tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post2825632649948101341..comments2024-03-15T05:45:01.402-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: 5th Circuit: Inmates can sue TDCJ over excessive heatGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-61833586144133740552015-07-11T18:22:44.033-05:002015-07-11T18:22:44.033-05:00The Prison system gets free labor from the prisone...The Prison system gets free labor from the prisoners, to build picnic tables, boot, furniture, buildings, etc... The list is very long. You can find it on the TDCJ site. The prisoners do not get paid for any of the work they do!! The PRISONS profit from phone calls, commissary, pictures and vending machines at visitation, College tuition, and yes FREE LABOR where ever they need or want it. Some prisoners can't afford to buy the boots and other necessaries they make for free. The California prison system, when told to start releasing prisoners because of poor conditions, their response to the House of Representatives was, they would not be able to control the fires in the state without a strong prison population to help fight the fires! FOR FREE. There is so much more to the picture than the average JOE sitting back sipping Iced Tea will ever be will to see unless somehow it hits home to them!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526503640227936396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-84564615160857992022014-09-19T06:35:58.164-05:002014-09-19T06:35:58.164-05:00When being held prisoner in America by any local, ...When being held prisoner in America by any local, state especially federal facilities operating as a legitimate government entity should not go past the borderline of being cruel and unusual in the conditions on which prisoners are held there is certain rules and regulations in which they must abide because the prisoner is at there mercy in turn they have no right to violate your rights as a human being it's not their place to get cruel simply because you put yourself there quote on guoteAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463222582506362741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-57959008887720099952013-08-30T05:38:20.368-05:002013-08-30T05:38:20.368-05:00Thats tru I was there 4 years and im a girl I was ...Thats tru I was there 4 years and im a girl I was innocent 19 year oldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4366160942225353382013-08-27T18:29:58.192-05:002013-08-27T18:29:58.192-05:00Those that are talking shit are slightly retarded!...Those that are talking shit are slightly retarded! Yeah, they are where they are by their choice, but I can guarantee you that some of you talkin mess aren't real clean yourselves! Whether it be smokin your weed in secret, poppin your prescription pills behind closed doors, anything illegal you do, only difference between you and them is you haven't been caught yet!! Just cause they commit crimes doesn't mean they still aren't human (expect pediphils). There's a big difference between punishment and torture! I don't care what anyone does, it doesn't deserve to be slowly roasted from the inside out!! Well, there are some exceptions, even though it's not up to us to judge another!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19450151769004869112013-07-08T15:33:27.952-05:002013-07-08T15:33:27.952-05:00I FEEL BAD MY BOYFREIND ONLY HAS ONE LUNG I HAVENT...I FEEL BAD MY BOYFREIND ONLY HAS ONE LUNG I HAVENT HEARD FROM HIM IN A WEEK AND WEARS COLECTOMY BAG , HIS AT HOLIIDAY ,AND LAST LETTER TOLD ME IT WAS VERY HOT , THE JUDGE THAT SENTENCED HIM IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR TEXTING IN COURT ,AND I KNOW IT WAS PERONAL AGANIST HIM... IM HOPING THEY TRANSFER HIM SOON ,AS I AM SORRY FOR ALL PRISONERS BEING HOUSED THAT WAY..IT IS SAD AND DISTURBING TO KNOW THE US ,TRATS HUMANS WORSE THEN ANIMALS , HOW CAN I HELP !!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-46854607586619151532013-06-13T11:54:54.811-05:002013-06-13T11:54:54.811-05:00I believe you just summed it up in a honest nutshe...I believe you just summed it up in a honest nutshell.<br />I see ignorance and unprofessionalism almost daily as a CO that actual tries to bring some refirmation with such an uneducated and corupt agency for the most part.<br />THE STORIES I COULD TELL...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-39982368596805977922013-03-23T03:36:26.853-05:002013-03-23T03:36:26.853-05:00I am a correctional officer, a single-mother and h...I am a correctional officer, a single-mother and have a college education. Yes, there are correctional officers with degrees. I did NOT become a correctional officer to abuse inmates. I became a correctional officer because I needed a JOB to support my family. A college degree in no way guarantees employment in your desired field. I am tired of the horrific and demeaning comments against us. Do you not realize that correctional officers are watched more closely than the inmates? Many of us feel inmates have more rights than we do. It is sad, but I carry on, because I need the employment. With regards to the heat, it is extremely hot and humid in the summer. My unit has ventilation systems