By Jodi Arias:
Arizona’s Director of Prisons, Ryan Thornell, was onsite Friday afternoon to experience for himself the hot, stifling air inside what one woman here aptly termed our “concrete coffins.”
Following his visit, resources were mobilized to enact unprecedented changes.
Last Friday afternoon, I was working in the library when my coworker breezed in from wherever she had just been and said, “The director is on C yard!”
“The director?”
“The director.”
I grabbed my glasses and we went outside to stare across Lumley Unit’s broad dirt field to try to get a glimpse of him. Appointed by the governor to oversee all prisons across Arizona, no one in the department ranks above the director. His visits are a big deal.
Perryville had just been the focus of a news story that broke earlier in the week on the local NBC affiliate, 12News. The topic was the unbearable conditions in which we are housed during the summer. As you may know, the Sonora Desert, which stretches across a large swath of the Southwestern United States, reaches lethal temperatures in the summer, and this year marks yet another of record-breaking heat.
Thornell’s visit appeared to be unannounced. He arrived on Lumley Unit with very few people while the unit-level big wigs, chilling in their cushy air-conditioned offices, scrambled to join him in the middle of what ultimately became a 113-degree day.
We watched as his now-burgeoning entourage left C yard and marched on towards D yard. He asked several of the women on the yards what short-term suggestions they had for relieving some of the misery and danger the intense heat presents (that is, in lieu of air-conditioning, a long-term plan riddled with logistical conundrums).
Here are some of the ideas they proposed to Thornell:
Suggestion: more cold water
It’s already offered in two kegs, or “igloos,” on each yard. However, these hold a mere five gallons for over one hundred women, and they often run dry in the evenings, right about the time we’re all headed for a long night in our hot “concrete coffins.”
Suggestion: free ice for all
How is this for extortion? Trap a bunch of humans in the desert, deprive them of air-conditioning, and eliminate cold water from the tap so that it only flows warm or hot, including the showers. Then charge them for ice.
Ice is big business for Keefe Group, supplier of our commissary and sole holder of the commissary contract for Arizona’s prisons. At $2.05 for a 7-pound bag that quickly melts in an un-air-conditioned cell, the company undoubtedly makes a fortune on ice-ticket sales.
Suggestion: more shade
Each yard is laid with thousands of square meters of heat-refracting concrete. This concrete bakes all day in the sun and radiates heat all night. Same for the concrete buildings in which we live. Shade is sparse. It’s also an inconvenience to the budget, which typically gets allocated for other projects, though what projects is anyone’s guess.
Shade also interferes with the yard’s security cameras. All two of them.
Suggestion: misters
Perryville isn’t a spa resort in Scottsdale. Even I was cynical about misters.
You can imagine my great surprise when these suggestions were exactly what the Director ordered.
Just after sunset Friday evening, only hours after Thornell left, a semi-truck rolled onto Lumley Unit, detached from its giant trailer, which had a running generator attached to it, and drove off. A smaller truck approached, topped off the generator’s gas, and also left. We all speculated.
The next day, we found out the trailer was filled with pallets of Keefe ice. Free ice for everyone! I choked back emotion when I saw people who have never been able to afford ice line up for their blessedly cold, 7-pound bag. Some were women made meek and manageable by heavily prescribed psych meds, for whom excessive heat is contraindicated but who can’t not be in excessive heat because there’s nowhere else they can be.
Saturday also brought a crew of workers to Lumley Unit who installed misters in various places across the yard. As soon as they began misting, we all felt an immediate difference.
Sunday opened with still more surprises. Another work crew marched onto the yard, erected a metal frame over one of the concrete tables, bolted it in place, then covered it with shade.
Director Thornell also returned on Sunday afternoon. Did you read that? On Sunday! He knew the weather wasn’t taking a weekend off so neither did he. He made sure his ranking staff didn’t either. All the bosses spent their weekend at Perryville rolling out the director’s directives. He was back onsite to check the progress and — almost unbelievably — ask the women for still more suggestions. “Within reason,” he added.
That the Director of Prisons would deign to speak to any of us in custody, in our environment, on our terms, and not in some scripted setting orchestrated by public relations staff is so rare that this alone is worth a newsletter. That he accepted our feedback and acted on our suggestions feels as though Perryville has somehow shifted into a parallel universe. We didn’t just feel heard, we were heard.
These changes have been heartening, to say the least. I am a bit in awe of this man. Not because of his impressive academic credentials — a master’s degree in criminal justice and a doctorate in political science — but because of his boss moves.
He was made aware of a problem and took immediate action requiring significant logistics. His leadership makes the last two guys who held his position look like cold, inept clowns.
Ryan Thornell for president!
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ArtByJodiArias.com – UPDATE
Jodi’s personal efforts to raise money for her appeals also continue through the production of her art, which is sold at ArtbyJodiArias.com. Her art admin supports her efforts by running this “side hustle” of sorts on her behalf and taking none of the funds. The time and effort he devotes to this process (filing the taxes, trips to the post office every week to ship art) are an invaluable contribution.
If you are interested in another way to contribute to the cause, any purchase at ArtbyJodiArias.com is a legitimate way to support Jodi. You can also check out Jodi’s art on Instagram @ArtbyJodiArias.
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And Remember folks… as I always say – each day that passes takes us one day closer to Jodi’s release date.
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Leave your thoughts & comments below…
SJ
Team Jodi #WINNING <<<
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