Green Wall at California prison
The conditions in prison need to improve. This place, Pleasant Valley State Prison, has what is called the “Green Wall.” It is a type of gang, a “code of silence” within the ranks of the staff (officers). When an inmate does something wrong that warrants negative attention from staff, inmates such as myself are what they call “dealt with” privately. Inmate’s are at times taken out of the view of other inmates so they can receive private punishment, such as being beaten and deprived of their rights.
Inmates here are treated like dogs that wouldn’t obey their masters, when inmates don’t do exactly what the officers want, the alarms go off and that inmate is taken away to a private area for punishment - rules do not exist!
The “color of authority” and rules that staff were signed up to follow when they first got their job, does not exist most of the time, which makes this place very dangerous. Receiving medical attention sometimes can take weeks, such as seeing the dentist or optometrist. If you have bad vision, it is currently an 8 month waiting list for glasses, which is not good if you have bad vision. We are now charged $5 for all medical requests - however, we are not charged $5 for psych visits.
The waiting list to work is now taking up to two years, once you arrive at prison you are placed on a waiting list which consists of over 800 to 1000 others. Another thing is we in the “hole” (ad-seg) are suppose to get 10 hours of yard per week, we now only come outside once every two weeks for 2.5 hours. We are kept under lock and key almost the full duration of our stay. If you are in the hole for disciplinary reasons, you end up staying back here for one year to three years, depending on how serious the offense. Like myself, I’m currently waiting for transfer to a SHU. I was given an 18 month SHU term for “battery on staff”. If an inmate just touches (not hits) any staff member, you are given three times the punishment as if you really harm them. If we stabbed or beat up an inmate, we are given less time than just bumping into any staff - it’s totally outrageous.
The rehabilitation of this place has been void for over 20 years, since I came in 1988. I was arrested back in 1988 and have been to every hardcore level 4 that CDC has, and this place is the worst of all of them, because of the Green Wall they got here. We prisoners do not get fair treatment at all. This prison system doesn’t work - there is absolutely zero rehabilitation whatsoever. No one in here truly wants to help us understand why we did our crimes to begin with - it’s all about keeping us alive so CDC can collect money for each one of us - it’s a factor, period.
Just two months ago I was beaten so severely that two of my ribs were fractured. I was put in a cell without a mattress, blanket, toilet paper, etc, for three days, and was not permitted to see a nurse/doctor for 11 days. I just laid there having trouble breathing/sleeping, etc. Finally they took me to committee in front of the warden, where I mentioned what they did to me, and about my ribs. The next day I got taken to the ER for X-rays - they confirmed my #8/#9 ribs were fractured. I’m an indigent inmate (lifer) who wants to file a lawsuit, but I don’t have any money or a lawyer on my side to help me. So I just sit in this hole while they get away with breaking my ribs - it’s not right.
I will close with this bit of advice, CDCR is not at all what the public thinks it is, nor is it any form of rehabilitation for inmates - once you’re inside these walls you are their puppet, period. This is not any way to spend your life - it’s a world within a world - and CDCR always gets their way.
