On October 20th outgoing Texas Governor Greg Abbott along with State Representatives were visiting Stiles Unit. The purpose was to announce the planning phase will begin for the installation of air-conditioning. I have no expectation of experiencing air-conditioning in my Stiles Unit cell.
The number one rule that prison abides by is: Don’t let the inmates get comfortable.
The incarcerated peer support counselors stopped by at 7AM to warn us to be on our best behavior. They also stated not to smoke. As soon as they stepped out of my section, I smell smoke. I had to force myself not to shake my head. Neighbors always watch what happens in the day room.
The elected officials being here did not merit a decent lunch for us. We received the usual scoop of pork grease. I attempted and failed to only dig out the tiny pork pieces from the grease. Dinner was a scoop of beef grease.
The day before the Governor arrived a new rumor had emerged. All 864 bunks in 3 and 4-building are to be for programming. That would mean putting many people on the bus going elsewhere.
After dinner I went to our Tuesday Kairos Prayer and Share. Kairos is a prison ministry. Its’ aim is to have small support groups for incarcerated people.
I asked several people who live in different buildings if they saw the elected officials here. No one saw them.
Neighbor Marshalling T. is a sound tech in the chapel. I asked him if the elected officials were in the chapel since our Spanish church service was cancelled. He said the chapel was used to practice for an upcoming theater play.
Right now our section is in a state of chaos. There are all kinds of rumors floating around. It has been confirmed all 48 of us are moving. The RHOP graduates are moving here so they can have a drug-free environment. The RHOP program lasts one year. The aim is to teach people to overcome drug and alcohol dependency by changing how they think.
When I was housed inside the death row building at Polunsky Unit my day was from 3AM to 5PM.
Here at Stiles Unit I’m forced to start my day at 2AM. It makes no sense that mealtimes are not the same every day. Last week breakfast was at 5AM, lunch at 11AM, and dinner at 6PM. The prior day my section ate at 3:30 AM, 10:15 AM, and 3:45 PM.
Not too long ago I listened to a podcast and had serendipity. The doctor stated that if you don’t eat enough food for dinner that could be a reason you wake up excessively early.
After pondering a moment, I felt that could explain why I awake early. Neighbor Henry M. says, “I routinely wake up before 1AM. I try to wait for breakfast and not eat a Ramen soup.”
When I open my eyes and see the clock says 1:30 AM I can’t figure out why I woke up. Many times, I glance at the clock and am surprised I haven’t drunk or eaten anything in 16 hours.
One rumor is that all of our section is being put on the bus. Another prison should be an upgrade since Stiles Unit is the bottom of the barrel.
I arrived in prison in 2010 weighing 185 pounds. Telford Unit starved me down to 112 pounds. I would consume every last crumb. When finished, my tray didn’t appear as if it had been used. The Law Library clerk stated the computer showed 78 percent of people were meat-free tray. Two scoops of watery beans were slightly more food than the meat scraps in the main course.
I was inside the death row building from 2016 to 2022. I arrived and left Polunsky Unit at 120 pounds. I would always chuckle when a new person arrived. Everyone more or less would say: I thought death row would feed the best. Death row feeds the worst in the state.
On one occasion an officer escorts me to the medical room. Right before I step on the scale he yells: 120 pounds. The nurse nodded her head, “120 pounds exactly. Are you also a carnival carny that guesses people’s weight?” The officer shrugs.
On a separate occasion a young woman is escorting me ten feet to the shower. “My hand fits around your arm.” I replied to her, “You just fed breakfast 20 minutes ago. I can’t gain weight from eating bread and water.”
There was a week when death row served stew all week. It consisted of water with two tablespoons of solids. On the fourth day I realized that by throwing my tray at the door I had to clean up the stew. If I would carefully dip my tray in the toilet then no stew got on my floor.
Our building desk officer stated all 48 people on my current section will be moved. Some to 3-building, some to 7-building, and some being put on the bus. Neighbor Heath F. stated, “It’s unfair that RHOP is uprooting us. 3-building is a downgrade. RHOP should move into 2-section. They always cause trouble.”
From February 1, 2022 to July 28, 2022 I was at Michael Unit. 144 of us were transferred from the death row building. After arrival we sat on the bus for three hours. The lunch cart arrived at 1PM. Yet the guard let it sit there. We were all starving while lunch was sitting 25 feet away. The night guard fed me my lunch and dinner tray at 7PM.
My second day at Michael Unit I figured out the “meal schedule”. At 1AM breakfast we only ever received two items. The fruit was always sold to the alcohol brewers. Lunch was at 3PM and dinner at 10PM.
Lunch and dinner was Russian roulette every day. The main course could be 5 or 15 ounces. The pork slaughterhouse is there so it was common to be fed pork five meals in a row.
3-building is infested with smokers and alcohol brewers. I spoke with Manuel P. He said his section on C pod was put on a 15-day lockdown. One person was stabbed which sadly is a weekly occurrence here at Stiles Unit. Another person had about seven gallons of alcohol confiscated. Manuel stated, ” I have a decent cellmate so I haven’t put in effort to get moved. “
Here at Stiles in June I weighed 157 pounds. I’m fairly certain I’m under 150 pounds now.
It’s difficult to get anything on record. The medical department doesn’t seem to like weighing people. As it is, many times you put in a sick call form, and it simply goes in the trashcan.
Certain serious issues go directly to the nurse practitioner, so you do get weighed. Recently at Catholic church service Brandon F. shared with me, “I went to get my medication renewed. The provider asked why I lost 20 pounds. I told her they aren’t feeding us anything on the tray. She said she has no influence over the food service department.”
Budget cuts also appear to play a role. When I saw the provider in June she refused to renew my gluten-free meal plan. Yet the prior day neighbor Derek B. was put gluten-free tray by simply asking a different provider.
I hear so much drama about 3-building. I don’t even know where I would want to be moved to. I do know I don’t want to go back to 7-building where I spent 22 months. I would want to be moved next door to F pod. I would be okay with next door D pod on the Faith Based Section which right now has six empty bunks. Moving to the dorms would also be okay.
Neighbor Gary J. was very upset when he showed up to the chow hall, and the computer shows he is Diet for Health instead of Hyper Caloric meal plan.
Our building eats in either 3 or 4-chow hall. Each chow hall has 25 tables with four stools each. DFH does not exist here at Stiles Unit. At other units it means a tray with less grease and more fruits and veggies. Hyper caloric is a regular tray plus four sandwiches per day.
Those four extra peanut butter sandwiches kept his hunger pangs at bay. Many people had their single PM snack or four Hyper snacks taken away. Gary saw the provider to attempt to get his snacks back. He was denied so he got back on regular trays so on dessert day get gets cake.
The unknown is unknown. That’s where most of the stress comes from. A few days ago, they told five neighbors to pack up and get on the emergency bus. Thirty minutes later they were told the bus is canceled. I keep asking for new rumors.
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