Hi,

Thanks for writing me, this is my first and only letter since Nov 31, and I’m in here for B & E larceny and probation violation. I didn’t do my charge, they just picked me up because I was at the wrong place the wrong time, plus I had old charges when I was 18 years old for B & E and they went off my prior record and thought I was back at it. But I was on probation and I had 2 jobs that I’d just started 3 days before I was locked up, so for that I couldn’t make bail because I had no money. But since I’ve been locked up the guards have been making the inmates feel like we are guilty of our charges. They treat us like animals caged in a zoo and feed us sandwiches for dinner. Some people in jail don’t have any support system outside these walls, so if you don’t have canteen you will starve at night. If you ask the officer for supplies, they will lie and tell you that they are out, just to try to make their job easy, or because they don’t want to. We come out at 6:30 am to beat BS breakfast, then lock back at 7 am; come back out at 9:00 am to 12:45 pm, then 4:00 pm to 6:45 pm, then 9:00 pm to 10:45 pm. Except the only time you come out at 9:00 pm to 10:45 pm is if you’re in drug treatment or work detail pod. They charge us 20 dollars just to go to medical now. It used to be $10. Canteen is HIGHER than outside prices.

We can’t watch what we wanna watch because they think it’s against the rules to watch music videos, but in prison you get to buy radios and watch videos all day. I just feel sometimes we are guilty until proven innocent and that’s not right. I’ve seen them protests outside and that makes us real happy to see that somebody cares and is trying to do something because these officers are taking our hopes away and treat us like we are nothing. I tried to call the officer a lot on the intercom in the cell, but they never pick up, what if I’m having a heart attack they will never know until 15 minutes when they do their walk–maybe. That’s probably how that guy died in here a couple of months back, c.o. probably didn’t answer his call when he was sick, so he died in the cell. SMH.

I’m only 25 years old. My birthday came on 2-14 this year, but I know when I leave I will spend the rest of my valentine’s days with family because they are all I got in the end.

I thank you again for writing me and hopefully when I get out I could join Inside-Outside.

Thank you for caring.

S. L.