I was reading though Craigs letters last night, and in the one where he was talking about the penalties he recieved for making that unauthorised call to his Mom, the one that cost him his phone and some good time and got him 3 weeks in Seg. He also said he lost the clothes he'd been accumulating for the last few years. Why would they take his clothes?

They've done this to Wayne as well - not as a sanction, just during a shake down. They took the underwear and socks he had purchased at commisary, saying he had too many pair! He never got them back. He's only supposed to have 3 pair of boxers and 3 pair of socks at any given time and he had 4 pair of each, so they took all of them. Go figure! Also, when they wash their own clothes (which they are only allowed to do after 5 pm) they can't have them hanging up to dry after 10 pm or they will be taken away. If the clothes are still damp, well too bad. Where Wayne is, they are only issued prison clothes (shirts and pants) once a week and have no air conditioning in the dorm. The temperature has been in the upper 90's and Wayne says the smell of body odor is unbearable at times.

my friend here in nc had all of his shoes collected and sent home, and now he can only wear one pair of state issued work boots and one pair of "converse" sneakers...i thought that was a bit odd, but who can figure out some of the things the doc does?!?!

COBWEBQ- ARE THEY STATE ISSUED CLOTHING OR HIS OWN? I KNOW IN SOME PRISONS BEING ABLE TO WEAR "STREET CLOTHES" IS A PRIVILEDGE ON A LEVEL SYSTEM- SO IF THEY TOOK THOSE-MAYBE THEY KNOCKED HIM BACK A LEVEL AND TOOK THAT PRIVILEDGE AWAY-IF THEY ARE STATE ISSUED- I AM NOT SURE WHY THEY WOULD DO THAT

Billy only has 2 sets of clothes...when they wear out, he can get new. He can't have a lot because he shares a cell with someone else. Can't keep it cluttered.

Jd has "lost" things at times when he went to seg (because he is not allowed to have his property boxes at all)... but has "lost" even more stuff at times (ie: books and things I have sent him since he has been in seg...) because they will take anything they can and put it in property storage when they move him from one cell to another... made it kind of pointless for me to send him books to read... they took them and put them in storage before he got a chance to read them... I would guess in your situation it may be as others have described... guys "stockpile" more than they are really supposed to have per "institutional standards".... Perhaps they caught this when he went to seg if they inventoried his property?!

MOST PRISONS DO NOT ALLOW PERSONAL CLOTHING OR SHOES. INMATES CAN ONLY HAVE THE STATE OR FEDERAL ISSUED CLOTHING....

ANY SHOES THAT ARE WORN BY AN INMATE NOW, MUST BE PURCHASED FROM A NC STATE CANTEEN.... FAMILY CANNOT SEND SHOES IN TO THE INMATE ANY LONGER. I USED TO BE ABLE TO BUY BUTCH SHOES AT A MUCH CHEAPER RATE THAN HE PAYS FROM THE CANTEEN, BUT ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO THIS WAS CHANGED.

HE CAN HAVE 1 PAIR TENNIS SHOES AND 1 PAIR STATE BOOTS.

THIS WAS DONE SO THAT NC COULD MAKE MONEY FROM THE PURCHASES FROM THE CANTEEN.

DONNA

Donna's right. It's so the State/Province is the only supplier, thus the only one who can profit from the sale of clothes etc. (Personally, this looks like a "clawback" of their prison earnings...)

BUT the system will tell you the reason is because if someone has more things than other inmates, or better quality things, it causes jealousies and fights and assaults.

Menolly

Richard's legal files were siezed and more than likely destroyed. DOC past a new regulation that prisoners can only have 12" X 12" of space for legal papers. Since he has been fighting his own appeals and filing suits against the DOC this space is not enough. They took important evidence and legal documentation on the rues of this new regulation.

I've been reading the letters from death row and it seems that they take thier personel things as well. I think DOC just does it just because they can and it aggravates the prisoner.

When all you have in the world is a few t-shirts, undies and shoes, maybe a book or magazine what is the best way to cause insubordination and mental stress. Doc uses all and any tools to get the inmate to realize 24/7 they are in prison with no rights. Take away what little they have will show them this.

I think it is a mental game DOC plays with prisoners.

I agree w/you Torrey...DOC wants only to make it plain to the inmates that they are their property & while there they have no rights!!

I have heard things like that happen in shakedowns, so much of their personal stuff just gets destroyed, not right AT ALL!! These few items they can have from us or can buy for themselves are the only things they have.
I know from talking to EJ the pics I send, cards letters, magazines & couple books he got from me are his most cherished items. I don't know what he would do if they were taken away from him or destroyed.

EJ hasn't told me about anything being taken from him in the past. I will have to ask him about that the next time we talk though.

You are right DJ..... Part of it is to agravate.... Butch got his State issued boots taken from him when he went to Seg.... They did not fill out a receipt to send them back to either Renee or myself. Neither of us have received them either... He had to pay for the boots out of monies that I send to him....

Oh Well...

Donna