Connecticut Prisons

In 2006 I stated that the state of Maryland was conceivably the most corrupt DOC in the nation. But the state of Connecticut now holds that distinction. With layer after lay of indecent filth and moral decay, wicked dishonesty and corruption. Prisoners are fair game to be brutalized and tortured, and to have our property stolen or destroyed with impunity. then they act shocked or surprised when one of their captives strikes back. And instead of learning, they intensify the torture, and the cycle starts over again. I am aware of the systematic efforts to stop and delay any mail that is critical of staff or policy. And none of the draconian policies or tactics being used are accidental, and in fact they are a part of larger illegal psychological experiment, disguised under the code name ‘behavior modification.’ Because there is no outcry by the sheeple as we are stripped of our human and civil rights it will only be a matter of time before the same tactics will be used to control those in the larger society. Prisoners are the most vulnerable in society and if our most basic rights are ignored and denied then none are safe. Prisons always mirror and reflect society.

Prisons across amerikkka are charging astronomical fees for phone calls, victimizing our wives and children so that the millionaires and billionaires can continue to reap untold profits, and a profit is all they care about. Confining you to only your immediate family who can come and visit. Leaving your girlfriends and other important interpersonal relationships out in the cold. They subject your family to all kinds of degrading mistreatment, as if to try to dissuade them from future visits. Once they cut you off from your phone calls and visits then they withhold your mail. Creating a state of total isolation from any community support you may have had. Furthering your dependency upon your captors, they deprive you of any meaningful reading material.

The program of isolation is being run by persons from the mental health field so I know they are aware of the damage and negative effects that are caused by this extreme isolation and sensory deprivation upon its victim’s psyche. They are very much aware that by reducing the sensory feedback, which is essential to a person’s well being, cracks can appear in their mental defense system. They take those of us who they consider troublesome, militant agitators, writ writers and even jailhouse lawyers, severing all your community ties, depriving you of all human contact, while making every effort to weaken your internal defenses and heighten your susceptibility to the influence and control of the prison authority. If you abandon your individuality and independence as a man, then and only then are you granted so called privileges, i.e. phone calls, commissary or the use of your radio. Personally I see this as the modern equivalent of the old slave breaking technique. If you do not conform your psychological torture continues indefinitely.

In 2009 I was attacked vigilante style by a hoard of guards in retaliation for an assault on a guard that they alleged I did. There were 13 to 17 on top of me, all of them out of control. Without any resistance from me, they sprayed a powerful mace substance point blank up my nostrils, shook the can and sprayed my entire face. This sadistic act was done only to inflict gratuitous pain and suffering. The chemical agent burns upon contact and takes your breath away at 10 feet, so you can imagine the effects of it being sprayed up my nose at point blank range. I believe the chemical burnt the membrane of my nasal passage. Because I was never properly decontaminated, the chemical remained on my skin and in my hair for days, continuously burning me. Contrary to the instruction, they forced my upper torso under hot water, knowing that such action would cause me excruciating pain because the hot water caused the pores to open up and allowed the chemical to go directly to my nerve endings. It felt like someone was striking a red hot poker to my face and skin. The powerful chemical totally took my breath away. While I was unable to breath, a full mask covering my entire head, like those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, effectively preventing me from breathing. My heart was under excessive strain and I had over 1200 pounds on top of me. One guard was punching me repeatedly in my jaw while another one was standing and dropping his knee with all of his weight onto my body. Someone else was trying to break my legs while someone else tried to break my fingers.

Finally they put leg irons and cuffs on me. The leg irons were so tight that I was unable to walk so they dragged me down this quarter mile long hallway. I was put in a dirty filthy cell, and in all my years of doing time I had never been in a more foul place. It smelled like the den of wild animal. There was dried blood, urine and spit on the floor and walls. The toilet had crud caked on it. They 4 pointed (chained feet and hands) to the bed. Three months later I still suffer pain from that night. I was four pointed over night, the longest night of my life. My clothes were ripped off me, leaving me totally naked and the cell was freezing cold.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This prisoner has faced brutal repression at the hands of the criminal injustice system, an unfortunately common story, which exposes the oppressive system. This testimony argues that the conditions in prison will eventually be applied to the rest of Amerikan society “it will only be a matter of time before the same tactics will be used to control those in the larger society”, but it would be both difficult and unlikely for the imperialists to turn on the oppressor nation in such a strong way. Prisons are a means of social control, used against those who pose a threat to the system. Since Amerikan citizens benefit greatly from imperialism, such measures will not be needed any time soon.

