STARTING FRESH

I must say I was very close to giving up on this blog for a couple of reasons. One reason is because I don't feel I'm a good enough writer to bring my message to people in a way they can understand. The second reason is a branch of the first reason. Do to the first reason i didn't feel I could make it productive. However I have been convinced by someone very special to me to keep doing it because despite how I feel it is and can be very productive. So here I am writing now.

In a way I'm starting fresh.
So let me tell you about Solitary Confinement on a long term basis in the state of Florida. It is better known as Close Management. There are 3 levels to complete befor you return to open population. It is a long journey. I have been on Close Management for 4 years and I just made level 2.
People come to Close Management for serious rule violations such as, assault on staff, assault on inmates, possesion of drugs or of a weapon, any serious offense.
When you come for those serious reasons you start on level 1 and must complete level 2 and 3 before you return to population.
But you can also come to Close Management for many minor violations very close together in which case you would start on level 3 and for sure be back in open population faster than someone starting on level 1.

The living conditions consist of a 6 by 10 foot cell, you have a steel toilet and sink, a steel platform to place a mattress that is about 4 inches thick. You have a window and a small foot locker to place your property in. You are fed 3 meals a day consisting dirty vegetables and whatever mystery meat. They have that pass through a flap in your cell door.

You are allowed 2 hours 3 times a week in a outdoor recreation cage no bigger than your cell.
However should you choose to go, the guards that take you will trash your cell and steal from you as a method of keeping people from wanting to go because they don't want to have to escort you out there and watch over you.
They call it random cell search. They do this a lot when they want people to stay in their cell. They are not searching for anything they are just messing all your property up to make you not come out the next time.

Other than recreation we come out of our cell 3 times a week for a shave and shower. So most of our time is spent in our cell.

The guards have a lot of cruel methods they use to either flat out abuse someone or to make them conform to their way of thinking. For instance they feed very small portions of food ensuring that you're always hungry and even if you're fortune enough to have money to buy food off of the inmate canteen it doesn't matter because you're only allowed to buy 5 single food items per week. So figure 5 small bags of potato chips per week, what will that really do to stem your hunger?
So hunger is one of the methods they use. Another is harrassment such as messing your cell up every time you choose to leave.

Then there is flat out physical abuse while you're in handcuffs and leg restraints. You are defenseless and they will beat you up. No way for you to fight back.

And then if you are able to make it past all that and go all the way to level 3 you have to hope one of the guards doesn't get mad at you and during one of those random cell searchs they are so fond of find a whole made shank "knife" that was not there when you left your cell. But they planted it there because they know it will get you sent back all the way to level 1 and cost you at least 2 more years in Solitary Confinement.

It's a very dirty game that's played back here and it's not just the guards that play those games. A lot of times the convicts play games on each other. Those games that the convicts play I will write about in next weeks post. I will make a post every week. Until then thank you for reading whatever your reasons may be.

One man caged,
Ricky

Ricky Silva DC# L24722

Florida State Prison

7819 N.W. 228th street

Raiford, Florida 32026

U.S.A.