On April 1, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Prisons played the biggest April Fool’s joke ever. However, the bad part for inmates was that it wasn’t a joke. That was the day the BOP instituted their nationwide lockdown for all federal prisons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. federal prisons are divided into four security levels: high, medium, low, and minimum (or “camps”). Most high- and medium-security prisons have individual cells with toilets in the cells. Most lows and camps are open dorms with a shared restroom area. Obviously, the “lows” and camps would have more trouble keeping individual inmates separate.
I am at FCI-Petersburg, a medium-security prison. I can only report with any authority what has taken place at this institution, although I have heard rumors about events at other prisons, which I cannot verify.
For a week or so before the April 1st lockdown, this institution started a “modified” lockdown. During this period, inmates were allowed out of their cells during regular hours but were to remain in their units. Individual units were supposed to be kept separate (for the most part) while going to the Chow Hall and when going to Recreation. However, sometimes, my unit would go to Chow with one unit and sometimes another. Also, Unicor (prison industry) was still working, in which inmates from all units mingled. It was very haphazard.
According to the memo handed out on April 1 explaining the details of the lockdown, inmates would be locked in their cells and would only be let out for 1 1/2 hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to shower and use the phone and the computer, one tier at a time (there are two tiers per unit). Masks were handed out, and all inmates would be required to wear a mask at all times when they were out of their cell.
From that day forward, all meals would be brought to the units and passed (through our tray slot) to each individual cell. We would receive a box meal for breakfast and dinner and a hot tray for lunch.
In addition to being locked down, all visits were also canceled. And the BOP, unlike many state prisons, doesn’t have video visits, so everyone was cut off from family and friends. The only bright spot is that the BOP allowed free five-minute phone calls so we could at least speak with our loved ones.
I was told, but cannot confirm, that the inmates at Butner Low (which is an open dorm) were told to remain in their cubicles and not move around and, at some point, rioted or at least refused to comply with these orders.
This lockdown went on without change until sometime in May, perhaps the week of the 18th, when we were told that to get “exercise,” each tier in each unit would walk separately to the Chow Hall to pick up our lunch tray and box dinner meal.
This was the first time we were allowed outside since April 1, but the walk there and back took only five minutes at most, and we were immediately locked down again.
On May 29 or so, a memo was placed on the computer announcing that the following week, each unit would be allowed 35 minutes to go outside to Recreation to walk the track one day per week. We would then be allowed 1 1/2 hours out of our cells on the other four days, Monday through Friday, and then locked back in our cells for the weekend.
The problem with this was that you could go to Rec—or—to shower or use the phone/computer, but not both. Going out to Rec, getting sweaty, and not being able to shower didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
To complicate matters further, my unit’s Recreation day was Monday. That meant that the last day you could take a shower was Friday. You’d be locked in your cell all weekend, go to Recreation on Monday, get all sweaty, and then still not be able to shower until Tuesday.
The first day this occurred was June 1, and some guys from my unit did actually go to Rec. The trick was on them. Beginning the following day, June 2, the entire compound (and BOP) went on a full lockdown due to the riots going on across the country. No one was let out that entire week. We were allowed a five-minute shower per cell on Friday, and that’s it.
Fortunately, on the week of June 8, the “riot” lockdown ended, and we went back to being let out for 1 1/2 hours on Monday through Friday.
Another change came the following week. Beginning on June 15, the entire unit would be let out of our cells from about 8:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. For some inexplicable reason, we would be locked down again in our cells until our unit was called for lunch, usually between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. At that time, we were locked back in our cells until about 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., when we were again let out until 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. In addition, each unit was allowed one hour at Rec per week. Evenings and weekends were still spent locked down.
At some point in May, they started clearing out individual cells in each unit to serve as quarantine cells in the event that an inmate had to go off-compound for a medical visit or some other reason. In addition, the top tier of one of the units was cleared out to serve as a quarantine unit for inmates being released from prison. So, we’ve been locked in our cells and units for three months now under quarantine, but to get released, they move you to another unit to be placed in another cell for two to three weeks under quarantine.
Another added twist, which began around June 10, is that during the week, when we walked to the Chow Hall to pick up our lunch and dinner, we had to be in full uniforms. So, they let us out of our cells during the midday lockdown. We put on our uniforms, walked to Chow to pick up our trays, and walked back (which took about 5 minutes), then immediately removed our uniforms again and got comfortable.
The latest development is that beginning July 1, we began walking to the Chow Hall to pick up breakfast and walk back. This probably saves them meals for those who don’t want to get up and walk to the Chow Hall. Again, we must wear our uniforms for the 5-minute walk to the Chow Hall and back, and then everyone takes them off again. An added bonus is that we received a hot breakfast for the first time since March (those box meals were getting monotonous). Plus, it appears they’ve done away with the lunchtime lockdown (unless that was just our officer’s choice).
Personally, this was–and continues to be–the longest lockdown by far that I have experienced in prison. It can be challenging to remain locked in a cell with someone for that long. This has not been healthy physically or mentally for anyone. I have a friend who works in Suicide Watch, and he said they have been busier than ever before during this period.
Some inmates here can email friends in other prisons via a friend or family member who forwards these emails. I have been told through these inmates–but cannot verify–that many or most other prisons are back on their regular schedules and are just required to wear masks. I was further told that when someone asked the Warden here about this, he replied that there have been no cases at this prison and intends to keep it that way. If this is true, we are being punished for being healthy.
On a personal note, this lockdown is really getting to me, as it is to every inmate on this compound. As I’ve stated, it’s not healthy physically or mentally. We have been locked down for three full months now in complete isolation. No one sees any logic in continuing to keep us locked down when no inmate on this compound can have contracted COVID-19. But as the old saying goes, expecting logic or common sense from a BOP staff member is like trying to get blood out of a turnip.
When this lockdown started, I didn’t expect it to last for long. Now, I am beginning to think that the senior staff here will keep us locked down for as long as they believe they can get away with it.
–Kelly R. Jones
