Idaho Prison Blog

For more than a week before Christmas (2022) the ISCC (except Unit H - a stand-alone prefabricated building housing minimum custody prisoners) has had no hot water in the facility. After an article published on this site (see CHRISTMAS SPIRIT LACKING THIS YEAR) wherein I complained that there was little to no hot water in the facility, prison staff started monitoring water temperature. Since then, thermometers consistently registered the (hot) water temperature in the facility between 57 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit - the same temperature measured on the cold water side. As a stop-gap measure, ISCC administrators issued a memorandum instituting a "shower schedule" which is intended to alleviate the drain on available hot water - despite the fact there is no available hot water. The schedule directs that prisoners in various units rotate their showering hours, with exceptions for those who are returning from work assignments. The lack of hot water in the facility affects not only...

Christmas dinner - a tradition in many American homes - is never really the same in prison. While there used to be some effort to make holiday meals a bit special for the inmate population, it seems the IDOC, or more specifically the ISCC, is doing the least amount of work possible and is barely squeaking by when it comes to making holiday meals more festive than the normal fare. The Christmas (2022) dinner menu at the ISCC was as follows: Roast Pork Mashed Potatoes Corn Stuffing Lettuce Salad w/apple and raisins Dinner Roll Yellow Cake w/berry sauce and icing The bagged lunch consisted of peanut butter, jelly, bread (enough for 2 average sandwiches) and 2 drink packets. Unfortunately the container in which the peanut butter/jelly was mixed was not sealed, and a sticky mess coated the inside of the bag, and everything inside... I just threw it away. The food served to F block prisoners sat in Styrofoam trays somewhere for quite some time based on the amount of condensation inside the c...

For several years, almost in secret, the ISCC Education department, administered by David Mehlhaff of the Robert Janss School District (the Idaho school district consisting only of IDOC prison facilities) has issued laptop computers to certain inmates to use/keep in their cell or other living area. Ostensibly, these computers were to be used for college level correspondence courses paid for by the prisoners themselves. In a "don't ask - don't tell" policy, privileged prisoners would have a course approved, receive a laptop computer, then complete (or in most cases drop the course) and keep the computer, sometimes for years in their cell, with the knowledge and tacit permission of the education department. In 2022, Mehlhaff authorized issuing laptops to ISCC prisoners who worked as teacher's assistants (TA's) in the education department, even if they were not enrolled in any education or computer-based courses. This was soon extended to inmates who were enrolle...

On December 16, 2022, IDOC prisoners received the following email from the IDOC: "Important message from IDOC regarding video visits. Important message from IDOC regarding Jpay and video visits. We are aware the video visits are not being scheduled on the proper kiosk. We are actively working with Jpay for a quick resolution. This is our top priority and to hope this will be resolved by Monday, December 19. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration you are experiencing. If your family missed a visit and were charged, please have them call the help desk and request a refund." What is actually happening is that when (you) schedule a video visit with a prisoner, that visit is assigned to a specific kiosk located in a specific area. As it stands, the IDOC has a (new) system (called ATLAS) that tells JPay where a prisoner is housed, and the visit is assigned to a kiosk in that housing area. Unfortunately, ATLAS is crap, and prisoners who have been assigned to the ISCC for...

I can't remember a year when I felt absolutely no Christmas spirit or joy during the holiday season. No matter how down I was, or how bad the situation I found myself in, there was always some part of me that found some joy, a few sentimental memories of happier times, a touch of nostalgia and more often than not, good will towards others. But not this year. I'm not sure what the problem really is, but it seems I'm not alone in not being able to feel too "Christmas-y" this year, as others I've confided in have told me they too uncharacteristically lack any warm feeling normally associated with the holiday season. In years past, I'd have already had some semblance of a Christmas tree in constant view, a few handmade Christmas angels and other decorations would adorn my cell. A .gif of a fireplace with traditional yule log would flicker through the night on my tablet, and battery powered tea lights, colored with red and green highlighters would assist with t...

