How A Stillwater Inmate Spends A Day In Lockdown

By Donovan Diego, Minnesota Reformer

September 15, 2025

I found out I was on lockdown while I was in segregation. I had been expecting to come out of my cell for my hour of rec time, but 10 other prisoners in the segregation wing and I were told that the entire facility was on lockdown and nobody was coming out. We faced a double lockdown because we were already isolated and sectioned off on lockdown status, away from the rest of the population.

I will be off lockdown whenever the administration decides. As of now, they haven’t given us a specific date, and I’m under the impression that this will be a more permanent schedule.

Family. My family finds out I’m on lockdown when I go more than three days without any communication. They then call the prison and verify my status.

How often. I am usually on lockdown three to five times per month. The lockdowns usually last two to three days. The longest I have been on lockdown (apart from the 2020 COVID-19 year) is three months. This was in 2018 when Officer Joseph Gomm died.

Worst part. The worst thing about lockdown is the absence of any opportunity to contact and communicate with my loved ones. I really wish I could call them while I’m locked in my cell.

Entertainment. When I am on lockdown, I like to catch up on my reading, get some extra hours of sleep, and meditate to pass time.

Eating. During lockdown, I get three meals a day. They are almost always cold. A typical meal on lockdown is cold cereal and an English muffin for breakfast; cold pasta salad for lunch; and a halfway thawed-out bologna bag lunch for dinner.

Excercise. If I want to exercise during lockdown, I have to do it in my cell, with the little space that I’m afforded.

Bathing. The only bathing option is to wash up in a small metal sink connected to my toilet.

Emergency. If there were an emergency during lockdown, I would have to hope that a response comes promptly. But more than likely, I would probably write my last words and a will.

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