Oregon State Penitentiary is full of wildfire smoke, OC teargas and over 4500 inmates who are being treated inhumanely. They are not receiving masks OR SANITARY CONDITIONS as COVID and brutality from corrections officers rip through the population.
Activists, aid workers, and inmates alike are sounding the alarm over inhumane conditions inside the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.
As of Sept. 10, 179 people inside the OSP had tested positive for COVID-19, 143 of which are inmates–one of the worst outbreaks in the entire state. According to state records, six inmates have died of the virus.
“There are no COVID protections. None.” said an inmate inside the OSP, who wished to remain anonymous due to a fear of retaliation for speaking out on conditions. “We are sleeping inches away from each other. There is very little cleaning, if any, being done. In fact, hygiene has completely been taken away. I’ve had only one shower in a week and I’m still wearing the same socks as I was Tuesday. So, there’s no COVID protection. They’ve done absolutely nothing. This prison has COVID and they’re bringing even more COVID cases in… they’re not doing any temperature checks.”
At this time, over 4,500 inmates are currently held inside OSP. The prison’s maximum capacity is 2,242 inmates.
“Smoky conditions inside the building are bad,” the inmate said “...One of the gentlemen here has a CPAP machine and in the CPAP machine it has a filter, it was all clogged up and nasty. So we asked them for a clean one, he inserted a clean filter and was going to save it for tonight ... He turned his CPAP machine off for an hour and a half, and the filter was completely clogged and disgusting.”
In addition to overcrowded conditions and hazardous air quality, violence has been erupting inside the OSP throughout the week.
The OSP is the state’s only maximum security prison, and is the site of the state’s Death Row inmates. Mill Creek is minimum security, OSCI is medium security, and Santiam is designed to house mental health patients from the Oregon State Hospital.
According to the inmate, several people inside OCSI were in so-called “protective custody” for turning state witness and testifying against criminals that were eventually sentenced to time in the OSP. Because of the evacuations, those state witnesses are now sharing cell blocks with the people they testified against. Many of those testified against members of rival gangs. As a result, there are rampant assaults and fights breaking out inside the OSP.
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