Shortly after May 15th, I got an email from my attorney telling me I received a subpoena to testify at the trial for Katherine Peterson (Katie.) It was rescheduled several times over the past few years and has a new start date of June 24th. I explain to my attorney again that I have no interest in testifying and that the trip in BOP custody is likely going to be a bad experience. He says sorry, but you will need to go. Back in February I heard an inmate (the person who initially helped me a whole bunch when I arrived) had a similar situation. So I asked one of my friends who was his neighbor for details. The trial he went to was scheduled for the week before his release date. He was a cop and there was a civil case that the prosecutor subpoenaed him for. Two US Marshals picked him up a day or so before the trial, used shackles and handcuffs along with a box around his wrists and drove him to a county prison in Baltimore, which is about a three hour drive. He wore his newer sneakers he planned to leave camp with, but they got thrown away. They put him in the special housing unit (SHU) locked in 24/7 out of the general population for his protection and gave him access to a tablet for paid calls, movies, etc…. Apparently the trip lasted three days and when he returned he said it was a terrible experience. Then on June 6th, I heard another friend (who I play bocce with) was subpoenaed for a federal trial of his co-defendant in Buffalo starting the same day as Katie’s and was told he was leaving Monday June 10th on a bus. I was like crap, that sounds really bad – much longer than the other guys experience. The next evening after dinner another friend tells me you should consider securing your personal property. So on Monday June 10th, I spoke with my counselor who confirms I will need to pack up all my property and if I’m away more than one week he says he won’t be able to save my cube, since they have had lots of new inmates arriving recently. He then tells me to speak with the receiving and discharge (R&D) lady, who asks for a copy of the subpoena and tells me she is checking with her boss and to return the following afternoon. That night another friend of mine told me there is such a thing in the handbook as legal furloughs. So I checked into this and sure enough this option would allow for my wife Patti to pick me up from camp just before the trial, where I could be home at night and she could drive me to court during the trial days. It would minimize the amount of time away from camp to just a few days, which would cause less impact to my work, my CDL training and my First Step Act (FSA) time off credits. It would add just a few days to my sentence for the time that I’m not in custody. I explained this to my attorney and provided him with the BOP notice and appropriate section info and he shared this with the prosecutor that night.
So I get back from work the next day Tuesday, June 11th at 1:30pm and see a note for me to report to R&D. When I see her she hands me two bags and says pack up, you’re leaving first thing tomorrow. I ask if I’m taking a bus and she says yes. I ask if she happens to know where I’m going (even though I know they are not supposed to tell me) and she says she doesn’t know. So I’m like great, reality is setting in and this is gonna suck. I hear stories about how most personal items put in bags and stored with the CO’s get thrown out. I called my attorney to tell him and he said you’re going to Essex County Correctional Facility (Essex) in Newark, NJ and the system told the prosecutor I was already there.(Patti note, I was told by his attorney Tuesday afternoon when I was following up about the legal furlough request that he was in Essex County already and it was too late. I was surprised when I heard from Jim that night by phone from Lewisburg) I asked about the legal furlough and he said the prosecutor told him furloughs are typically only used for funerals. So I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening preparing for my journey – talking to friends, packing, giving some of my items away, getting advice like to limit eye contact with other inmates, do not say I’m cooperating and don’t eat breakfast since you can’t take a crap on the bus. (I later found out that you can’t wipe with handcuffs chained to your waist.) So Tuesday night I barely got any sleep. I’m told they may come wake me as early as 3am. At 5:20am I hear over the loudspeaker, “James Letko report to the bubble.” While I’m walking between buildings at 5:30 I hear the announcement again with ‘immediately” added. I arrive and then wait on a bench and finally at 6:10 a US Marshall (which turns out to be the main bus driver) strip searches me, takes my ID, khaki shirt, my sneaker laces, necklace and a paper I brought that is my subpoena on the front and contact numbers on the back. I’m allowed to hold my reading glasses and now have on just my t-shirt, khaki pants, boxers, socks and sneakers with no laces. Then my ankles are shackled, my wrists are handcuffed and then secured to a chain around my waist.
