30th Aug 04

Who are the people in your neighbourhood?

The quietest inmate in our housing area is my next-door neighbour, Daniel. He does not speak to anyone except for his old-timer cellmate, Timmy the Wood. I sometimes overhear Daniel talking in a soft and timid voice.

When inmates pass our cell on the way to the shower, they usually give a friendly nod or a greeting, but not Daniel. Sometimes I smile and look expectantly at him as he walks by, but his eyes are always looking either straight ahead or down at the floor. After observing his eyes a few times, I began to feel that something was amiss. A permanent haunted look resides in those eyes. They bulge unnaturally: too much eyeball seems to be exposed. There's chaos in those eyes. I’ve seen plenty of inmates looking agitated and anguished due to the conditions; however, Daniel’s eyes express a state of constant trauma. If eyes are windows to the soul, it appears as if he has a tempest lurking within him.

Apart from Daniel’s eyes, there is nothing unusual about his appearance. He is short and stout and looks to be around thirty-years old. His thin, reddish hair is neatly cut; a boyish fringe covers his forehead. He is the mildest-mannered inmate in the pod.

When Daniel went to the Medical Unit yesterday, my other neighbour, Barbarian, questioned Timmy the Wood about Daniel’s past. Timmy revealed that Daniel’s prison score was a 5-5, which is the highest level of classification; that he was sentenced to 350 years, and he would be eligible for parole in 175 years. Apparently, his lengthy sentence was proportionate to the number of his victims. Timmy told us that Daniel is a serial killer.

Despite Daniel’s seemingly gentle disposition, he is probably the most dangerous inmate I have been housed with thus far.

26th Aug 04

Vegetarian Diet

I started to receive the vegetarian diet today. The veggie burger tonight was delicious. It came with potatoes, garbanzo beans, kidney beans and green beans. In order to receive the diet I had to change my religion to Hindu on the Diet Request Form. This a natural progression after studying yoga for several years. I am now keen to learn more about the Hindu religion. My favourite cuisine has always been Indian.

Thanks for your kind offers of veggie-food parcels. Unfortunately I can not receive food in the mail.

15th Sept 04

Open letter to the Guardian from Jon

Thank you for having the courage to highlight the plight of the downtrodden inmates in Joe Arpaio's jail. Before the publication of the blog in your newspaper, I felt as if I were a lonely stone, sunk at the bottom of a muddy pond. The Guardian readership has raised that stone to a bright surface. Hopefully, the increased scrutiny will cause an improvement in the conditions. What is occurring in that jail is disgraceful. Plato wrote that democracy is the path to tyranny. It is up to the press and the public to expose and suppress tyranny when and where it occurs. Thank you tremendously for championing a worthy cause. I am overcome with joy because you published my scrawl. Appreciatively and humbly yours, Jon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1299259,00.html

20th Aug 04

SMU2

I’m temporarily at a super-maximum facility. The most dangerous criminals in Arizona are housed in neighbouring "runs" (corridors) and lots of them are "lifers" (serving natural life sentences, or hundreds of years).

Our run consists of ten two-man cells, five upstairs and five down. There is a sixth cell on each floor containing a shower. I am not allowed out of my cell except to shower, or go to the Medical Unit.

7.00am: The guards open the trap on the cell door. Waking up, I raise myself from the bottom bunk and grab a breakfast tray. Breakfasts have included hash browns, French toast, oatmeal, eggs, pancakes, waffles and meat. A great improvement on Sheriff Joe’s green bologna!

7.15am: I am back on my bunk.

7.30am: The guards open the trap and demand the return of the plastic breakfast trays.

8.00am: I return to slumber.

9.00am: The guard offers us showers (three days per week). “Shower! Shower!” he yells. I awake, get dressed and grab my bar of soap and a towel. I am handcuffed through the trap. The door is opened and I walk to a cell containing a shower. On entering the shower I am unhandcuffed through the trap. Showering takes ten minutes but I am left waiting for up to an hour before I am handcuffed and escorted back to my cell.

