No Sense at All

By Jay Goodman

If I haven’t seen enough inside the Texas prison system. As it is now to shake my head at, something else happens to show me the complete disregard they have for anyone in here. Throughout my book, “The Puppetmasters”, I have always tried to show how dysfunctional life is in here for us. To this day it’s no wonder that maybe, 1 out of 10 get some type of rehabilitation. If you have read all of my book up until now? You are well aware that I not only talk about the prison system here in Texas, but I will get on the prisoners as well. In this story, I am going to show a little of both, but more importantly, I want to show how the prison system will take any situation and turn it into an opportunity to punish hundreds of prisoners, because of a few idiots. In every prison there are going to be handfuls of inmates who don’t care about nothing except themselves. They have no ambition whatsoever; they live only for the moment. All of these men truly cause trouble for everyone. They either cause trouble because someone gets tired of their shit, and ends up getting into a fight with one. Or they cause trouble to the point that hundreds of people end up suffering because of their stupidity.

On July 3rd, last week around five o’clock, in the cell block I live in, several prisoners were drinking homemade wine, which is called, “hooch”. Another prisoner comes over from a different cell block, to the one I live in, and ends up getting into a fight with some men from my dorm. How this man got from another cell block to the one I live in, I’m not sure? All the doors to our cells and the door to each cell block are controlled electronically by a guard who sits in a picket. Because of this lap in security, on the guards part, a fight broke out between this guy who is not even supposed to be in here, and another man from my cell block. Since there was a fight,1 extra security was called, and every extra guard, and ranking officer came. Once they arrived, several of the people fighting were handcuffed, and taken off to isolation. The Assistant Warden, Gonzales, showed up and he decided to lock our cell block down. There are two other drunk inmates arguing now. As they take one of them out, the other man refuses to go inside his cell. Then, when the guards and a ranking Lieutenant tried to handcuff him he refuses. They begin wrestling with him, and eventually they ended up gassing the inmate with a can of mace, and were able to take him off to lock-up.

I live in J-2. In this building there are three cell blocks D, E, and F. I live in E. Once they have everything under control the Major and Assistant Warden, Gonzales, decided to put the entire building on 24-hour lockdown. I’m well aware that when there are several men fighting, they will secure the cell block, putting everyone in their cells until they have everything under control. As I have said, the Texas prison system will take any advantage of every opportunity to lock up the entire place down, and punish a whole prison, because of a few idiots.

Let me go back and show everyone the insanity of this whole situation. When the guards in J-2 saw the fight, and everyone came running, there will always be one guard who will have a video camera to record what’s happening. When the guards and ranking officers show up, they see who’s fighting, they see this other inmate who refuses to be handcuffed, and removed him to isolation as well. Remember, that all of this is being recorded on camera, they visually see the problem. No one else is involved, or causing trouble. Another prisoner even tried to help the lieutenant get the last man into his cell. They went from cell to cell, and looked at all 84 prisoners for marks, black eyes, bleeding, or any sign of being drunk, or fighting, and it all looked good. No reason to punish anyone else. As I have already said, the administration locked us down for 24 hours, even though they saw the whole thing, and even had it on camera. They have created this 24-hour lockdown as a mass punishment tool, to try and force all of the prisoners to do the guards, and administrations job. Let me explain. If the guards do a search of the day room, or shower area, and find some hooch, or some type of other contraband. The administration will lock us down for 24 hours in our cells. During these 24 hour we will get a bologna sandwich and a peanut butter sandwich, and no showers. And pretty much be mistreated in every way possible. The administration created this mass punishment tool for one reason, and one reason only. To try and make all of the inmates to either, beat or kill, the inmates responsible for getting us locked down. Of course, the Texas prison officials will say, I’m crazy.