I’m escorted onto a bus that is about 2/3 full with about 30 inmates from the Lewisburg medium prison, next to the camp. I sit down next to a weird looking white guy, since he seems like the safest bet and ask if they have any clue where we are going. (The previous day I discussed travel options with other inmates and they told me most folks go through Oklahoma.) He says we are likely going to the northeast since many of the inmates are headed to Danbury, CT. Sure enough we got on Route 80 East, so I started getting happier. Then we get off on 81 North and then 84 East, so I’m thinking we are headed to CT. We stop to get fuel and all the inmates remain on the bus. Then we started up again and got off 84 and noticed Stewart Airport signs. We go by the airport and then head to a small deli next to the airport, where the Marshals get food and the other inmates admire any female that walks or jogs past the deli with lots of loud talk. We leave there and arrive at 10am to a run down parking lot next to the Army tarmac. Next to us are two buses, one from Ottisville. During the next two hours as we wait, around 12 vans and 3 cars arrive. The Marshals eventually exchange various inmate folders. Around noon, we see a large jet plane taxi on the tarmac. Finally around 12:15 the bus moves and all vehicles enter the tarmac and park on the left side of the plane . We are called up by name and when I’m called I’m escorted to the front of an Essex van with a few others. Then my co-defendant pharmacist, who came off the plane, arrived next to me. After several minutes we were patted down, then inmates got out of the van and we entered the van through the back. The van contains metal cages with a divider in the middle and has metal bench seats from the front to back on each side. The left side has 6 seats and the right has 4 seats and then a third cage for two toward the front with a side door. They place a Mexican woman in the third cage and the men in the other two cages. There are no windows, except a small one with a metal screen in the front. You can barely see out of the front window if you are close to it. Your head is tilted forward and down since there is a 45 degree metal plate in the back. It was hot and dark and within a few minutes our asses were sore. By about 1pm we leave the tarmac area and are asked if we need to pee. Those who did simply pissed on random brush that was growing through the old lot.
We arrived at Essex around 2:30 and were unshackled. Then the 8 male inmates enter a small holding room and the female enters a separate holding room. Over the next several hours we are processed. We are called individually to sign paperwork, I get my legal and contact paper, but my necklace, sneakers with no laces and khaki pants are retained. We are offered a shower and are given new boxers, t-shirt, socks, shower shoes, Jackie Chan shoes (that are way too small) and a yellow jumpsuit (that is WAY too big.) I trade jumpsuits with someone and get one that actually fits well. I also retain my old white socks, boxers and t-shirt (good thing because I’m not offered another set of clothes for a long time.) Most of us also eventually get one synthetic wool blanket, one towel, one sheet and a bag containing toothpaste, a tooth brush, soap, comb and deodorant. My co-defendant had brown underwear and he had to throw all his away.(Patti note- He was able to call me for about 5 minutes to let me know where he was) We are given a bagged lunch and hot dinner around 5pm. I’m starving and ate the food, even though it is quite bad. It is the first food and drink for me all day. We hear announcements and see corrections officers (CO’s) in riot gear AKA turtle suits. We would later find out that there was a stabbing of an inmate in a federal pod by my defendant’s future bunkie’s bunkie. Apparently he defended his bunkie during the stabbing and spent 10 days in the SHU. Around 7pm our group is escorted to a larger second holding room. Someone is in there and we ask how long he was in there and he says two days. (I’m thinking crap again and wonder if we will spend two days in there.) Then we discuss TB tests and seeing a nurse as some folks are moved. We learn that if we had a TB test within 90 days, we don’t need one. Those inmates are moved shortly after we arrive in this room and we later learn that those inmates were moved to quarantine and spent just one day there before being moved to the general population. It turns out me and my co-defendant had our test 7.5 and 6 months prior, since the BOP requires one every year. Five of us remain and at 9pm are given mattresses and plastic boats that hold the mattresses on the floor called Bunk-o-mates. We decided to try to get some rest when these arrive. I’m woken up around 1am and see a nurse who does a medical intake questionnaire and gave us our TB test. The lights never go out and every now and then someone will ask the CO’s what time it is. My co-defendant woke up at 11pm and thought it was the next day. He was disappointed when we told him he just fell asleep!