10.00am: Lunch sacks are served through the trap. They contain four pieces of wheat bread, two pieces of cheese, bright-orange crackers, sandwich meat (still no veggie diet) and sometimes peanut butter.

10.30am: I commence reading, writing and studying.

2.00pm: A guard offers to dispose of my trash through the trap.

3.00pm: I am offered cleaning supplies. These consist of liquid soap, a toilet scrubber and a broom on a shortened handle; after usage, I return these supplies through the trap.

4.00pm: Dinner trays are served through the trap. Dinner is usually meat, mashed potatoes, wheat bread and a vegetable.

5.00pm: The trays are collected through the trap.

6.00pm: Mail is delivered. This is the highlight of the day for most inmates. Some inmates boast about how many items of mail they have received, and they taunt the inmates who have received none.

7.00pm: "Kites" are offered. Kites are forms we can use to communicate with the various staff members. Issues concerning classification, operations, inmate grievances, inmate store, laundry/linen, legal, library, programs, accounts, property, religion, security, warehouse and visitation may be addressed using kites. Staff response times vary from one day to up to thirty days.

10.00pm: Lights out. I place my outgoing mail and kites in the trap. The graveyard shift collects inmate correspondence. I commence a lengthy yoga session. Three or four inmates known as "cell warriors" yell obscenities at each other until 1.00am or 2.00am, preventing the less vocal inmates from sleeping.

2.00am: When the hurly-burly ceases, I quit yoga. Using pieces of wet toilet roll as earplugs (a precaution in case the banter resumes) I curl my blanket around me and attempt to go to sleep, which sometimes takes a long time.

11th Sept 04 Good lookin’ out dawgs!

After Jon’s arrest in May 02, we (Jon’s parents) were allowed a 10 minute phone call each week via the British Embassy in Los Angeles. The calls were stopped by the jail last year on a technicality. Last night we picked up the phone and it was Jon’s excited voice. The Embassy had magically reinstated his calls. The timing could not have been better.

He was in receipt of a letter from his sister saying that an article about the blog may be going in The Guardian this week, and he was anxious to know if it went ahead. He was quite amazed and deeply touched when we told him the reaction his journal had caused. We have printed off and posted to him all your emails and comments.

Jon said, “It’s tremendous! I can’t believe this is happening! Hope I don’t get writer’s block! Thank you people everywhere. I’m doing fine. There are 3 more blogs in the post right now, and I will write a response to the New Times article immediately.”

Good lookin’ out dawgs!

8th Sept 04 Jon’s parents wrote



Thank you to everybody at The Guardian for the brilliant article in the G2 today highlighting Jon’s blog and enabling people from across the globe to visit this site. It was very well done and we’re sure when Jon sees it he’ll be delighted that someone has given him a conduit for his writings. (It takes about a week for mail to get to him) Non-Guardian readers, the link for this article is below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1299259,00.html



Since the article, we have received hundreds of emails and comments in support of Jon. People have reached out to him for all sorts of reasons and we are deeply humbled by the numbers of people across the globe who have felt the need to respond.



As you are aware, he has no access to computers, and he writes the blogs with a short pencil (a long pencil could be considered a weapon) until his hand aches too much to continue. We will send copies of all your comments and emails to Jon, who we know will be overcome by your responses. He will reply but it may take a few weeks due to the volume of support. Jon has said that the highlight of the day is receiving mail. Thank you supporters keep the correspondence coming.



If you want your comments to be seen in the blog, click on ‘comments’ at the end of each blog, then ‘post comments’ link. If you don’t want the world to see your comment email Jon on writeinside@hotmail.com Below are a few extracts from the many emails we have received:



"... ...I am a crime journalist working for BBC News Online in London, with a long-time interest in US jails . I just read the article about you in today's Guardian and I sympathise with your predicament, particularly the barbaric conditions I have read about on your weblog."



"... ...I am very interested about how an ordinary white-collar Brit ends up in such a place. It must be quite a tale."