On 10/6/22, someone [as yet unidentified] in IDOC administration sent prisoners an email stating they knew there was a problem with [inmate-paid] television services [in the South Boise Complex facilities], and that alternatives to the [previous] satellite television vendor were being explored (see I HATE TO SAY "I TOLD YOU SO", BUT... I TOLD YOU SO on this site for the full text of the email). Contemporaneously, a memorandum authored and distributed by ISCC Administrative Support Manager (ASM) Rhonda Owens again recognized there was a problem with the satellite TV system in the facility, and directed that prisoners do not send concern forms regarding TV. Unfortunately, the problems with the television system at the ISCC is not limited to satellite problems, yet ASM Owens, while identifying herself as the ultimate authority for decision making on the matter of the ISCC television cable system repair, programming content and any other issue regarding the CCTV system has divest...

It's clear that after more than 20 years Latah County (Idaho) law enforcement officials, and in particular the Latah County Prosecutor's Office, continue to cut corners and intentionally stall investigations in major crimes, like the murder of four University of Idaho students in Moscow over the second weekend of November so to create their own courtroom narrative in the interest of gaining convictions, or cover up government ineptitude once an arrest is made rather than getting to the truth of the tragedies that occur. Not one day after the discovery of the killings of the four U of I students in Moscow, Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson was videotaped walking through the crime scene, where clearly he had no reason to be. This was likely the impetus for the declaration by Former FBI Special Agent Maureen O'Connell during a Fox News Channel interview (aired on 11/25/22) that there were a lot of people who had no business being there traipsing around [in the crime sce...

  In one of the most embarrassing and staged spectacles put on by the current ISCC administration in many years, the warden at the ISCC held a so-called "Town Hall" meeting on November 28, 2022 with 4 handpicked (privileged) inmates who are supposed to represent prisoner interests in the areas where they are housed. Previous town hall meetings had several prisoners representing various housing, work, education and other areas of concern, picked/vetted by housing unit sergeants, supervisors, etc. In this instance, prisoners chosen as representatives by unit staff were denied access to the meeting. The inmates who were allowed to attend the meeting, were in fact all members of the American Legion/Sons of the American Legion at the ISCC, do not represent the interests of anyone other than themselves, their gang-style "organization" and of course, their prison overseers who give them free rein, special privileges and maximum pay for jobs they either shouldn't have, ...

As veteran readers of this site are certainly aware, when it comes to Thanksgiving, I always find things I am thankful for - even in my current surroundings - but the Thanksgiving meal served at the ISCC this year is not one of them. (Actually, that's not entirely true - I am thankful for what I received, and there are those who have it worse than I had/have it, and many have nothing, but you get the point) While the traditional turkey fare was replaced by pork (see the post IDOC PRISONERS WON'T EAT TURKEY THIS THANKSGIVING - TURKEYS REJOICE! on this site) the problem wasn't that. Even though the particular unit/tier where I am housed was first served, the food was cold, wet, coagulated and tasteless. While the menu called for specific amounts of each item, the portions actually provided fell far short of what the menu indicated was to be served, and the food felt (and tasted)... somehow... old and seemingly sad. Additional issues arose where inmates who put the food in the...

On Tuesday November 8, 2022 prisoners in F block at the ISCC were placed on "secure status" (i.e., locked in their cells for all but 20 minutes a day) despite medical staff stating there had been no recent confirmed or even suspected cases of Covid on the unit, and other staff continuing to confide that the lockdowns are due to staff shortages. These claims are supported by the fact that staff are not even wearing masks on the units or when in direct contact with prisoners. More than a full week later, the lockdown continues. Assuming there actually was an outbreak of Covid on the unit on or about 11/8/22, it would have already been spread throughout the entire facility as prisoners from every corner of the prison have been interacting in the hallways for weeks, patting each other on the back, shaking hands and having other [sometimes "icky"] forms of physical contact despite the "rolling lockdowns" across the prison. Prison administrators contend that the...

