JOURNEY THRU THE ROW ARIZONA
In all the years that I have been looked up I have met a lot of pen pals some for a short period of time and others for a long period of time and every encounter the questions have all been about the same. They want to know how the conditions are and what the rules are. What they can send, and how. So I hope that as you read this you will get some answer to those questions. The conditions here are similar to a super maximum prison. We never have any physical contact with anyone except when we leave our cells to go to medical and that contact is when we are hand cuffed. We don’t leave our cells unless our hands are restrained, even to walk the 10 to 15 feet to the showers, and only after the door is shut and the pins up on it do the handcuffs come off.
We live in single cell. And there are approximately 120 people on death row. We all live in 2 clusters of pods with each pod having 10 cells in them and two showers.
In our cells we are permitted to have a television set, a walkman, a lamp, an electric razor.
As for reading material we are allowed to have 7 reading books (not including religious item), 5 magazines and legal paper work.
How to get books or magazine?
We are allowed to check out one book a week from the prison library we write a kite to library request a book and it is sent to us. The other option is to have them sent in form the outside in order for this to happen they have to come from a bookstore. The most common way is through the internet. Used book stores are also allowed. The same for magazines. They have to come from a company and are most commonly sent in by ordering the person a subscription. We are allowed pornography as long as the magazine does not show the people dressed up as religious figures, teachers, military personal, law enforcement or medical staff and no bondage, SM.
As for stamps. Unfortunately we are not allowed to have stamps sent in because of this rule we must purchase them through the inmate store the cost what they would normally on the outside.
As is often asked after this is explained
can you send money in?
Yes, however it has to be sent in by money order certified bank check (cashiers check) or through western union. The website is www.westernunion.com/corrections
This must have the inmates name and D.O.C.# on them.
The food here is on a 6 week rotations. We are served 3 meals a day except on Saturday and Sunday, which is just breakfast and dinner. The trays are brought to our cell. Where we have about 1 hour to eat then the trays are picked up. For those who can afford it there is the inmate store, where items may be bought such as pastries, chips, crackers etc.
Recreation and showers are given 3 times a week and are on a rotation. We are allowed 2 hours of recreation and every day we go out and then we shower. This usually lasts a total of 3 ½ hours, depending on the officer. You could of course just shower and the time your in the shower depends on the officers the average is 30 minutes to an hour.
Visitation and phone calls.
For both these you must be on the inmates 10 list. We are allowed 10 people on our list and of course special visits can be requested but first how to get on a 10 list. In order to be put on a 10 list the inmate must write to SMU II visitation and request an application at which time it is sent and the inmate then sends the application to you. You must fill it out and send it back to the address of the prison but it must go to SMU II visitation. Then you must wait for 4 weeks for the prison to run a background check. The inmate will be notified if you are approved to visit. If you are you can visit a total of 4 hours a week, each visit will be 2 hours. So you are allow 2 - 2 hour visits.
As for special visits. We are allowed to have one special visit a month and there must be a reasonable explanation for the visit such as you live out of state or cohoursuntry and can not visit regularly. The visits can be scheduled for all the days that death row can receive visits which is a total of 14 . Here are the days and times we are allowed visits:
Friday 2pm to 4 pm
Saturday 8 am to 10 am and 2pm to 4pm
Sunday 11 am to 1 pm and 2pm to 4pm
Monday 8am to 10am and 11 am to 1 pm
You must wear appropriate clothing.
For female a bra is a must as are underwear.
No orange clothing or blue jeans as these are the colors of the prisoners.
Phone calls.
You can not be called to your cell phone and all calls are recorded and randomly are listened in on. If caught having phone sex the call will be disconnected. All calls are collect and international calls are permitted as long the number is on the inmate’s 10 list. Calls to or in the United States are 10 minutes long and can be called 2 times. We are allowed to call every 8 days.
International collect calls are different as we must leave our cells and we are only allowed one call a month for 15 minutes total. So the counsellor must approve the time and date of the call as he/she makes the call and must use a collect call company. Most come for Germany is 1-800-292-0049 and then the number.
These are the most common questions asked I hope that what I wrote may help you better with your pen pal and the rules and conditions here. I have been here since 1998 and in that time there have been many changes but in order to not go crazy in here you must keep yourself occupied. In this the most common way is to watch television. However that alone can not keep you sane. You must work out and keep your mind stimulated and this is one reason I like to write people in other countries. In doing that I was able to fall in love and begin a life. This is rare as most inmates will attempt to use people for their gains. So be careful and be safe. I hope this information does help you...
written Bobby