Dirty Darrington Phone Zap!

PHONE ZAP!

Darrington Unit is currently on an extended( 2 month long) lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There are currently 7 confirmed positive cases and approximately 300 incarcerated people on “medical restriction” (lockdown) or “medical isolation”(solitary confinement) at the unit. Darrington Unit is not doing enough for prisoners’ safety amidst Covid-19.  They are not even providing hand sanitizer or other basic sanitation supplies.  Darrington Unit is not providing reasonable nutrition as they are only giving prisoners cold sandwiches which often contain only peanut butter, which is insufficient and unhealthy for everyone, but especially dangerous for those with Diabetes.  Furthermore, adequate lighting is not being provided in the E-Line showers and I-row showers are flooding sewage water into cells, causing urgent concerns for the safety and health of incarcerated people in the unit.

Read an interview here on the conditions at Darrington Unit before the pandemic, as reported by Comrade Z who is incarcerated there. They include issues with mold, pest infestations, unsafe lighting, inadequate law library services, as well as rampant abuse, violence, and indifference to suicides. There are three additional articles on Dirty Darrington reprinted here.

On Monday, June 1st, call TDCJ’s Darrington Unit at 281-595-3465 between 9AM to 5PM and leave a message for Warden Bruce Armstrong.

List of Demands: 

• Prevention: Provide sanitation supplies including hand sanitizer & masks
• Treatment: Routine temperature & symptom checks for incarcerated people
• Meals: Improve nutrition, calories/substance, variety & attention to special dietary needs
• Communication: increase access to phones & ability to buy envelopes & stamps
• Safety: Immediately address issues with sewage backup & needed repairs to showers & lighting

Sample script:

“I am calling because I am concerned about the physical and mental health and safety of the people incarcerated at your unit.  Darrington Unit needs to take better Covid-19 precautions in all sections of the prison.  This includes masks and hand sanitizer being provided to all incarcerated people.  Routine temperature and symptom checks on prisoners are also needed.  Prisoners need a well-balanced diet and sandwiches alone are not enough.  It is crucial that prisoners’ have access to communication during this worldwide pandemic and they must continue to have phone and commissary access to ensure that is possible. It is also crucial for prisoners’ physical safety that the lighting in all showers is adequate.  Furthermore, the showers need full repairs, not just patch jobs.  Flooding sewage water into cells is detrimental to prisoners’ physical and mental health.”

Please contact FightToxicPrisons@gmail.com to report the response you receive from the unit.

Thank you for your solidarity!

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