On 11/02/2022, IDOC prisoners received an email stating that the population won't be served the traditional turkey dinner this Thanksgiving. That email is recreated below in it's entirety. While the reasons stated for the turkeyless fare - if true - would seem to justify not serving the bird that was once considered a frontrunner for being the national symbol of the United States (narrowly losing out to the bald eagle), one can only hope that you (the readers) have a wonderful holiday season, and are able to enjoy the holiday, turkey dinner and all. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Dale. ############# Announcement: Thanksgiving menu 2022 As you may have heard, the US is currently experiencing one of the worst bird flu epidemics on record. Nearly 50 million birds have died from the disease so far, with 8 million of those being turkeys. The outbreak has greatly affected the supply of eggs and poultry. Although we've tried to avoid/delay menu changes as much as possible, our first m...

Last night, the nightly poker game conversation at the table next to me turned to familiar and every increasingly sore topics - television channels at the ISCC, and violence. It was this conversation, and subsequent actions by one of those players that reinforces my observations and confirms my continuing analysis: television - specifically quality television programming and signal - is as important in today's prisons as any amount of fencing or number of guards on a shift. In addition to the issues I have covered in the several articles I have written over the years (on this site) regarding the lack of maintenance, poor quality and programming of the TV cable system at the ISCC, on October 6, 2022, prisoners received the following email from an unknown author: //////////////////// "This message is in regard to television services provided by Mood Media for the DISH network. We are aware that the service is not working. We received an email today that said DISH instructed Mood...

On 5/1/2022, Keefe Commissary Network (KCN) increased all commissary item prices by 8.5% - equal to the increase in the consumer price index - in accordance with §17.4 of the commissary contract with the Idaho Department of Correction. Additionally, on that same date, they discontinued several items, including many of the best-selling and easily sourced inmate food staples such as flour tortillas, pickles, black beans and saltine crackers. Not content with the already exorbitant markups, unjust enrichments and limitation on price increases authorized by contract, KCN decided just to discontinue selling many items (within contractual authority) - then reintroduce the exact same items (most sourced from companies owned by Keefe Group) - with the exact same item/order numbers, at well more than 100% markup, effectively pulling an end-run around the limitations of the contract. This is nothing more than consumer fraud and cannot be allowed to stand. If you have concerns about the exorbitan...

On October 20, 2022 a sign-in memorandum was posted in housing units at the ISCC - on altered official stationery taken from an office area - which read: MANDATORY VETERAN'S TRAINING 10/24 @ 2:00 PM - MILITARY VETERANS ONLY Name/Room and Bunk / IDOC Number / Branch of Service When questioned, housing staff had no idea where the memos came from, who posted them, or why. After inquiries up the chain of command as high as the Shift Commander, nobody had any idea of the source - or the meaning - of the memo/sign-up list which appeared to mandate that any prisoner who is a military veteran be present at some undisclosed location in 4 days for some sort of undescribed training. Once the F block Sergeant arrived on the unit and reviewed the posted document, he too was perplexed, and declared the memo void. The sergeant then instructed the memos be removed from each of the tiers. It is still unclear how many other housing areas in the facility had these fake orders posted. Later, after a b...

Less than a decade ago, the IDOC, Idaho politicians and the public were up in arms when it came to light that Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, now CoreCivic) administrators at the Idaho Correctional Center (now the Idaho State Correctional Center) were allowing gang members to make rules and decisions for other inmates just to keep the peace. After an investigation, it was found that officials not only allowed these so-called "shot-callers" to keep others in check - usually under threat of violence - they were getting special treatment for their service to the facility. Once the state took over operations at the ISCC, the inmate-over-inmate supervision was said to have stopped. It never did, and it's getting worse. After having received written and oral notifications on more than one occasion and from more than one source that a (self-described) gang leader recently moved onto a housing area, immediately declared himself the shot-caller for the tier, checked paper...