We also need to point out that prisons are not reaping profits, that is not their reason for existence and in fact they require significant subsidies from the government to exist. As we explained in ULK8, prisons are primarily for social control, not profit. They also provide some good labor aristocracy jobs for Amerikan citizens who earn high wages at the expense of the international proletariat. But that is not a profit, that is just imperialist superprofits being redistributed to the labor aristocracy via a job that furthers the imperialist government’s goal of social control.

Northern Correctional Institution in Connecticut is a control unit that houses security risk group safety threat members (SRGSTM), chronic discipline prisoners, administrative segregation (A/S), and death row prisoners. Both authors of this are labeled SRGSTM and because of a peaceful protest are now A/S prisoners. One author has been in this control unit for almost 4 years and the other for 1 year.

We are locked down 23 hours a day and 24 hours a day on the weekends. We are only allowed 3 showers a week with leg irons on our feet. Visits: behind a window, SRGSTM gets 1 hour visit, A/S and chronic discipline 30 mins, only immediate family members. There is no school, except for prisoners under 21 years of age with disabilities who qualify. No job training to anyone. No law library except to death row prisoners. No real medical assistance. Telephones: the state of CT has a control contract with a phone company that forces us prisoners to pay far more for our calls than people in the world. We are only allowed a list of ten phone numbers that has to be approved. SRGSTM are allowed three 15 minute calls a week and A/S and chronic discipline one 15 minute call a week and all telephone conversations are monitored and recorded. We are all also cuffed with leg irons and handcuffs while on the phone. We are cuffed this way for all out of cell movements.

Recreation yard is 1 hour on weekdays. SRGSTM are cuffed behind our backs while in the yard for our 1 hour of out of the cell rec. A/S are taken off of cuffs once we are placed in a rec yard cell about the same size as our cells. Sometimes they make prisoners pick between hot food or their rec. If you go to rec, your food will be given to you cold. You are not allowed real footwear in A/S or hats and gloves in the jail, same for SRGSTM, CD, and death row. Meaning no matter how cold it is outside we are never allowed inside dayroom rec. We are only giving things to clean our cells once a week.

A lot of the time they force prisoners to go in the cells with other prisoners who have life sentences and have already told the administration they do not want cell mates and they will kill the person they put in their cells. Most of the time these prisoners they put in the cells with these lifers are short timers and parole violators. Northern has already had 5 killings because of this about two this year. They will not give prisoners personal hygiene items, writing paper, envelopes, copies of legal work, or cloths if your account says you have had money in the last 90 days, meaning you have to not have money for 90 days in order to receive any of those things.

The grievance procedures are set up to prolong your rights to the courts. They only have 30 business days to answer your grievances. If that time is up they can file for an extension. The problem with that is there is no limit to how many extensions of time they can give for one grievance.

I know you are well informed about in-cell restraints and 4-point restraints (both authors have gone through this a number of times). In cell restraints are for 72 hours, you can’t use the bathroom and if you somehow find a way to, you can not clean yourself. Food comes in cups and no utensils are given to eat with forcing you to eat with your fingers at the same time you are not allowed soap or any kind of hygiene items (but if you were how would you use them on restraints?). The in-cells are never cleaned after another prisoner comes out and one goes in, you can’t flush your bathroom, nor are you allowed a role of bathroom paper. These are some of the things that take place in this control unit.

They also have dogs next to you every time you leave your cells. You are strip searched for all out of cell movement even when you have not come in contact with no one. You have officers who retaliate against prisoners who file grievances on them or their fellow officers. Prisoners are beat, maced in the mouth, face, eyes, even after the situation is under control.

We stand ready and willing to assist any way we can to abolish these control units.

It is said that you can measure how far a society has advanced by how well it treats its prisoners, so by Connecticut’s standards we have not come very far. We are fair game to be brutalized and tortured, have our property stolen at will or destroyed with impunity. Then they act shocked or surprised when one of their captives strikes back. And instead of learning they attempt to intensify the torture methods, and the cycle starts all over again. I continue to put my thoughts on paper even though I’m aware of the systematic effort to stop any mail that is critical of staff or other DOC policy.

