The man next doorI first met Peter Rusch in October 2022 on North Compound, Unit 2-B Right. I had just been transferred there after a tactical search team (TST) raid on my housing unit. Employees had gotten a tip that I had a contraband item, and since staff generally don’t approve of my writing — often about the injustices of prison — they jumped at the chance to put me in administrative segregation, or ad-seg, basically solitary. I arrived with nothing but the clothes on my back.Peter was living in the cell next to mine. I could see him when we were both outside our cells and speak to him through the walls. He was tall and thin, with long dark brown hair and a scraggly beard, with glasses perched on his face. He reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He seemed to know everyone on the unit. He had been in ad-seg for months, I learned later — but never knew why — which was hard on a guy like Peter, who was widely known to have mental health issues. I’d heard that he also tried to commit suicide before.Two things stood out about Peter immediately: his kindness towards other incarcerated …
