Brian Tranmer
02683-017
Post Office Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

3/8/97

Louv Carl,

Even though they moved me recently I still did get the (and, of course, enjoyed it) reading material you sent.  Believe me I've never needed it so much as I do in this dungeon.  It seems like things just keep getting worse as time goes on, this place is ten times worse than Beckly West Virginia.  I'm still in the hole but this is the penitentiary, plus it's old so they carry us really greasy and the rules are extremely strict.  Over here two of us live in a room about 1/3 the size of the one in (and in Virginia they put all the rioters one per room so I got used to living in a big room by myself) Virginia so it's very cramped to say the least.  Also in the other place there was a shower in each room but here they have to handcuff us three times a week and take us to the shower at the end of the range, so I'm sure you can imagine that we start to stink in between showers.  Another thing that really sucks here is the phone situation, I thought it was bad over at the other place where we got a call every two weeks however over there most of the police didn't really give a fuck so alot of times they would leave us on the thing for 30 minutes or more but in this shit hole they're really strict.  First off, all here you only get it once a month and it cuts off after 15 minutes so it really sucks.  Over here there's about 120 rioters that have been in the hole going on two years now and we're all hoping to go to a compound somewhere, but who knows what these people have planned for us??  Since this riot stuff has never happened before on such a large scale in the federal system, right now they're just using us as test rats so if it ever happens again they'll know better what to do.  You wouldn't believe how much this system has changed from what you remember.  The beast is very wicked these days.  The ride over here was extremely torturous, I don't know if you've ever seen a black box but that's what they've been putting on my hands when they transport me ever since the riot.  I'm sure you know that the black box is something they put on people they consider to be dangerous and it goes between the handcuffs and hooks to the belly chain so your hands can't move at all.  They put them so tight that they cut into your wrists and cut off all the blood flow to your hands so when they finally take them off sometimes it takes weeks before you get feeling in your hands again.  Anyway it's very painful to say the least and on the way over here we had to ride for ten hours on the prison bus, it was hell.  Now because of this riot shit they say it's on my record so everytime they transport me they have to put on that fucking black box.  Of course they put shackles on your feet too but with all the pain in your wrists you don't even feel them.  I guess it's all just part of being a bad boy.  One Louv always, Brian