New Prison Yard Schedules Make No Sense

 We prisoners have a saying that goes something like, "If it makes sense, that's why the prison doesn't do it." In other words, pretty much most of what is done to run prisons is counterintuitive. Logical thinking is apparently not required to run a prison. 

Still, it's hard not to wonder (and speculate about) why some decisions are made. Clearly, we prisoners do not have all the information that goes into making decisions, and I concede that some decisions that appear illogical might have a reason that at least seems legitimate. But in the face of constant stupidity, it's no wonder some conspiracies arise. 

This past week the administration at MTU decided to institute a new yard schedule. Already, because of Covid restrictions, we do not get our normal yard times, but now we get even less. Instead of doing what they've been doing for months, now only half a unit can be allowed out on small yard at a time. That means we get half the yard time we had before, which was already shortened because of lengthy chow times, and general staff apathy. The reason administration gives is "social distancing," despite the fact that over 80% of the prison population has been vaccinated and even more have had Covid-19. 

We have had no positive cases among prisoners for weeks, and the "positives" for weeks before that had no symptoms, likely meaning they were false positives. Staff members have tested positive recently because they have largely refused the vaccine, but prisoners are the ones being punished. Officers don't social distance, but they are at the highest risk of getting the virus. 

With such illogical decision making, it's hard not to wonder what else is driving these decisions. Perhaps it is the increase in violence on the compound, driven by a growing frustration and declining mental health among prisoners, as well as fights over debts owed for illegal substances. Since this prison has been dealing with staff shortages for months, "social distancing" is a good excuse to use for management troubles.

But another possibilty exists. Perhaps decisions to drag out the covid restrictions, and even tighten them when the worst has long passed, is driven by money. States (including state prisons) have been receiving federal dollars to help with the covid crisis, so it's possible that in order to continue qualifying for this money the state must continue to have a "crisis," even if a crisis no longer exists. 

It's difficult to know where, exactly, the problem lies. That's the beauty of bureaucracy, I guess. There's always someone higher up to blame. Some officers and staff love the tighter restrictions, because it punishes us prisoners. But not all of them do. Some officers are so frustrated by the administrative ineptitude that they are quitting. This only exacerbates the staffing shortages. Sadly, it's not the officers who hate prisoners who quit either. It's the good ones. The ones who care and who treat prisoners like human beings.

Unfortunately, we prisoners don't have the luxury of quitting. Instead, we take it on the chin. Some write useless grievances (the process lacks basic Constitutional protections), some catch insolence tickets for expressing their frustrations, and the rest of us suffer in silence. 

Prison was never meant to be fun, but it ought to at least be operated with some common sense. Is that too much to ask?