COVID-19 A prison within a prison

Parallel War Zone

From Reality Check

 This is a personal letter from an inmate at the Florida State Department Of Correction(DOC). His name is changed to protected his safety. Please let’s remember our family, friends and love ones who are incarcerated in a prison within a prison. This is a three part series.

Part 1 of 3

      I really never even thought I would be writing you this letter. Up until an hour ago, it never entered my mind but the more I think about what’s going on in here, for some reason, your brother Levi keeps coming to my mind, and I keep thinking of how much more he probably would have said if he knew life would be so short.

No, I’m not in a panic, quite the opposite really, but some of the guys around me are in panic mode – most are mostly in fear.

The coronavirus is here and in full affect! One guy, sick, got my block of 56 men on lockdown. His test came back 10 days later positive. They tested everyone in my block a day later(last Friday). 9 PM last night they came and got eight guys including my cellmate. Didn’t tell them why they were moving. Took them to lock down in another building in the facility that we later heard has been cleared out for those who tested positive.

About 11:30 AM this morning, they came back and got 10 more guys as the test results are coming in incrementally. But they never told the second group if they were positive or where they were going. That’s the DOC way.

It got confrontational, with guys demanding to be told what was going on, were they positive corona? Officers were demanding that they “shut up and pack up to go.”

We’ve been locked down in our cells 24 hours a day for 15 days now. Guys are openly admitting they are scared. It’s a death trap inside, hell on steroids! I’ve been laying here since 11:30 AM trying to figure out why am so calm while everyone is panicking.

Am I ignorant to the dan-ger or just confident that I’m not positive test wise? (No. Because another round of results could come back in a few hours) so, I just can’t seem to panic.

I’m not sure it’s an issue of faith. Maybe have faith – there are so many times that if nothing else I know remaining calm is a key to beating death. Maybe my calm is a form of panic. I just thought that thought for the first time ever.

This all started around 22 days ago. This was one of the facilities in the state with no corona cases, then one night they brought 18 men here from other prisons. Moved 13 people out of my block and moved in 13 of those 18 in my block that night. Any prisoners come in from other institutions were quarantined for two weeks before releasing them to open population, but none of these 18 were quarantined.

Bumpy (not his real name) got moved out. When these guys walked in, most of us knew half of them were sick- you could just feel sickness in the building.

A week later my block is the first on the pound with a sick man. Two weeks later 18 positive and counting and four of those 18 we’re in the 13 men moved in here from other prisons.

So my roommate was positive but foreseeing this when they move those 13 in, I went and got two bottles of raw bleach and I stopped talking to him.

My roommate, when we’re locked down, we’re in a 6 x 6 cell, no social distancing possible. I bleach down everything he touched when he wasn’t looking.

But I don’t know what’s next man. They are testing the entire compound now. I don’t need you to do anything. I’m just keeping you informed. I’ve lost about 15 pounds. The way they’ve been feeding us is pathetic.

This event reminded me that I eventually need to write a letter that I would like to have delivered  to my dad if I ever died unexpectedly in prison and send it to you. You are the only person I trust who also won’t panic just by me bringing up the topic. I just keep thinking it’s what Levi would have done if he could do it all over again, and I know your dad would have cherished such a matter.

Corona or no corona, this prison life is just unpredictable man. I really want desperately to have an impact on this world before I die. I want to pour all this pain into a manifesto for the youth in our communities. They think they understand, but they have no idea of the consequences of getting tricked into these concentration camps.

Maybe I’m so calm because I know I’ve really changed my life and my salvation is authentic. I don’t know man – maybe I’m so filled with regrets that there’s no space for fear.

About Carma Henry 24473 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*