Samantha Bachynski
#625781
Women’s Huron Valley
3201 Bemis Rd.
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Letter to Ashley Lucas
April 30, 2020
Dear Ashley,
I received your letter last night. It was great to hear from you. I have received JPay letters from Liz Boner and Leia Squallace (I’m sure I spelled that wrong). It’s nice to know that former PCAP members are reaching out. This whole pandemic has been crazy. I was actually put in seg for nine days on “close contact quarantine.” One of my co-workers got sick and tested positive for covid-19. My work station is right next to hers so they quarantined me and the lady who sits on the other side of her. That was a terrible experience. I’ve never been to seg before and going there for this sucked! I was basically punished because my co-worker got sick. The administration here keeps saying that “quarantine is not seg,” but I was treated like a seg prisoner for the most part. The only difference was that I got to use a phone everyday and shower everyday. Seg prisoners cannot use the phone and they only shower Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I was locked in a room by myself with only some clothes and hygiene products. They wouldn’t let me have any books or my sound equipment. Staring at the walls for nine days can really mess with a person’s head. Then after being there for nine days they moved me to the gym where they have about 70 beds set up. That was just craziness. I was there for five days. 70 women, 3 toilets, 2 sinks, and 2 showers. Not a good experience. I am back in my cell now, but I still wake up at night panicking thinking I’m back there. I already suffer from depression and PTSD after the hell that brought me to prison and going this all this has just added to it. Now that I’m back in my unit I spend so much time in my cell. That whole experience freaked me out and I don’t want to go through it again. I have a low immune system due to my M.S. and the medication I take for my M.S., so I am doing my best to avoid any possible exposure. I only go out to shower, use the phone and for some meals. I have a wonderful Bunkie who plugs up my player to the kiosk for me, so that I don’t have to go in the day room. I’ve been watching a lot of TV and playing games on my player. I’ve avoided crocheting anything for my nephews because I’d feel terrible if they got sick from something I made them. I know that may sound overly paranoid, but that’s just where my head is right now. There are a lot of people around here talking about “early releases” and how people who already have a positive parole are getting out early. It gets a little frustrating for me listening to that because I know from past experience that a good majority of them will be back. Instead of focusing on “short timers” to let out to reduce the population here they should look at some lifers and longtimers who are less likely to reoffend. For example, why not let lifers who were not the principal or primary perpetrator of the crime, who have at least 10 years with no major misconducts, out on parole? Or, look at lifers who were under 21 when they are not considered adult enough to drink, however they are adult enough to receive the harshest punishment in the state. Another thing to look at are those with chronic conditions. Letting those people out could save the state so much money. Hell, my medication alone is so expensive that right before this pandemic started, the nurse practitioner said I was going to be sent to see a neurologist to discuss a medication change to something more “economical.” That is the word she used! Never mind that the medication is working and we have MRI proof of it. I really think those examples are better for letting people out and yes, they would all include me, but from my experience those who have done over a decade stay out more than compared to most short timers. My opinion is that it would be safer for society to reduce prison population in this way. My views do only come from dealing with women and I can’t say that it is the same for men. This whole situation has just been crazy. I miss working. I know that the facility is trying to protect people (giving us face masks, limiting contact with other units, limiting time and the number of people in day rooms), but I am still scared and stressed out. So many of these women are not taking this serious and it’s not something to play with. They don’t wear their masks properly or at all. The concept of social distancing is a joke to them. I’m trying to avoid all that. I would love to go home and just stay at my mom’s house, away from people. I could self-quarantine myself even better there. Yes, my crimes are considered violent, however I am not a violent person (my co-defendant so is) and my prison record shows that. I pose no threat to society if I were to be released. But, of course, those who have terrible prison records (tickets/seg) and have messed up on parole before will be getting out. It is frustrating. Anyway, I guess I have babbled on long enough. Take care and I can’t wait to see you when all this craziness is over and workshops start up again!
Sincerely,
Samantha Bachynski
P.S. I didn’t know what date or range of dates to put on the release form so if more information is needed, I’ll sign a new one and answer any questions you might have.
Just a little food for thought for everyone:
- Lock up people you are afraid of, not those you are angry at.
- Aiding and abetting is bullshit! Charge people with what they physically did, not what someone else did while they were there. Example: I have a fire arms charge because my codefendant used a gun. I have never touched a gun in my entire life.
