Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Jobs For Felons

We have been locked down since March 11. It started first with no visit or volunteers. I missed seeing my dad and having Apostle Truth Church Bible Study on Thursdays. Then a few days later, there was no school.

On April 1, there was no barber shop, basketball or handball. At rec. only one unit at a time was allowed.

On April 6, only one unit at a time was permitted for Library.

On April 7, the first two cases were found in one unit. Now there was no dayroom and only two at a table were permitted for meals. We were still allowed to use the phones, showers and the kiosk, but we had to sign up for all of them. Canteen would call down three or four inmates at a time.

On April 13, only one unit at a time was permitted for outdoor rec.

On April 16, eight more cases were found on the same unit. Work units were allowed cloth masks, but they stopped Christian Bible Studies. All the other religions were allowed programs.

On April 17, got four disposal masks and one cloth mask.

On April 23, got a free stamped envelope. We get them every two weeks.

On April 27, received a 50-cent media credit for emails.

On May 6, the dayroom opened up. Still two at a table. No new cases reported.

Every day they disinfect the unit. It takes 45 minutes to do, during which we wait.

Inmates in quarantine go to seg (segregation) with no property so they are being punished for being sick.

We have been on news WBAY (ABC-2). I have written to several places.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Richard Schmidlkofer

Richard Schmidlkofer is a writer incarcerated in Wisconsin.