Counselor Pigs Exploit Mental Health Programs for Profit in TDCJ

To MIM(Prisons),

I would like to tell you a problem I am having with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) between Allred Unit and now at Clemens Unit. I’ll start in May of 2021, when I was talking to a Ms. Carter at Allred who was a mental health counselor. I’ve been a G-5 since August of 2020 and I wanted my G-2 so bad that I asked Ms. Carter about Program Pamio which is a 6 month program where once completed you will get your G-2 and skip the G-4.

When you get a G-5 you have to do a year, then you see UCC and you go to G-4. Well Ms. Carter told me about a program called CMI and she told me it was the same program as Pamio; but she couldn’t tell me nothing else about CMI. I told her I will come up for my G-2 in 6 months and I will be able to to go to the law library and move around. She straight up lied to me and told me yes. Then on 24 November 2021 I made my G-4 at Allred and I have my freedom to move around again after 15 months in solitary confinement. I seen Ms. Carter again in November after I made by G-4 and I told Ms. Carter that I didn’t want to go to CMI, and I wanted to sign a refusal note. Ms. Carter told me all I had to do was tell the guard when I’m called on chain to leave that I wanted to sign a refusal note.

So on 12 December 2021, I seen Ms. Carter again and told her again that I didn’t want to leave Allred and to let me sign a refusal note. She told me the same thing: just tell the guard.

Well on 29 December 2021 I was called on chain to go to the CMI, so I told the guards and they wouldn’t do nothing about signing a refusal. So I sat down and Allred ran a team on me and made me get on that bus.

So let me tell you what I learn about CMI and Pamio program. Both programs are federally funded programs and the state get two checks for each prisoner in the program. Well I learn CMI stands for Chronic Mentally Ill treatment program. But let me tell you the criteria of the program: (A) Offender must be male (B) Custody classification of Restricted Housing (i.e. Administrative segregation, or G-5).

CMI’s purpose is to provide a structured, multidisciplinary treatment program specific for the offender in Restricted Housing (RH) and G-5 custody who require close monitoring due to their chronic mental illness.

You see, when an offender sign for the CMI program the offender is to be moved to the program within 1 month after he signs. So I signed in May of 2021 and in November of 2021 I made my G-4 and December 2021 I was called to the CMI – well that’s when I found out I wasn’t going to be admitted into CMI.

So I arrive at Clemens on 4 January 2022 and I learn CMI was a MH program, and that we’re to be locked in a cell 24/7. Look, if Ms. Carter would have not lied and told me that CMI was a MH program in Restricted Housing – I waited 15 months to get my G-4, do you think I would have signed it? All these rules about the CMI program is in A-08.8 CMI. Now remember what I told you about being a federally funded program: well Ms. Carter already got her bonus for me to sign and didn’t let me sign the refusal note. So on 6 January 2022 they run UCC classification and a Major Sutton, Lt. Garcia, and J. Bristow improperly classified me as CMI L-3/MH which they did just so Warden Gonzales could collect for TDCJ the federal money for me. But here’s the thing: on 7 January 2022, a Dr. Marchant came to my cell and told me I was not admitted into the CMI because I was a G-4, so if I wasn’t admitted how could they classify me as MH?

So anyways Clemens put me into the CMI pod called A-Pod and I was held with nothing but segregated prisoners who were insane and there was not one night I didn’t fear for my life.

Here’s another policy I read on AD-03.50: It is policy of the TDCJ to provide a non-punitive status involving the separation of an offender, which these people have me mixed in with all segregated/CMI prisoners. These prisoners have to complete this program to go back to general population. But I am general population and under safety policy of the AD-03.50 these officials have placed my safety at risk. There is no justification for Clemens to violate TDCJ-ID policy and procedures. It clearly says that Administrative Segregation was only designed for punitive status prisoners. But they only changed the name over to Restricted Housing, which is predominately the same name for segregation.

I have repeatedly requested to be moved to medium custody off this building but all official repeatedly ignore all of my request including this unit head warden and all assistant wardens.

Assistant warden’s name is Ms. Teresa S. Martinez. The Head Warden’s name is Adam R. Gonzales.

This information is also under the Texas penal code 39.04 the violation of the civil rights of a person in custody.

So months pass and I’m still in CMI pod and 30 April 2022 a special classification review comes from Huntsville and see over 200 prisoners that have been in the CMI, but discharged over 2 years and no less than a year. Well I’m discharged, and I go see SCC which is the committee that classifies prisoners. Well I was given my G-2 and told I was to be moved off Clemens the next week. Well between May 2nd through 7th, they moved over 200 prisoners and they were segregated and G-5 and G-4. But since I only had 5 months here they didn’t move me and left me in seg which is CMI. So on 31 May 2022 I go see UCC and they promoted me to line class 1, which is best and G-2 is best just above G-1.