2 Prisoners Who Have Been in O.C. Jail for 6 1/2 Years Say It’s Improved : Inmates: But others in custody have filed complaints, including demands for access to law books, the opportunity to seek legal advice from fellow prisoners and more time for meals.

If anyone should know what it’s like to spend time in the Orange County jail system, it’s Thomas F. Maniscalco and Daniel M. Duffy.

Both men were arrested on March 15, 1984, and charged in a 1980 Westminster triple slaying. Six-and-a-half years later, both are still in the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana. In a county jail system that for the most part holds prisoners sentenced to no more than a year behind bars, their tenure is extraordinary--in fact, Duffy and Maniscalco are two of the system’s three longest-standing prisoners.

“When I got here, they had people on the floors everywhere,” Maniscalco said in one of several recent jailhouse interviews. “It was a nightmare. . . . There was a lot of violence, both inmate and institutional violence. Now, in the main jail, I don’t see a lot of problems.”

Although both Maniscalco and Duffy say that conditions have improved markedly since they were jailed, they also expressed concerns, and some of their objections are echoed in sworn declarations by prisoners whose lawyers recently filed complaints in federal court. The prisoners are demanding access to law books, the opportunity to seek legal assistance from fellow prisoners and more time for meals, among other things.

James D. Deason, who was locked up in the main jail on June 7, said in his sworn declaration that he is often rushed through meals and unable to finish. He also complained of being denied legal books that he has requested.

“I am in general population, and on two occassions, obviously mentally disturbed prisoners have been put in my cell,” Deason wrote. Jerry D. Dunham, also in the main jail, complained of cockroaches in the cell where the law books are kept.

Mealtime is most commonly mentioned in the declarations, and prisoners say it is being cut so short that they sometimes do not get a chance to finish.

“The time allotted for mainline inmates (to eat) is often less than 15 minutes,” Duffy wrote in a sworn declaration executed on Oct. 10. “On a couple occasions, I was unable to finish but half of my meal. When I made complaints of this to the supervising sergeant, he simply stated, ‘complaint duly noted.’ Other times they direct me to file a ‘snivel sheet.’ ”

In an interview, Duffy amplified on those complaints, saying that he and other prisoners also suffer from inadequate exercise, lack of sunlight and petty rules that he says are intended to give deputies the excuse to punish prisoners.

Sheriff’s officials deny that they violate prisoners’ rights, although they declined to comment on the specifics of the Duffy and Maniscalco allegations since they are the subject of litigation.

State prison officials were more willing to talk, and they cautioned against believing all the complaints registered by inmates.

“We get complaints all the time, and we check them out,” said Neil Zinn, field representative for the state Board of Corrections. “About 90% of the time, the complaints are unwarranted or magnified.”

In recent weeks, Zinn said he has received three or four letters from inmates complaining about the quality of the medical care they get while behind bars. After checking out two of them, Zinn said, he found that they were without merit; the others are still being investigated.

In the declarations, one inmate at the women’s jail, Linda H. Curtis, says she was denied permission to switch to a lower bunk even though she complained of arthritis and a fear of heights. The nurse “said there is nothing wrong with me medically. There is something wrong with me medically. I’ll have to learn to live with it. Besides, she said, “Unless I’m pregnant, I’m not allowed a bottom bunk.”

Zinn was not familiar with that particular complaint but said that overall, the county manages its system fairly well. Orange County is well known as a strict jail system--”You screw up in their jail, and they’re going to find you a suitable penalty,” Zinn said--but also as a fair one.

“They play straight by the rules, but there’s nothing illegal about that,” he said. “I think that overall they’re doing a pretty good job, especially considering their overcrowding problem.”