It’s 12:10 and time for lunch.
Though many are hungry most are unexcited about mealtime options.
Inmates dressed in orange make two lines to be served a gourmet selection of gloppy Turkey
Ala King, a stale biscuit, and mushy green beans.
Though tasteless and unappetizing, the men eat as fast as they can, as the dining hall
can get dangerous quickly.
After food comes time in the yard, showers, hobbies and snacks.
Then all must prepare for late afternoon count.
Only today, in this prison in Kentucky, count is delayed quite unexpectedly.
This is because the jail suddenly lost power.
From there things got crazy quickly, as we’ll describe in this episode of the Infographics
Show, Here’s What Really Happens During Prison Blackouts.
Gloomy even in the middle of the day, at first the loss of overhead light was just a minor
inconvenience.
A monotone voice gave the announcement over the intercom that everything would soon be
back to normal.
Guards walked around casually making jokes and reminding inmates to behave or they’d
get a ticket.
Everyone expected the back-up generators to kick in.
Somehow, they didn’t.
An hour passed.
Then a few more.
The power company seemed unable to repair the electrical wire that had caught fire outside
the building.
Then it was night.
Tensions started to mount as it grew pitch black indoors without the normal TV, cards,
dominoes, or books to keep everyone distracted or busy.
Guards stopped acting relaxed and began to stick closer together.
Others appeared wearing green camo riot gear.
They had helmets with headlamps, pepper spray, and tasers and began running back and forth,
their steps echoing in the halls and then fading into the distance.
Loud noises were followed by shouts and screams.
The prison filled with rumors and whispers about what could be going on.
Now that the security cameras weren’t working, some had apparently found time to be intimate
with partners, willing or unwilling.
Others robbed those they knew wouldn’t fight back and were easy victims.
Those with enemies found themselves targeted as all were obscured from view and thus faced
no accountability for their actions.
Men who left to get their medications did so under armed escort and returned with detailed
and disturbing stories.
20 people had received medical attention due to cuts and bruises and many more had required
hospitalization.
Some, to confirm earlier suspicions, had been raped.
Those considered rats or child molesters were victims of assaults both sexual and of violent
rage.
Without cameras as a deterrent, they were attacked mercilessly and without hesitation.
An almost 70-year-old man who had been convicted of harming children may have been killed.
He had been brutally punched and then hit with a laundry bag holding a can and then
by a belt with a lock attached.
This was followed by a TV thrown at his head.
Then those attacking urinated on his body, crumpled on the ground.
Many laughed at this news and said it served him right and was a good warning to others.
Those who committed similar crimes listened uneasily, worried for their own safety.
Normally dangerous even in the day and under the watchful eyes of guards, now someone could
be killed under the shroud of darkness and not be discovered until hours later.
This description of what happened during a blackout is based off of first-person accounts
of real inmates.
Clearly darkness in buildings crammed with criminal offenders can get downright treacherous.
Somehow, they happen surprisingly often despite the dangers they bring to both the prisoners
and employees.
In the state of Illinois, for example, situations such as these have made many question the
state’s ability to properly deal with prison-based emergencies.
There are at least three incidents that highlighted failures of its backup systems.
One was a blackout that lasted over an hour and a half caused by a storm that ended in
a guard getting attacked.
Another took place in some of the coldest weather and left inmates in the frigid darkness
without heat or light.
The last was due to construction and resulted in a borderline riot situation.
In all three of these instances, backup systems were not sufficient to light up the facilities.
There are even two prisons in the state that have no backup generators in place.
These require portable versions to be hauled in manually during an outage.
In New York, the lack of preparation for power outages has even resulted in charges of civil
rights violations.
In Brooklyn, inmates went an entire week without any heat, electricity, hot water, or sanitation.
Prisoners with open wounds due to disease or injury were denied treatment as their bandages
filled with pus or blood.
Another who had seizures pressed a button for help but no one ever responded.
Those who needed medication struggled to see well enough to even read the directions on
the bottles.
Phones to the outside didn’t work and inmates were denied access to visitors, including
their attorneys.
More shocking still, some sources allege that heat had been failing to properly warm the
jail a good week before the fire that led to the loss of electricity.
The government denies this, as well as that temperatures were dangerous following the
outage despite claims of frost on prison windows.
Though interestingly, government officials that toured the prison during this time wore
heavy adverse weather clothing.
Blankets were eventually delivered after a call to the mayor.
However, once there, many claim that they were never distributed.
Though aware of the problems as they happened, leadership seemed to be in no hurry to fix
them either due to indifference or disorganization.
Freezing, dirty, and hungry, the inmates all started banging on the walls of the prison
which echoed clearly outside the facility.
Disturbing footage of this was taken into evidence during an investigation.
In anger and desperation protestors tried to bridge prison security to get inside.
They were forced away by guards who covered them in pepper spray.
Ultimately, despite how crazy things got, little changed, though the lights went back
on, the heat was fixed, and the floors were cleaned.
Backup systems were planned but it awaits to be seen whether or not these will function
properly.
Further, requests for correctional facility oversight were denied.
So, should the situation happen again, it seems this whole mess could happen a second
time.
However, while bad, Texas prisons following Hurricane Harvey were arguably even worse.
Though those in charge knew the storm was approaching, prisoners failed to be warned.
Prisoners were kept in cells that reached knee-deep in water mixed with feces and urine
and denied access to sufficient water, food, or medicine.
Many developed headaches from dehydration and peeling skin or rashes in the over ninety-degree
weather.
Without power, many were unable to flush their toilets, shower, or change their clothing
for up to two weeks.
Again, the government denied that these were the actual prison conditions.
One facility even claimed that there was no water coming from their city, but according
to a city specialist there was, it just had a boil notice on it.
There were even rumors that officials in some locations posted misleading pictures of employees
handing out supplies to make it look like they were doing more than they really were.
The thing is that these were taken long ago during different situations.
In fact, some of those pictured allegedly no longer even worked in the prison system.
That’s not where the terrible stories end.
During the storm five Texas prisons were also evacuated.
6,000 inmates were moved, and some were placed in a unit that was ruled unconstitutionally
hot just weeks prior.
Unfortunately, because officials refused to admit just how bad things got or how they
were handled was wrong, in the future prisoners may again be subjected to similar or even
worse conditions.
Many of those in prison ended up there for a reason.
However, some may not have.
Regardless, most state that as human beings they deserve humane treatment.
Currently, it seems that in many areas things such as electrical malfunctions, fires, and
adverse weather can lead to a loss of power.
Further, back up systems may fail to work, if there even are any.
Because prisons are virtually free from public scrutiny any unsafe or unsanitary situations
are hard to prove let alone discover.
For these reasons, changes or improvements happen slowly or not at all.
Of these situations, which is the worst?
Do you believe people in prisons deserve better?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called What The Last 24 Hours of Death Row
Prisoner Look Like in 2019!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!