in most areas and cooling in certain offender areas and office spaces. Yes, it is hot. Most offenders have fans and if they are indigent, they are still able to have the use of a fan. I know this to be true because I WORK THERE. Correctional officers routinely suffer from heat exhaustion. We are constantly moving and working. We do not have the option to lounge around and cool off like the inmates can. I work the night shift and the temperature still hovers over a hundred. The humidity exacerbates the heat. Many of us go home soaking wet in sweat. Many of us have potassium deficiencies and suffer from muscle cramps constantly. Occasionally, we pass out. On top of everything else, we must keep everything under control at all times. Keeping the offenders fairly content makes a correctional officer's job much easier. So what would be the point in being cruel? We would endanger ourselves, and possible receive a disciplinary for failing to perform our duties. Our job is to keep the offenders inside and away from society...to protect ALL OF YOU! Now back to the A/C issue. There is heat in the winter. No one freezes. Please. But, a cooling system would most certainly protect the health of correctional officers and offenders as well. It is torturous hell to work as a correctional officer in the summer. I would hate to lose my job because I died from complications of heat stroke. We are human beings and we deserve better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73729645376004139382012-10-09T20:09:01.837-05:002012-10-09T20:09:01.837-05:00Even aside from the health concerns, it is well do...Even aside from the health concerns, it is well documented in psychological research that heat increases aggression, hostility and violent tendencies. In fact, many of the journals reporting the effects heat has on aggressive motives and behaviors specifically suggest implementing climate control in prisons in order to reduce aggression related problems. I understand the argument that these inmates committed a crime and must now suffer the consequences but it just doesn't make sense practically to deprive the inmates of air conditioning, especially in a place as hot as Texas. A change like this would increase the safety of the inmates and guards alike. Inmate fights and aggressive acts on the part of COs would become less frequent and the overall tension in the unity would decrease. A safer environment may require less security which would offset some of the cost. I wouldn't be surprised if the expense of paying for the air conditioning was be made up by the reduction in medical costs as well as the cost of housing inmates who may have made parole had a heat induced skirmish not broken out. (Of course many factors go into this decision, but with a significant reduction in violence I would argue that more inmates would be reasonable candidates for parole.) Of course these benefits may not be large enough to convince anyone that air conditioning is a good idea but I'm certain that they would add up over time. Plus, in a situation with so many problems to alleviate I think any little bit can help. I often wonder why TDCJ doesn't take current research into account (or ignores it) when it could ultimately benefit everyone involved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-68640079857203754392012-09-03T11:05:58.126-05:002012-09-03T11:05:58.126-05:00For unfortunate reasons, I frequently need to comm...For unfortunate reasons, I frequently need to communicate with people working for TDCJ. Once in a blue moon I come in contact with a person who cares, the next level is indifference. However, without question, most employees appear to thrive on the sadistic pleasure of causing as much misery as is possible to both inmates and their families. The system is sick, very sick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-74111264555959025602012-08-25T21:24:11.713-05:002012-08-25T21:24:11.713-05:00I have a husband currently incarcerated for a non ...I have a husband currently incarcerated for a non violent drug crime. TDC does NOT give you free healthcare. We had to pay $100 for him to go to a doctor. I could go on and on and on, but I won't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-87337695187279848622012-08-22T23:08:55.545-05:002012-08-22T23:08:55.545-05:00 you dont get it do you. dont do the crime if you ... you dont get it do you. dont do the crime if you cant do the time. and all that crap. how nice to sit in your frontroom and watch all the news about criminals and prison and not know a thing about what happens in prison. yes, the deserve prison. <br />yes, criminals deserved to be punished. ever seen a man get mauled to death in prison? a young guy get raped. taking a shower with a room full of guys and the back row is full of guys masturbating? you ever been forced to join a gang in prison and if not you are a dead man?