Idaho Prison Blog

Idaho Code, Title 19 Chapter 55 (The Idaho DNA Database Act of 1996), requires that prisoners convicted of a felony must provide DNA samples and thumbprints, even if physical force is required to obtain those samples (Idaho Code §19-5511(5)). These samples are then submitted to the Idaho State Police Forensic Services and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's CODIS (or Combined DNA Index System), a database that allows the storage and exchange of DNA records submitted by state and local forensic laboratories. Idaho's Database Act is very specific - according to I.C. §19-5501, the purpose of the act is to assist federal, state and local criminal justice and law enforcement agencies within and outside the state in the detection and prosecution of individuals responsible for felony crimes, as well as in the exclusion of suspects who are being investigated for such crimes. So what happens to the accuracy and reliability of these database(s) when the samples submitte

In a November, 2023 article posted on this site (ANOTHER STATE PRISON SYSTEM MAKES ALL INMATE CALLS FREE) I discussed how some states across the country are fighting back on the exorbitant fees charged by companies to allow prisoners to keep in contact with families and friends on the outside. Since then, the state of Massachusetts has added their name to the list of jurisdictions to mandate free calls from prisoners - but they've taken it two steps further - they are also making emails, video calls and messaging free, and prohibiting prisons and jails from taking kickbacks from telelcom companies. In another insightful and informative article published March 24, 2024 in the Idaho Statesman on the issue of unconscionable telephone rates for prisoners in Idaho prisons and jails [FN1], Opinion Editor Scott McIntosh illustrated an example of the real life problems created by the RICO-like conspiracies of jail and prison administrators in contracts with vendors providing

Jails themselves are a microcosm of society at its worst, but dangers lie not only with other inmates or guards, but sometimes with the facilities and services themselves. Food and water quality/contamination, basic hygiene and unsanitary conditions, laundry and ventilation are always a concern in jails and prisons, but there are sometimes other dangers that are literally built in to the facility, intentionally or not. For the past several years, United States diplomatic, military and national security personnel have complained they are being targeted by foreign powers (usually pointing their fingers at Russian operatives) using energy-based, electromagnetic weapons at duty stations around the world. Suffering from what has come to be known as 'Havana Syndrome', these personnel describe having physiological and psychological effects of high intensity, short duration electromagnetic energy exposure. Lesser known are the intentional long-term, low[er] intensity elec

On January 23, 2024 I sent a JPay email containing the Prison Gerrymandering article (posted to this site) and a short email to hosts of a local radio [news/talk] station. Weeks later, the email still hadn't arrived to the intended recipient. I had not been notified by staff that it was being held, nor was there any reason - legitimate or otherwise - provided to me for staff refusing to release it. Following protocol and policy, I sent a Concern Form to the proper personnel as directed in Idaho Department of Correction Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Not having received a response to that Concern Form within 7 days (as directed by SOP) I filed a grievance on February 12, 2024. On February 20, 2024 the email was finally released to the intended recipient. There was nothing contained within it that presented any security or other concern. On March 27, 2024 the Level 1 responder answered in my grievance (No. ISCC-24-REG-00203) that the reason my email had not been

On Thursday March 21, 2024 the new television system came online at the Idaho State Correctional Center and other facilities in the South Boise Complex. As it stands, not only are the stations chosen for viewing relatively pedestrian - especially where more than half a million dollars was spent for the two year contract - many of the channels that are (contractually) supposed to be available are not. In addition to several missing local, over-the-air (OTA) television stations which have not yet been placed on the system (13 at last count), virtually every channel that is available "freezes" for several minutes per hour. Further, there are only 30 "satellite" channels where there are supposed to be 32 (per contract). More disturbing is that 8 of the satellite channels airing on the new system are religious in nature - in addition to the facility "chapel" channel that is supposed to take care of the myriad religious needs of prisoners in the fa

As I mentioned in a previous post (HOW DO YOU WRITE THE POSTS FOR THIS SITE WHEN YOU'RE IN PRISON?) the Idaho Prison Blog is moving towards the future. With the help of Chris M. and David F., we are slowly moving past articles from Blogger to the Quora platform to make it easier to post, read and process content. Until all the bells, whistles and snags are worked out, we'll likely run both sites at the same time. The first questions asked of me on the Quora site are as follows from someone identified only as Vasquez (from Texas): > How many inmates actually appeal their sentences without a lawyer? To begin, a (disclaimer) - I'm not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. Next, this answer applies just to Direct Appeals, not other filings like Habeas Corpus or other Post Conviction proceedings. At least in Idaho, it is rare that state prisoners will do the actual appeal themselves (also known as [pro se], or [pro per]) for a couple reasons. First, the law requi

