Brutal beatings in Missouri
I was placed in administration segregation and stripped of my privileges (contact visits, phone calls, canteen, personal property, etc.) for the reason of investigation. A violation of my “due process” rights, as I am punished before being found guilty of anything. Other prisoners under investigation are stripped of their privileges as well. Investigation can last up to 6 months or longer. The investigator most usually takes as long as they want to speak to us. I was placed in housing unit 2 and the conditions are extremely hostile and cruel.
There is a rodent infestation due to trash not being cleaned and food, juice, coffee and milk cover the floor most of the day or longer. The mice live in the hall and the utility closest between cells. (This rodent infestation is rampant in all housing units and the chow hall).
We are forced to live in cells with individuals who many times do not get along with each other, mostly on purpose. As of 8-17-18, many convicts request protective custody (PC) to get out of these hostile cell arrangements, but due to the overcrowdedness of the administration segregational housing units, these is no where else the inmate can be placed. If an inmate refuses the same cell he came out of, he is punished with a conduct violation and disciplined.
Convicts, including myself, are forced to sit on an iron bench with our hands handcuffed behind our backs, attached to the bench, as well as our legs shackled to the bench with no alternative. The handcuffs and shackles are so tight that our hands and ankles result in bloody incisions and bruises. Mostly, medical refuse to check on the prisoner’s health and well-being. By policy, medical is supposed to check prisoners in handcuffs and shackles to make sure they’re not in pain. They refuse to comply or look past the fact our wrists are bleeding. We are refused all meals and water as well while on the bench, and are limited bathroom breaks, sometimes resulting with inmates urinating or defecating on themselves.
Once inmates per unit request PC, the correctional officers refuse to pull other inmates, in possible danger, out or they maliciously pepper spray them. This is a denial of our rights to PC and 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. These units hold 72 inmates each and there are 3 of them in 2 houses.
Convicts in need of PC were determined not to live in cells 24 hours a day with people who may cause them problems or harm. Prisoners “rode” the bench for over 144 hours (handcuffed and shackled). August 23, 2018 seemed to break convict’s spirits.
On 8-23-18, around 3:00 p.m., up to about 6:00 p.m., the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) came and proceeded to brutally assault inmates. All this is on cameras in housing unit 2 A, B and C wing at above time. Benches, holding cages and some showers were full of convicts awaiting compatible cells.
I was standing in a holding cage, 2C, face and chest exposed (due to the designs and patterns on cage) under PC awaiting a compatible cell. SCCC Correctional Officer (CO) Benevitez and Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) CO Ousley told me that the JCCC officers “had something for me”. (I had been convicted of 1st degree assault on correctional officer in JCCC; received 20 years; currently appealing) JCCC Officer Talest (referred to as Bull) then came to my cage and maliciously emptied about 3 small cans and 2 big cans of pepper spray directly into my face. JCCC, SCCC, Ozark Correctional Center, as well as other correctional officers take me to the ground, handcuffed me and proceeded to brutally assault me. About 10 officers or more, all of them 180 to 250 pounds, struck me with closed fists in the facial and body area, stomped and kicked me, elbowed me, twisted my toes and ankles, twisted my fingers back tearing ligaments, choked me and drove their knees into my back. CO Davis ran from nowhere to join the assault.
Inmates claim the officers were screaming, “This is what you get when you fuck with JCCC”. Officers then “hog tied” me, picked me up by my throat and ankles and carried me to Housing Unit 2A (H.U. 2A was flooded with sewage water due to broken toilets and sprinklers). Officers then threw me on the ground by cell 106, pulled the inmates out of 106 and picked me up and threw me to the concrete floor in 106. They then proceeded to beat me and shove my face and nose in water where I could not breathe. They punched, kicked, and stomped all parts of my body, especially my facial area. They twisted my finger and emptied a can of mace into my buttocks area. One officer urinated on me, they took my restraints off and left, whooping and hollering, “That was for Officer Post” and “don’t fuck with JCCC”. They then left me in a pool of bloody sewage water. I was denied any medical assessment. Nurse Courtney, who was working, told me, “Fuck your medical assessment, I hope you die”. I did not receive a conduct violation to support their use of force assault.
