*Missouri Prison Reform received this message last year from a resident of a Missouri prison. However, with the rising temperatures, we feel it’s important to share at this time*
I’m currently incarcerated at MECC the last week with record breaking temperatures was brutal inside the housing units and our cells is a hot box there is basically no way to cool down besides the ice they give us in the morning and at night however it does not last long due to the extreme heat it incredibly inhumane to house humans like this I understand we put ourselves here but our sentence was to be locked up away from society and our family it was not to be treated as human cargo that you store and receive money for I believe that is actually a crime and we should be allowed to have air conditioning the place has it for staff it would be fairly easy to allow it to flow to the wings because its already set up in the housing units for the bubbles and offices it is completely in humane to treat humans like this no matter what we did we are still allowed basic human needs and we pay for most of our needs as in soap and hygiene and these places tell the public they provide our clothes and bedding and all that except they’re lying to you I’ve been here three years and they have shut down clothing exchange multiple times they hand out reused pillows and sheets and clothes they do not give new mattresses out ever unless your just coming from diagnostic they currently are giving out new mattresses right now but its the first time in three years also its only to the new people coming in the rest of us are using mattresses that our old and laying on metal bunks tends to hurt when your not using a mattress with stuffing in it I understand we are not at a country club but where does all the money from the inmate canteen fund go and the funding from state and federal taxes or government thank you for your time I appreciate it God bless you.