<br /> i didnt think so. you have no idea what prison is really like. the guy that was raped was in for selling a pound of marijuana to an undercover cop. the man in the shower got drunk and drove for the 3rd time. not hardened criminals forced in with vioelnt gangs and murderous other felons. <br />lets ratchet it up and put them in cells that hit 130 degrees for 51 days. imagine the thoughts they are thinking. ticking time bombs after years of that. <br /> and now they are getting out on parole or discharging their sentences. they are now your next door neighbors, work mates or worse yet. predators in your big house neighborhoods. your daughters are not safe. your wives are not safe. these are not normal men and now they have been subjected to texas heat and face all the above i just mentioned. <br /> they feel they were abused. and you did it to them. <br /> they deserve punishment when they commit crimes. but that is not the way to treat human beings at any time. punish em but dont discourage the dog poop out of em. they will get back folks. give em the a/c.<br />bubbaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-90639869317202854392012-08-14T16:50:01.547-05:002012-08-14T16:50:01.547-05:00People work so hard to get to prison then they bit...People work so hard to get to prison then they bitch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-61206102011344960332012-08-12T20:05:16.652-05:002012-08-12T20:05:16.652-05:00Anonymous said: "No one in their right mind w...Anonymous said: "No one in their right mind would go out with any of the TDCJ emloyees, I have seen."<br />U r right. They marry their cousins and each other, thus perpetuating a class of its own in rural txAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-53432762568939988662012-08-11T22:40:11.577-05:002012-08-11T22:40:11.577-05:00" free citizens die of heat and there familie..." free citizens die of heat and there families dnt sue the county!"<br />Did you just come out of a rock to show how deplorably ignorant and irrational you are? Thank-you. I do not need to comment.... your total ignorance of the law, of civility, of intelligent discourse is self-evident. That's the caliber of some morons we see in tdcj - not all, may I add.<br />Again thanks for validating our suspicions with a factual demonstration of exquisite ignorance. <br />Why don't you sue the school you attended and ask for your money back? You deserve it as you have no critical thinking skills at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-42229952502329868632012-08-11T15:51:56.839-05:002012-08-11T15:51:56.839-05:00Lol....... u must have close family in prison....w...Lol....... u must have close family in prison....well unless u wrk there why dnt u get out of ur fantasy land....its a prison not a day care facility..... they all placed them selves there......now I'm not saying let inmates die but at the same time stop catering to them ... free citizens die of heat and there families dnt sue the county!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66702531001949211072012-08-10T14:39:23.380-05:002012-08-10T14:39:23.380-05:00Lee said...
Free healthcare, Free food, free bed,...Lee said... <br />Free healthcare, Free food, free bed, free electricity, free AC....almost tempting to go and commit a crime myself.<br /><br />Leach a free ride off the rest of society while they slave in the trenches and bullpins (those that can find jobs anyway)...what a life<br /> <br />7/30/2012 08:47:00 PM<br />Go for it, get you some of what they enjoyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-82938029406081794892012-08-10T09:37:06.152-05:002012-08-10T09:37:06.152-05:00Anon 8/09/2012 02:20:00 AM
You have never worked...Anon 8/09/2012 02:20:00 AM <br />You have never worked at the Crain Unit. There is no cold drinking water in one dorm, broken water fountain. I have seen guards personally haze inmates at visitation in front of visitors. Drinking barrel of water is warm when it gets there with no ice. Guards are in inappropiate relationships inmates. I could go on and on. Those dorms are living hell and any time an inmate is subdued, they are eventually taken to a emergency room, after a long and painful wait. They bring in warm water twice a day instead of every couple of hours. One day hopefully the FEDS will take over TDCJ again. The lowest life forms on this planet run these Texas prisons, no matter what you say. Face it, TDCJ is employment of last resort. You are not protecting the public. You are protecting your criminal activities. The only difference between you and the inmates is. You all employed at TDCJ have not been caught yet. Some people have family members down there being hazed and abused. I do not know about pen pals, but maybe you need one. No one in their right mind would go out with any of the TDCJ emloyees, I have seen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-23633486257874945942012-08-09T23:28:32.776-05:002012-08-09T23:28:32.776-05:00To the last two lifers who posted:
