Dear MIM,
The oppressive conditions in this High Maximum Security prison are getting worse. Prison officials have totally disregarded the department's policy that governs. [Regulation] 950.1 states that High Maximum Security prisoners shall enjoy the same privileges as the general population, but we are being denied showers on Sundays, all educational programs, all religious programs; we have limited phone calls every month and limited access to the law library. We're denied hot water although the prison continues to sell coffee, hot cocoa, soups, etc. Indigent prisoners are limited to hygiene items, cleaning supplies are denied on a daily basis, food portions are smaller, food served cold; continuous denial of outside recreation because of the violation of the anal cavity searches being forced upon prisoners by officers who are not authorized to do so. Prisoners have been handcuffed and beaten for failing to comply with these unjustified searches. . . .I strive to stay strong in this struggle. I strive for a better way, to see a better day!
--A Georgia prisoner, April 2004