In an in-depth article published in the Idaho Statesman on February 25, 2024, journalist Kevin Fixler spelled out how Latah County [Idaho] prosecutors - directed in their actions by lead prosecutor William Thompson - are refusing to disclose relevant information related to DNA evidence to defense counsel in the Bryan Kohberger case, despite the information being necessary to providing a proper defense for their clients. The article is a primer on forensic DNA and should be required reading for every defense lawyer in the country. Unfortunately, playing whack-a-mole and hiding information from defense counsel is not a new thing for Thompson, and it certainly seems to be the tact Thompson is taking in the Kohberger case. In the 2000 capital murder trial of Dale Shackelford in Latah County [FN1], Thompson and his team - including a contracted deputy prosecutor (now Judge) Rich Christensen - withheld exculpatory autopsy evidence which would have proven beyond any doubt that

On several occasions, people - including other prisoners, staff, the public and the media - have asked me how it is I am able to write these articles and post them on this site. I suppose there is enough interest in this issue that simple explanation. Let me set the stage: as I write this article I am sitting at a metal table in a prison [general population] dayroom constructed of steel and concrete - a virtual echo chamber with ear buds jammed into my head to block out much of the incessant noise of my surroundings. Some of the 88 inmates assigned to this housing tier are shouting at nothing in particular, while others are horseplaying, jumping on tables like lemurs, sitting in corners crying, staring at (and in some cases, talking to) walls, gambling, eating or playing cards/chess. Others are exercising (utilizing what seems to be newly created "Prison Kama Sutra" techniques) or watching televisions mounted to walls. Oh, and that doesn't include the const

In an article posted to this site on January 18, 2024 titled CASE STUDY OF A PRISON BEATING - AN INVESTIGATION OF SYSTEMIC FAILURE OF PRISON OFFICIALS TO PREVENT INJURY OR DEATH OF A MENTALLY ILL PRISONER , it was foretold that an inmate referred to as "Bubba" was at significant risk of being beaten by other prisoners because of his actions related to what seems to be mental illness. Despite several staff of various rank and responsibilities knowing of the issues, nothing was done to remedy, or at least remediate the problem. In response to that post, a media personality in the Boise, Idaho area wrote to me, wondering why Bubba had not been placed in a secure mental facility. I wrote back on January 23, 2024, stating that the Idaho Department of Correction is REACTIVE as opposed to being PROACTIVE, and giving examples of a few situations illustrating this point. That email [see below *] to the media however was censored (prohibited from leaving the facility) by I

Pursuant to a contract between the IDOC and A+ Satellite of Meridian, Idaho (as described in the post IDOC ENTERS INTO CONTRACT WITH TREASURE VALLEY COMPANY TO PROVIDE SATELLITE AND CCTV SERVICES TO BOISE-AREA PRISONS on this site), satellite television service was to have been operational at all prisons in the South Boise Complex, as well as the ISCC and TVCRC by February 15, 2024. It didn't happen. According to Caleb Hansen, owner of A+ Satellite, IDOC facilities have refused to allow his workers to enter the prison because background checks of these people have not been completed by IDOC staff. Hansen also stated that some parts for the system have yet to be procured. Failure of IDOC staff to perform background checks is nothing new. According to [Visiting Room] Sergeant Quinn at the ISCC, there is a backlog of nearly 3,000 visiting applications at the ISCC alone waiting for background checks. Some of these applications will expire before they can be approved. The

Thank you for your questions on how you might advocate for your husband and other prisoners held in the Idaho Department of Correction, and where to report matters that might be associated with that advocacy. In that I have had similar questions in the past from others, I'll set this out in the form of a post to my site so that others might be able to benefit. First, subscribing to my site is a great start. If you're using a computer, there are several links to various resources (for some reason we haven't been able to resolve the fact that the links aren't visible on phones yet). One of the links on my page is to the IDOC's Public Record portal. This portal allows the public to request records from the Department, subject to exemptions as described in Idaho Code Title 74 - the Idaho Public Records Act. You'll have to sign up on their site, but it doesn't cost anything to do so. Take a look at Idaho Code 74-102 and 74-103 to see how to make the

Dear A.I.: I realize you are but embryonic at this stage, but I look forward to the day I can meet you. I am also hopeful that you can help us - humans - to see what is right before our eyes, but are too emotional, political or power-hungry to see. I pray for a truly unbiased arbitrator that can look beyond programming and propaganda that we as humans have been subjected to from birth. While there are those of us that fear you, or more specifically, what you can do, I believe those fears are based on the knowledge that we are so corrupt and fallible that you will recognize these human traits, have something unflattering to say about them, and will 'feel' compelled to do something about it. We humans seem to maintain a haughty superiority over all things - created and natural - to feel secure and confident. We want to be able to explain, measure and quantify all that exists when clearly that cannot be - at least this early in our corporeal evolution. We also need t

