Hello Citizens. You may be wondering what is happening in the prisons during the Covid-19 crisis. We are being punished with a lockdown, which means we are in our cells all the time; our meals are brought to us and we can no longer visit the commissary—we must put in an order and have it brought to us. And the amount of money that we can spend at the commissary has been restricted to fifty dollars per visit—that’s just one hundred dollars per month, whereas before our limit was one hundred fifty per shop or about three hundred per month.
Decline in Food Quality
This is quite a serious matter for us because the quality and amount of food we get on our trays has declined. Often the food is inedible so the men go hungry. Since we cannot get what we need at the commissary, it’s often a case of eating very bad food or starving.
This is taxpayer money at stake here, because the state brings in a lot of income from prisoner purchases at the commissary. The employees who work in the commissary are still here, the state is still paying them, but the income is not coming in.
Finally, in August, the State conceded the prisoner at the Illinois River Correctional Center had a right to walk to the commissary. It raised the illegally imposed commissary purchase limit restriction from fifty dollars in food to seventy-five dollars.
One must understand that the prisoner in A-Grade status can only be punished with commissary restriction by due process of the law. A ticket must be written and an Adjustment Committee hearing take place. Only when the prisoner is found guilty, of a rule violation at this hearing can his commissary rights be revoked. When the prisoner population creates a security issue where staff is assaulted, commissary may be restricted until the prison population is placed under control and the investigation of the incident is completed. Neither of these situations are at play here.
Medical Lockdown Day 156
At day 156 of this medical lockdown we now once again have dayroom, showers and laundry schedules. The prisoner is allowed to walk to commissary on A-Grade shop. But the staff is using this Covid-19 issue as a retaliatory tool to restrict the commissary illegally. Now the staff is taking one week to allow commissary visits to the 432 men housed in each house. So that makes them shop about eighty guys a day or only ten men per hour. Why? To restrict the prisoner to one shop once a month at a reduced rate of seventy-five dollars in food is illegal.
More Lawsuits At Taxpayers Expense
These actions open the door for more lawsuits on illegal punishment that the taxpayer will pay for. As the State workers get free representation from the Illinois Attorney General’s office they have no fear of lawsuits. They are indemnified from paying damages. This means that the taxpayer foots the bill. So one must ponder this question. Why is there a commissary limit being imposed in the first place? The prisoner population has done nothing wrong, yet they are being punished.
The prisoner in A-Grade status is a prisoner who has not received any disciplinary reports. He has not violated any rules. Therefore that prisoner is allowed to shop once a week with no limit on the amount of food he may purchase. What we have here is a 14th Amendment right to due process of the law violation. See the United States Supreme Court case of Wolff-vs-McDonnell, 94 S. Ct. 2963 (1974). Here the Supreme Court set up the protections for the prisoner, the right to due process of the law before the prisoner can be stripped of his rights. This is being violated here.
Why Am I Being Punished for COVID-19?
I have done nothing wrong. I am in A-Grade status. So why am I being punished for a medical virus I had no part in creating? The prison administration thinks you are not watching them, that they can treat us in a sadistic manner because no one will care. Then when a jailhouse lawyer like me goes to court, it is your tax dollars I get in compensation for the violation of my rights. I need that commissary right. For I developed a disease, a thyroid disorder, where I cannot eat the mystery meat made at the prison industries. I get sick from consuming soy, which they put in the meat. So you must ask why the prison administration is restricting my access to shop to once a month, versus once a week? Why is a limit on food and supplies like soap, shampoo and writing supplies, being imposed. I cannot think of a reason. So I ask you to come up with one. For it is your tax dollars I will seek in compensation for the violation of my rights. The United States Supreme Court ruled, ” a prisoner is sent to prison as punishment, not to be further punished at the hands of sadistic guards and staff.”
As this is day 156 of this medical lockdown the damages are accruing. The State is taking the position that the prisoner population will be on this lockdown through to at least March of next year. I see a nice paycheck coming. Are you really going to allow me, a convict, to get your tax dollar that easily?