None of the policies or tactics being used against us are accidental. In fact they are a part of a larger illegal psychological experiment. Under the code name ‘behavior modification,’ that will be used to control all of the sheeple in the larger society, once it is perfected, and there is no outcry by the sheeple. Prisoners are the most vulnerable in society, and if our basic rights are denied then no one will have rights. These experiments as they are being conducted should give raise to serious legal, cultural, political and ethical questions. Systematically prisons destroy your support system, charging astronomical surcharges for phone calls, victimizing our wives, children and family so that the billionaires and millionaires can reap more profit. And trust me, profits is all they care about.

We are limited to visits from immediate family only, which destroys most other relationships you may have. Again I contend it’s by design. When in fact other interpersonal relationships are just as important as those of your immediate family. They purposely subject your family members to all kinds of degrading mistreatment, as they try to dissuade them from further visits. One they cut off your phone calls and visits, then comes the ‘coup de grace’: they withhold your mail, creating a state of total isolation from any community support base. Furthering this isolation they deprive you of any meaningful reading material, i.e. only material they choose. While enacting and enforcing draconian, no passing rules, so you cannot share anything with your neighbor, keeping you totally isolated from each other.

This so-called program is being run by persons from the mental health field, so I know they are very much aware of the damage and negative effects that is caused by the extreme isolation and sensory deprivation upon its victim’s psyche. They are very much aware that by reducing the sensory feedback, which is essential to a person’s well-being, cracks can appear in their mental defense system, which I believe is their diabolical plot. They attack those of us who they consider to be troublesome, militant agitators or even writ-writers and jailhouse lawyers. Severing your family ties and putting you in isolation. Depriving you of human contact, mail, and all other sensory stimulation, while making every effort to weaken your internal defenses, and heighten your susceptibility to the influence and control of the prison authority. And if you respond by abandoning your attitude of individuality and independence as a man, then and only then are you granted so called privileges, i.e. phone calls, commissary or the use of your radio. I personally see this as the modern equivalence of the old slave breaking technique. If you do not conform, your psychological torture continues indefinitely. No matter what any staff uses as an excuse, like “oh I’m just doing my job,” “I’m just following orders” or “just making a living,” they are all part of this twisted Orwellian attitude, and Machiavellian experiment. With this call to assist, I am seeking to have an investigation into the continuous retaliation, discrimination, and harassment which boarders on a form of psychological torture.

This is being written as an ongoing report as I try to have the conditions I face and treatment I’m being subjected to disseminated as widely as I can. If you are reading this, please send it to people you know and ask them to do the same.

On December 22, 2009 a guard was assaulted. It was alleged that I assaulted him. In vigilante style retaliation, I was attacked by a hoard of guards. If you can imagine a group of wild beasts in a feeding frenzy, you would have the exact picture. I had 13 to 17 guards on top of me all out of control. Without any resistance from me, lieutenant Germond (who continues to threaten me) sprayed a powerful mace substance point blank up my nostrils. Then shook the can and sprayed my entire face. This act was sadistic at the least, done only to inflict gratuitous pain and suffering. This chemical agent burns your skin and will take your breath away at 10 feet, one can only imagine the effects of having the can against your nose and the chemical shooting up your nostrils. Three months later and I am still having to use a nasal flush solution because I’m unable to breath through my nasal passage. I believe that the chemical burnt the lining membranes of my nose. Because I was never properly decontaminated it continued to burn my skin for days. Even though the instructions for its removal warn against the use of hot water, that is exactly what they did, while handcuffed they forced my upper torso under hot water, face first, knowing that such actions would cause me excruciating pain because the hot water opens your pores and allows the chemical to go directly to your nerves. It felt like someone was sticking a red hot poker to my face and skin, again done only to appease their sadistic lust. The powerful chemical totally took my breath away, it’s constructed to actually consume the air molecules, in a chemical reaction.

While already unable to breath a full mask, like those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, was placed on my head, effectively preventing me from breathing, and my heart was under excessive strain. Combined with this I had over 1200 pounds on top of me, and I was unable to expand my diaphragm, and was slowing being asphyxiated. It was fortunate for me that I had my arms in front of me, as this allowed me to get enough leverage to turn in order to get some air. One of the guards whom I believe is named Sisk was punching me repeatedly in my jaw. While another one was standing up then dropping his knee only my body with all of his weight using as much force as he could. Someone else was trying to break my legs and yet another was trying to break my finders. All types of sadistic underhanded things were being done to inflict pain, and at all times during this assault on my person they were yelling like a bunch of banshees.