Your lack of un...To the last two lifers who posted:<br />Your lack of understanding and empathy is appalling. The tap water that comes out of the sinks is warm enough to make tea. People HAVE DIED from heat exhaustion there. 2 suicides a year out of 4,000 people is an extremely HIGH suicide rate. Statistics for the general population is 1 out of 200,000 and can be less in certain areas. Administration segregation is often filthy.<br />You just don't get it!<br />Harassment DOES happen and it has been well documented. Cameras happen to "break" at convenient times. <br />Guards do play mind games with inmates.<br />I appreciate the fact that you need to make a living; I do not appreciate that you are soldiers in a Nazi-like organization.<br />If what you state were correct, the Feds would NOT have supervised TDCJ for years AND the 5th Circuit Court of appeals would NOT have decreed that lawsuits can be brought forth.<br />By the way has anyone visited the Ferguson Unit? Isn't it a lovely place?<br />If you look at ALL the posts somebody posted a link to pictures of a prison in Texas: you can see how clean it's over there.<br />As to the food: the guards can eat before they get to work and after they leave. The inmates cannot and manage by purchasing junk food at the commissary just not to starve.<br />Somebody asked before:<br />"When was the last time an inmate had a fresh apple? A strawberry? Food made from scratch and not institutionalized canned junk?"<br />Don't try to defend the indefensible.<br />Texas prisons are NOT defensible. Too many incarcerated for too long in hellholes that lack humane treatment, chance at rehabilitation, and any hope to get out in decent shape.<br />The ONLY reason some things work out (and some things are better than they were 20 years ago) IS BECAUSE THE FEDS GOT INVOLVED.<br />You are so desensitized and brainwashed that your sense of civility has gone down the drain - if it was ever present.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73267959261386016682012-08-09T02:40:42.432-05:002012-08-09T02:40:42.432-05:00Another one with a penpal future prince charming ...Another one with a penpal future prince charming husband.Coffieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10005472605330285466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-20044118917972006962012-08-09T02:20:57.200-05:002012-08-09T02:20:57.200-05:00Apparently you have NEVER worked for TDCJ or know ...Apparently you have NEVER worked for TDCJ or know sh_ _ about it.<br />I HAVE been there.<br />#1- The harrasment issue is B.S. Would you harrass someone who has 83 of his homeboys standing right next to him?<br />#2- The filth issue is B.S.<br />Convicts are required to keep their cells clean as well as their pride compelling them to do so.<br />#3- Filthy Water? Lack of clean drinking water?<br />Where did that come from?<br />Convicts have sinks in their cells from which to get clean drinking water anytime they choose.<br />The barrel they receive koolaid, tea, etc. from during meals is cleaned before each use AND if someone accidentally puts any thing other than the dipper in it the entire barrel is scrapped.<br />Poor nutrition?-<br />The convicts eat THE SAME FOOD AS THE GUARDS AND WARDEN!<br />Overwhelmed Sensory Perceptions?-<br />Yes Maam, The convicts are all stuck in a hole in the ground that is Soooo<br />deep that we have to pump sunlight to them. Get Real!<br />Suicide?-<br />My prison - Coffield- population 4,100<br />convicts, sees an average of 2 suicides per year. I doubt the freeworld has that good of a track record per capita.<br />I could ramble on, just as you did, rebutting each fallacy that you allege, but then again I don't have a boyfriend in prison who I met through a lonely hearts club and who is going to marry me as soon as he gets out and we'll live in a fairy tale kingdom by the sea.<br /> Coffield AND Proud of it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77054621025869447622012-08-06T18:29:40.246-05:002012-08-06T18:29:40.246-05:00Gatesville, I was there in the 70’s before TDC too...Gatesville, I was there in the 70’s before TDC took it over. There was no AC. The facility is in a valley that gets great breezes. The buildings are all built and situated to take advantage of the breezes and in the hotter months fans were set up. There were drinking fountains that produced chilled water on every dorm. I’ve mopped the floors of almost every dorm out there, in the summer, and it wasn’t that hot.<br />However since TDC took over the place has fell into extreme disrepair. The lawn is pathetic and the construction that was done to facilitate the female TDC offenders appears as though cruelty in design was the one and only business rule. All that was done to architect the buildings to prevent suffocation has been destroyed by the local indigenous now backed by TDC.<br />Gatesville’s history is impregnated with battles to maintain a culture of cruelty to the state inmates who have occupied that valley. Where so many have failed to stop the Gatesville humanoids from child abuse the Feds thought they finely shut down that place in 1971. Out of fear that even more atrocities would be unearthed the state let the humanoids of Gatesville continue their behavior with the ladies of TDC. What else could generational practitioners of cruel and unusual punishment do? <br />The reason Hitler chose Poland to commit the murders of 10 million+ people is because the Polish citizens would be more acceptable to go along with it. Christianity is a religion where one of its core principals is to demonize others who don’t follow the same cult practices. It should be a no brainer to the person of average intelligence why little shit