Rush City is Minnesota’s worst prison

It is overcrowded, understaffed, and inhumane

Hello to all interested in this matter. I am a current prisoner here at Rush City. I have been to every high-level prison in this state over the course of about a decade. After having been here in Rush City for less than a year, I can say without a doubt that this is the overall WORST prison I have ever been to in my life.

Don’t believe me? Ask nearly any long-term prisoner here who has been to either Stillwater or Oak Park, and at least 9 out of 10 will tell you they would be willing to add more time on to their sentence to get into either one. As a matter of fact, there are a good number of prisoners who end up committing serious Rule or Law violations in order to do just that. 

The D.O.C [Department of Corrections] is well aware of this and is currently doing its best to avoid shipping anyone to Oak Park (the highest level prison) who commits a staff assault, or smuggling, or even escape attempts. Does the D.O.C want another incident like Stillwater had in the summer of 2018? What are they trying to create here?

For those who don’t know, Rush City is a high-level prison. It houses those who either have more than 10 years until their release date, including those with life sentences, or guys who are regularly breaking prison rules. Interestingly enough, there are also a lot of parole violators in here.

The majority of problems here stem from one issue: TWO prisoners in ONE cell!

This prison was designed for one bed in one cell, although some officials may claim the prison can safely house twice the capacity. The constant short staffing, relatively little time for prisoners out of the cell when compared to any other D.O.C prison, the chow hall having been closed since the Covid pandemic, and the multiple inmates raped or murdered by their cellmates say otherwise.

In some units they do not let prisoners move to another cell if they are having issues with their cellmate, which means one way or another they will be in solitary with anything from a “Refusing Placement” charge to a false (or real) accusation or victimization of sexual assault, “Attempted Murder,” or even actual murder in some cases.

Speaking of solitary, a.k.a. “segregation,” here briefly: Rush City is also the most dangerous I have seen. Regardless if it is 2 or all 8 prisoners they let out at a time that are fighting, the guards must put on full swat team riot gear, which takes way too much time before they enter the unit and break up the fight. I watched multiple prisoners attack each other 2 or 3 against 1, which sent the victim to the hospital each time while the guards sat right by the door and watched, waiting for the other guards to prepare.

They do not do such a routine at Stillwater or Oak Park. They immediately break up the fight. They do not take the unnecessary time to hide behind military gear and kevlar armor plating and shields.

Now, to give those who have never been locked up before a perspective on this main issue of cell living, go inside of a single-occupant bathroom and try to imagine living inside of it for 23 hours per day. Pretty miserable huh? Now imagine a bunk bed in there with a random and potentially unstable violent individual who will be living in there with you 23 hours per day. Perhaps you get the point.

In my experience and in the experience of everyone I have spoken with on the issue, housing more than one prisoner in a cell is inhumane. If one goes to the dog pound or the Humane Society, you will see that each animal gets its own cage. Apparently the message the state is sending us is that we human prisoners (the majority of whom will be released in the next five years) are worth less than the animals at the Humane Society. 

Considering the fact that we are in a high-level prison where prisoners are known to rape and murder one another, it becomes more than inhumane — it becomes criminal. At least it should be with the help of any elected official who claims to support “Rehabilitation” in here.

Imagine what the family of someone in here on a 60-day petty parole violation such as alcohol use thinks when their son gets murdered for being forced into a cell with the wrong prisoner. Are such prison conditions in line with the goals of the MRRA? If not, then the legislature should address this issue as soon as possible!

For those willing and able to do so, I would highly recommend this issue be solved sooner than later. There are many ways they could reduce the population here considerably. One idea would be the re-opening of “A-west” in Stillwater as well as Complex 2 in Oak Park, which would open about 300 beds. Simultaneously moving certain parole violators to the medium level prisons would just about do it right there.

I’m sure there are many other ways the D.O.C could solve this issue, but they need to be held accountable and given the proper directives!

I ask for the help of those willing and able to do so. Rush City needs to be completely restructured.

Name withheld at the author’s request.