Finally they put leg irons and cuffs on me. The leg irons were so tight I was unable to walk. So I was dragged down this quarter mile long hallway. I was put in this dirty filthy cell, and in all my years of doing time I have never been in a more foul place. It smelled like you would expect the den of a wild animals to smell. Unfit for human occupation. There was dried blood, urine and spit on the walls and floor. The toilet had crud caked on it, outside and in, the crud on the inside of the toilet was more than an inch thick. I was 4 pointed (chained feet and hands) to the bed. As these two guards (Sisk/Thomas) were chaining me, they were putting their feet on the bed to get leverage in order to be able to pull the chains as tight as possible to assure maximum pain. So much pressure was applied that my right collar bone was hyperextended, leaving me in constant and continuous pain to date. I was four pointed over night. It was the longest night of my life, or so it seemed. I was in pain as the chemical burned my skin all night. I was denied water by lieutenant Germond. My cloths were cut and ripped off of leaving me totally naked, while the cell was freezing cold. They draped a summer blanket over me to cover my nakedness, but it was pourous and did nothing to keep me warm, purposely leaving my feet exposed to the cold that was radiating from the back wall. I was only inches away from this wall which was like a block of ice, it was so cold that you could see your breath when you exhaled. I had serious concerns that my feet would suffer frostbite.

The next day I was released from the four point restraints and for the next four days I was kept in a three point (leg irons, handcuffs, and a tether chain). I was chained in such a way (called, short chained) it prevented me from being able to stand erect, which is illegal and done to create pain in your lower back and that is exactly what the results were. The floor of the cell was concrete, cold and dirty, and I was not given any socks or shoes. I spent 9 days shivering from being cold, which defines torture. The toilet could only be flushed from the outside by the guard, and they only flushed it 3 or 4 times in 9 days, which in itself is inhuman and sadistic. I was not fed at all for the first few days, until I was seen by a captain from internal affairs. Once I started to get meals the guards started bringing in my food and drink. My food tray would sit with the guards in their guard station, sometimes for over an hour and a half, and they would do ungodly things to it before a supervisor would come to give me my food. While I was in what are called cell restraint I ate no solid food. I was able to consume only my juice and milk out of a carton.

Right after the incident, every Tom, Dick and Harry started writing me false disciplinary reports, with impunity. This one guard named Michael Jaison has been allowed to write false DRs continuously to retaliate against me. I am the only prisoner for whom they are enforcing the rule about no radio while on seg time, everyone else has their radio while I’ve been without mine for 5 months. The same goes for my photo album, what value is it to them, to deny me photos of my family and friends, while all others have theirs, except gratuitous punishment, acting like juveniles, because I wanted my photo album they want to deny it, in retaliation.

Everything they are doing to me is an attempt to attack me psychologically, in the hopes it will produce cracks in my mental defenses. This is the scheme behind putting me in a dog cage and leaving me chained, foot and hands, when the door to the cage was designed so the cuffs and leg irons could be removed. All other prisoners have their cuffs and leg irons removed once they are secured inside. All other prisoners are afforded the ability to interact and converse with others, I am the only one kept totally isolated, leaving all other dog cages empty. They gave strict orders that no other prisoner can pass me anything to write with, or to read while allowing all others to do so. Any privilege or amenity that is denied other prisoners on my tier, the guard will infer that it is due to the heat that my presence brings on the tier. The purpose is to attack my popularity and make me a scapegoat. They are trying to capitalize off of my mistreatment to convince others not to resist their authority, or we will isolate you and torture you. It is the weakness of principles in those around me that causes me to stand out. All I do is refuse to abandon my independence as a man, a principle that is ingrained in my heart and soul.

In their attempt to stop my ability to defend these attacks upon me, they discarded my legal papers and destroyed the files I do have, over 7 boxes of my legal papers are missing and what they gave to me, you cannot make heads or tales of them. When they removed me from the isolation cell, I was put in a Klu Klux Klan den, run by the Grand Dragon of the unit. As the head goes, so does the body. His Klan members were being allowed to spit and urinate in any food. To bring attention to this fact, I made some samples of what I believe to be urine in my coffee. The Grand Dragon retaliated against me and used his authority to have me chained foot and hands, and returned to those same filthy cells mentioned earlier, for another four days or so.

