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, ...