Idaho Prison Blog

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...