bergs like Gatesville whose reformatory opened in 1889 and Huntsville home of our states massive prison industry have mastered the art of schadenfreude. The good Christians are OK with it. <br />They say, their just criminals or Gypsys or Jews or whatever label their good Christian brain can justify so as projecting their soulless hatred against another human who is created in the image of Gd. The professed god of their particular brand of religiosity lets them dump responsibility for their cruelty on it absolving themselves of the atrocities they commit against the image of Gd. As the Saturday Night Live Kerch lady would say, how convenient. <br />When bitch slapped by a federal judge for their inhuman treatment they retaliate against the taxpaying citizens of this state. To work for the state is to truly be possessed by an enhanced sprit of entitlement. <br />To a spiritually aware person a drive through Gatesville will bring about an experience of heaviness and is said to be a spiritual darkness so thick you can cut it with a knife. Talk to the indigenous humanoids who occupy this town, they sound a lot like the Poles. Hitler and his Nazis thumped the bible just like some in Texas leadership and bureaucratic roles. Its powerful, it controls the foolish, brain washes the ignorant and most important, in Texas garnish’s the vote. <br />The construction that was done to facilitate the female TDC offenders appears as though cruelty by design was the one and only business rule. This is a place where the people have lived off the misery of others and have protected that livelihood at a cost most decent God fearing people couldn’t imagine. Gatesville is Schadenfreude at its finest and is an example of how this social disease can progress unchecked.Sheldon tyc#47333https://www.blogger.com/profile/17236854879241753231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-60582259539155298642012-08-05T22:19:52.717-05:002012-08-05T22:19:52.717-05:00Grandmom said...
hey, no need to go to TBCJ meetin...Grandmom said...<br />hey, no need to go to TBCJ meetings.<br />Do you know who are avid readers of Grits for Breakfast?<br />TDCJ employees, politicians, the feds and other "law enforcement" "officers".<br />They ALL know what the issues are...<br />their own Sunset Commission told them.<br />So, let's go and talk so that we can all make believe that they are listening.<br />Now I am truly impressed with grand-mom's passive-aggressive writings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-73524761982773507242012-08-05T21:10:12.572-05:002012-08-05T21:10:12.572-05:00Granmom.... aka papa?
When was the last time TIFA ...Granmom.... aka papa?<br />When was the last time TIFA filed a law suit on behalf of ANY prisoner?><br />Thehe TBCJ identifies "troublemakers" families, then prepares for revenge.<br />You are freaking afraid that these remarks will "inflame".... are you kidding?<br />These remarks CONFIRM what TDCJ, TIFA, and others pay lip service to or downright deny.<br />Sure, let's go and comment to the prison board. It's just like going to speak to the fox that guards the chicken coup and politely ask it that it does not kill any more of your chickens.<br />You are right: "don't mourn, organize!" ... my question: organize and do what? Shit only changes when the Feds get involved in Texas DOC.<br />The associations you mention pay only lip service... they are "very careful" not to rock the boat and remain politely compliant.<br />Grandmom..... go and take care of your grandkids! and, PLEEEASE, stop your sarcasm. I really do not appreciate your starting your post with:<br />"I am so impressed with all your thoughtful, compassionate statements...."<br />Who in the .... are you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-13082808225067921452012-08-05T13:24:50.741-05:002012-08-05T13:24:50.741-05:00I am so impressed with all your thoughtful, compas...I am so impressed with all your thoughtful, compassionate statements. They are all here, on paper where they can further inflame those of us who know the injustice and inhumanity of the "justice system". I urge you to make your comments where they may actually cause some changes - to the bi-annual meeting of the TBCJ - the prison board - Thurs. Aug 23 at the Sheraton Hotel 701 E 11th St in Austin. Sign up to speak before 8:45am and you will be called at the end of the meeting for public input. You each should put down a different topic on the sheet as the sec. will combine topics and cull the speakers down to a fraction of those speaking. I say numbers may make a difference. So, come one, come all. Also, those of you in Austin, attend the TIFA Texas Inmate Family/friends meeting tomorrow, Mon. Aug. 6 at Sunrise Community Church 4430 Manchaca Rd. just S. of Ben White at 6:30. Don't mourn - organize!Grandmomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-8007048251613385582012-08-04T01:03:28.752-05:002012-08-04T01:03:28.752-05:00You do not have to tell me. This was at the Crain...You do not have to tell me. This was at the Crain Unit!!!! They also hand cuff them to the shower heads and lock them in at the Reception Center on the Crain Unit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com