My name is Michael Thomas, and I am one of the 23,922 state prisoners in Michigan who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
Before I share my thoughts on how I believe the MDOC failed in their responsibility to protect those of us who were unable to protect ourselves, I would like to admit that I do recognize how overcrowding, two-man cells, and open pole-barns made it virtually impossible to stop these prisons from becoming the petri dishes they ultimately became. However, that does not excuse the decisions made by the state that made the situation worse. There are many questions the MDOC should be forced to answer.
For instance, why would the staff not be required to wear PPE as soon as this pandemic was discovered? Why would prisoners be angrily confronted by staff when the prisoner did nothing more than ask the staff member to wear their mask properly? Why would prisoners be told that they had to social distance, while still being forced to eat in a chow-hall where they would have to sit no further than 3′ apart without masks?
When the MDOC finally began testing the prisoners, the officers informed us that they did not have to submit to the testing because of a clause in their union contracts. However, recognizing that all visits had been suspended, and the ONLY way the virus could find its way into a prison was through the staff, what medical or scientific data would support the idea that the staff should not be tested prior to entering the prisons?
Another example of a poor decision made by the MDOC that led to the massive outbreak would be the way in which they handled the actual movement of prisoners immediately following the testing. The tests were typically conducted on a Tuesday or Wednesday, with the results being returned on Friday or Saturday. And while reasonable minds would have limited all movement between the time of testing and the time the results were returned, the MDOC took no such action. Immediately after testing everyone was allowed to socialize with everyone else. That means that all those prisoners who were positive at the time of testing were allowed to continue to interact with those prisoners who were negative at the time of testing. It was not until the results came back that the MDOC began to quarantine positive cases. By then it was too late.
Once the positive cases were quarantined in the gymnasium, the only way those individuals could notify their families of their situation was to go to “big yard” to use the outdoor telephones. However, “big yard” time was from 12:00 to 1:00, and the officers refused to allow these sick individuals to return to the gymnasium before that hour had passed. The MDOC forced the sickest of the sick to stand outside in the cold, snow and/or rain for an entire hour if they wanted to let their family members know of their condition.
After being quarantined in the gymnasium for 4 days with 79 positive cases, one prisoner was actually notified that the staff had made a mistake – he had never tested positive.
On a more personal note, prior to this pandemic I was blessed enough to be housed in the military veterans unit here at Saginaw. The unit was comprised of 240 men who had previously served this country. This common fact allowed us to develop bonds and relationships with each other that normal prison settings just do not permit.
Three of those veterans that I became awfully close with were Michael Mclaughlin, Kenneth Miller, and Frank Hernandez. All three were my “neighbors,” and I had the pleasure of interacting with them daily. However, because of the way this pandemic was handled by the MDOC, I will never again talk with any of those veterans – all three passed away from COVID-19. As of the writing of this letter, a total of four incarcerated military veterans have passed away while in custody of the MDOC, and many more are still fighting for their lives in hospitals across this state.
A total of 129 Michigan prisoners have died because of the coronavirus, which, according to The Marshall Project, ranks Michigan as the 6th highest death rate among both the federal bureau of prisons and all 50 states. Michigan is also ranked 3rd in the country as it relates to the number of positive cases in its prisons.
It is amazing to me how quickly Americans are willing to spend millions of dollars fighting animal cruelty, but when it comes to issues like the ones presented above, 99% of those same Americans could care less. How quickly people forget that while these issues may not directly impact them right now, there is no guarantee that they will not affect them, their families, or their friends soon. There are thousands of people behind bars right now that never thought that is where they would end up either.
