As an incarcerated person, I wish the Delta variant was taken as seriously in prisons as it is on the outside

• The prison where I live has decided to consolidate its living units.
• As the Delta variant is on the rise, the move is dangerous and dehumanizing.
• We have to take an honest approach to prison reform, and compromising the health and safety of prisoners isn't the way to do it.
• Christopher Blackwell is a writer who is incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory.
• This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

I felt like I was scrambling for a prom date.

In an attempt to reduce the budget by $80 million, the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) had decided to consolidate living units at the Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) where I lived, and at other prisons across the state. I had already put in for a transfer, but I had no idea when it might come through.

The plan to merge four living units into two at MCC would force prisoners to live like sardines in a can - tightly compacted with little to no breathing room - forgoing all safety measures related to protecting prisoners from COVID-19 as new variants of the virus continue to emerge around the country.

As more prisoners found out, we made our way from person to person, looking for a potential match to "cell-up" with. Most of us were frustrated and told ourselves it couldn't be possible for the Department of Corrections (DOC) to do this. However, deep down, we all knew DOC would do as they pleased with little to no fear of being held accountable for the mistreatments of the thousands of prisoners in their care - during the pandemic and far beyond.

Finding a new cellmate became everyone's top priority. This is the person you'll have to use the bathroom in front of, trust to be around photos and personal information of your loved ones, and hope they don't do anything stupid, like use drugs or get involved in prison politics that would get you in trouble. Basically, when you live with someone in prison, you're connected to that person. Their actions can easily have an impact on your life.

"These cells are too small to double-bunk us. Plus, are we now just foregoing COVID precautions with the Delta variant on the rise in our state," one prisoner said.

"We don't matter to DOC, we're simply animals in cages to them, not humans who deserve to be treated as such. Whatever is convenient to them is what will happen to us," another said.

Us prisoners are tired of the hypocritical antics DOC continues to place upon us. Continuously we've been reminded that our safety and wellbeing are secondary to their budget concerns, or anything DOC deems important, which is never the prisoners entrusted to their care.

Compromising our health

This has been the pattern with correctional departments throughout the pandemic and across the whole country. Safety measures take place only for show, as the majority of the safety restrictions never came into effect until after over 90% of the people in the prison where I lived contracted the virus, all while prisoners begged for their safety to be taken seriously. After weaponizing these conditions against prisoners, and in the name of our safety and wellbeing, the Department plans to pack us tightly in a small living environment just to save a little money. I didn't know my safety and wellbeing was for sale.

In a memo released on July 12, 2021 by DOC Secretary Cheryl Strange, addressed to prisoners, their loved ones, and guards, we were told, "With a significant increase in the number of vacant beds, the state must address this unfunded capacity issue now." This was a clear reminder that officials are only concerned about the DOC's budget, and not the safety of their prisoners or staff.

When asked about the rumors of four units being merged into two, one guard said, "I already have a new assignment to switch to another part of the complex. I'm not dealing with double the guys in one unit. It's going to be chaos with that many people."And he isn't the only guard to say he's leaving the living units. Quite a few have voiced concern because of how dangerous the move to compress the units is. Many have decided to accept an early retirement, relocate, or simply quit.

But these are choices that prisoners don't have. We'll just have to buckle-up and endure whatever's dished out, like riding a rollercoaster without a seatbelt.

The fact is, these consolidations will have a large effect on the prisoners, their loved ones, and the guards forced to endure them. The cells - in a prison that's already over a hundred years old - are a mere 6'×10', smaller than the average person's bedroom. Furthermore, the residential wings only have 10 phones and 12 showers which more than 300 prisoners will be forced to share.

These amenities are already spread thin with the 150 people currently residing in the living units. Doubling up on prisoners will only make these resources even harder to use, causing more stress and pressure on prisoners who have spent the last year and a half being restricted and bullied by DOC administration in the name of our own safety.

DOC claims all who are impacted by the consolidations have been a part of the process and able to voice concerns throughout the process in DOC's choice to make decisions. Yet, the majority of prisoners and their loved ones had no clue such a plan was even on the table. The first time prisoners and their loved ones were notified, on July 12, 2021, was mere days before the consolidation would take place.

And the sad truth is, prisoners, our loved ones, and guards never needed to be placed in such a volatile position. With DOC's budget in crisis, legislators and the governor knew drastic changes were inevitable in how the prison system functioned over the next two years mostly due to the constraints COVID-19 placed on our country as a whole. Working proactively to address budget concerns without compromising the health and safety of those connected to the prison system, various pieces of legislation were introduced (led by Look2Justice, of which I am a co-founder with my wife Chelsea Moore, and many other organizations, impacted parties, and community members), some making it quite far through the legislative process. And to be fair, the WDOC even supported the passage of the expansion of Earned Time, which would have reduced the prison population allowing the Department to meet their required budget.

Unfortunately though, when it came time to step-up and make the necessary changes, Democratic leadership backtracked and stalled the bills in the committees where they sat, claiming if too much criminal reform legislation was passed, Democrats could possibly lose their seats in swing counties to Republicans during the next election.

Because of their cowardice to do the right thing, prisoners, mostly from impoverished communities of color, will suffer the consequences in the dark shadows, out of the public's eye.

As a society, we cannot continue to be fear-mongered into believing all criminal justice reform legislation threatens our safety. Because of this way of thinking, we are actually making our communities less safe, allowing impoverished communities of color to continue to be targeted, and allowing dehumanizing practices to continue within the carceral state.

Individuals behind prison walls and fences, including me, need to be accountable for the harm we've caused our communities. However, if we are continuously treated as an "other," and our health and safety is always compromised, how are we ever meant to reintegrate into society? How can we ever feel like we belong?

It's time to take an honest approach to prison reform and stop fear-mongering society so politicians and the prison industrial complex can thrive off the backs of the poorest communities in America. What's taking place in states across the country is dehumanizing, racist, and downright wrong.