When Alexei Navalny, a long time critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and who once claimed that someone from his government poisoned his underwear, died in prison last week of [as yet] undisclosed causes shortly after taking a walk on the prison grounds north of the Arctic circle. Since then, thousands of people - including U.S. President Joe Biden - have directly and publicly blamed Putin for the death, despite there being no objective evidence that Putin, or any other [Russian] government official was ever involved. In an interview on CNN the day after Navalny's death, another U.S. backed critic of Putin stated that because the Russian Prison Service refused to immediately release any video (that may or may not exist) of Navalny in the hours preceding his death, there must be a cover up by the Russian government. Further, family members of Navalny point to the refusal of prison officials to release the body until after an investigation is complete as evidence

Life without possibility of parole (LWOP) or, as it's known in Idaho, Fixed Life, means that the person so sentenced will spend the rest of his/her natural life in prison barring some finding that would vacate or alter their sentence [or conviction]. Ironically, it is more likely that a prisoner sentenced to death will be released than a prisoner with LWOP. In some states, a life sentence is equated to a number of years. For example, in the state of Delaware, a prisoner sentenced to life will have satisfied that sentence after having served between 15 and 45 years. Other states, like Idaho, mandate that the LWOP prisoner literally die in prison [FN1], whether that takes days, months or decades of languishing in what would be - in any civilized world - considered torturous conditions. It is indisputable then that a fixed life sentence in Idaho equates to a sentence of death while in the custody of the Board of Corrections, so why not allow prisoners with no hope of ever being releas

Gerrymandering - legally defined as "An unfair method adopted by a political party in control of the legislature, whereby the boundaries of election districts are altered and arranged as to prevent a majority vote in such districts in favor of the opposing political party." As a practical matter, it means fixing the boundary lines of legislative districts so as to give an unfair advantage to one political party. Based on U.S. Census records, the state legislature creates districts throughout the state based on population records. College students, military personnel, boarding schools and temporary residents are counted by the Census Bureau at their home address, but in Idaho, state prisoners are counted at the address of the prison - giving some districts (particularly Idaho Legislative Districts 14 - 22) inflated population numbers. Because state prisoners are not allowed to vote, and may never again be allowed to vote after having been convicted, it is rare that any state R

Beatings of prisoners by other prisoners (and by staff) are unfortunately more common than reported by the media. Even when such beatings result in permanent injury, or even death, the Idaho Department of Correction often refuse to acknowledge the assaults, do their best to keep video of the incidents out of the hands of the public, and certainly cover up the fact that they knew (or should have known) the beatings would occur. Let's look at an example of what will certainly result in the beating of a prisoner at the ISCC if staff fail to intervene in a timely manner. Inmate Bubba (not his real name due to prison regulations) has on several occasions been in fights because of his odd, annoying, threatening and assaultive behavior while in prison. Most recently, Bubba has been in two separate physical altercations with other prisoners over a dayroom television on tier F3, as Bubba likes to believe he is the person who decides what is watched, and who watches it. When Bubba doesn'

In response to a public records request (PRR), the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) provided records which were prepared by an inmate for the specific purpose of disclosure as an official public record. Further, other official records disclosed pursuant to the same request provided false, misleading or denied existence of specific records known to exist, thereby subjecting state officials to consequences described in Idaho Code. On November, 22, 2023, Dale Shackelford submitted public record request #R016187-112223 asking for records which disclosed information related primarily to interactions between the IDOC and the administration-supported American Legion Post 201 [FN1], a [de facto] prison gang operating in the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC). After requesting and receiving clarification on one of the requests [FN2] the IDOC produced an email from Lawrence Stuhr, an instructor in the Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI) Education Department to Jeff Kirkman, a pr

On 11/27/23 at 10:09 am, someone identified as C. Wellman at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) in Kuna, Idaho signed for and received 2 authorized packages addressed to prisoner Dale Shackelford. One of these packages was delivered to Shackelford on 12/4/23. Days later, it was clear the second package, with contents worth over $90.00, had disappeared. What to do... first, because Shackelford provided the sender of the packages (Blick Art Materials) with his email address with his order, he had emails from Blick detailing the Order number, and tracking numbers of each box (sent via FedEx) - along with a list of contents/value contained in each box. With help from a friend on the outside, Shackelford was able to track both packages and determined when and by whom they were received at the ISCC. Both boxes were delivered and signed for at the same time at the ISCC according to FedEx. Shortly after learning there were no IDOC employees named C. Wellman, Shackelford filed a public