Calipatria State Prison - Federal

6 October 2011 - At the moment here in Calipatria State Prison in ASU about 100 prisoners are on day 11 of the hunger strike and we will be on it until the CDCR meets the demands of PBSP on how prisoners are validated through this torturous inhuman system.

4 October 2011 - Regarding the current hunger strike that is going on in California’s prison system, Calipatria state prison is participating in A, B, C yards and ASU went on hunger strike on 9/26/2011. Unfortunately the mainline yards have started eating again but ASU still has 100 strong not eating. I came to ASU in April 2010 at a healthy 7’1” 420 pounds and I weighed in at 281 this morning.

3 October 2011 - Today we close our 8th day of this hunger strike. The ASU here at Calipatria State Prison was the last to stop during the July 1st, 2011 hunger strike. Some prisoners went 27 days. They ended up going to Centinela prison central health for treatment (IV and observation). I myself lasted 16 days. Fell out on the 7th day and was given an IV for a few hours.

This hunger strike is crazy! But living in ASU/SHU for years is straight torture. It changes a person. More than half of us here at CAL-ASU are validated waiting to go to Pelican Bay SHU. I’ve been waiting a year and a half. So we all got together, and once again have joined the movement.

Last time CDCR retaliated by not giving us our liquids (milk/juice). We 602ed [institutional appealed] it and won. This time around they were forced to give us our liquids. Not much but it’s progress. We’re supporting the Bay’s 5 core demands, but we also have our issues here. We’re SHU prisoners therefore entitled to SHU privileges: TVs, radios, shoes, etc. Here we’re given nothing. We’ve argued, demanded, 602ed, and yet we have nothing. CDCR’s run around and usual response, “we’ll look into it,” or plain denials is all we get.

I drafted a group 602 for our TVs/radios. It’s been done before, but I did it so I’ll be able to write a writ once it’s denied. It may work, it may not. I refuse to just sit on my ass. If I gots to fight CDCR with paper and pen, I will. If I gots to starve myself for a better tomorrow, I have, and am, and will.

Last hunger strike we received many promises from Calipatria officials. The only one they honored was to give us some of our canteen items (chips, rice, beans) in their original packaging. We used to get them on paper lunch bags. We’re demanding those promises be met! Mainly the issuance of TVs.

The movement is strong here, we all try to motivate one another. Many showed their support for a few days but their health prevented them from continuing. Many continue believing in the movement, so they’re holding strong even though they hear their stomach rumble. I’ve lost 10 pounds in 5 days, the last weigh in we had.

I’m one of the prisoners struggling to stop the torturous Security Housing Units (SHU) practice on prisoners in California. It is only right. In Calipatria State Prison Ad-Seg they’re calling this peaceful hunger strike a disturbance strike. A memorandum was passed to urge prisoners to stop or else they would get a serious violation write-up. The following day a large quantity of prisoners with a couple of serious rule violations started accepting their trays in order to avoid getting an indeterminate assignment in SHU. Which is understandable. But, nonetheless a lot of prisoners are still going strong.

In Calipatria State Prison Ad-Seg, hunger strike prisoners are participating peacefully. They’re in compliance with the COs and medical staff, so this does not meet the criteria of a disturbance. The memorandum was another tactic of reprisal towards the prisoners who are participating. I hope for a positive outcome for all the prisoners in SHU confinement and for all of us here in Calipatria Ad-Seg. Along with the struggles of the SHU prisoners, we’re looking for something positive. In Calipatria we’re asking for what Ad-Seg is supposed to have. Nothing more, nothing less.

This strike is being done peacefully, but yet one of my fellow prisoners in support of the hunger strike was assaulted by IGI [Institutional Gang Investigations]. Not once did he try to resist, and everywhere we go we are in restraints.

I’ve already lost 2 pounds, which is nothing yet, but I’m a man who will see this through till my body seizures. I’m well aware that my medical disorder (seizures) is something not to be playing with. I will stay positive and focus on the big picture of what’s important: change. I’m not in Pelican Bay, but I’ve been validated and since March of 2009 I have yet to receive what I got coming.

This memo was given to us on September 27. No advance directive was given to any of us who are food striking [an advance directive form allows food strikers to designate a person to make health care decisions on their behalf in case they become seriously ill]. I requested an advance directive and submitted it on September 26. I also sent a copy to my family.

I’m not alone here in Calipatria fighting the struggle. There are over 70 of us validated here who have been stuck here for over two years. Last year there were over 80 cell extractions here in ASU. This was for TVs, jackets and laundry they are not providing us. Nothing is being fixed here. All Calipatria administration did was ship out 12 prisoners who they considered the organizers.

I know the Calipatria administration isn’t taking this hunger strike seriously. And in response to the September 27 memo some prisoners got intimidated and decided to eat. Many do not see the bigger picture and feel it is a lost cause.