Since December 22, 2009 they have continued to subject me to all kinds of retaliation and psychological torture, and in their attempt to keep me from having a real investigation into these criminal matters they have cut off most of my envelopes and paper. I have filed numerous complaints concerning the harassment and mistreatment I am being subjected to. My complaints have either been ignored or allowed to be whitewashed with rote investigation, no matter what evidence or witnesses I have they say “based on the facts gathered the accusations are found to be uncorroborated.” No further investigatory action will be taken.

During subzero temperatures outside, I was under threat of force and denial of OCE (out of cell exercise), told I could not dress warm enough, only allowed to put on 1 pair of socks, 1 t-shirt, and I was not allowed to wear both my sweat pants and thermals, I was told either one or the other, I was not allowed to wear anything on my head or hands which I could not put in my pocket, because I was cuffed feet and hands. Once I was outside I was forced to stay out for the full hour and sometimes longer. All they gave me was a thin summer jumpsuit, and cloth top tennis shoes. The jacket was draped over my shoulders, again because of the handcuffs.

There are a group of lieutenants known to me as the gang of five (Shakpe, Germond, Pafumi, Revera and Correa) who are the main perpetrators of these diabolical schemes being used against me. While denying me clothing to wear they will leave the camera off, antagonizing and badgering me, then turn the camera on to try to capture me acting bad on camera. They came to toss my cell, before leaving they threw my toothbrush in the toilet. This retaliatory treatment continues on a daily basis with impunity. In closing, I’m telling all who read this, I am under threat of bodily harm from the gang of five.

MIM(Prisons) responds:
This is a good exposure of the brutal abuse that happens in prisons across the Amerikan criminal injustice system. There are a few points in this article where we disagree with the author. First s/he states that these tactics used in prisons “will be used to control all of the sheeple in the larger society, once it is perfected, and there is no outcry by the sheeple.” Prisons are a tool of social control, targeting oppressed nations within U.$. borders. However there is no need for expansion of this tool beyond the criminal injustice system because imperialism has created a bought-off middle class out of the citizens of imperialist countries. This population already has a material interest in imperialism and does not need further controlling, especially the white nation.

Our second point of disagreement is over the question of profits in prisons. The author states that the goal of prisons is profit: “victimizing our wives, children and family so that the billionaires and millionaires can reap more profit. And trust me, profits is all they care about.” As we explained in our article on the economics of prisons, prisons in Amerika are not profitable. They are a tool of social control propped up by the profits of imperialism. It certainly helps to reduce the cost of prisons to charge prisoners exorbitant prices for purchases, take 50% or more of money sent in to prisoners, and force some prisoners to engage in labor for little or no wages. But none of this is sufficient to cover the cost of running the Amerikan prison system.

On December 22, 2009 a guard was assaulted, and I am accused. I was attacked by a hoard of guards. If you have ever seen a bunch of wild animals during a feeding frenzy that is exactly how they acted. I was taken to the floor, there were 13 to 17 guards on top of me. This one supervisor named Germond sprayed me directly at point blank range with a long blast of chemical agent (pepper spray - mace) the powerful chemical effectively took all of my air and went up my nasal passage, of my frontal lobe, he then shook the can and saturated my face with another longer blast, all over my face. The chemical becomes very hot once it touched your skin, burning ever hotter, the more air it is exposed to.

A Guantanamo type mask was placed over my entire head, effectively cutting off my ability to breath even further, coupled with the fact that I had over 1200 pounds on top of me. I could not expand my diaphragm and I was on the verge of blacking out. Actually suffocation via asphyxiation. I was fortunate that I had my arms to the front, and with every ounce of my strength I was able to turn enough to get some air. This one guard was violently punching me in the jaw, another one was drop kneeing me (standing up and dropping down on me with his knee). There was someone trying to hurt, if not break my legs, while yet another one was trying to break my fingers, I had to make a fist to prevent this.

They finally put leg irons and handcuffs on me, the leg irons were so tight I was unable to walk. I was suppose to be put under cold water to decontaminate me. Instead they put me under hot water, which caused excruciating pain as the chemicals got into my pores. And this was done on purpose just to cause me pain. Due to the leg irons being so tight I was unable to walk, so they dragged me down this quarter mile long hallway. I was put in this dirty filthy cell, in all the years of doing time I have never been in a cell that was a foul as this one was, it smelled like the den of a wild beast, there was dried blood, urine and spit on the floor and walls. The toilet had crud on the outside, and about an inch on the inside. I was chained to a bed, 4 pointed. They have managed to transform the use of this therapeutic, mental health procedure, to a form of punishment and torture, and it was amplified in my case by chaining one of my arms up and down which is reported to cause pain, and did cause me pain. And such practice is in violation of the DOC’s own policy.

