Oregon State Penitentiary - Federal

Civil Complaint filed by prisoner against J. Plante, Inspector

On 11 August 2016 at approximately 2:45pm on 1-Bar of D-Block, I approached J. Plante and politely asked him if I could have a moment of his time to discuss a matter of consequence. He agreed and permitted me to speak freely.

From June 2016 through July 2016, four black inmates [names] were hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Salem Memorial Hospital (SMH) for Spice consumption. Four black inmates hospitalized in the ICU at SMH in less than two weeks just wasn’t enough to convince Security Threat, a white Management (STM) that OSP had a serious drug problem, but if you spin the barrel and squeeze the trigger enough times eventually…

STM’s game of Russian-Roulette finally ended on 14 July 2016 when James Howland’s body was still warm when STM vowed to conduct an immediate investigation, and to punish, with or without credible evidence, every inmate alleged to be involved in the Spice distribution supply chain.

It goes from outrage to just downright outrageous, for even this thoughtful gesture would be stripped of its noble intent by STM, which unanimously decided in favor of postponing the much needed and long overdue investigation a whole 72 hours so as not to disrupt or encroach upon the 15 July 2016 Annual Car Show at OSP; the crown jewel and last hoorah of the soon-to-be retired Superintendent of OSP, Jeffrey Premo.

From 17 July 2016 through 21 July 2016, ten inmates [names] were “randomly” rounded up, escorted to the altar of the Disciplinary Segregation Unit, and shamelessly sacrificed for the political purpose of appeasing the grieving mother of James Howland. Were these ten inmates potential suspects before James Howland’s death or after? Liability Liability Liability.

Still more infuriating is this next fact: Black inmates make up less than 15% of the total inmate population at OSP, yet in the first week of STM’s investigation, black inmates were seven times more likely to be targeted for punishment than their white counterparts.

J. Plante was visibly upset with the results of my investigation. I told J. Plante that I was going to publish my research of STM’s investigation on my Facebook page, at which point, he said, “If you make my life hard, I will make your life a living Hell.” J. Plante’s behavior is unprofessional, unethical, and violates State and Federal laws. J. Plante threatened retaliation against me simply because I expressed my desire to exercise my constitutional right. J. Plante’s comment violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; Oregon Constitution, Article 1, Section 8; Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 163.275 Coercion, Section (1), Subsections (a)(c)(d)(e)(g); and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 291-006-0005, Section 3, subsection (d).