST Academy Session 93A.

IMSI — Ofc. Bryce Martin with the POST Academy Tactical Edge Award, Sgt. Jonathon Riley with the POST Academy Top Instructor Award, Ofc. Riley Ashbaugh as Employee of the Month.

ISCI — Ofc. Christopher Spathelf with the POST Academy Top of Class Award.

ISCC – Ofc. Jose Martinez with five years of service.

Nampa CRC — Residents for donating $1,620.21 to the Valley Women & Children’s Shelter.

ICI-O — Special Projects Ofc. Adam Few and Sgt. Cody Burger, both for earning the status of Certified General Topics Instructor with POST High Liability Endorsement; Sgt. Scott Knuteson with 10 years of service.

Districts 1 and 2 — a P&P staff for completing Effective Practices In Community Supervision (EPICS) end-user training.

District 5 — P&P Ofc. Allan Raffs as Certified General Topics Instructor with Post High Liability Endorsement.

Sources: Idaho Department of Correction on Facebook

***

RESIDENT AUDITING 101

Our requests for the following public records have yet to be filled:

1) The log of public records requests for June, July and August ’23.

2) The complete list of deputy wardens and wardens by facility, the names of IDOC’s deputy chief of prisons, chief of prisons and deputy director.

3) The End of Pilot Reports for the trauma management, pilot programs that took place earlier this year.

***

RESOURCES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS

The Prison Journalism Project (PJP) is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan initiative that works to educate and empower incarcerated writers and train others impacted by incarceration in journalism. PJP counts among its membership an expansive vault of talent. In addition to sharing their stories through PJP publications, the initiative also publishes their work through collaborations with mainstream media.

Prison Journalism Project
2093 Philadelphia Pike #1054
Claymont, DE 19703
www.prisonjournalismproject.org

[Editor’s Note: Proud PJP contributor here.]

***

INMATE SERVICES AT WORK

[This message has been forwarded from a resident of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.]

To: National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI),
CC: NAMI-IDaho

9.14.23

Hello there,

I’m currently writing a story for [a national organization] and I’m having a difficult time reaching Idaho’s NAMI chapters. I’ve now sent a total of 21 letters to addresses listed online for NAMI-Idaho, requesting information that would be used to educate the public. Three to the same Boise address were delivered back to me marked “Return to Sender,” the rest received no response and I’m trying to understand why.

Below is a copy of the most recent letter that I sent to each chapter.

*8.10.23

Dear NAMI,

My name is Patrick Irving. I am a credentialed prison journalist who is currently exploring the need for trauma intervention services in Idaho.

I am writing to ask for information on the current public demand for behavioral health and mental health services, and what recommendations, literature or exercises you would offer to individuals without access to the Internet or professional, quality care.

I would appreciate being able to exchange with a spokesperson or representative. Please reach me through…*

Can you please help me to understand why all my communications thus far have been ignored?

Thank you,
Patrick Irving

***

SUGGESTION BOX

I suggest that all wardens and deputy wardens introduce themselves to the residents of their facility and stop by to visit each unit and its residents at least once a year.

***

Shout out to my dude Kai in Ashland!

“If I Can Dream (from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Elvis)”
— Maneskin

Next: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’23

Someone at the Idaho Department of Correction Is Attempting to Sink My Journalism

I’m writing this update from my new home at the Idaho State Correctional Institution, a medium security facility. Prior to my transfer earlier this month from the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, I wondered how staff at this facility would respond to my efforts as an outreach journalist.

It didn’t take long before I found out: By accusing me of coding secret messages to my father in First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Oct ’23.

The monthly prison newsy, as always, was sent to my father through the prison messaging service JPay to be given a light edit and published to my blog. This is how we’ve done it for going on four years–provided a public service to the IDOC community and beyond. (Copies of the newsletter can also be found through JSTOR, a free academic database made available to the world online.)

The allegation arrived with a censorship notification over JPay on October 12th, 10 days after my initial attempt to send out the October issue.

Here’s a look at the Editor’s Note, which highlights the month’s stories:

Wrongfully convicted Joseph LaCroix to be reimbursed for his time incarcerated; Money, Inc. reopens old wounds while wafting over facts; a prison nurse and a former prosecutor are brought up on criminal charges; the Idaho Prison Arts Collective is holding a benefit fundraiser; and why the hell won’t NAMI respond to requests for information from within our facilities?

The decision to censor the newsletter was the decision of one IDOC employee. By failing to identify themselves and provide me with an Electric Mail Contraband and Denial Form, that employee is in violation of IDOC policy 503.02.01.001 (Telephone and Electronic Communications — Resident).

Not only has the latest newsletter been censored but my latest assignment for the Prison Journalism Project Advanced Nonfiction Writing Workshop–into which I gained admission by virtue of my writing–is now experiencing a serious and mysterious delay in transit, all while feedback from my previous assignment has yet to be granted safe passage through JPay…

Because the threat carried by allegations of coding messages can range from returning me to max (and possibly ad-seg) to imposing long-term restrictions on my limited family contact, I now have much to deliberate.

I welcome any advice from my readers, fellow advocates and journalists.

— Patrick Irving 10.18.23

Published in Prison Journalism Project: “I Spoke to a Classroom in Germany From My Maximum Security Prison”

The Prison Journalism Project published an article that Patrick wrote as a follow-up to his Zoom discussion with instructor Henny Hearn and her class of criminal justice students at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. You can find it here.

Idaho Prison Arts Collective Benefit Event 10.7.23. Attendees to Help Support Transformative Art Programs in Idaho Prisons

The Idaho Prison Arts Collective, a non-profit organization that works closely with Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC), will be holding a benefit fundraising event on October 7 at the Boise Rock School. The funds raised will be used to cover the costs of the transformative art programs the collective offers IDOC residents.

Founder and executive director of the Collective, Michael Richardson, discussed the event Saturday on Victory Over Sin, a Christian radio show hosted on 94.1fm KBXL by Mark Renick.

Richardson, an avid community volunteer, says that he conceived the Collective after volunteering to teach a prison writing class. That class, he says, evolved into a collage class, and from there he was inspired to identify more ways to introduce creative opportunities to IDOC residents.

The Collective currently spreads music, mindfulness, painting, dance, writing and computer coding programs across several IDOC facilities.

The benefit fundraiser will include an auction and raffle with multiple prizes donated by community members and businesses, including gift baskets, a Boise staycation, a cabin stay in the Sawtooths, gift certificates and more.

People are welcome to pledge their support at the $1 and $5 level.

View idahoprisonarts.org for more information.

Saturday, October 7 from 6PM to 9PM

Boise Rock School
5022 Fairview Ave
Boise, Idaho

[Editor’s note: Everyone who donates $5 in my name earns a free online subscription to First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter. Subscription must be claimed at bookofirving82431.com.]