"... ...Keep your chin up Jon (is that a yoga position?) I hope you're sent to Arizona (better still that your sentence is cut - maybe GW will pull a few strings). Your diary is in the Guardian so you'll be getting a lot of support from Guardian readers. Anyway, best wishes from Hebden Bridge."



"I read your story Jon in this evenings Liverpool Echo ... ..."



"... ...I wish you all the very best, if there is anything I can do to help, even if its just adding my voice, don't hesitate to get in touch ... ..."



"All the very best mate : HeF"



"I just read the extracts of your blog published in The Guardian today. I imagine you get a lot of people saying 'I don't know what to say', so I'm sorry to add to their number. No sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that your writing made me laugh, despite the loathing generated by your descriptions of the conditions. But it did. Don't let the bastards get you down, pet." Anna



"... ...Hi Jon,

Are conditions any better in the penitentiary? I certainly hope so as your Jail diary was a nauseating account of the dark side of Americans who appear to be able to go to church and sing of heaven while actively encouraging hell on earth."

John Williams



"... ...More power to you. You really made me laugh/cry today when I read your weblog in the Guardian and then went to look at the whole thing on the net. It's fabulous. I once got arrested in the States and I am now eternally grateful that I didn't end up where you are. I always wondered what vegetarians do in prison (being one) although from what myfriends in the military have said the vegetarian food there is pretty much the same. Cockroaches don't like tea tree oil, but I reckon your mates back in the jail have v little chance of getting any of that delivered. No doubt it would be classed as a weapon.

So, just wanted to say hi, tell you persons around the world are reading you and to say nice one."

"Take care"

Lorna, Kuala Lumpur



"Your diary in today's Guardian is the best thing I've read in ages. And now I'm reading your web-site. I'm curious to know if you're going to be inundated by your fellow Brits all offering their support and commiserations at your plight. The Guardian must have countless worthy types, willing to have a good hand-wring with you about the barabarism of the US penal system??



I however, am evil and right-wing and have merely had a day off from the Daily Mail. [nah - just have to read all the papers every day for my job. But not the Sport. Or the Star. There is not much knowledge to be gleaned from t*ts and a photo of Jordan's g-string disappearing completely up her backside... ..."



"... ...I have a phobia of cockroaches so you can imagine.... One of the little critters crawled over me in a really smart London restaurant, and l damn near screamed the place down. The other diners thought it was a terrorist attack until I careered, in true comedy fashion, into the desert trolley."



"What the f*ck did you do to get nine years inside??? something financial I know, but nine years??? Jesus Christ, you poor bastard."



"... ...anyway, The Guardian gave its readers a happy ending (lest it put them off their morning muesli and soya milk) saying that you've moved somewhere better. Even I, Daily Mail reader, really hope that's the case. If I can send any toothpaste to any of your mates left in that hellhole, let me know."



"... ...great diary anyway."



"Take care"

Katie x

12th August 04 Thinner and thinner

The decision over my final destination (which state penitentiary I’ll be permanently housed at) has still not been taken. I was told I could be sent out of Arizona because of the media attention to my case including the Phoenix New Times article that linked me and my codefendants to the Gravano crew. This would be a disaster. Half of my family and friends live in Arizona (and the other half live in England). I’d get no visitors at all!

My request for a veggie diet was rejected because I wrote "yoga" in the religious-preference box on the request form. I’ll have to convert to Hinduism! I’m rapidly losing weight, and I'm living on peanut butter and crackers bought from the store. The peanut butter limit is silly. I could eat five times as much as I’m allowed to buy. I feel oddly vulnerable at 154 pounds.

I’m doing two to three hours of yoga every night. There’s no point in trying to sleep early. My noisy neighbours make it impossible. I’m doing four different warrior-type lunge postures and five different headstands. The muscles in my thighs ripple, but that's probably because they're becoming skinnier. I’ve tried to turn the night-noise situation into a positive. I’m ready to move onto more advanced yoga postures (if Dad will send a book). The guards see me contorted and are bewildered:
"What’s he doin'?"
"What the fuck!"
"He’s lost his mind!" - are just some of their comments.