Letter From A Prisoner at Souza-Baronoski Correctional Center

May 14, 2001

Dear Criminal Justice Policy Coalition:

I have received your letter of April 6th for which I thank you. I also apologize for taking so long to respond.

Regarding your request for more information about isolation units, I've given your letter to a friend who is much more qualified to help you. I have very little experience with segregation and isolation units. You should be hearing from him soon.

As you can see from my new return address I've been transferred to Souza-Baronowski Correctional Center in Shirley, the states newest maximum security facility, and a billion dollar fraud where everyone is locked in their cells 21 hours out of every day. There are very few menial jobs and even fewer educational and rehabilitative programs. It is senseless and meaningless, gratuitous punishment and a monument to human suffering.

The reason I refer to this facility as a billion dollar fraud is because it was originally billed as the states toughest prison, built to house the most violent and incorrigible prisoners. When it opened and some of the more aggressive men in the system were transferred here from Walpole there were numerous physical altercations between guards and inmates. It was quickly realized that the most combative prisoners, the one's this prison was supposedly built for, couldn't be handled. The were returned to Walpole and replaced with men who prison administrators knew would be a little easier to control.

So to justify unnecessarily spending a billion dollars on a level 6, maximum security prison that was never needed in the first place, it is now filled with non-violent medium security inmates, some of whom are mentally and physically handicapped. However, that is definitely not to say that this is not a hostile and potentially violent facility.

Not too long ago the Superintendent of this prison, Paul DiPaulo, was violently attacked and stabbed inside this facility because of dehumanizing and oppressive way in which this prison is run. In my seventeen year incarceration I do not ever remember anything like that happening.

The inmate who attacked the superintendent, Sonny Corrillo, who is serving a life sentence, is no longer here. He is now serving a ten year sentence in the D.D.U. in Walpole for that attack. Superintendent DiPaulo is also no longer here. He has since retired. But there are literally hundreds of men serving life sentences in this prison who feel the same frustration, hopelessness and rage as Mr. Corrillo. And the same senseless and degrading rules and regulations that led to the attack against Superintendent DiPaulo are still in place.

By it's design, politicians and prison administrators have created a very dangerous situation. Everyone, with the exception of a small population of men fortunate enough to have a job, is locked in their cells 21 hours a day. There are virtually no meaningful jobs or rehabilitative programs and we are only allowed outside in the prison yard approximately three hours a week. Besides the senseless and constant punishment the prisoners are subjected to inside, friends and family members have to endure random drug tests before they are allowed to visit. Collectively, I believe that these factors are contributing to an inevitable violent confrontation.

With respect to the random drug testing of visitors, friends and family members are required to wipe their hands, between their fingers, inside their pockets and the tops of their shoes and laces with a cloth that is tested for the presence of drugs. However, as we all know, trace amounts of cocaine, heroin and other illegal substances are always present on a very large percentage of the currency in circulation. So, if a visitor is in possession of a contaminated bill he or she will test positive for an amount so minute it is referred to as "molecular possession." Consequently, friends, siblings, parents and even grandparents are falsely accused and penalized. There is no defense or recourse.

The first positive reading results in a warning. On the second occasions visits are restricted to the non-contact visiting area. And for the third offense visiting privileges for that visitor are indefinitely suspended.

My brother, who has never been arrested and has no criminal record, owns his own home and successful business and does not use illicit drugs, according to their analysis, has tested positive for illegal substances twice. On the first occasion he was informed that cocaine was detected and given a warning. On Friday May 11th he was told that he tested positive for heroin and we were placed in the non-contact visiting area.

Obviously, the guards knew that my brother was neither in possession of cocaine or heroin, nor was he trying to smuggle illegal drugs into this institution. Otherwise I suspect they would have wanted to search him thoroughly and/or not allow him to visit, and possibly notify the police.

The fact of the matter is that my brother has a prescription for the pain relief drug, Percocet. He now has to get a note from his physician to show to these officials to verify his claim. I strongly suggest that this information is none of their business.

My reason for explaining all of this to you is that I fear this administration is so out of touch with the prisoner population and the level of anger and tension, they don't realize that by their senseless and strict policies, the lack of jobs and programs, the constant lock-up and seemingly endless punishment, they have created an atmosphere so volatile that the lives and safety of guards, civilians and inmates are at risk.

Prior to being sent here about a month ago for the possession of a plastic butter knife and an old razor in my sewing kit I was in Norfolk. For the last eight years I've held a job, completed the Correctional Recovery Academy, attended weekly substance abuse programs and religious services and was the Treasurer of the Lifer's Group. I raised money for charities, have been a donor to St. Jude Children's Hospital since 1994 and sponsor a fourteen year old boy in Nairobi Kenya. In short, my life prior to being transferred here had meaning, and everything I was involved in was positive. Here, I have nothing and my life has no purpose. The quality of life is reduced to nothing. This prison is death to the human spirit. It is my hope that you will share this information with as many people as possible. Notwithstanding the fact that inmates are being physically assaulted and abused by guards, they are locked in their cells without the benefit of a job or the opportunity to participate in a rehabilitative process. Consequently, they are being released from prison with no money, probably uneducated and definitely very angry. They are stripped of their dignity and their sense of self-worth is severely damaged, which translates to a decreased respect for the lives of others, and an increase in victims and recidivism rates.

Your Truly,

(Name Withheld)