Ms. Bell,
Everybody know that DCJ is the worst jail in NC and now they are going to cut out face to face visits.
I think they wanna control every aspect of each inmate’s life. I understand that this is jail but it is very cold in here even in the summer. I don’t know why they feel it has to be this way!
Hey,
It”s cold and there’s nothing to do in here…I don’t want the new visitation thing. My family comes from an hour and 30 minutes away. Crazy, rite?
You can put this poem in.
My friend, I stand in judgment now
And feel that you’re to blame somehow
On Earth I walked with you day to day
And never did you point the way Continue reading
What up,
How ya’ll doing? Shit still fucked up. Tell me this: why the fuck is the A/C on full blast during the winter? Plz answer that for me. It’s freezing in the cells. And when we tell the c.o.’s, they say ‘what can we do about it?’ It’s four days later and the A/C still blowing on full blast. Continue reading
Incarcerated penguins
12/2/2016
What’s good wit’cha out there? I pray that all’s well wit’ you and your fam, that goes fo’ your crew as well – happy late Thanksgivin’! As fo’ myself, it was just anotha’ day. I can’t see how people are all happy on a day that so many people were killed and raped, but hey, cheers to all that!!
I want to also say, thanks fo’ writin’ me here and I would’ve wrote sooner but I thought I would’ve been gone to the yard by now. They took me off my job and said that I was shippin’, but I’m still here and goin’ crazy wit’ the waitin’. Comin’ back to 5C from 4B is like a punishment to me. We come out twice a day – 9-12:45 and then from 4-6:15! We haven’t done anythin’ to be treated like this. Then it’s always cold!! (What the fuc’)
Anyway, the mail’s still fuc’ed up. I saw on the news the other day that its the postal service. The food now is hot and the same shit everyday, the same time day after day. Many other problems, so many but I’ll just go wit’ the two I just dropped on you. And I show people the Feedback. I love to show them my writin’ – my fam’ out there! My comment is that I’m wit’ him and anyone else that stands up fo’ what’s happenin’ to us. I never knew those words were in there and a lot of others didn’t also. When I get out I’m showin’ that on my page and I have some other things to share as well. On the election, I STILL DON’T BELIEVE IT, but here we go??
I am,
Gotti
[Jermaine Carson – formerly incarcerated at Durham jail, now at Piedmont C.I.]
I don’t know what it is about your mail, but the stamp went through Raleigh on June 2 and they say they did not receive here until June 8. That is a lot of days to come from Raleigh to Durham. Right! But it seems there is always something going on with the mail, not getting picked up or brought in on time. You complain and then you don’t get it at all, and how would you know if it came? Or, it’s like you said they say you can’t have it for some reason.
I am with you and others that snacks and hot trays are too high, but the people feeding us are making sure that we eating just so you have to buy the snacks to get by and the hot tray if you want a taste of home, well the outside anyway. The cost of the food they sell in the jail is way too high and needs to go down. Continue reading
How is it going, World, and my brothers and sisters here in D.C.J.? Me, I’m ok, taking it one day at a time. I’ve been here 10 months, praying when I go to court I’ll be going home. Nothing has changed in the women’s pod. There’s about 47 of us in here, maybe even more. Well, now we can’t watch BET, MTV, VH1, anything like that. They put a block on it. Me, myself I get along with all the c.o.’s that work in the women’s pod. I try to keep the peace in the pod. Already don’t want to be here and I sure don’t belong here. At least we get 3 hot meals now. They could let us have radios, something, anything better than nothing. Yes, it still is cold in here, sometimes it be freezing. One thing I can say is that me and my friends are here for one another. Shout out to Jessica W., Alezai C., Olga L., Ashley G. I mean that’s what we got to do is be here for one another and don’t bring each other down. I love you all. Keep your head up. This will be over soon. What don’t kill us only makes us stronger. –Melanie B.
3.16.16
First off I would like to thank you for writing me and for your concern in DCJ. I have been here for a while and being locked back 16 ½ hours a day can drive me crazy at times. On top of that they run the A/C all year round and only give us one blanket and yes, it’s freezing like hell. I’m not understanding—we already locked up, what more do they need? Continue reading
3-8-16
I welcome all letters, info and visitations at all times that are available (permanently–T.K.)
