Please note the following inhumane living conditions that constitute a form of cruel and unusual punishment and deny equal protection being perpetrated on the offender population by Administrative Officials at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri.
The offender population at CRCC is double-celled with 65 square-feet per cell to be shared between offenders sometimes for a total of 22 hours and 45 minutes a day without being out of the cell. Though the general population at CRCC is not under any punishment per se, or emergency conditions, CRCC has been on modified lock-down status since 1997 and there is no liberal out-of-cell time afforded to offenders. Please take into account that:
1. No offenders have jobs or go to programs that have them out of their cells. 2. Recreation periods average two hours and 15 minutes per day. However, recreation is not every day and may be just four times per week. 3. Offenders are given three 30 minute periods daily out-of-cell, but according to policy they cannot come out of their cells unless they are: using the phone, in the shower, or cleaning their cells. Therefore, if they have no one to call, have already showered or cleaned their cells they may have as little as 30 minutes out-of-cell time once a day, or none at all! 4. Offenders are only allowed 15 minutes three times daily to go to the dining room, eat, and return to their cells, totaling 45 minutes per day. 5. There are several days a week when two offenders are kept confined in a 65 square-foot cell for as much as 22 hours and 45 minutes, with out-of-cell time totaling one hour and 15 minutes! 6. Offenders in Administrative Segregation status (the Hole) are allowed even less out-of-cell time and are forcibly double-celled with other offenders even though they are supposed to be segregated and housed alone. (The CRCC policy is to mace offenders three times daily if they do not want a cell-mate (celly)).
These conditions are representative of an arbitrary punishment with no "equal protection" and are cruel and unusual when you take into account a person's mental state in constant close quarters confinement. There have been two incidents in 2004 when an offender was killed by his celly, both attributed to these conditions. There have also been several assaults, including on Ad. Seg. where an offender's not supposed to have a celly. This is also a health hazard, being exposed to others' illnesses (colds, flus, TB, etc.), and inhaling the odor of defecation for prolonged periods of time without relief, and most of all the lack of physical exercise. No other Level 5 institutions in Missouri limit out-of-cell time to such a small amount, including Potosi (death row)! Most have single and double-man cells.
Your efforts in investigating this matter and asking that these conditions be changed to humane ones of single-man cells or sufficient out-of-cell time would be of help and greatly appreciated.
-- a Crossroads CC prisoner, June 2004