Pender Correctional Institution - Federal

Myself and two other prisoners currently being held at Pender Correctional in North Carolina have founded a band of like-minded brothers that are fed up with the way the state and prison systems have found a way to excuse slavery. They are preying on people’s downfalls, and use them for their own gain. In North Carolina there is a lot of overcrowding and the only way to get on good time is to work, which saves them money, not having to pay prisoners minimum wage. This work also makes income for the prison at their enterprise plants, where prisoners work for 40-55 hours a week for $10.50-$21.30 in pay (for the week). They have the workers making officers’ uniforms, chemicals, working farms, making eye wear, and a laundry service that not only cleans prison clothes but also hospital and rest home clothes.

If you are one of the lucky ones that gets to go to a minimum camp and go out on work release to work an outside job, they charge you $150 a week for room and board. Hold on, that’s double dipping. They get paid by the federal government to house us. Then they write us up for every petty thing they can, such as too many clothes, disrespect, profanity, etc. and take $10 from us each time. They also invented a way to charge us every time we receive money from our family.

We decided that we won’t go for it anymore, but we are limited to what we can do while we’re in here, for fear of retaliation. We’re already suffering because we refuse to work. We are building steam every day by spreading the word. We need help from someone that knows the best ways to organize and lead. So can you please help us with advice and resource list and materials to pass out? Also we could really use law books to help further some various lawsuits we have filed and need to file. Please help in any way you can. We are a band of your fellow brothers seeking guidance. Thank you for your time!

MIM(Prisons) responds: These comrades organizing against the extortion of their labor are setting an example for others. Getting like-minded people together and coming up with a unified plan of action is an accomplishment in and of itself. We will send some materials, grievance petitions and other resources that may be useful. But we also call on other prisoners to respond with any advice you have for these organizers. What can we do to have the best chances of success? Are there problems these comrades should look out for? This is the dialectical process that revolutionaries use, summing up our practice to learn from successes and failures. And sharing that learning with others makes an even bigger impact. Turn your own organizing failures into successes by learning from them and helping others to avoid the same mistakes.

I am writing to tell the story of the death of a prisoner here at Pender Kurrupt Institution in Burgaw, North Carolina. On the 20th and 21st of December 2016 a prisoner at this facility declared six (6) medical emergencies (which is where you state that you need to be seen by medical immediately) complaining about back pain. The medical staff continue to state that nothing was showing up on a one (1) month old EKG, and sent him back to the dorm with packs of ibuprofen. On the 21st along with the numerous medical emergencies, two (2) code blue were called about the prisoner (code blue is a emergency code for someone that falls out and can’t respond on their own accord). Still the medical staff does not send the prisoner to the hospital. Around the hour of (2) two o’clock in the morning the prisoner is on the floor on his hands and knees attempting to get medical attention. To no avail he collapses on the floor dead. By the time the nurse responds she watches as another prisoner gives him CPR. The nurses stand and watch (20) twenty minutes before the ambulance arrives.

The dereliction of duty conducted by the nurses here is sickening. Pender is a medical facility that has had numerous deaths that go unnoticed by the civilian population, therefore no justice for the prisoner or their families. If you fill out a DC-602 (sick call appointment request) like I have you could never be seen or told that nothing is wrong. Who knows your body better than you? Understanding that we have inmates that abuse their medication as a pacifist escapism. With that said, prisoners need help with their chronic life threatening diseases with little to no care by the medical staff.

Comrades it’s time to stand up and use our voice to contact the newspaper, news, congressmen etc. to change the intolerable, inhumane conditions we suffer in here. If that don’t work, peaceful sit downs. Unite under the banner of M.L.M.

¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre!