PRISONER EXPRESS

In Texas, a prison is called a unit. Every unit has a name. There are 105 different units within the Texas Penal system. I have only been to a few. My unit is named John B. Connally Unit. It is out in the rural area of Kenedy, Texas. The city of Kenedy or Karnes is around six miles away. Both cities are very small. You may have heard of this particular unit I am living at. This unit is well known for the Texas Seven who made their escape not too long ago. It caused an all out man hunt and even came out on America’s Most Wanted show. The cons have nicknamed this place “the Cursed Connally.” And I am witness to extreme bad luck upon my immediate arrival here. When I arrived the unit was on complete lockdown. I did not know why or what happened. Yet, I was placed on lockdown along with everyone else. My first cell mate (celly) was twice as big as myself and serving time for capitol murder out of Dallas, Texas. I made my introduction as best as can be expected. The following day after my arrival, I was called out to the front building and given an emergency phone call home. My father had passed two days prior. I was returned to my cell only to weep and mourn under my sheet when my celly slept. A lot of people have died inside of this unit. I have lost some people who were very close to me on the outside world. What happens inside of here stays inside of here. I notice the media is never informed of the deaths within. I believe a lot more has happened within these walls. If the local media would broadcast such news, it would be an embarrassment to the entire state. Recently the state’s youth penal system was found full of corruption and abuse. If the state’s adult penal system would be found guilty of the same, it would be the state’s downfall. Texas will not go out like that. No news from within the walls leaves the unit or system. The signs which say “don’t mess with Texas” are for real in every angle one looks at that statement.

Each day begins at 3:00am for breakfast. At 4:00am comes laundry exchange. At 6:00am the morning shift comes on duty. Each convict is given an hour of recreation (rec) and a shower. Everyone goes to rec alone. By 7:00-8:00am most of the cons are awake and the day has begun. Rec is the time to exercise and move around as you cannot within your cell. However, other things are beginning to take place. When rec begins, commerce begins. It is the time to wheel and deal. A deal can take place at anytime or day. It is the activity of all that spark up the place. Most offenders have what is called a line which is made of spinned thread or nylon. It is through this line items are trafficked and traded, day or night. A man in prison and more isolated in ad-seg only have so much. One of the most important is what makes him a constituent. His reputation and reverence towards all around him shows his character. If a man doing time has a character with no reliance or certitude, he is not a constituent nor considered in any negotiations which take place. Convict commerce takes place anytime at any hour from any part throughout the entire unit. There are no boundaries amongst convicts no matter where an offender is house or classified. At this unit, the staff has two cards (A and B Cards) which consists of two shifts (day and night) both lasting 12 hours from 6 to 6 both AM and OM back to back. Each card lasts four days and off four days. I am able to view this coming and going of the staff. And I have witnessed some pretty lazy guards on duty. Most like to sleep and avoid working or their duties. And some are by the book. However, it is the lazy officers that out number the strict officers. I believe it is this type of laziness that has our country where it is today.

Each day has three horrible meals and basically ends when one is put up or placed into his cell after rec and shower. Most nights between the hours of 6:00pm through 9:00pm, the night shift conducts random shakedowns or cell searches. The guards are given a list of cells made out by the building captain. Nobody knows who is on the list, so everybody stays ready. After 9:00pm one is able to relax. It is this time that I personally use to meditate and think. It is my time to write and hear myself. I am also able to conduct my own workout of exercises and bath in my toilet. I do all that is necessary to keep personal hygiene and maintain my sanity.

There are particular details or distinct occurrences which irritate, annoy, or just plain bother me. One would be the meals the state gives an offender. It is horrible in taste and not cooked (raw or burned). The amount is never accurate in servings. Another would be the obsessive noise made without reason by offenders or staff members. The sounds within vibrate and echo which make the volume seem louder than what it actually is. Another detail that bothers me would be the lights and not being able to walk on dirt or solid ground. There is never complete darkness and the lights inside our cells are turned on at every time of the day or night for unnecessary reasons. It has become a practice used by the night shift officers to annoy us. And technically it is a type of torture. The pupils dilate wide upon dark and light. It is very annoying. My knees are shot due to the concrete. I am a man of 230 lbs, and not overweight. Yet, my knees have given out on me during times of my exercises in outside rec. The commissary is a blessing. But one must have support from the outside in order to enjoy this privilege. It is difficult at times for everyone. Without faith, I wouldn’t survive. I ask myself, how is it that I do not go insane within these walls and small cell every day and night? And I know it is the will to survive and my faith which keeps me alive. I am still here. I have been here so many years. What I have written is what I have witnessed. It is my view. My family has abandoned me. Yet deep, deep down inside, I know that I am a lucky man. I shall not give up my ambitions. And if I shall die before I am to be released, so be it. Inside of my dreams, I am FREE!! Nobody can isolate me from my dreams. Nobody can separate me from my visions of happiness. Nobody, ever!