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This past weekend we spoke again with Bruce X at Macomb correctional facility in Michigan. He’s tested positive for Covid-19. Bruce X has been warning us of this tragedy for weeks now. Last time we spoke with him, he refused to go back to his cell because his bunkmate was sick. He’s asthmatic. As a result, he was put in solitary confinement. A correctional officer at Macomb told him, ”I don’t give a damn if you live or die.” His unit is now the epicenter of the outbreak inside Macomb prison. After much insistence, he was finally tested last week and was put in quarantine. Bruce X — along with almost 60 others inside Macomb prison alone — is fighting for his life.

My name is Bruce X Parker (#593090) at Macomb Correctional Facility. Whoever gets this, you guys need to reach out to the governor, reach out to the Michigan department of health and human services, reach out to your local representatives via email or call, at home if necessary, because our lives matter too in prison. And nothing is being done.

ADW Steves, deputy warden George Stephenson, ADW Malloy. All of these individuals are not doing anything at this facility. Warden Willis Chapman – he’s putting guys in the hole when they refuse to lock with people that sick. ADW Steves who directed them to put me in a hole for a guy that he said wasn’t sick, but then it came back that he was sick. And this is the individual who infected me and I’m an asthmatic. I’m on two inhalers. Alvesco which is a steroid for my already suffering respiratory issues. And Albuterol, which is a rescue inhaler. I already suffer from preexisting conditions and I’m at higher risk because I suffer from respiratory issues. Christopher Steves ordered them to put me in a room with a guy that was sick. And if I didn’t go in there, they’d put me in the hole. So I left out the room with this guy and refused to go back in there with him, not knowing he had infected me within those two, three hours he was in the room with me.

I’ve been in segregation since, and I finally got put into the quarantine unit on March 31st after I was tested and they separated me from the regular sick and put me in quarantine and the results came back the next day that I tested positive.

This is what these people are doing here. They are trying to cover it up. They are misreporting. They are lying. The numbers here right now, to be exact, the numbers here to be exact is damn near 62-63. This is the number here right now. 62-63. And that’s a fact. This is not something that I’m making up. It’s a fact. 62-63. We got more Corona and Covid-19 cases here than a small city. Because it’s spreading. They were supposed to practice social distancing and they would not full out practice social distancing. They was allowing one, two and five block to go to yard together to co-mingle! They got inmates in a room with guys. They got sick guys in a room of guys that are not sick, which is infecting the non-sick guys. They just took a guy to the hospital last night at this facility because his blood pressure was real low, his sugar was off, he had respiratory issues. Two days ago, they took two guys to the hospital.

They’re not taking adequate measures to address the problems that are taking place within this facility. In fact, they’re exacerbating them because they are negligent. They are negligent in what they’re doing. They don’t care. Like Officer Terrance, and I quote his words: “I don’t give a damn if you live or die.” This is the collective attitude of the entire Macomb Correctional Facility administration.

They make it appear as if they’re doing something to stop or combat this disease, but they’re not even following the CDC standards nor the executive order of governor Gretchen Whitmer 2020-17. Or even the presidential coronavirus response team recommendations, which is going off the CDC. They’re not following any of those. People have been co-mingling. Now they’re trying to respond with the masks on March 28th — that is too late. The virus has penetrated this compound and I’m telling you, mark my words, like I said before, this compound had over 300 cases of covid-19 and that’s a fact. I know that. Because they didn’t respond in a timely and responsible manner, which has resulted in numerous prisoners’ lives being put in jeopardy, including my own. They are not doing nothin’. Warden Willis Chapman, deputy warden George Stevenson, ADW Christopher Steve, ADW Malloy — they’re not doing anything but trying to cover it up.

They can’t mitigate this. Guys’ lives hang in the balance as we speak. My life is one of them. I’m fighting for my life right now. Other guys are fighting for their life right now.

I thank God that I’m here to speak and say what’s going on in there because a lot of people don’t have the avenues that I have. A lot of people don’t have the access to you type of people out there that can have this put on the news or have this put on the media and have it talked about. We need attention brought to this because nothing is being done!

We inmates are being thrown in the hole, left in the hole, left to die. They have not engaged in any type of programs, any type of protective measures to protect us and treat us in a humane way, like we are the plague, like we’re something that should not be approached. We can’t get a decent conversation out of them. We locked down all day in the cells we’re in. We have no ventilation in the cells we’re in in quarantine. No ventilation! We’re locked down.

So I ask that whoever views this message or views this webcast — however this is going to be disseminated — whoever views it — you have to speak up and do something. Because grace is when you do something, when you’re not required to do it, and this is what God does for those people who’ve been blessed, so you got to pass that on. You got to do it too. We may not deserve it, but God gives us grace anyway. So he gives you grace to give grace to us. To whom much is given, much is required. So a lot is required of y’all out there. Not because we deserve it, but because right is right even if no one is doing it. And the MDOC right now has failed! Utterly and miserably failed!