Cleanliness in prison
=====================

Cleanliness in prison is a subject John Kiriakou treats as central rather than incidental to life at FCI Loretto. His formulation is that there is nothing more important in prison than cleanliness.

Showering

Kiriakou says everybody showered every single day, himself included, in his case, before his eyes were completely open. The reason he gives for the universality of the habit is enforcement by other prisoners: a man who was not clean and who smelled bad would get a beating from the others in the cell.

He extends the point to the prison's most vulnerable population. Even the mentally ill homeless men at Loretto, he says, knew enough to shower every day, because if they did not they would be stripped naked and physically thrown into a shower, an experience they would not like. His conclusion is that everybody was very, very clean.

Constant cleaning

Kiriakou says that everybody, and he means this quite literally, was constantly cleaning. Somebody was always sweeping, mopping, dusting and rearranging. Nobody had a locker that was out of order.

He attributes part of this to the rules on possessions. Prisoners were not allowed more than ten books, or more than five letters, and a long list of other limits applied, so a man was constantly clearing out his locker. Nothing could sit on top of a locker, so nothing accumulated. Kiriakou describes the clutter as limited by the limited space.

Personal space at Loretto amounted to a bunk and a locker; everything else was shared. Kiriakou says his own locker was always immaculate, and so was his bunk.

Bedmaking

Beds had to be made as soon as the lights came on at six in the morning. A prisoner was allowed to go back to sleep, but only on top of the made bed, never under the covers. Kiriakou describes this as a hard and fast rule that would put a man straight into solitary confinement if violated.

The workaround he describes was universal: prisoners got up at six, made the bed, and went straight back to sleep on top of it with their winter coats over them.

See also

- FCI Loretto
- John Kiriakou
- Solitary confinement
- Prison Cell Transfers
