As the heart of COVID is hopefully in our rearview mirror, it is important to learn from what happened and how people we treated during those times. Jejune was lucky enough to get an exclusive interview from an ex inmate who recently was released from prison, but was there for the entirety of the pandemic. For the privacy of this individual we have kept this interview anonymous. It is heartbreaking to see how mental health was completely dismissed during this time and how the prisons took advantage of the situation to milk these, mostly poor prisoners, of their money while they so hungrily craved their loved ones during scary times. Please read on.

Wow, you spent the pandemic in jail. Can you tell us what state you are in for reference?
I am from Maryland, but I was locked up in Virginia.

Everyone said that covid just ripped through the jails. Can you tell us a bit about your
experience with it? Did you catch it?
Initially no. Jails never share information with inmates, so everything we knew was information fed to us by our family members looking on the websites. I believe where I was had 290 active cases at its height. I was, By the Grace of God, in a Pod that just so happened not to have any infections. It was scary at the time, especially before anyone knew what was happening. People, especially old men, seemed to just be sent to Segregation to die, a couple did, according to gossipy guards. I dipped and dodged COVID, and begged and begged for the Vaccines for two and a half years. Wouldn’t you know it, I caught a cold the week I was going home, I asked to be tested because I didn’t want to bring anything home to my family. I was COVID positive.

How were people being treated? Did you know of people who passed from it? How was all this handled?
As you can imagine the CO’s were pretty callous at first when nobody knew what was going on back in early 2020. I was in a rural area jail where it took a while for the virus to diffuse into it. Like I said earlier people were isolated in Seg and once the cases got out of control they had entire Pods dedicated to housing infected people. All movement was shut down, as well as, most mental health services. I’ve only been a witness to two deaths during COVID, but it’s kind of one of those things where everybody knows somebody who passed.

Covid was a very isolating time across the world, but I can only imagine how it would have felt in jail. Did you feel isolated? Were inmates able to interact with each other? Was the structure changed to help prevent the spread of the disease?
Yes, it was difficult. At one point I went five months without seeing the sun. All movement was caput; so, any working programs, jobs, recreation, or leaving your general area was out. I would put in request to go to medical just to take a walk down the hall. I’d request my BP checked, or make up something not serious.

We hear that visitation weren’t allowed during the pandemic. How did you connect with your family?
There were a fair number of methods to contacting your family. There were JP5 players that allowed you to email your family for $0.25 a message. Four pay phones for 70 people, that always turned into a battle. Video visits were a Zoom like call, except you had to speak into an old-school receiver like a payphone, those were $8 for 20 min, or $20 for 50 min. Most people inside have very little money; so ,they didn’t have access to this. Writing is usually free.

You had to pay $8 for 20 minutes or $20 for 50 minutes of screen time. Does normal visitation cost inmates? This seems very expensive. Were inmates able to afford this?
I am ahead of the questions, hahaha. Most inmates were not able to do this. Service was poor. GTL is definitely exploiting poor people because they have the label “criminal”.

Mental health was at an all time low during the pandemic for the average person. How was it in the jail you were in?
Mental health was a serious challenge, I witnessed more suicide and suicide attempts than deaths from COVID. Many people struggle with mental health being free natural Americans. In prison generally isn’t a happy place, but there are mental health services, recreation, interpersonal relationships developed over years and for some people fulfilling jobs. That ray of sunlight was sealed with COVID. I was at three facilities, each had different policies with, what I believe, were good faith attempts to limit the spread of the virus. Not much in these policies took into account the psychological impact.

Were there systems in place to help people who were suffering?
Meds, hahaha. I want to be fair, the restrictions fluctuated with the severity of the infection rate. At some points people were able to see mental health workers and psychologist. I was able to get ones attention and they printed me out a bunch of sudoku. The mental health people were trying to stay safe like everyone else. It was very hard for most people locked up.

How were you able to stay positive during your time there?
Well I had a short sentence, an excellent support system, and read everything I could get my hands on. Sticking to a schedule, waking up, clean living, I thought of myself like a monk.

What would you like to see improved in our jail system?
I’d like to see it shrank to a minimum. Its largely unnecessary and filled with mentally ill people, probation violators, and people with substance abuse problems. There is a serious lack of empathy for people who have made mistakes. The jails aren’t filled with Lex Luthors or Jokers, they’re filled with very regular people who need help.

Now that you are a free man, what is next for you?
Two years of probation, a couple thousand dollars a court fees, and putting my life back together. Reconnecting with my kids, thanking and repaying my family especially my fiancée for their support. At least the job market is strong right now. I got to get use to these masks. In 2020 I fashioned a mask out of torn bed sheets. These surgical mask as way more comfortable.

What is your motto in life?
“Life is a bitch, but every dog has his day” Life is going to be hard, just have the presence of mind to notice when its this dogs day, and enjoy it. Thank you, Love and Dasssit.

Covid In The Jails - A First Hand Exposure