The PA DOC Monitor

A prisoner at SCI-Frackville writes concerning withholding commissary as a form of punishment. Read here (PDF).

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Inmates at an overcrowded California prison tore doors from their hinges and broke off toilets and sinks in a four-hour riot Saturday that injured 175 people, and many fear the crowding that may have helped escalate the brawl will only get worse with $1.2 billion in budget cuts.

A national expert warned 20 months ago that the Chino prison, which held nearly twice as many men as it was designed for, was "a serious disturbance waiting to happen" because of crowding.

While we try to address reader mail, it's not quite so easy. While we realize it's impossible for inmates to use the Internet, we'd like to encourage many family members or other readers to submit their requests and information on-line. It is much easier for us to work electronically. You can send any info to editor@pa-doc-monitor.org.

By Jean L. Dell’ Aquila & Moniem A. El-Ganayni

If one ever has the misfortune of entering a correctional facility, he or she will soon learn that freedom of expression or right to protest is merely an illusion. Yes, one can pick up a pen and pad and write their grievances to the appropriate individuals; yes, one can open his or her mouth and voice their displeasure, but at what cost?

On July 13, 2007 Nancy Jean Calder was found dead in her cell at Muncy State Correctional Institution.   The PA DOC Monitor has received reports that Calder requested mental health treatment prior to her death, stating that she was hearing voices.   Despite her needs, and established history of mental illness, Calder was denied adequate treatment by prison staff.   Perhaps that as because, as one article states :

If one seriously examines both the American prison and military systems, he or she should immediately notice similarities, as well as some differences. The two systems share an operational strategy: hierarchical structure and security, both implemented through command and control, oftentimes in the form of discipline and force. Yet, while the American military has remained generally successful for years, American prisons fall into deeper turmoil each year, despite billions of dollars in funding and brand-new, state-of-the art correctional facilities.

Elsner, Alan. Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America's Prisons. Saddler River: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. In this new edition, updated after the Abu Ghraib scandal, Elsner uses a conversational tone in recounting the aspects of day-to-day life for American inmates: drug and alcohol abuse, rampant disease, rape, murder and racism.