Vox Pop - County jail inmate raises concerns about conditions, treatment

Vox Pop

I Edward Brecke, hereby attest to you that every word wrote here on this paper to be true to my knowledge 100%.

I am an inmate in the Taylor County Jail in block J-Max housed with a max inmate. I myself am a medium classification. Our living conditions are very susceptible to disease or sickness. In my opinion, first and most irritating is that the table is positioned in such a way with the shower as the water sprays the floor of the shower and then bounces off of the floor onto the table from which I eat every day. The shower curtain is hung roughly 2.5 to 3 feet from the floor which allows all dirty water into inmate living area which we do not clean every day. You can actually see water on the table and floor when done showering. Now if you come to the dayroom the bars, which have been painted several times, have a couple spots 5 inches or so of open rust in which are easily reached or touched by inmates. The biggest of which I have covered up by the garbage can so I don’t have to worry about getting tetanus or something. I have an orange glob of moldy food that stuck to my ceiling and some toilet paper stuck to the ceiling outside of my cell which is one cell of two in this pod. There is toilet paper particles stuck in the intake/out vent in the pod also right above my cell door. The vent in the shower looks like a circular sponge made of rust about 12 inches across. Cell bars in front of the TV are wore through all layers of paint in several spots and several layers in all spots in about a 4 foot by 4 foot space.

I have asked to be moved one time upon arrest this time and was housed in these conditions. Per Sg. I have been told by jail staff and am not allowed to move. I only asked to move out of the original block because they kept talking to me about my best friend they said that they know who had recently just hanged himself here in town and I asked to be moved for reasons of pain, sadness, regret, anger and so many more emotions I can’t explain. I just want to be housed with inmates of the same classification and out of the J-block which is for max inmates, not me. I have apologized and asked to be moved several times. I am asking once more, please put me back to the regular cell block. I am distributing this to the following for several reasons I have put in this letter and have made copies to send to: Jail administrators/ Sgts., Taylor County Sheriff, State Jail Inspector Madison, The Star News and other newspapers local to Wisconsin.

— Edward Brecke, IV, inmate, Taylor County Jail