After we stopped the first strike in July all we got was harassment, cold food and laundry messed with even more. I’ve been asking about receiving some disinfectant and was informed that we are not going to get it anymore. And we get hand soap, watered down, in a milk carton once a week per cell. We live in dirty filth here.

We are pretty much on lockdown 24-7 here at Calipatria State Prison. When we get full program we only go out to yard 4 hours per week, and that’s if we are lucky because a lot of the time they come out with all kinds of excuses, and we only end up getting two hours weekly.

There are prisoners who have been here 4 years without getting any assignments (a job or school). I had a job before I arrived here at this “institution” (like they wanted this to be called, instead of what it is - a prison cages for animals, not fit for human beings.) Anyway, I had a job with a paid number which was about $20 a month, and that’s if I work a full month. Most of the time I don’t work the full month. Anyway, I asked my counselor what’s going on with a job. I said I’ve been here 3 months already and he says, why are you asking that, there are a lot of people here who have been here five years without any assignment. That surprised me because I’ve been in prison for over 12 years and I have seen other prisoners waiting for assignments 3 years at the most, never 5 years.

The situation here is really sad. A lot of us have to wait over a month to get called to see the doctor, and that’s in an emergency. So imagine those that are not emergencies. They only have one doctor for everything and one dentist and we are over 1000 prisoners. The showers look like 1940s showers, they have rat holes in them. My cellie almost broke his foot on one of them last time.

You know what’s the worse part of it? When we complain to these Correction Officers, they just say to put in a 602, which is a citizen complaint form, supposedly to fix problems in here on behalf of prisoners. The prisoners hardly win 602s. They either end up losing your 502 or rejecting your 602 because you didn’t follow a proper rule. They will do this or that and at the end nothing gets done.

In this law library you are not even allowed to make copies of legal documents. I recently went to the law library because innocence project is getting my case to see if I can prove innocence in court. They sent me these questionnaires in which they needed copies of my opening brief and reply brief. So I went to the law library to get copies. They stopped me on the spot, telling me I cannot get copies. I asked her how we can prove our innocence when we are getting doors slammed in our faces. She just said “that’s the policy.”

Coming out of LA and the gang lifestyle to get here everything is different: everyone stuck together. But you aren’t told this while out there in society. There everything is racial. Blacks and Hispanics are the majority here so the police find a way to keep us at each other’s throats.

But after you hit these holes and SHUs [short and long term isolation cells], everybody is together, now that we all realize the police don’t give a damn about none of us. If you ain’t working with them (snitching, kissing they ass, doing they dirty work) they are gonna find a way to get you off the line. Your own might sell you out so they can stay out there and be susceptible to the bullshit. When you bring this to their attention it’s always an excuse. It’s sad because a lot of the ones who are accepting the BS know better.

These are the ones who been down twenty plus years and ain’t getting out. If they ain’t letting someone go for petty theft, how do you think you are going to get a date for 2 murders. It don’t add up. But these are the role models who are pushing these brooms around this dayroom and getting called out to speak for the population. And if you bring it to their attention, they either drop a kite to get you rolled up off the line, or they leave to protective custody.

I don’t promote violence, I’m just one who believes in truth, non-fiction. It is what it is and since I’ve been here in Calipatria, that’s what this prison breeds (snitches, protective custody, illiteracy, racial tension, etc.) So many have debriefed that it has become the norm. I just can’t accept befriending someone whose job is to fuck me over and use me and then throw me to the wolves.

The courts already sentenced me, let me just do my time and go home. But if you ain’t laughing in their face, you are a threat somehow. It’s ludicrous. So the end result is you are either going to conform and go against everything you believe in, or put a muzzle on your mouth and tie your hands together and sit around and deteriorate until you die or you’re on you’re way to a 180 degree design prison or a SHU term. If you show signs of aggression, Calipatria is gonna have you on a bus up outta here.

It’s going to take a lot to open up eyes to truth, but one must continue to push forward towards a better tomorrow!

In May 2006 inmates of all racial classifications were lulled into a false sense of security as the totalitarians blanket approach to punishment was lifted only to be used again disproportionately against one aspect of the inmate population. It is our belief that the blanket approach was to disguise this administrations racist tactics in their dealings with inmates. Now that it is applied to only one segment of the inmate population it is all the more clear. As is stated in my first “Calipatria under siege” report, the “Hispanic” inmate population of Calipatria suffer disproportionate punishment as opposed to the several other racial designations [MIM ed: we will use Latino instead of Hispanic, but in California prisons this is almost entirely interchangeable with Mexican]. Now with living evidence I submit this second “communiqué” from the front line that is Calipatria State Prison.

As stated in May 2006, the blanket of torture was lifted and tensions eased only to be complicated once again by a “skirmish” between “southern Hispanics” [MIM ed - prison label] and correctional staff, and though the blanket was not unfurled for a great length of time we believe out of sheer oversight and not from a merciful standpoint. The blanket of torture was lifted in exchange for a blanket of psychological warfare with reminders of the totalitarians power to inflict wounds both physical as well as mental as is mentioned in the latest skirmish and the subsequent disappearances of “southern Hispanics.”

