03 Nov 04

Maniac Mack

One of the letters I received today was from Maniac Mack. Maniac Mack is housed at the Madison Street jail in a different area than Frankie and Mark. I met Maniac Mack in 2004 when we were both housed in a pod that had no running water for several days causing the toilets to become stacked up, and inmates were depositing their business in plastic bags (See blog entry 19/02 Deep Shit.) When the water was turned back on, I had to dig through the pile in the toilet with my bare hands to prevent things from overflowing onto our cell floor.
Maniac Mack wrote:
“Tonite in an attempt to oppress our already downtrodden spirits, some administrative blockhead decided we are being 'mollycoddled' and also that living conditions are far too ‘opulent and overly luxurious!' Personally I feel that Sheriff Joe A.K.A. ‘Humpty Dumpty,’ feeling particularly omnipotent and invincible since his election victory in the primaries decided to visit a new and fantastic torture on us…. 3 men to a cell…. A direct violation of the inmate housing federal guidelines set forth in Hart v M.C.S.O. case law” [sic]

I am unsure of this rumour so I have written to Frankie and Mark asking for confirmation.

The latest jail rumour discussed by Diego and Scooby was that the new multi-million-dollar jail is sinking upon its foundations. If anyone can back up these rumours with some facts I would love to hear more.

Read what Maniac Mack has to say in the comments box below:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Surprising that the the money-saving Sheriff did'nt decide to sell the bags of shit-or did he?
Good Luck Jon
Jack, in Belfast

Anonymous said...

You must feel quite gratified that your story has made people aware of the conditions at Madison Street Jail. If conditions do improve, it will be because of your blog – strange to think that your incarceration may save someone’s life.
Janice S

Anonymous said...

How terrible. I am now officially convinced that laundering money and dealing drugs IS NOT WORTH IT!!!
SCOTT PA

Anonymous said...

Hi Jon
I hope you are well, i mean as well as can be expected. I haven’t really managed to write to you directly yet and as email is the most easily accessible forms of communication, i thought id write to you again. I've just read your blogs, and i quickly scoured the website to find some of my answers.
1. The bed sores and you other ailments: If you are not treated does this go against basic Human Rights?
2. When are you due for release?
3. When are you due for parole?
I cant help but wonder right this second what it would be like for you.
Take Care, and Merry Christmas.
>Craig

Anonymous said...

ONSET OF WINTERS ICY GRIP The month is November and unless you live in Africa, the Hawaiian islands (where coincidentally I hail from) or dwelling in the hot, heavy, humid climes ranging along the equator, you’re probably enjoying all the benefits of central heating. Unless that is you are housed in the Madison St. Jail Maricopa County, Phoenix Arizona. In the Madison St. Jail inmates who have been here throughout the sweltering summer are finding to their dismay that the heating/cooling vents located in all cells are now miraculously blowing gale force!! There happens to be a number of problems with this. Chiefly among these problems being the temperature of the "Gale Force" swamp cooled air. Frigid, glacial, ice cold, are only a few of the adjectives that spring to mind. Problem #2 is as I previously mentioned, its swamp cooled air. For those of you familiar with swamp coolers you'll know that swamp cooled air is notoriously humid. This stems from the method of how the air is cooled, using a drip system over fibrous pads, with the air meant for our cells being drawn across the damp, fibrous pads and then channelled into our individual cells. As I'm sure can imagine the sick call list for the infirmary is staggering, filled with rampant cases of flu & cold victims. This is all compounded by the materials used to build the cells were housed in, namely stainless steel and concrete. Neither of which are known for their heat retaining capacities. For the 1,905 inmates here at Madison St. Jail, we are inhabiting 2 man meat lockers. When the sun goes down so does the temperature of our cells; exponentially. Nights are teeth chattering and abysmal affairs. Restful sleep without the aid of pharmaceutical chemistry (of which this place does a brisk business) is nigh impossible. This is all further compounded by the rule that some neo-nazi and admirer of German Gestapo tactics thought up. One blanket per inmate, no exceptions, regardless of age, race, or what have you. At Madison St. Jail we live in equality. There is one way around this rule. Ready? Put a medical tank order (a form in carbon copy triplicate) in to the 1st nurse of the day for her to forward to the powers that be. Your response will be swift!! A yellow carbon copy off the original form will come, at the bottom it will say -- IM put on S/E--which is shorthand for: Inmate put on Sick Call. Wonderful!! By the time winters over you Might see a doctor who Might give you a slip for and extra blanket. Then again he may demand to give you an embarrassing physical, where he fondles your genitalia and sends you back to your pod without the sought after blanket, also feeling like a $10.00 hooker who just got stiffed by a thrifty John. There are many of us with over a year in this system of contradictions. I personally have survived two summers and plan on surviving this second winter. For those of us, who are "hip" to the many tricks of the Madison St. Jail unwritten guidebook of how to's and what not to do's, we deal with the situation in a manner fitting the very few tools at hand. Example: each week we are issued one bar of soap per inmate, (no shampoo) after two to three weeks your cellmate and you should have four to six bars of soap the size and shape common to Motel Six and other cheap hotel rooms. Ours are monogrammed with ~fP~ standing for Florence Prison. Take your accumulated soap ration smash it up inside the plastic bag your breakfast came in, add very little water until you notice the powdered soap forming a paste. Voila`!! You now have caulk to plug up as much of your vent as you can. This is a more permanent remedy than the more common method of wetting toilet paper and smacking it onto your vent. The toilet paper method works, however around two in the morning when its completely dry, you will more often as not be awakened by a dry hard lump of toilet tissue turned into a ballistic object by the storm force winds smacking you in the kisser around three or four a.m. There is marvellously simple solution to all of this. So simple, you the enlightened reader, I'm positive you've guessed it. Its common knowledge that a thermostat exists, hell common sense!! In the summer our vents blow a profound fraction of their current status. So do us all a favor and turn the air down. We're not asking for heating -- heaven forbid such luxury -- just dial down the air! Simple right? But I severely doubt this most basic of actions will take place, despite how many headaches it would save the civilian staff of nurses and Doctors in the infirmary alone, not to mention us inmates. So I'm left wondering, who, and where is that Neo-Nazi, and admirer of German Gestapo tactics? At this moment is he cackling insanely while we sniffle, shake, and freeze? Is this the height of humor for him? Should I bother to speculate if this sorry excuse for a man bears a name? Alas, this troll from underneath the bridge does indeed bear a name. Drumroll please: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, you’re one demented motherfucker. WW2. AKA 'Maniac Mack'