More Murders at Ely State Prison in Nevada!

About three months ago, I witnessed another murder at Ely State Prison (ESP). That’s the fifth murder here in the last two years. How is that? More people have been killed at the ESP in two years than everyone combined on death row here!

[Editor’s Note: Since Gilbert wrote this, there have been 3 more murders.]

There is so much more to it. With the most recent slaying, I witnessed someone who could possibly still be alive today had medical personnel done their duty. It took them over 20 minutes to respond, and even still, when they did finally make an appearance on our tier, it was the guards, not medical personnel, who first attended to the victim. Why is that?

Since that murder, there’s been no less than three more stabbings just on this one tier. What is wrong with the ESP?

The alleged offenders in the recent murder I witnessed had less than a year and a half to go home! These offenders were most recently minimum custody (the least restrictive custody within the NDOC) and should not have been at this facility. They now face the possibility of life sentences.

Why is the NDOC/ESP holding people hostage at this facility? Nothing good happens here. A little over a year ago, another murder victim had less than a month to go home!

I’ve been a hostage at the ESP for 30 years. I have never seen it this violent. I’ve seen the gang violence, the racial wars, etc., and it has never been this bad. So what’s wrong with the ESP?

A new warden, Terry Royal, was recently brought in from another state. Earlier this week, I asked him if he had any plans to let  the current administration go (e.g., associate wardens, case workers) and bring in his own, as that would be the only way to make positive changes, since everyone here currently works under someone who worked under someone else here — those always having the same ideas and mindset about crime and punishment, none that worked, evidenced by the current state of affairs. The new warden said he wasn’t able to and was forced to work with what’s here. Sad. Scary.

This administration continues to say there’s going to be changes” soon.” Nobody is bold enough to give an exact date when these “changes” are to take place. Problem is, it’s not soon enough.

I stated that it’s scary to have the current administration still in place, and I stand by that. They’ve had the ability to make positive changes for years but have rallied against it, evidenced by their actions overall — or lack thereof. This place is set up for failure.

For decades, this facility has never been about rehabilitation. It’s always been about profit, dehumanization, and racism. It’s modern-day slavery, stacking bodies for the money, and doing so by cutting corners as much as possible.

Even staff have stated that people do not want to work at the ESP due to the violence and because there’s absolutely nothing going on here. There are staff working at double the pay who have been asked to come out of retirement to work here again. And to think that the ESP is at less than half capacity.

There are days when the prison is on lockdown because there’s not even enough medical personnel present. Medical personnel refusing to show up to work? This is a common occurrence. Scary to think that there’s not even enough medical personnel that our lives depend on since they decide not to bother showing up to their jobs. (This is documented, as it must be logged as to why we don’t get our allotted two hours of “tier time” a day.)

As of today, there are no programs available. It’s been that way for at least a decade. We do not have any off-unit jobs during feeding times (the only job we get is to clean the unit and pass out food on the unit). These do not have a “pay number,” nor do we receive any “good time” for volunteering to perform these duties. The only thing available is a GED/high school diploma course that inmates have to do from inside their cells.

Currently, I’m working toward clemency. How does one accomplish this from an environment that is designed for failure? I can’t even attend religious services here. The administration won’t even transfer me to another facility, simply based on people that I “associate” with. How is rehabilitation and reform possible for anyone under these circumstances? If it’s contested otherwise, then by default, I should be the epitome of rehabilitation, as I’ve been at the ESP for three decades.

It should also be asked what happens or is expected of someone under these conditions, when the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation has been excluded.

Gilbert Paliotta #46244
Ely State Prison
PO Box 1989
Ely, NV 89301