July 11, 2007

To say that yesterday was eventful would be an understatement. Someone woke me to pass the word that they were shaking down, a “shake down” is when the police search dorms, cells and all other areas of the prison. When they shake down all 114 inmates are sent to the TV room and called out by bed numbers, our bodies are searched as we pass several officers to reach the one or two that are waiting at our beds. This one came with an added bonus of being drug tested and that really had the dorm buzzing because since I’ve been gone the marijuana had flowed. Drugs are always welcome in prison because of the monotony of our lives and the high percentage of junkies inside, but using them comes with a risk of punishment and harassment. Our warden hates drugs as much as we love them, he actually gets offended when his methods of interdiction have been beat.

It took all day for them to search all five dorms and the prison is still locked down, that’s when only the kitchen workers and other essential workers are allowed out of the dorms, everyone else is held in place. All types of contraband are taken as they look for weapons, homemade alcohol and drugs but often have to settle on taking old magazines, extra clothing and other junk. Oh, I forgot to mention that before the real shake down began they primed the dorms with some drug dogs. Two German Shepherds walked through the dorm and found nothing, at least that’s how it appeared from my vantage point.

After it was over we put our belongings back in place because the police leave things in such a mess. The rest of the day was spent contemplating what and who sparked all of this.