Around 8am we are brought a bagged breakfast and then around 9am the boats and mattresses are taken away and stacked up in the hallway outside the room. We continue to try to sleep on our blankets and sheets to cushion the metal benches. We get a hot lunch around 11am.If you need to use the toilet, there are two stainless steel toilets with sinks attached to them with a little cement block around them, still within view of the other inmates. There was half a roll of toilet paper between the two and when we asked the CO’s for more, we eventually got another half a roll of toilet paper. I attempted a leg, chest and arm workout and finally at 4pm we are escorted to a different holding room and then enter a large quarantine cell pod with about sixty cells and two bunks per cell. My co-defendant is located in the cell next to mine. We both have cell mates (bunkies.) We quickly learn this area locks inmates in their cells 23 hours a day and rotates letting about 20 inmates out at a time. We arrived into this area Thursday afternoon and missed our chance for the day to go out into the common area in the pod to shower, make calls and watch TV. We have no personal items (no books, paper, pencils, tablets, etc.) just the personal care and bedding items we received the day before. The cell is about 6′ x 12′ with a slim window in the back overlooking an unused outdoor area between pods and possibly a parking garage or storage area. There is a metal cell door with a small window that is automatically controlled to open from the CO’s desk. There are two single bed bunks (one on top of the other) thin mattresses we grabbed right before we entered the cell, a stainless steel toilet and sink combo and a 20″x20″ table and seat. It smells like mildew and there is some mildew or mold along the wall/floor corners. Each cell comes with some nice writing and graffiti on the walls and etched in the glass. There is a florescent light that is on from 5:45 am until 10pm. When that goes out, there is a small light that acts as a bright night light that inmates attempt to dim by throwing wet toilet paper rolls and paper up to it so they stick to the light and ceiling. There are constant loudspeaker announcements that you can loudly hear, but barely understand all day long. They slow down at night, but it was common for them to wake me up all night long. We had a partial view of one of the two TVs from our cell door window. It was tough to focus on them with the etching and hard to hear through the metal door, but when you have absolutely nothing to do it helped pass time by standing by the door if my bunkie was not there watching TV or trying to get people’s attention. The orderlies put some weird stuff on like Mandalorian and every now and then the inmates would bang and scream for them to change it, but they typically ignored them. I did manage to watch parts of a few movies and even some of the NBA playoff finals. The DirecTV package the prison had included Stars Edge, which had some pretty dark content.
The orderlies cleaned the common area by sweeping and mopping the floors, helped distribute meals by passing us the trays through the cell door slot after the CO’s unlocked them and also washed laundry. My first bunkie had three warrants out for his arrest and was picked up the previous Saturday. He appeared in court Monday, Thursday and again on Friday and was released Friday evening. He had been in and out of prison in NJ and FL most of his life. His current charges were assault and unlawful possession of firearms. He was quite nice and talkative and helped me understand (to a degree) what to expect, since he already served time at Essex. Friday afternoon we were finally let out for an hour, which allowed me to call Patti and shower. We also had another medical intake where the nurse said she was clearing us. Friday night around 11pm we had our TB test read. When we were let out Saturday morning around 7 am we asked how long to expect until we were transferred out of quarantine and she said probably another 2-3 days and that the prison was full and the federal dorm was recently closed. I asked for a book and the options were some different version of a Christian bible and The Creature from Jekyll Island. I was not interested in either, but decided on the later. She said to give it back to her at the end of her shifts, but she never asked for it back and so I kept it until I left that pod, reading about a third of it. The book made me more upset with the government, the way politicians would use our tax money to bail out big banks. Sunday was Father’s Day and they did not let us out. I later found out the whole prison was locked down that day due to short staffing. Apparently most holidays were like that. I was so fed up with our situation that I wrote a letter to the judge of the trial. On Monday I had Patti record our call with my daughter’s phone as I read the letter to her. She filed the letter that afternoon with the court clerk. (See next blog for a copy of this letter.) I never got a response or acknowledgement from the Judge. We also emailed a copy to the prosecutor and my attorney. The prosecutor said he would contact the US Marshals and ask for our conditions to improve. Whether he actually did this or not, did not have any effect on our outcome. Monday night my co-defendants bunkie went crazy and was banging and screaming at everyone including the CO’s, so they handcuffed him and took him to mental health. They filled his spot within an hour with someone else, who was actually worse for my co-defendant. I had four more bunkies in this pod. All were picked up off the streets related to county charges mostly related to assaults when they or their girlfriend was drunk. Some came from court, arriving to our cell around 5pm and then released that evening.