Hello,
I’m Tony King and let me first start off by saying my name may be used in any positive form of light that helps contribute to the awareness of what I.O.A. stands for within its public and private affairs. I must admit I am far from a perfect person; however, I am a good person, a person that believes that right is right, and wrong is wrong. With that being said, let me also say I’ve read several feedbacks and agree with all of the accusations that others have made in regards to the Durham County Jail. Now I myself would like to shed some light on some of what my observations have come to see. Continue reading
Hi G___!
My name is J___. It’s great to hear from you. I hope you made it past the snow and ice ok. First, I would like to tell you about the heating and cooling in here. These blankets that they give us are for controlled temperatures. I think this is where we are getting cheated. The heat is on in the day rooms. But in the cells where the doors are closed it is very cold. The whole winter I think they have cut the heat on 4 or 5 times at most, inside the cells that is. The officers wear snoogans and gloves and coats, but all we have is this thin blanket. The blanket is probably meant for 70° or 80° temperature. I know last night with the cold temps and sleet it was probably 50° in my cell. But when we come out for breakfast it is pretty warm in day room. And Greg I am not out to lie or mislead in any way! Why can’t someone come and catch this authority in the act of negligence. You can come about anytime during day, when it is cold outside.
OK I would like for us to get more day room time. This can’t help us to sleep better and be more tired to sleep better. We are confined already, why can’t we play cards or walk or something to help our time go by better! I will probably be in here another year, If you all could help with these things it would be great.
Now about Mr. McCain. I am stay in the room right above the room that he was in. I happened to be awake at 4:30 am the morning he died. I thought I heard him making some noise, but there were guards standing at their desk joking and carrying on. So I just thought that maybe I did not hear anything because they were so loud. The nurse helper comes in about 5:10 am in the morning to check blood sugar and give shots, or whatever she does. He is unresponsive to the call on intercom to get up and see the lady or nurse! The guard opens the door for her, I hear them call his name a few times. Then I see the nurse get her coat and leave the pod faster than I have ever seen her move. She was moving so fast I thought she was on roller skates.
Then Mr. Boria and the Sergeant of whom I don’t know the name, come in the room. They were knocking on desk loud and calling his name over and over. Then I hear them slapping him about five times. I think they know he was dead at this time. This was probably around 5:30 am or so. OK then the head nurse and helper come to the room this was around 5:40 or so. The head nurse tries whatever she can do. She has some kind of machine that keeps repeating something about administering CPR.
The machine keeps repeating something about CPR. At this time other guards and sergeants are in here. Some of them are on the phone, they all are kind of waiting around or something. I still don’t know if he is alive or what. Next I hear an Ambulance siren outside. I think this is about 6:30 am before the paramedics are called for. So when nurse helper left his room first time, around 5:25 am, it takes them over an hour I think in order to realize that he needs paramedics. They work on him for all in all I would say 30 to 40 mins. But this is the strangest thing the CPR machine that they were using started to make a noise like the sound of beeping. You know the sound as if he has a pulse. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
OK All the guards and everyone started acting happy. They were laughing and talking and all. So I am thinking at this time probably around 7 am that Mr. McCain is alive. The paramedics leave without him on the stretcher so I think he is going to be OK. So they pass our trays out without letting us out of our room. So I eat and lay down and go to sleep.
So when I get up they still have us on lock back. They call me down to get my medicine. I notice a sheet over his door. The sheet was his bed sheet. It appeared to have vomit spot on the sheet. I ask the guy beside of him what happened. He said that Mr. McCain had died. That was shocking to me. I was asleep when they removed him from the pod. This bed sheet stayed on the door for a week or so until someone came and cleaned the room out. For it to be a dirty sheet like that I felt that, that was disrespectful. So in a way I feel that they may have lied about the time of death.
I hear that he had told 2 or 3 people that he did not want to live. He would get angry when his lady friend would not answer phone, I saw him one time refuse to go see doctor downstairs, so the guard just left him. I don’t know if he maybe did not take some of his meds or not. It is possible that he acted like he was swallowing and he was maybe throwing it away. But he had had several seizures in here. They should have had him on suicide watch or somewhere where camera could see him at all times. It is possible that they let him commit suicide by not taking his meds.
Me personally, I am a white man 44 years old. I did attend church with Mr. McCain several times. I am so sorry for his family and kid. I am so sorry that he did not make it out of here. I know that he loved them and that they loved him. I pray that God Bless his family. I know they miss him. I think and hope that the jail gets found negligent on their part.
God Bless You All
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