DEAR DALE - WHY DIDN'T YOU COVER THAT ON YOUR BLOG?

Once in awhile I'll receive an email, a letter or postcard, asking me why I didn't write/post articles on various things which [obviously] have public interest regarding the Idaho Department of Correction or one of the facilities, staff or prisoners. Some believe I am caving in to administrative pressures not to write about specific subjects, others have suggested that I just don't care about some issues. Both are far from the truth.

But, these are great question(s) all, so I'll do what I can to explain.

First, I'm a prisoner - and not one of those inmates that receive special privileges and dispensations (including unlimited/unsupervised internet access, laptop computers and other unbelievable amenities) that I have described in several posts since this site began operation in November, 2017. This means that most of the information I am privvy to comes - at least initially - through rumor, grapevine, innuendo or leaks.

Once I learn of an issue, I have to check it out [verify facts] to the best of my ability. Sometimes that means going to the source - utilizing public records requests, speaking to individuals (staff/prisoners alike), having my friends/family do internet research, etc. All of this takes time, money and/or other resources - and these are not unlimited.

In one example of a story I wish I could have brought you first ("breaking news" as they say in the traditional media), a television news channel in the Boise, ID area recently reported on an inmate who was accidentally locked OUT of the Idaho State Correctional Center Idaho inmate locked out of prison while training a dog.

Despite the fact that I am housed on the same unit (though a different "tier") as the [privileged] inmate "dog handler" who found himself stuck outside for about 2 hours, I knew nothing of the incident until nearly a week after the TV news report (I didn't see the newscast, nor do I associate with most people on that tier). I heard about it from another prisoner. I could have written about it and posted the story on this site (guess I just did) but it was pretty stale at that point, and I doubt there would be a repeat of that situation anytime soon or that my reporting on it would make much of a difference to prevent it from happening again in the future (though it IS pretty funny and ironic after all).

In cases where prisoners have died, been severely beaten or otherwise injured, I simply do not have the information or details available to me to write the piece. For example, I do know it was reported earlier this year a prisoner at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) is said to have committed suicide by jumping head-first from the top level of a housing unit onto the floor below. I wasn't there, I haven't read any incident or autopsy reports nor do I have any other viable information I would feel comfortable in reporting. However, information on these types of incidents SHOULD be available through official IDOC outlets such as the IDOC Facebook page, or the IDOC News Release links - both of which are available in the left sidebar on this site. (NOTE: Apparently the sidebar isn't visible on phones, just on computers - we're working to fix that.)

Another story I do intend to publish, albeit a bit after the fact, has to do with an incoming package I ordered from an authorized hobby craft supply store that went missing, and was "found" nearly a month later. That story is in the process of being written, but facts surrounding what really happened are still coming in. Due to the seriousness of the allegations, verification and documentation of those actions must be air-tight before I will publish the piece.

Although there have been a few delays (some significant) of outgoing emails over the years due to censoring by prison staff, there have been very few - if any - instances of staff or administrators attempting to silence me or keep me from writing a particular article on a particular subject. To that end, I do strive to stay within the lines of prison policy regarding content, but effectively, I am able to write about any subject or incident as far as corrections officials are concerned.

There are also some matters that are taboo from the prisoner perspective. Although I will report on matters that cross these lines on occasion (such as American Legion, dog handlers and other inmate groups that receive special privileges) I do so with the knowledge that each of the matters I report are important to the publics' understanding of the operation of [Idaho] government.

Finally, the amount of work involved in documenting, verifying and sifting fact from fiction, editing, posting and emailing is immense, not so much for me, but for those on the outside who do the majority of the leg work. The commodity of time is very valuable, and my site administrator is one of the hardest working people I've ever known. For this reason too I do my best not to overwhelm him and his family with my work. It's through his efforts that this site is possible.

To be clear, I'd like to post more content than I do, and I will likely be able to do so now that there seems to be a national and even world-wide audience for this site according to our analytics. Also, we plan to update the platform for this site, so there should be easier ways to do things, and save ourselves some time.

Content on this site is a combination of opinion, fact and observations covered by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. If you have any thoughts, criticisms or suggestions regarding this content, please let me know via email or snail-mail at the addresses provided.

Dale Shackelford