Transferred to Lancaster

I received an email from the Florida VINE program – a service that notifies victims of inmate transfers, sometimes faster than what’s posted on the DOC site. Anyone can sign up to be notified of the transfers.

Today, Ted was sent to Lancaster Correctional Institution – a state prison in Trenton in Gilchrist County.

I also found that Lancaster’s nine youthful offender dorms are air-conditioned. They supposedly grow their own food there and the food is pretty good. I guess we’ll be hearing all about it soon from Ted.

Comments appear on Prison Talk that Lancaster has gangs, fights and abuse. There are other rumors that some of the correctional officers are members of the KKK, but another parent commented that a full investigation was conducted into those allegations and there’s supposedly no truth to them.

Here are some of the comments about Lancaster from Prison Talk. Each individual post is prefaced by a dash.

- The visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 pm. Morning is not crowded at all.
Attire- I had a no sleeve blouse on which was ok but was told not to wear no sleep shirt, shorts. Dress conservatively.
Check in - I received a visitor number and enter with a hand computer system.
Fenced in/covered outdoor for smokers and indoor. The facility is fairly small but there was enough seating for all of us.

- I have learned nothing about Lancaster. I haven't heard anything from my friend since the transfer (exactly a month ago). Neither have any of his family or friends. It is really scary, and I just wish we knew he was okay. If I find anything out, I will post it here and ask you do the same. I hate Florida. :blah:

- I heard from my son today! He said it was tough there at Lancaster, that the first two weeks is "Phase 1" and it is like boot camp, all they do is p.t. He said they made them run so much and it was so hot that he started vomiting. He did say that they don't get much access to the phone, so that is about all I know. Hope you hear from your friend soon!

- I didn't get to talk to my son today but his fiancee did. He told her that they are only allowed to call on Saturdays and Sundays and have limited ability to mail during Phase 1 which he said is the first 2 weeks. He also told her it is really bad in there, that there are lots of fights!

- Hello out there! My son has been at Lancaster now for over a year. He says it is really bad there. So far he had been able to keep his nose clean but a couple of weeks ago he got 60 days in close confinement for losing his temper. He was angry because everything he owned somehow got put in the showers and got wet, and when the guards told him to face the wall at parade rest, the guards put in the DR that he was threatening them and holding his hands in closed fists while at parade rest. So he ended up with 2 DRs at 30 days each, 1 for verbal threats and the other for insubordination. He says the guards are a real bad bunch and that most everything you hear about the place is true. Right down to the knotted key chains the guards wear, but keep out of sight at visitation. They have some very crazy rules there like if an inmate is on the sidewalk and a guard comes along, the inmate must step off the sidewalk and stop at parade rest until the guard passes. Tell your sons that while they are new there the guards will intimidate them very bad, trying to make snitches out of them. My son was hit with walkie talkies, and burned with a cigarette lighter while trying to make him talk about something he said he knew nothing about. Consequently, I worry every single day because he told me that before he will let a guard touch him that way again "when being questioned", he will go off on them and probably end up with more charges or really get hurt. At this point I wish the DOC would just move him again. I wish you ladies luck and any time you would like to talk just let me know.

- visited my son at Lancaster last weekend for the first time. It wasn't so bad, the guards were cordial and not very strict during visitation. One female guard was actually NICE to us (that was a first.) My son says it isn't great there, but it is 100 times better than the reception center. He says there is one bad guard there that is constantly writing up the inmates for things they didn't even do, I have his name but I'm not sure who to contact about it without my son getting backlash from it.

- My son said there is a rumor that some of the guards are KKK and these key chains represent their membership! However, he said when you ask any of them about the keychain, they all say it represents their favorite football team; he said they say the exact same thing - word for word - like they are told what to say. But apparently the key chains are all different colors...so they can't represent a football team. Its almost like the color has some correlation to ranking or something. Has anyone else heard this?

- That is EXACTLY what I've heard, not from my friend directly, but through the grapevine. The color and the number of knots supposedly means something like ranking, and I've heard the KKK mentioned specifically. There is a website that talks about this and is where I heard it all from, I'll try to post the link here. It is really disturbing stuff. It may or may not be reliable, but with your son mentioning the same thing from inside and you actually seeing these keychains!?! I'm glad your visit went well and your son seems happier there. Maybe it's not as bad as I've feared.

- My son who spent four months at Lancaster in the fall of 2005 said that it was tough (PT especially, they use a boot camp constant PT have to memorize rules approach that is designed to increase compliance and comraderie among the inmates), that there are times when everyone gets in trouble when only specific people should, that in some blocks there is intimidation among the inmates, and there is one guard who is generally disliked by all inmates because he abuses power. The keychain issue is a very old one that was thoroughly vetted by the Inspector General including charges against guards and transfers several years back. If they wear them today (and I looked for them and never say them) they are probably just funning with the inmates. Having said that, this is rural northern florida, after all. Pretty much the only people of color many of the staff know are the other staff members and inmates who are people of color. It is easy to understand how both they and the inmates would feel misunderstood when something goes down. (BTW, when my son reported inappropriate behavior, I spoke with the warden and followed it up in writing ---advice: always complain in writing so that you can have a paper trail.) He remained very scared of retaliation, but couldn't actually describe anything that persuaded me it was retaliatory.