Idaho Prison Blog

On December 9, 2017 several news outlets in Boise, as well as the Associated Press (AP) reported that the IDOC intends to house Idaho prisoners in out of state prisons as soon as March 2018. With all the problems Idaho has had with housing prisoners in out of state facilities, and with private prison contractors, one must ask whether this announcement is an effort to force the Idaho Legislature to allocate funds to construct more prisons within the state to house its convicts. The timing of the announcement indicates that it probably is. Idaho's gubernatorial election takes place in November, 2018 - and with current Governor Butch Otter not seeking re-election, the newly elected governor may or may not take well to the political fallout of having Idaho prisoners being housed out of state. With the Director of the IDOC serving at the pleasure of the governor, who's to say that current Director Henry Atencio - who is pushing for the moves - will maintain his position when the new...

Most prisoners, especially those who have a history of abusing specific types of drugs, have atrocious dental hygiene - so bad in fact that it is potentially deadly. Unfortunately, there are limited avenues or opportunities to correct this while in IDOC prisons. While most people resist seeing a dentist, inside or out, prisoners at ISCC (and other IDOC prison facilities) must first submit an HSR or Health Services Request (with the mandatory signature line authorizing a charge to your account for a co-pay as authorized by the IDOC) with the contract medical provider Corizon Health, Inc. out of Tennessee. Once the HSR is submitted, the prisoner, usually within 24 hours, will be called to the facility medical department to be evaluated by some sort of medical assistant. Looking into one's mouth and observing that there is an infection, broken tooth or other malady is generally the norm, with the possible obligatory "ooh's and ahh's" associated therewith. Once tr...

It's tough not being able to share the holidays with friends and family, but just as you might record your festivities this year to send to other loved ones away from home, you can share your moments via video to IDOC prisoners too. Now, I don't mean to sound like a commercial advertisement for JPay, and I'm not much of a fan of the company, but they are the only game in town, so we use what we have. By going to www.jpay.com, you can download a free app to your iPhone or Android phone (not available for computers) that will allow you to send 30 second "videograms" to prisoners using (2) estamps (sold via the site). Following the instructions they provide, you can send up to 30 seconds of video (with audio) at a time - with no limit on the number of videos you can send. Tell them "Hello" show them the special dinner you've laid out - introduce them to relatives young and old, even complain about their favorite uncle doing his "pull my finger...

On Wednesday December 6, 2017 the delivery of KFC chicken to the ISCC highlighted the day, with ($10) 5 piece containers filling the normally stale air with the smells of the tasty fowl as if at home on a winter day. Unfortunately however, there must be a whole bunch of legless chickens running around out there somewhere. Out of more than 60 boxes of chicken delivered to the unit I live on alone, there was not a single breast amongst them - maybe it's the IDOC policy against nudity (thou shall see no breast) gone terribly wrong? Granted, there was no promise that there would be a chicken breast nestled in the bucket, tender and juicy just waiting for me to strip the flesh from it's bones, but in past chicken fund-raisers, there was at least one breast, front and center - proudly poking through the legs and thighs. Not this time though. Though not at all a condemnation, I have to say that the chicken was not up to the usual KFC standards, and this was likely due to the number of...

The objectives in housing prisoners in any prison is (or should be) the safety and security of the public, staff and prisoners. Reducing instances of violence in prison is paramount in achieving these goals, yet some Idaho prison administrators maintain programs and activities which not only promote violence between prisoners, they disregard proven means to reduce it. Whether this is due to technological illiteracy, old-guard attitudes or just plain stubborness, it is time to leap into the 21st century in Idaho prisons.  For many years, Idaho prisons have allowed (some) prisoners to play any number of video games in crowded communal areas (dayrooms) using older Playstation 2 gaming consoles and individual games having been donated by outside sources. Despite the many and obvious benefits to allowing Idaho prisoners to purchase personal gaming consoles, IDOC administrators resist the option, much to the detriment of education, safety and security of facilities. There are never enoug...

Published by the same people who publish PRISON LEGAL NEWS, Criminal Legal News (CLN) recently arrived in my cell as a sample copy (anyone who subscribes to PLN should have received the sample copy of CLN) and looking it over briefly the first night, it seemed to fill a niche. Reading it more the next day, I think the magazine can be powerful enough to literally open doors to some prisoners still fighting their convictions. Let's hope the content expands as they get settled in as it is a bit pricey for a one-year subscription at $48 per year (for prisoners). Go to www.criminallegalnews.org for other pricing and subscription options. I have mad respect (as the kids say these days) for Paul Wright, publisher of PLN not only for the work he did in creating PLN from his cell in a Washington (state) prison, but for all the things he has done since. He has never laid down - never stopped to tie his shoes while running towards a problem or capitulated to the government because something...

