Sand slips, losing its grip through the hands of time like a forgotten girl's life falls through the cracks lost somewhere between the concrete blocks and razor wire an elegant autobiography etched into prison walls with pretty nails and homemade make-up surrounded by misogynistic hieroglyphics like a single feminine rose drowning in a sea of thorns Next to pictures of strangers she things she remembers if memories could be more than just enemies to her Continuously drifting through her thoughts and her dreams like a long, lonely river flowing refusing to surrender As she paces her cell and finally realizes that time can never truly heal, or feel it will only reveal that even mirrors are capable of lies and forever and forgiveness, love and redemption were never things she could ever obtain or acquire As tomorrows die and resurrect as yesterdays she waits and she prays to the women before her And the scars on her arms, her only friends left Will remain by her side until her last breath . . .
Category: Prison services committee
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Prison terms: ICS
We have basically covered ICS under another vocabulary item: “running a team.” In TDCJ, ICS stands for “Incident Command System”, and calling an ICS means calling for an ICS team. In the federal system, it’s a SORT, or Special Operations Response Team. In the Texas system, an ICS can be initiated in case of any crisis situation, including a suicide threat. As mentioned in “Running a team” is generally meant to indicate the ICS is called to intimidate, harass, or assault a prisoner.
Prison terms: GASS
GASS stands for Gender-Affirming Self Surgery.
We have only seen this acronym used by one person in a different state, so we are unsure how widespread or common the use is.
Prison terms: Clique
This word has a different meaning at least in Texas prisons from its usual reference to a close or tight group of people, although the prison use does refer to a group.
Uses might include something like “they cliqued on me” or “they are threatening to clique me.” This use of the term means to be jumped on or assaulted by a group of people, usually at least three.
Medical Restrictions
In writing letters and supporting our correspondents, we often are asked about restrictions. One type of restriction is health related, and these can cover certain housing assignments, work assignments, and may include disciplinary and transportation restrictions.
Some of the restrictions concerning housing include single story facility assignments, assignment to facilities with extended clinic operation hours, and single-cell or first floor cell assignment restrictions.
Most medical restrictions have to do with work assignments. These can include limited standing, no long work hours (limited to four hours), limited lifting, no climbing, and no work in extreme temperatures or humidity.
For a list and description of these medical restrictions, please see document A-08.4, Attachment A, titled Guidelines for Completing the Health Summary for Classification Form.
Prison terms: Bird bath
Refers to taking a bath using one’s sink in the cell rather than going to the shower.
There can be several reasons for choosing to take a bird bath, but safety is the most common. Trans persons may choose to take a bird bath for both physical safety and to avoid harassment and embarrassment in the common showers.
Prison terms: Frank Mail
We don’t see it too often, but occasionally TPI receives letters without stamps and the words “Frank Mail” written where the stamp would be.
Frank mail refers to a custom of providing free postage to members of congress and other elected officials. Many prisoners believe that they have “franking privileges” for various reasons, and we do sometimes receive these letters. However, there is no allowance by the postal system for such “Frank Mail” that prisoners or indigent persons sometimes use, and the letters likely have just slipped through the system unnoticed.
Prison terms: CMI
In the TDCJ system, CMI stands for “Chronic Mentally Ill” and is often used to refer to the CMI-TP, or the CMI Treatment Program. The program was started in early 2019 (the official policy can be found here), and is claimed to offer additional assistance for persons dealing with certain mental health conditions. However, actual practice indicates it is a means of continuing to assign persons with mental health issues to what is essentially solitary confinement, which TDCJ claims to have eliminated, but which in practice continues under different names. A 2019 Texas Tribune article provides some more discussion of the program.
We don’t see this acronym often, but it is good to know about because when we do see it, it is usually just the “CMI” with no explanation of that that means.
Prison terms: Lockdown
Lockdown usually refers to movement being restricted for everyone in a housing section, area, or an entire unit.
Most often, this refers to the twice-a-year search routine (in TDCJ—other agencies will have different practices) where nearly all movement is suspended. During the lockdown, all prisoner property is packed and searched for contraband.
Prison terms: SPD
SPD is an acronym we don’t see too often, but it’s good to be aware of this code. It stands for Security Precaution Designator, and you can see a little more about it here. Generally, an SPD indicates someone is a risk for escape or staff assault.
SPDs can impact eligibility for housing assignments and programs. We don’t know enough about these, and we are pretty certain there are other designators used in a less formal manner.