Allow me to show everyone reading this, what the Steven son Unit did to us when this happened on July 3rd. As I said earlier, they came in here, and ended up locking, I believe four prisoners up. Which I will say, they all had it coming. They then put all three cell blocks in J-2 on lockdown for 24 hours. So, there are two hundred fifty-two prisoners in this building, minus the four prisoners who went to isolation. Two hundred forty-eight people had to be put in their cells for 24 hours, and be fed bologna and peanut butter sandwiches. While the four people who caused all the trouble went to air-conditioned cells. On July 4th, The prison cooked hamburgers and sausage links, and cake. Hot boxes are taken to isolation feed the inmates locked up. The four Inmates who caused all the trouble, ate this holiday meal, while the other 248 prisoners ate bologna and peanut butter. To anyone reading this, how on earth could this make sense? How could you take four inmates that are fighting and drinking, to a nice single man cell that has A/C, and feed them hamburgers, sausage links, and cake? Then take 248 other prisoners, who never did anything wrong, and put them in a cell over one hundred degrees, and feed them bologna and peanut butter sandwiches.

The Puppetmasters, always love to use the word, security; For security reasons we did this. It’s just another way they’ve come up with to mistreat everyone. As I said, they’ve been forced by the Federal Court to do away with the Turn Keys, those were the inmates who acted as guards. But the Puppetmasters have come up with this 24-hour lockdown, hoping everyone will get fed up with being locked up and mistreated, and as I said, either beat or kill, the inmates who continue to do wrong. Now if that wasn’t enough to upset everyone. They wanted to add a little salt to our wounds. Besides starving us, while the four idiots ate like kings. The ranking officers put two guards on our cell block named, Bryant and Martinez. Two of the laziest officers they have on staff here. We are supposed to be able to go to respite anytime we request it, and have access to ice water, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Needless to say, we were not allowed to go to respite, and we only received ice water twice that whole day. While both of the guards either slept or sat in their air-conditioned picket their whole 12-hour shift. When the guards would come into the cell block, we requested respite, and they would not answer. We would ask to speak with a ranking officer, and again they would not answer.

There are memos in every cell block from the Director of the Texas Prisons, Lorie Davis, informing all the guards, ranking officers, wardens, and administration that all prisoners are allowed access to respite, at any time on request, and be allowed to stay for as long as they want. The direct or goes on to say, the importance of everyone being allowed to use respite during extreme temperatures, even if they’re not ill.

To add more salt to our wounds. B-wing, which is called, medium custody. Is a cell block for the prisoners who cannot function in population. Most of them are in this cellblock for drugs, hooch, fighting, and sexually assaulting the female staff. Even though they are supposed to be in their cells almost all day. They are allowed in their day room, plus, are allowed access to respite, 24 hours a day. Once again, I have to ask the people reading this, does this make sense? Here are the worst prisoners in the prison, being allowed to use respite, and the 248 prisoners who did nothing wrong, had to sit in cells that are over a hundred degrees, not able to even have ice water to drink. All because of what four idiots did.

I want to show something else. I know of at least ten to twenty people, who have filed a grievance over the issue that took place on the 3rd of July. Our grievance officer is of course supposed to investigate it, and our Assistant Warden, Gonzales, will answer it. Then, when the grievance comes back, it will say, our investigation has proven there is insufficient evidence to substantiate your claim, and that you can access respite anytime you need it on request. Which is a complete, LIE! Every single day we are denied respite even though our ceil block is over one hundred degrees. If someone does something wrong, the ranking officer or our wardens use that to shut respite down. These men and women are well aware of what the Director of TDCJ’s memo says. They are well aware of what the Federal Law says. But because of our dirty grievance officers, wardens, and administration, all the illegal activity by the staff are covered up. And the inmates are abused again and again.

Remember, this chapter is not just some man sitting in prison complaining. This respite program was put inside the Texas prison system to save people’s lives. I have mentioned this many times, because of the importance of it. 23 people have been cooked to death, in the Texas prison system. Ten prisoners died in a 26-day span, from July to August of 2011 alone. Believe me, if the true number of people who died from the heat, inside the Texas prison system. ever came to light, the whole world would be protesting, for the closing of this criminal organization. This is a criminal run empire, just like the Mob, in New York City, or the Cartel, in Mexico. Nothing is sacred, to these people except keeping this industry up and running, at any cost. Even if a few hundred men or women get cooked to death, no big deal, it’s just another day at the office.