For more than 2 years, the South Boise Complex mailroom (and quite possibly IDOC prison mailrooms in other parts of the state) have been ripping (adhesive backed) postage stamps from most incoming prisoner mail/envelopes under the guise of security, but is there a more - illegitimate and darker reason? To begin, the pretext that postage stamps are removed in an effort to prevent drugs from being placed under the stamps as a means of introducing these substances into the prison is ridiculous - not because it couldn't be the reason, but because of the fact that staff do not remove other adhesive labels such as return address, airmail and other labels and stickers from the envelopes. Further, there seems to be no search of the area where the flap of the envelope meets the the main body, more than 5 times the surface area on a standard #10 envelope than on a standard postage stamp. So why would staff at the South Boise Complex mailroom go through the trouble? Well, the answer may lie i...

Someone keeps telling me that I need to get an additional person to help me with the many projects I have going, because (she) is incapable of providing the level of assistance I need in (computer-based) research, telephone calls, photos, providing me with case law data, etc. She is correct (as she usually is) - I do need the help from others who are on the outside. As most of you dear readers are aware, Idaho prisoners have no direct access to the internet, so all my writings for this blog are sent to an outside assistant (only in that he assists me in this and other endeavors - but he is more than anything a well trusted and proven friend) who, once receiving my missives via (Jpay) email, copies and pastes the words to this blog. Despite his dedication, with job, family and the upcoming winter schedule taking its toll, he isn't able to devote all the time necessary to keep up with all my projects. Because my words pass through the hoops and filters of the government computers, no...

Friday and Saturday nights, for 3 hours each night, the A & E (television) network airs LIVE PD, a COPS-like program hosted by ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams that purports to broadcast live video from various police and sheriff's departments around the country. While LIVE PD tries to convince viewers they are providing a public service by broadcasting the actions of law enforcement officials directly to the masses in the interest of transparency, one must remember that LIVE PD is no more than an unscripted "show", designed to entertain, not a "program" intended to inform. The show DOES however highlight issues that the public should be aware of... including abuses of authority, violations of civil rights by law enforcement and unacceptable activities by officers and deputies which endanger the public. > First, the "live" videos you see on the broadcasts are not live - there is a 20 to 25 minutes delay between the action on the street and the ...

In a recent [tobacco] smoking-cessation drug commercial, a young woman describes her desire to quit tobacco after "walking through a snow storm for a cigarette." Imagine what someone who has been smoking for decades would go through immediately after the stress of being arrested, incarcerated and facing jail or prison time for that same cigarette. There are many good reasons to stop smoking, but being put in jail is not one of them. Arrests not only affect the jailed person's freedoms, it places their reputation, their livelihood, homes and family in jepoardy. Costs for bond or bail, attorney fees - as well as fear of the unknown - all add to the obvious stress of forced incarceration with murderers, rapists or others who would seek to do harm. Smokers would do almost anything for just one cigarette to calm their nerves. Unfortunately, prosecutors and police know this, play upon it, and use it to their advantage. In recent studies, it has been revealed that nicotine addic...

Recently I was asked how much the Jp5s tablet costs in Idaho prisons. Currently, the price of the tablet is $129.99 + 6% sales tax (total of $137.79) and comes with the following items: > Stereo Headphones (ear buds) > AC/DC (5 volt) Charger > Protective Case > USB Cord (12" overall length) The tablets sold in Idaho contain a (rechargeable) lithium-ion battery which can not be removed or replaced, and the tablet itself comes with a 90 day warranty.  While there are replacement chargers, covers and a protective case sold separately as accessories, the only true (and in my opinion desirable) accessory is the silicon (flexible) keyboard at $19.99 ($21.19 with sales tax). These standard sized keyboards are almost a "must have" to do a lot of typing unless you're really good at typing with your thumbs... Tablets and/or accessories must be ordered by prisoners via the kiosks in their unit, they can not be ordered by family/friends from the outside.  Not sure, b...

Under Idaho Appellate Rules (IAR 14) appeals from conviction on a criminal charge and/or sentence (also known as a Direct Appeal), must be filed with the court within 42 days of the court entering the sentence or other final judgement. This includes not only those sentenced to prison time, but to felony probation as well. If this (Notice of) appeal is not filed in a timely manner, then any future proceedings on claims required to be addressed on direct appeal will likely be prohibited (known as a "procedural default"). Despite filing a Notice of Appeal, the appeal itself can be amended or dropped at any time in the future if appropriate without penalty. Although is is customary for the attorney representing the convicted person at the trial, plea and/or sentencing to file the direct appeal with the court, it doesn't always work out that way. Due to the importance of getting a direct appeal filed within the 42 days, feel free to print and send this entire post to anyone ...

