This story was told by a person incarcerated at Merced County Jail.
UCI: Okay. What has the COVID situation been like at your facility?
Caller: Well, it’s been kind of stressful. Because we’re the only county, for the last two years, that hasn’t had a visit. Even when they opened up the visits, Merced County didn’t ever open up the visits.
They don’t have via Zoom for visitors or tablets so people can visit with their family members on a visit. So that’s a problem with this pandemic in Merced County that we have. We – we still haven’t had a visit from our family members the last two years.
UCI: Wow. That is a long time.
Caller: Right.
UCI: How have you been coping with this?
Caller: Okay. So, well, I did – when I did two years – I did two years. Then, I got out for 40 days. Then, I came back.
And I’ve been here for the last six months. Here, in the beginning of the pandemic and now. And so, when they quarantine you – and then, they gave me the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was a vaccine that was on recall.
So, when they gave it to you – and then, if you had symptoms, they just – they just shine you on, like, “Well, them is normal symptoms.” No – they told you that you could have nerve damage. But they don’t never want to examine your nerves here, on the medical tier.
But they try to still pass out this Johnson & Johnson vaccine and no other vaccine that’s available. And they also don’t let people come in to see you at court. But, when they did open it up, they allowed certain people.
But, then, they closed it back down. And they always blame it on the medical. You know? It would help – well, not understanding COVID – but, in Merced County, they do their own bylaws.
So, if the whole state was opened back up, Merced County still was closed down, even though the numbers was down. So, you know? And – but the officers – the officers don’t have to be vaccinated. And they don’t have to take a COVID test.
UCI: Okay.
Caller: And they don’t have programs here, as in GED or they don’t have a chaplain. And they don’t, you know, they don’t have no movement. We’re – we’re locked down 24 hours a day.
We go out to yard once a week. And that’s approximately for one hour. You’re supposed to get three hours. But we’ll be out there for about one hour.
And then, we’re back in our cell, locked down again. And they feed us the food on an open plastic tray that’s open. But, if it was a COVID pandemic, then, it should be a closed feeding, so we wouldn’t contract the virus that way.
UCI: Yeah, definitely.
Caller: So, then, when you – when we ask questions, they tell us that we can grieve the process. But the grievance process never gets back to you. And this – the pandemic’s – we just – due to the pandemic, I went to court – I went to court to do a speedy trial.
And I’ve been here for six months. And a speedy trial is supposed to be in 60 days. But they keep extending my trial dates 30 days out due to the Supreme Court because of the COVID pandemic.
So they – courts is exhausting their – they do their – they’re utilizing extra 30 days to my – to my right to a speedy trial. And they’re blaming it on the pandemic again. So the courts is backed up.
And then, they have a zero bail for people with lesser crimes. But they also are still housing people of color. You know? They – they have – they ain’t giving the people of color the due process opportunity to have bail or be on zero bail.
And they – and they seem to keep people that they want in. And then, they letting other people that they don’t want in, out that should be in. You know?
But, as me being a person of color, that’s what I’m going through with the court system now, is that they already extended me a extra 60 days due to the COVID pandemic on my speedy trial procedure – my rights to have a speedy trial, to be-
UCI: Wow. That sounds horrible.
Caller: Right. And they – they implemented this when they – when they was over their – when it was overdue process – so they did try to get me a trial, but I timed out on my speedy trial process. So what they did was just put me on the calendar earlier.
They put me on the calendar between – on the first, they said, “Hey, we – we’re gonna” – I said, “I don’t want to waive time.” And so they said, “Okay. Well, then, you know, you got – you got your trial.”
And I said, “Yeah. So why would I” – they wanted me to waive time. But I said, “Why would I waive time if I time out for my trial and y’all set my trial?” So they can’t – once they set the trial, they can’t reset the trial.
So what they did was they just set another court date and came back. And then, they made the DA put it in writing. So they brought me in.
And then, they took the 30 days for the Supreme Court due to the COVID on my due process – on my rights – on that note. And then, again. So, when I came back into court after that – because they get the 30 days, regardless.
Then, they say that they get another 30 days because the Supreme Court released a new demo or they reached a new finding for the COVID. And they put that one out. So that was kind of odd to me, that they took 30 days already that they have for the pandemic.
But, then, also, they got another 30 days that they file with the Supreme Court, supposedly on the other day where I was supposed to time out. And so they made a error.
But they fixed it without, you know, without a – I don’t know – I don’t know how to say how they went about doing it. But they – they fixed it when I don’t know if they could or not. You know.