My last bunkie arrived on Monday. He was picked up on Saturday afternoon after his girlfriend got into an argument with her neighbor near Newark. The state charged him with some type of kidnapping, even though the girlfriend said she left with him by her own will. Local cops grabbed him in South Jersey and drove him up to Essex. He appeared in court Monday and the girlfriend didn’t attend since she couldn’t find the court, which was in the prison. He was asked to appear in court again the following Monday and was detained until then. He was extremely anxious, especially this being his first arrest and him being a criminal justice major. He kept saying what they were doing to him was completely against his rights he learned in college. At this point I was now giving advice to my bunkies. Without the book and crappy TV view, I’m not sure how I would have survived. My co-defendant didn’t have either, but managed somehow. The prison also did not have my co-defendant’s medications (meds) in stock. A side effect to one med was possible heart issues. They must have noticed this and did an EKG that came back problematic, but he never heard anything else on it. Eventually, they gave him a different med, that was equivalent, but did not work as well. The initial result was insomnia, but he eventually got some sleep. Finally, Wednesday at 1pm (one week after arrival) we were transferred out of quarantine and given directions to walk to a federal pod, which housed about 60 inmates. Another federal inmate that arrived with us the previous Wednesday was also transferred with us. Patti ordered me a book that arrived in Essex on Monday. I saw an envelope as I was leaving the pod with my name on it and sure enough it was the book. Luckily, I got it or else it would have been lost in the system for a while until it found its way to me.
In the federal pod, my bunkie was very nice and from Guatemala, but barely spoke any English. He had been in prison waiting on a trial or deal for 60 months – 40 of them in Essex. Several inmates were very generous upon arrival. It reminded me of my arrival to camp. They loaned me Tupperware bowls and cups, sneakers, t-shirts, shorts, sweats, peanut butter, cookies and extra food from their trays. They answered many questions. An orderly did my laundry a few times a week, since I had very limited changes of clothes. All the inmates in this pod were recently moved from the dorm area just two weeks before my arrival. The dorms did not have cells and so they were not locked in all day. (that federal pod was closed just before his arrival) It turns out we got locked in daily with a rotating schedule where either the top of bottom cells were let out at approximately 7:30am to 9:30am and 7:15 pm to 8:30pm or 10:45am to 12:30pm and 3:15pm to 5:30pm. It was common for this to be cut short due to codes, delays in clearing counts, the nurse showing up or for the distribution of commissary. At this point I hadn’t shaved in ten days so eventually I learned that if I stood by my cell door for about 45 minutes and got the CO’s attention during 2pm count, they would pass you a razor from around 2:30 to 3pm when everyone was locked in the cells, including the orderlies. Some CO’s would ignore my request, so let’s just say it was a huge hassle trying to shave using the disposable, dull single blade razors. Also no shampoo after several weeks started making my scalp very dry. I continued to workout daily either in my cell or in a recreation area which was about a quarter the size of a basketball court with a hoop, and three pull up bars. There was a section of upper windows that were replaced by a fence, which made it very sticky but this was considered an outdoor area by prison standards. Some folks worked out like me, others played basketball, soccer and handball. My routine consisted of a 15 min ab workout on top of my top bunk. Then 30-45 minutes of calf rises, static wall squats, standing leg extensions, dips, pushups, pullups and chin-ups. I would try to time my workouts so I would have access to a shower afterwards, but sometimes I was locked in for a full 24 hours before I could shower.
The food was a few steps down from camp. Any beef was mostly soy. There was no flavor and little to no sauces. The trays were less than half the size of the camp portions. Breakfast was typically one 8oz milk or a 4oz cranberry juice cocktail which contained 0% real juice, a cup of cereal and either an instant oatmeal packet , two pieces of white bread and jelly packets or hard boiled eggs. When you got out of your cell, you could access cold and hot water and a microwave. When locked in you just had access to your water fountain in your sink. Eventually they started serving some hot breakfasts, which they had stopped over two years ago. The hot breakfasts varied between pancakes, waffles (old and dried up) turkey sausage patties, grits, eggs along with some bread or cereal on the side. For snacks, I ended up collecting from my tray and other inmates trays extra cake, cornbread and deluxe cookies that were like single-stuff Oreos. I borrowed someone’s tablet on the first Monday in the federal pod and ordered some bags of coffee and cookies so I could repay inmates who had been helping me. Patti had already loaded up my commissary account with some $ for phone calls. We got two 10 minute calls each day and if you wanted more calls, they were 5 cents a minute for up to 15 minutes. There was no wait between calls, which was much nicer than the 30 minute wait we have at the camp. I took advantage of this and made lots of phone calls at Essex. The commissary shopping list was about half the size as the camp’s listing and items were generally more expensive than the camp. The nice thing was you just ordered via the tablet and it was delivered in a bag to your pod. No waiting hours in line and no items out of stock, which is a huge hassle at camp. I didn’t order commissary the second week, because I thought I was leaving, but ordered a few items for the other weeks – chocolate covered peanuts, pecans covered in caramel and chocolate, etc. You know my theme with commissary snacks. Any chocolate will do, but now I’m into cake more, since it comes with certain meals.
