November 05, 2014
When I was a resident inmate at the level 3 prison, Lebanon my living conditions were horrible, very similar to the conditions of a drug house in the ghetto, maybe at times even worse. Lebanon was the dirtiest place I have ever been, years and years of filth with no one to care about cleaning it up. Everywhere I looked there was peeling paint, stained walls, rusted metal, broken glass and windows and so much more. I have no idea why a place like Lebanon continues to house inmates when it should have been condemned a long time ago. Cockroaches, mice and rats were everywhere, I couldn't look around without seeing a pest or rodent, it was absolutely disgusting, I had to live there for about fourteen months and it took a major toile on my mind and body. Before going to Lebanon I would hear stories about roaches that were big enough to carry away a pack of ramen noodles, I thought to myself there was no way that could be true until my arrival, the first thing I saw was a roach so big I could see underneath of its body when it stood on its legs. At night I would wake up to roaches snuggling up to my body for warmth, and the sound of mice and rats crawling around, trying to find something to eat. A lot of my initial weight that I lost was at Lebanon because I was so disgusted at my surroundings and fearful of eating something contaminated that I just had no appetite. I'm not sure if it was my diet or my environment, but something caused the hair on my face to fall out, bald spots started growing larger, even after a clean shave I could see the noticeable spots on my face. For a long time I thought I would never be able to grow another beard until now. Being on cell isolation I chose to grow a beard in an attempt to disguise my face until they release me back into general population, constantly being harassed by guards in this blue jumpsuit, hoping they won’t recognize me after this. Well my face is back to normal; thankfully the bald spots are gone. I wish I could say the same about the top of my balding head which was certainly sped up by the stress of prison, but hereditary and inevitable none the less. Life here at Madison might suck a little more than usual lately, I just thank God I'm no longer at Lebanon. Things could be much worse and this too shall pass.
Steven Dybvad
