I'll summarize this as much as I can, but I have been known to be a little long in the tooth.  My foray into the Idaho State prison system began in the Receiving and Diagnostics Unit (RDU).  Upon arrival I went into a small classroom with about 25 other inmates.  I was one of only three first time offenders, aka fish.  We were all given a lecture on the rules of the prison system and our bunk assignments.  Over the next six weeks we were given a series of medical, dental and aptitude tests.

     One thing that stuck out to me was my initial meeting with the case manager, Tyvan.  She informed me that my "pathway" was to complete the Therapeutic Community Program, or TC.  TC was a program that was designed to fix anyone who has ever done anything illegal.  She informed me that although this program needed to be completed that I was unable to do so until I was down to 18 months left on my sentence.  I asked what was I suppose to do in the mean time???  She replied, "whatever you want."  HA!!!  My response to that, " so you want me to do whatever I want for 23 years, get nice and institutionalized, do this magical program then I'm ready to reenter society?"  Tyvan's answer, like so many others during the last 9 years, "well, that's just the way it works."  The TC program no longer exists in Idaho so what is my "pathway" now?

     In June of 2012, I was assigned housing in a dorm (14 House).  The accommodations took a while to absorb but the amenities were great.  I had access to the gym, pool table, weight room as well as outdoor basketball court and tracks.  This didn't last long.  At the end of August of that same year I was moved across the street to the privately owned CCA prison, gladiator school.

     After I was given my bag of goodies (sheets, blankets, clothes, etc...) I met the housing coordinator and he asked me, "do you want to live with the gangs or the sex offenders?"  WTF?  Were these really my only choices,?  They were.  EF!!! Blue pill or red pill?  I chose "Gangs", which was actually a great choice due to the structure and organization on the unit.  Mind you, I lived for six months with my head on a swivel.  The poker table was my hangout and the place I ended up meeting everyone.  I was housed in the same cell for almost four years, then in June of 2016 I was moved back to "The Yard", that's what they call the facility were I was originally housed.

     This world seemed much smaller now.  I knew how this machine worked.  I immediately got a job at the gym.  I started a beginner's fitness class and volunteered at the medical annex.  Along with psych tech Hill, I helped train geriatric gentlemen.  Well, I guess they don't care how much you contribute to a facility because in November 2017 I was moved back across the street.  Honestly, there is no rhyme nor reason to the decisions made by the move coordinators but this move was a fairly easy transition because they just moved me back to the same unit.

     Seven months later in June of 2018, due to overcrowding, an unfortunate result of overcharging and over sentencing, I was transported to Karnes City, Texas.  I was housed in a dungeon like facility for three months before being transferred to my current facility in Eagle Pass, Texas.  Myself and around 600 other Idaho inmates are being housed in a maximum security facility although none of us are maximum security inmates.

     I am actually one of the few people that like it here.  I'm closer to home, I've had visits and get several video visits every week.  This won't last long though, Idaho is scrambling to find a private prison to house us along with 1200 other inmates.  Oh, I forgot to mention, during all this time, all these moves, hundreds of volatile and violent situations, I've remained a model inmate.  Not one infraction, but the doesn't matter.