Visitation was allowed after quarantine after the visitor was approved via a form you complete on your tablet. Our pod had visitation on Thursday and Sundays. Apparently your visitors need to be screened and wait between 2 and 3 hours for half hour no contact visits through a window with no speaker or phone. The mesh on the sides of the window made it very difficult to hear your visitors. Based on this feedback, I decided not to bother with physical visits. On the 19th day, we finally were given tablets for no charge. You could use the tablet for the two free daily calls, the radio and some basic applications. If you wanted to play games, watch movies or use Pluto for TV shows and movies (which was difficult to use as it crashed during commercials) it was two cents a minute. Calls continued at 5 cents a minute and video visits cost 15 cents a minute for up to 30 minute sessions. I had several video visits with Patti and the kids, where I needed to be out of my cell and place the tablet by a visiting window. It blurred out everything but my face, but I could see everything on their end and visit with more than one person. On July 13th, Patti hosted a college graduation party for our daughter Fiona in our backyard and I did a video visit with everyone at the party. Most folks I had not seen since before I reported to prison, so this feature was so nice to have.(Patti note-I was worried he might feel worse seeing the pool and party going on, but he said it was very beneficial and he saw so many people it was great. Our guest loved it too) Also the ability to make calls and watch movies when locked in my cell made it so much easier being locked in so much. One day Patti and I just watched 4 movies together all day long(July 2nd we had a lazy movie day) Once I got the tablet, each night we tried to watch a movie each at the same time. Timing was a little challenging, because my tablet only worked between around 7-7:30am and 8:45pm. Certain kitchen workers were allowed to use the tablet from 6am to midnight. Most inmates handed in the tablet at 8:45pm for charging and the overnight charge would last most of the day if you dimmed the screen way down. Otherwise you could get it charged up during the day as well. Besides movies, I listened to the radio and caught up on my NYC channels, which was a nice change compared to the channels around Lewisburg. I heard a federal prison converted to the GTL (Global Tel Link) tablets in use at Essex, but they didn’t support transferring the inmates music from the federal tablets (which costs about $1 per song) and there were lawsuits. The GTL tablets offer so much more than the federal tablets and if they were offered at federal prisons and camps it would cut down on all the cat and mouse games associated with contraband phones. When contraband is discovered, they take away TV’s, commissary, the gym, visitation, delay the RDAP program and lock folks up in the SHU. The folks most affected by these disciplinary actions are those without phones like me. Federal inmates at our camp are willing to spend money on these better tablets, but they are not offered.(most of the federal women’s prisons offer video visits, but not the men’s)The inmates at Essex who I socialized with worked as POD and hallway orderlies, in the central kitchen or central laundry. Shifts in the kitchen last as long as 6 hours and was busy work. Other jobs like the central laundry were less work, but less perks. Kitchen workers routinely cooked their own meals with spices and got larger portions. Pay at Essex was $40 per week for any job for a regular shift. I knew some kitchen workers doing two shifts, but they seemed to be cutting those out as more county inmates worked. This pay rate is much better than the $40-60 average per month paid at the camp. My bunkie was working two shifts and was sending money back to his family in Guatemala.