A return to “normal” program was beginning from total lockdown that began in July of 2005 where we were denied everything from yard exercise to canteen to adequate hygiene products to legal relief. Most services were said to be slowly re-implemented to the inmate population using a screening process where inmates were returned to a program status in accordance with prison behavior, the most programs/privileges to inmates who have the most appealing prison history and the least programs privileges with the least appealing history. This “screening” is a farce! It only applies to the Latino inmate population. Other inmates were afforded all programs and privileges immediately while the Latino population were/are subjected to this screening, where only approximately 5 Latinos from each of this sub-facilities’ four general population buildings were afforded all programs and privileges on a weekly basis (approx 20 each week). The remainder were/are merely afforded canteen and package program access. No yard exercise, no vocation education, no work programs, etc., a continued punishment merely for being Latino. It’s obvious this screening of those most willing to program has no bearing on the administrations decision of who to “release” or “gradually unlock” to full programs/privileges as all Latino inmates have and show their willingness to program in accordance to prison procedures.

This administration utilizes methods to deal with or remove the so-called “un-desirables” with several steps in the disciplinary procedures. For example, placement in the “hole” for those who seriously disrupt the programs or “C” status - a confined to quarters type punishment for those who refuse to work (to name a couple). My point is, that aside from the above mentioned individuals undergoing disciplinary procedures, the remainder of the 99.9% of Latino inmates have not committed a disciplinary infraction to warrant this ongoing punishment. Those who have committed a disciplinary infraction that are not removed to the hole or placed on “C” status have not committed an infraction of a serious enough nature to warrant this ongoing punishment.

Furthermore in September the blanket was unfurled once again when the entire prison population was placed on lockdown due to weapons being found and unfounded “intelligence” which allegedly stated the weapons were to be used to assault staff. In the beginning the entire institution was placed on lockdown with all programs suspended and searches of the entire institution conducted. The administration’s racist policies surfaced in a statement by administration posted on the institution information channel for the inmate population to read, where it stated “certain segments of the inmate population continue to disrupt the program of all the segments.”

At first reading nothing is amiss, until all the racial segments of this institution were released from lockdown and afforded all program/privileges. That is, except the Latino population! Now this statement by administration takes on new life. Now, “certain segments” means Latinos, where blame for the weapons and so-called “intelligence” is placed squarely on the Latino population. The weapons in question were not found on any one person, but in a common area accessible to all. Yet alleged “intelligence” was used to attribute the weapons to Latinos. It should be noted the intelligence used by administration is not refutable nor is there given any proof of its authenticity as it is “confidential.” The Latinos thereby have no legal recourse to challenge said “intelligence” as fabricated, false or even to prove it’s actual existence. Again, disproportionate decision followed with punishment based on blatant racial attribution of weapons said to belong to Latinos, based as stated on unfounded and unchallengeable “intelligence.”

As of this writing, December 2006, the Latinos are again under the “screening” process prior to unlock of lockdown and access to all programs/privileges. And again in a manner disproportionate to the other races who were not subjected to the screening. As stated the entire Latino population, merely by being housed in this prison in the general population, is proof positive of each inmates individual as well as collective willingness, desire and goal to program in accordance to prison procedures, like that of other racial segments. (Calipatria is a 270 design prison - meaning less restrictive level 4 for level 4 inmates who have and are positively programming). Like that of the other racial segments, some individuals or groups have been alleged to have committed disciplinary infractions serious enough to disrupt programs where the said are removed from general population to the hole while the remainder suffer the residual effects of those infractions with lockdowns. Yet as stated above, the Latino population suffers punishment disproportionately.

One only has to view our objective conditions to see the racial overtones where Latinos as a whole are viewed as the undesirable elements of the prison population. But not undesirable for any disciplinary infractions committed as a whole but for merely being Latino. Where disciplinary infractions are committed by other racial segments of the inmate population are viewed as “isolated incidents,” Latino disciplinary infractions are viewed as an alleged collective conspiracy and any and all weapons found are attributed to Latinos, allegedly corroborated by unchallengeable ’intelligence” notorious Calipatria State Prison.

The intensity of the psychological war has gained momentum and although raids, property seizures and disappearances have lessened, they continue none the less. And although by all outward appearances Calipatria is in compliance with inmates’ rights, those of the Latino prisoners are denied, suspended or lessened and suffer the whims of a totalitarian administrative body. And although it’s no longer 120 degrees outside, it is still cold in the shadow of the Green wall and the Latinos are still under siege.

MIM adds: This tactic of dividing the prisons along national lines is one of many used by the prison administration to keep prisoners fighting each other rather than uniting against a common enemy. Even the appearance of preferential treatment for one nationality over another can contribute to this division. Rather than focus on this inequality, MIM calls on prisoners of all nationalities to unite in fighting the unjust policies of the administration. The real enemy is the criminal injustice system, and unity behind bars will greatly advance our struggle against this enemy.