Mr. Donald Powell
133749
Lock Box 500
Ionia, Michigan 48846
2-27-76

I would like to make this statement known to the general public of the world. That while incarcerated at the Michigan Reformatory of Ionia, strange and bizarre happenings be happening!

While being incarcerated in the so called Adjustment Center for the past three and a half months, I’ll attempt to bring this Adjustment Center into the public’s eye, for its opinion and criticism. First of all I’m going to give the Adjustment Center another name, let’s call it the “Hole”.

The hole is equipped with a counselor and a treatment team to determine when the inmate will be released to general population. The counselor’s name is Berry he is suppose to adminster advice on various subjects on hot to keep the inmates content. He comes in everyday wearing a different kind of suit, and wearing “For Get Me Not” perfume! He be smileing in the inmates facies, and (slang) stabbing them in the back once he closes his office door. There he sits behind his desk wearing his wash in ware suite to fill out Security Classification Committee reports. He recommends releases to general population on the majority of the forms knowing in advance that only two inmates at the most will be released to general population! There’s an ex-convict name Mr. Murphy who is in charge of security at the institution. The counselor and the treatment team word means as much as a suspects word whos about to give his please in front of a judge at a pre-trial exam interview in a court of law.

Ever since this ex-convict has come into some power he has made contradictory statements and have carried grudges against inmates who have contributed in hurting his pride by telling him, what they felt and think of him. But since I know he’s a snob I’m going to give his posterior a little air for the moment. And talk about the living conditions in the houseing unit of the hole.

In the liveing unit of the hole the inmates are served three round meals a day. By hallboys who were  classified to be placed in the security section of the institution for protection. These inmates or let me say the majority of them are known homosexuals. These homosexuals are permitted to handle food, and serve the food to the inmates in the hole. This is the biggist and most important reason why we the majority black inmates lose at least twenty pounds, when admitted to the hole. The inmates in Ionia do not want homosexuals passing there food  out to them. The hallboys personal hygine be so file and rank to the human nose that the majority of the inmates throw the food in the homosexuals facies. This action carried out is the biggist reason to weight loesing, not to omit the fact that another factor to contribit to the lose is, the administration doesn’t permit inmates to put salt or other seasoning items on the food. Now I ask you how many people likes to eat unseasoned food to eat? I most certainly do not!

After that last sorry meal of the day we inmates have approximately six hours before the lights are torned off. Within that time the inmates are supposed to be allowed to shower at least three times a week. And come out of are cells for at least thirty minuts each day. Notice that I said suppose to! At this present time we inmates within the three and a half months I have been in the hole have yet to be allowed to take three showers in one week. Also we are not allowed to come out of these dirty cages to stretch are legs for the thirty minutes due to us.

It was ordered by the warden that the inmates in the hole be allowed to shower three times a week, and come out to stretch there legs. Appearently the warden does not have any control over what the officers do. The grievance procedure the inmates are permitted to file on officers have no effect in favor of the inmates.

I want to take you back to January for a minute when about twenty people came to the institution for a sight seeing tour. Three days before the spectators came there was kaious in the hole. The officers supplied the inmates with everything they needed to clean their cages with, they let them shower, come out and stretch their legs and then gave each individual a clean set of sheets to replace the ones we had for three weeks. Everything the inmates needed was supplied to them. They even altered the log book to make it appear as though we were receiving everything we were intitled to. But when the tour came all the inmates began in unison yelling, Come On Down and Ask Us Questions WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH, THE TRUTH, THE TRUTH. COME ON DOWN AND ASK US QUESTIONS WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH, TRUTH, TRUTH. With about five minutes of this the tour whent away for some unknown reason? The noise stoped and everything was as usual.

Since I have taken you back in January let me bring you back to February once again, and talk about Murphy the Snob: this ex-convict has the audacity to tell the inmates to practice good hygine while in the hole. The inmates are permitted to buy certaint items from the store, such as soap, toothpast, toothbrush, & shower shoes. There was a variety of grievances filed on the snob because he tells the inmates to practice good hygine. But do not permit them to buy hairgrease for the hair to prevent it from breaking off and drying up, to help combat dandruff. Oh he’ll permit us to buy toothpast so when we communicate to him he will not have to smell our “bad breath”. He prevents us from buying alter shave lotion to put on our facies. Then he orders us to shave. He’ll permit us to buy soap so we can shave, and wash up with, but will not permit us to buy deodorant to put under the arms so we’ll smell fresh and clean. Oh listen to this he’ll permit the inmates to buy shower shoes so they will not catch cold and get athlete’s feet. But will not permit inmates to buy face creams to combat chapped dry ashes skin that could possable lead to being infected. But yet he tells the inmates to practice good hygine in order to be released to general population from the hole. And about them grievance forms that were submitted in on hem, the next week he ordered a SAKE down and confiscated all the books he once permitted us to have. Why because he says they were a fire hazard.

This present system of the Adjustment Center of Ionia is anachronous and incongruous. For all the anonymous candidates who are bound to unite at this facility for incarceration, the adjustment center is the breeding grounds for learning new tactics on how to beat the system policys. There is know group therapy sessions to mend and work out problems. But yet its called the Adjustment Center. There were two hangings in two months which could have been avoided if the officers adhere to making the rounds as required. There was one attempt suicide that the officers didn’t take serious, they assumed the inmate was trying to succeed in being placed in the hospital were its warm and the food is better. Without getting the psychiatrist opinion, or placeing the inmate in the observation cell the inmate committed suicide later.

The Adjustment Center is no place for inmates with suicidal tendency, weak constitutions and know will power.

But as the saying go’s experience is the best teacher, doubt me not for the truth shall prevail.