UCI: Yeah.
Caller: So, you know, and so, then – and then, so, then, you have – so, then, when I – see, I was – I was released early for the pandemic – due to the pandemic – when I went to – when I went from – when I left here and went to prison. But it took me six months to get to prison due to the pandemic. But the first bus I missed because they messed up on my paperwork.
So, then, I had to go through another process to get the paperwork right so I can go to get released on a early release. So, now, when I came back on some allegations, they went about the way that this – they went about it where I could have got zero bail. But, due that I am a person of color, what they did was they put a probation violation on me with no bail.
UCI: Oh, wow.
Caller: So, even though the crime follows under – even though the crime follows under a zero bail – and they put the zero bail in because of the pandemic. And they also put the zero bail in and the bail restrictions because of how they’ve been doing the people of color, opposed to people with – with white superiority.
So they didn’t want – so they did some – they did some rearrangement for the – what would you say – like the props – when they proposition this, proposition that. So they voted for it. They voted for them to rearrange the bail situation so they wouldn’t – so it wouldn’t be – so there’d be equal opportunity.
But they’re still not giving the equal opportunity to people of color here. People of color in Merced County seems to stay in jail longer than any other race. And I say that it goes from African American to Hispanics to Asians, and then, the Whites get the – get the privilege.
And I’m not saying this under restrictions of a prejudice or racism. I’m saying that this is how the system in Merced County alone is designed. And they go about the way they go about things on their own.
Because, when they – like I said, with other counties in California – the whole state of California opened up, you know, opened up their city. And other county jails and other facilities been getting visits. Even prison opened up for visits. Merced County never opened up for visits.
UCI: Yeah.
Caller: Since this has started in 2019. And it’s 2021. And there’s people that have been here ever since still haven’t seen a visit from their family members.
And Merced County still hasn’t adopted any type of tablet or anything. So you can’t see your family over via Zoom. But they have you – but they say you can video court.
UCI: Oh.
Caller: Yeah.
UCI: Thank you for sharing all this with us. This is gonna be – we’re definitely gonna be able to spread the word on our website.
Caller: Right. Good, because it’s supposed to be – it’s supposed to be like retroactive throughout the state of California that each county supposed to have their own safety – supposed to follow under all the – you know, the government – the California government. So it’s supposed to be retroactive from county to county.
So it should go – unless the numbers are up on infections. We get that part. But, when the numbers were down and they opened it up, Merced County still held their own criteria.
And they blamed it on this person, that person, or – or they just pointed back and forth fingers. But they never gave correct answers or even went about trying to give us the opportunity to – you know, I don’t know. When you hear – it’s just messed up when you hear that other counties is getting visits and this county is not and just because this county can do that because they said they can.
But I don’t think they could or that they just do it, regardless. So I just want – I hope somebody can look into why this county is adopting their own set of procedures opposed to the whole state of California.
UCI: Yeah, definitely.
Caller: Okay. Okay. Well, yeah. Other than that, the pandemic is – I got vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson. I’m not going to take the booster shot. And I don’t know.
But they – their procedures is – they’ll give you a COVID test before they bring you in out – from outside. And then, they’ll make you quarantine. But, at the same time, some people went out on passes. And then, they just come back and put them back on the block.
So the – the procedures is kind of – kind of offset. Because they can still cross contaminate sometimes. They – they’re not – their procedures are not set in order and stayed in order for the safety of many inmates. It just that – it just so happens that Merced County hasn’t had a major outbreak.
UCI: Okay.
Caller: So.
UCI: You-
Caller: Main concern is – I’m listening.
UCI: Oh, sorry. You mentioned you were at another facility during COVID, and then, now, at Merced. Do you feel like there’s been any difference in the COVID procedures?
Caller: Yes. I think that Merced County drops the ball on COVID procedures. But – and you know, and I just feel like – like I said – other counties and other facilities had visits. Still does not allow visits.
UCI: Okay. It sounds like we’re almost out of time. But, if you wanted to continue the call, it can end, and then you can call us back. Or, if you feel like you’ve gotten your story out – how do you feel?
Caller: I feel like I got my story out. But, if something else comes up, I’ll give y’all a call back.
UCI: Okay. Thank you so much for participating. Please consider telling your friends about us and see if they want to call in, too.
Caller: Okay. I will. Thank you.
UCI: Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you.
Caller: You, too.
UCI: Bye-bye.