On Sunday June 23th the prosecutor and an FBI agent came to the prison to meet us and provided some details on the trial and trial prep. I told them I was not interested in a prep meeting. Monday my attorney told me if I had any chance at a further reduced sentence I need to do trial prep, so I told him fine. Tuesday we were taken separately to trial prep at an FBI office just up the street from Don Pablo’s (a good Spanish restaurant just up the street from the train station in Newark.) They handcuffed us behind the back and the ride was very uncomfortable. (I do take in the Portuguese and Brazilian section of East Newark with street decorations and lots of small ethnic restaurants and stores. We took our son Connor to a small churrascaria in this area for his birthday when he was at NJIT.) I was on pretrial release for four years, so being restrained by handcuffs, shackles, locked in cells, and in holding rooms is very frustrating. They pull me out of my pod Wednesday morning at 7am and I walk down to intake. Then after some waiting, I’m shackled and transported to Trenton in the same uncomfortable metal box van I arrived to Essex in. Me and one other inmate from Essex arrive at 9:15am and are placed in a holding room all day. We got a bagged lunch, which consisted of salty turkey slices, bread, cookies, cranberry juice cocktail and potato chips. At 3pm an FBI agent meets with me in a visitation cell and says they aren’t calling me that day. The other inmate had a sentencing from 10-11am. We both wait until 4pm and are transported back to Essex. Upon arrival to Essex, we wait in a holding room and get fed dinner and arrive back to our pod around 7pm. The next day Thursday was similar. Leave the pod at 7am with my co-defendant this time. Three of us are transported to Trenton. We are in a holding room all day, but I get called to testify from 1-4pm. During my testimony, I noticed someone that looks like my wife Patti in the way back of the courtroom. She is far away and the lighting is a bit dim.(Patti note-I place myself at the back behind people so Jim wouldn’t be distracted by me during his testimony. I also was not sure how Katie would feel about me being there to support Jim so I tried to stay out of sight. I felt the prosecutor was looking at me and knew who I was even though I had never met him. I guess with Jim’s sentencing and me being in the courtroom in Detroit and them watching Jim for a while they knew who I was too) At the end of the testimony as I’m walking out, I recognize it was her. It had been over a month since we had seen each other in person – the longest we have gone without seeing each other ever in our 33 years together. My co-defendant doesn’t testify Thursday and is just along for the crappy ride and holding room – much worse than just hanging in our cell and pod. The other inmate with us got sentenced earlier that morning. (BTW, our ankles are shackled all day, even in the holding room and courtroom. I guess they are afraid of us running off… I also attempt a workout in the holding room each day.) Friday is the same deal where we leave at 7am (even though the trial doesn’t start until noon that day) and it is just me and my co-defendant. I testify from 12:30 to 1:30. He doesn’t testify until 2pm. Before we left Trenton we asked about our travel back to our camps and the Marshals said they put us in the computer and said we are around 12-13 on the list and we were likely to leave that upcoming Wednesday. I mention Stewart airport and it sounds like we would go back that same way. My wife also attended my testimony and my co-defendants testimony Friday. It was very nice for both of us to have her support and I think the defendant (Katie) appreciated it as well. We arrive back in Essex around 5:20pm, but the prison is locked down again. We ask for dinner in the holding room and see trays, but they tell us the trays are for other inmates. We get back to our pod at 6:45 and ask for dinner several times and the CO says sorry, when you go to court it can be normal to miss dinner. So for me it was three very long, uncomfortable days.
Wednesday July 3rd comes and I don’t get called to leave, so I get very depressed. At least I had a tablet, which I received just two days prior. Then Wednesday July 10th comes and I still don’t leave.(Patti note- I called the Marshals on July 10 and they told me he’ll get there when he gets there and then on July 11 I called Lewisburg. I talked to a very nice CO and he tells me he is on a list, but that Lewsiburg operates the buses for transport for the entire BOP in the Northeast from NH to WV. He says usually it takes 1-3 weeks after the finish of a trial to get back to your original prison and that they just don’t go and pick up one guy) Finally on Tuesday July 16th my tablet displays a message that it is unusable in the middle of a call with my friend Chuck around 1:30pm. I’m hoping everyone else’s tablets work. Sure enough later than afternoon I confirm everyone else’s tablets are working and I hear it is typical for the tablets to stop working the day before for inmates who are leaving. Sure enough at 7am on Wednesday July 17th the CO comes to my cell door and says pack up, you’re leaving and put your blanket and sheet in a garbage bag. So I give back my borrowed items, give away the two books I read with Patti, give away more commissary items to folks who helped me, throw away some stuff and just take my legal paper and reading glasses. During the walk down to intake I see my co-defendant. Last time I saw him was Friday June 28th upon our return from court when his bunkie was very high on K2 and started arguing with him. Later that night they sent my co defendant to a protective custody pod where he was let out only two hours a day. He says it was a better experience. The opposite would have occurred at a federal prison. The guy high on K2 would have been sent to the SHU. As we are processed out of Essex, I ask where we are going and they tell me MDC in Brooklyn. I had to ask again, since I got so surprised and depressed at the same time. They said, you know that location is typical to re-enter the feds and quarantine. Again, I’m in disbelief and have also heard from camp inmates that MDC is REALLY bad. So after 45 minutes in a holding room, six of us are shackled and placed in an uncomfortable metal van.
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