On September 3rd, in the midst of a near-record heat-streak, around 100 people incarcerated in Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater staged a protest by refusing to go back to their cells for a staff-induced lockdown on Sunday, Sept. 3. Men housed in B East expressed grievances over no air conditioning, no clean or cold water, and whole units intentionally being locked down with no recreation time nor showers.
The inmates, who had worked all week in the prison’s factories, refused to go back to their cells after not getting showers or rec. After 8 hours, they ultimately went back into their cells. Two people, Domenico Newton and Lincoln Caldwell, were sent to segregation after refusing; at least one was reportedly written up for riot. The lockdown in B East, which has about 230 people living in it, and had a white tarp covering the cellblock for two days, continued until at least Wednesday, Sept. 7.
One former inmate there called the move an act of “self-preservation” amid dangerously high temperatures in the region.
Hearing news of Sunday’s prison protest, family members of inmates, community advocates, and press appeared outside the prison. Marvina Haynes, the sister of Marvin Haynes and Alissa Washington, the fiancé of Cornelius Jackson, spoke to Unicorn Riot on Sunday. Both Haynes and Jackson claim innocent of the charges against them and are housed in Stillwater.
Marvina was able to get a recording of Phillip Vance, who gave a testimonial from inside B East as to why people were protesting. He said it was the continual lockdowns after working all week, among other issues like not having access to showers and clean water. Watch the following video from around the 2:35 mark to hear from Vance.
Stillwater prison has a long history of rebellions, uprisings, and activism dating back to the 1960s and beyond. Stillwater houses up to 1,600 people and has factories where inmates work for state’s scandal-plagued prison industry company, Minncor.The prison is a 100-year-old building with no air conditioning, no central air. Currently there is no access to clean drinking water. Another man formerly housed in Stillwater, Tommy Powell, said “some people get rashes from the water. At times it’s really heavy. It’s like a soup.”
Studies at Stillwater prison from 2014-2019 found six cancer-causing contaminants in the water, at levels far exceeding those recommended by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The level of carcinogenic radium detected is 37 times higher than EWG’s guideline.