As they were putting the chains on me, these two sad excuses for human beings, named Sisk and Thomas were putting their feet on the edge of the bed to gain leverage, so they could pull the chains as tight as physically possible, to assure I would be in maximum pain. They applied so much pressure, they hyper-extended my collar bone, which remains painful and swollen. I was 4 pointed over night, and it was probably the longest night of my life. Every second in pain and being burned by the chemicals on your face. I was denied water by Lt. Germond, as though this was not enough, my cloths were ripped and cut off of me until I was totally naked, the cell was colder than a refrigerator. A useless cotton porous blanket was put over top of me, but my feet were only inches away from the back wall, which was like a block of ice, you could feel the cold radiating from the wall as much as a foot away. I was truly afraid that my feet would become frostbitten. I was unable to sleep the entire 12 hours I was chained.

Once they removed me from the stationary chaining, I was 3 pointed, placed in handcuffs, leg irons and a tether chain which connected the hands to the feet. And the tether chain was short chained, another illegal procedure applied to keep you bent over, unable to stand erect, and causes pain in your lower back. I was left like this for 4 days. The floor was dirty and made of concrete, and I had no socks or shoes. The toilet could only be flushed from the outside, and in 9 days it was only flushed 4 times. The first couple of days I was not fed at all, it was not until an internal affairs officer came did they start feeding me. (This guard named St. John led the charge not to feed me.) Soon after they started feeding me, the guards started urinating and spitting in my food, so I did not eat anything but drink the milk and juice for the next nine days.

Immediately after the incident every Tom, Dick and Harry was writing false disciplinary reports on me. The purpose was to keep me without my radio. That is how their sick twisted minds work as they try to break me. I am also without my property, and they are keeping me isolated. But you may rest assured, I actually see it as a badge of honor. I was moved after 9 days to what amounted to the Ku Klux Klan’s den, run by the Grand Dragon, Captain Chaill. As the head goes, so goes the body. They have been, and continue to subject me to all kinds of unsavory and discriminatory treatment, not giving me my out of cell exercise, forcing me to go out in inclement weather without being adequately dressed, coming up with all kinds of arbitrary and capricious rules that only apply to me. Once in that unit they started urinating in my coffee. I prepared some samples of the coffee and sent them to the state police, governor, commissioner, warden and the Grand Dragon, to be tested for DNA. The Grand Dragon came to my cell with a larger contingent of guards and put me back into the same filthy type cell in isolation. The charge was using the mail to send my sample. He lied and said that I purported it to be a sample of my urine sent in retaliation. These cells are supposed to be used to control someone being violent. He used it solely as punishment and retaliation. (I was kept in chains again for 3 days, the same filthy, dirty, cold cells. In order to sustain his lie, the Grand Dragon discarded my written description of what I was sending, he further ripped the top off the document in order to hide what had been written, and then as a final move threw away the actual evidence and took instead a very bad black and white photo. And even after i presented all of that to the D.R. board they still found me guilty, in triple fashion of a kangaroo court.)

They have destroyed all of my legal cases by mixing all of my documents together. It would take a team of forensic scientists or a team of archaeologists to get them back in order again, I’m not even going to try. I am just going to allow the cases to expire and file a lawsuit. In closing my motto is: that which does not kill me only tends to make me stronger.

Please write to:

Governor Jode Rell
State Capitol Building
Hartford, CT 06106

Commissioner of Corrections
24 Wolcott Hill Rd
Wethersfield, CT 06109

Prisoners make all the clothing and uniforms as well as envelopes and greeting cards here in MacDougall-Walker CI in Connecticut, and then they sell them back to us. They even sell jail pillows now. Not real pillows, jail pillows, the ones the prisoners used to make back in the day and they confiscated them (we use to make ’em out of old mattresses, the ones that were ripped up and no longer useful). Now the state confiscated all those pillows and are now manufacturing our idea in the prisoners workshop. Same kind of pillow we use to make with the old mattresses the state is making and selling back to us for $15. They stole our idea and sell it back to us.