Officers then came and put my enemy (who I had requested PC from) into the cell with me. I then declared PC and they refused to pull me out. My enemy then held the food port, stuck his head out with my PC note at med pass to get me pulled out. I then went to “ride” the bench. During a restraint check, nurse Christine G. refused to check my restraints, denied me medical attention, and quoted from the “Bible” Romans 13:4 “It is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evil doer”. When nurse Barker came in, I declared a medical emergency for broken nose and broken fingers. She claimed, “Broken bones is not a medical emergency”. My face was drenched in blood. Later, I declared a medical emergency for chest pains. I can’t remember what nurse seen me, but she checked my vitals and said I was “OK”. I told her about my injuries and she said, “So what”. I was finally placed in cell 113 with a guy named Ben.
My injuries include possible broken nose, torn ligaments in my hands and finger, and I’m extremely traumatized. Prisoner [X] was standing in a holding cage in 2C (his whole body and face exposed due to design and pattern of cage) maliciously maced intravenously, pulled out the cage and beat ruthlessly by about 10 officers. His injury included a broken toe.
Prisoner [Y] was in 2C-240 and was maliciously pepper sprayed, pulled out the cell and his legal materials twisted.
Prisoner [Z] was in 2A-202 maliciously pepper sprayed and ruthlessly beat by about 10 officers. The main instigator was CO Applegate of SCCC. Not sure of his injuries, but when I seen him he looked like the “Walking Dead”. Face, arm, and elbows black and purple.
These attacks were organized by Warden Jeff Norman, Michelle Buckner and Conrad Sutton. Other prisoners were attacked as well.
After these brutal assaults, some inmates were bullied into living with incompatible prisoners. The pigs have 3 TV’s in the wings and are turned on if we are “good”. The same movie is played over and over all day long. The movies usually portray the imperialists oppressing and slaughtering the proletariat. It was used as a brainwash mechanism to control the feeble.
On a bathroom break, I was slammed to the ground on my jaw by CO Callhoun. I was then written up for a 19.1 (Creating a Disturbance). Everyone under PC felt there was nothing they could do and went back to their cells. I stayed on the bench. On 9-1-18, I was taken to Housing Unit 1B-122 for 2 2’s (guard assaults). The violations claim I slipped a handcuff and assaulted 2 officers by striking them numerous times in face and body with closed fists and knees. When in actual reality COI Riggs, COI Karr and Serge Herndon assaulted me. COI Riggs striking me in face with closed fist. I went one week in nothing but boxers and socks. No mattress. By the grace of Yaweh one convict got a sheet to me. Mail room staff Keli Ann Burton has been confiscating all his outgoing and incoming mail. I’m under “Security Orders” and denied medicals sick cell essentials, cleaning supplies, and told at all meals to lay face down on my bunk with arms behind my back and legs crossed to receive a “Suicide Bag” of food, while I’m not suicidal.
Us convicts ask for the administration to resolve certain issues as follows:
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Relief of overcrowding in administration segregation (Ad-Seg) units by:
–limiting investigation to 45 days.
–letting individuals out of Ad-Seg after their disciplinary segregation terms are
–Ending long erm Ad-Seg (which is used in Missouri as punitive in addition to disciplinary segregation). -
Access to incentives found in other Missouri Prisons for those assigned to long-term indeterminate Ad-Seg confinement and those placed under investigation.
–Possession of personal property (appliances, books, clothes, etc.).
–Ability to buy food items from canteen and all hygiene products. -
Access to privileges to those placed under investigation
–Ability to use the phone at least 3 times a week.
–Allowed contact visits at least twice a month.
If you would please support us convicts by expressing these claims to the Missouri Department of Corrections, we would greatly appreciate it. Also, expose our sufferings and 8-23-18 to the media, Fox 2 News, Channel 5 News, WNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC and mainstream newspapers. Myself, as well as others, will keep pushing. Some of us are litigating 1983’s.
