What’s up,

Thanks for taking the time out to write me. First let me start by telling you a bit about me. My name is S. A., born on Black Thursday, the second stock market crash. I’m from NJ but I’ve lived in Durham since around Sept. 2000. I graduated around March 2008 from an academy. ..In April 2008 I enlisted in the US Army with a 20 thousand dollar bonus for 3 yrs 16 weeks as an infantry man. I was stationed in AK. I’ve been through one year of combat during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. I’m very much interested in learning and I love to read. I’m mostly a sci/fi/fantasy type. My whole purpose in joining the army was to earn money to go to college to be an automotive engineer.

I very much appreciate you writing even though you’re a stranger you seem more familiar, because when you’re in a place like this a lot of things are welcome. I can easily say this is the worst period in my life. I’m trapped in a system where the purpose is to destroy me. I could go on for days about living conditions, for example toilet paper. Cleaning materials. Food! I  sleep in one of the coldest cells in the pod—my bad, refrigerator! For people who are innocent until proven guilty how is it that conditions here are worse than some prisons? Why are there so many teenagers in this pod? Why are 98% of them Black? I’m pretty sure that I fractured my ankle or tore a ligament or tendon about 9 months ago. How is it that I never received an X-ray or MRI? And when I wrote medical to explain my problem the nurse was instantly cross. And eventually came back and apologized after she saw that she was wrong. So this is the question: After acknowledging that I never received proper medical attention and telling me that I would be seen, have I ever received the mandatory medical attention? I hate to say that the answer is no. Why is it that Durham has such a high conviction percentage? Why is it that jails that are populated with more whites staff and inmates tend to have better overall conditions? Why does the Durham County Jail not allow the inmates time to read and study NC State Law? Wouldn’t not allowing proper representation conflict with us citizens’ constitutional rights? Has torture ever been legal for Americans whether it be charged or found guilty? Torture is a bit of a harsh word, but I think it can be applied considering the circumstances. Well, I’m sorry to go on…

Thanks for writing. I hope this will be beneficial.

S.A.