Is there any way you can get closer to home? A letter from the inside

Screen-Shot-2022-02-10-at-4.36.51-PM-1400x1157, Is there any way you can get closer to home? A letter from the inside, Abolition Now!
The environments that people occupy are important to Tajh Rust’s paintings. “I think about how people relate to the spaces they’re in,” Rust said. “I’m very conscious of how my body occupies different spaces; where I feel most comfortable; where I feel most uncomfortable.” LaDrakeous Sonny Dean, too, is thinking about the space he is occupying – alone, without his woman and small child at the table.

Hello Bay View, 

I’m housed in High Desert State Prison (HDSP), and I’ve been trapped here since 2014.

One year I got a visit from my baby mother and son in 2017, and the first thing she said when I sat down was: “Is there any way you can get closer to home?”  

I told her there is no way I can; I’ve been trying for years.

Now, what they are doing is, a caseworker is coming to your cell and stating you’re not going to be put up for transfer when you go to your year committee, so go ahead and sign this paper saying you don’t want to go!

It snows up here heavy, it’s like you are out of state; They refuse to give you transfers – they have underground rules!

It’s hard to get to the store. Some people have not been to the store (commissary) in eight months. 

I have not gotten a visit since 2017. I have a girl, who is my friend, and who keeps being refused a visit. They will not approve her visitation, even though she’s been out of trouble since 2016 – that is six years clean.

It’s a hard time up here. We need help up here; so, please help me, Bay View – or anyone.

Please send our brother some love and light: LaDrakeous Sonny Dean, A41845, HDSP, P.O. Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96217.

Editor’s note: We receive these cries for help by the hundreds each month. These are the voices of our community members, families and loved ones in the form of letters reaching out from behind the walls to ask for (y)our assistance – in any way that you can. Sometimes, just a quick note letting them know you read their letter brings a spark of hope. Sometimes, these letters bring to mind ways you can help that you hadn’t thought of before.

I will always encourage you to call the governor (916) 445-2481, and ask his office: Why are so many people imprisoned too far from their outside support? Why are visits, the life blood of an incarcerated person’s success, so difficult to obtain. And lastly, why is commissary, which helps to facilitate better health, also becoming more and more difficult to access?

Remember, you are the boss here. Governor Newsom works for you, for us. We have the power – let’s use it. 

In shared humanity and revolutionary love, Nube