Dear Governor Northam
First let me apologize for taking up your valuable time. But what I’m about to say is very important to me.I’m an offender at Nottoway Correctional Center.I’m sure my concern will be trevor to you but it means a great deal to myself and other offenders. My concern is jpay and the equipment and service that is provided us through them.The kiosk that we use is way out dated.( quite honest it is junk) I understand Nottoway is an old compound but it’s not that hard to upgrade it. Let me give you an example, I just left River North Correctional Center, in a twenty minute setting I could download 120 to 125 songs, here at Nottoway the most I’ve download is 31 in the 20 minute period. That is unheard of.That’s not even taken into account if you can even get it to work at all. It stays frozen up 60% of the time. This is a real issue I think needs to be followed up on. Then it’s the issue of trying to get help from them when you have an issue, let’s just say like trying to get your player fixed. First you send them a trouble ticket average time for them to answer 14 days they suggest a few things for you to try, it doesn’t work so you send another trouble ticket wait another 14 days they again suggest to try something else does not work so you go through it all again. It took me over 3 months to get them to let me buy a new player because the battery went bad outside the 90 day warranty. Another issue that is of a great concern is kefee our commissary supplier. How can they charge the prices they do? Most compounds do not have enough jobs for all the offenders, how can we afford 217.00 for a 13 inch TV that even if you could find one on the street what maybe 39.00 if that? I’m sending you copies of our commissary and property list take a look for yourself.I understand we all broke the law or we would not be here.I also realize you have to make money by offering these benefits to help offset some expense to the state and tax payer,I was a tax payer for over 56 years.But the prices we have to pay is just unfair. Again we did wrong to be where we at,but to live in the conditions we live in aside from being away from family,friends and love ones. We live in a cubicle the size of a small bathroom with 2 men per cell,we stand in a pill line 2 or 3 times a day in rain,cold,heat up to 30 minutes at a time also they do not provide raincoats,even a dog knows to come out of the rain. We have no choice if you want your medicine. But we are taught that is radical acceptance and we have to deal with it. We really can’t change anything but you can. I really think the system as a whole needs to be looked at. I don’t expect to have Holiday Inn accommodations but I would think we can do better than we get. I think for the money that jpay makes, and the commissary makes off us we can be treated much better. Not a lot of people treat us as humans but we are. And I sincerely believe you are a person that cares. What happen to all the privileges we once had ? I’m told at one time we could have little crock pots you could make meals that you could actually eat, not the meals from the chow hall that’s not fit for human consumption. And I won’t even get into the medical treatment we receive.( Or lack of )
I want to Thank You for your time, and do hope you will follow up on the Jpay problems we or having it is out of control.
I do have one last question, have you every visited a Prison Compound?
Sincerely Yours
Steven G. Moore
DOC #1149687