You may be able to help prisoners or their families/friends avoid problems or give them knowledge of opportunities. Your input may also provide verification of issues necessary for IDOC staff to take corrective action(s) where systemic problems exist or are detrimental to the rehabilitative or other efforts of the department. Click on POST A COMMENT below and share.

Dominoes, a game enjoyed by millions around the world, has come to the IDOC via JPay in the form of a (purchased) video game download which can be played on the prisoner accessible JPay tablet - but the JPay version is no more a game of dominoes than a child setting the tiles up in a line and knocking them over. On 5-24-17, prisoner Dale Shackelford (who has played various forms and styles of the dominoes game for more than 40 years) ordered the "Dominoes, Pro" (video) game from the JPay download store. Within the hour he noticed that not only did the game not keep score, the "winner" was the last (person or computer) to play a tile. Even when he kept score manually, Shackelford noted that the last to play a tile was declared the winner - regardless of who had the most points. Further, despite being advertised as the "classic" version of the game, the downloaded version did not use a "spinner" (double numbered tile) to begin the game, or allow do...

Several months ago a memorandum was posted describing exciting new job opportunities for ISCC prisoners at a Graphics Shop operated by and through Correctional Industries. The memo invited interested and qualified prisoners to submit applications for various positions. In a memo dated November 12, 2017, Correctional Industries Operations Manager Scott Walden informed prisoners at ISCC that the Graphics Shop has been "put on hold until further notice", and that no applications will be accepted. Prisoners hoping to fill these positions who have already submitted applications should probably seek other jobs.

Once you send an email, photo or video to a prisoner via JPay, it goes to computer servers in Miami, Florida where it is electronically forwarded to the IDOC. The communication is then filtered, looking for key words or phrases that have been deemed objectional for some reason (security, etc.). Once a flagged word or phrase has been detected the entire email (along with any attachments/photos) is forwarded to IDOC staff where it is reviewed, by authorized staff in the facility wherein the prisoner is assigned. IDOC staff can add specific words and/or phrases to the existing filter list for the entire IDOC, facility, a specific area within the facility, or an individual prisoner based on investigative or other need.  Photos and videos are viewed by staff to determine whether or not they conform to prison rules (SOP). Unfortunately, various staff often have differing opinions regarding some photos/videos, thus, while one officer may find the photo/video within the guidelines, another...

All but a few Idaho prisoners now have at least some access to technology which allows them to send and receive [email], as well as receive photos and (30 second) videos, but people on the outside have to initiate the contact by signing up and funding their account with estamps in order to send communications to the prisoner(s). Let me walk you through the process... Make sure you know the full name, IDOC register number and the institution where the prisoner is housed as you will need this information to create an account with JPay. You will also need a debit or credit card, and an email address. Although you are not required to purchase estamps (required to send an email, photo or video), you will likely want to purchase some. You will also have to download an application to your mobile phone (iPhone or Android) if you want to send videograms (30 second videos). Once you have gone to www.jpay.com and followed the instructions for setting up an account you will be able to send your pr...

Idaho courts hold Idaho prisoners who proceed pro se (without an attorney) in having their convictions reviewed are held to the same legal standards as an attorney when it comes to "citing" legal precedent, or "cases". Unfortunately however, IDOC administrators have refused to provide access to the very case law the courts require prisoners to cite, creating a constitutional violation against which the IDOC, and state government as a whole will have to defend. In a letter to the Idaho chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Dale Shackelford, a prisoner at the ISCC, requested the ACLU to represent [him] and similarly situated Idaho prisoners in a lawsuit with the goal of requiring IDOC administrators to provide access to a standard law library such as is available in almost every other state and federal prison facility. Prison law libraries (in Idaho, ironically named Resource Centers) are not paid for with tax dollars - rather, books, research and othe...

As of July, 2017, male prisoners were allowed to purchase electric shavers due to a civil rights lawsuit filed in state court (SHACKELFORD v. McKAY, Ada County Case No. CV-OC-2016-05583). For many years, female IDOC prisoners were allowed to purchase these battery powered shavers, yet administrators refused to allow males to possess the exact same units, attempting to justify their decision by stating that males would use the motors for tattooing, where women did not (Level 2 response to SHACKELFORD Grievance No. IC 150001079). In an effort to quash the civil rights (discrimination) claim, administrators changed property allowances to allow males to purchase the exact same shavers used by women (as well as hair dryers), however, these womens' shavers did not contain beard or moustache trimmers. After several complaints, administrators realized that the arguments made against allowing beard trimmers - specifically, disallowing male prisoners access to electric motors - was no ...