State Correctional Institution Rockview - Federal

On Sunday, 3 March, 2019, a fellow prisoner passed away in afternoon yard. One minute he was talking with his buddies, going around the track, the next he was on the ground not breathing. Not surprisingly, the COs took their good old time responding to the scene, even though the man dropped not even 100 yards from where they were stationed. It took medical staff 15 minutes to respond after the call went in on the walkie. Since then, I found out several things.

1. DOC staff are not put through CPR training at their academy. Only medical staff are mandated to take this training.

2. Prisoners are not permitted to do CPR on any persyn, even if trained on the streets, or even if they could potentially save a life. Serious consequences can and will result, if a prisoner performs CPR on anyone.

3. Medical staff admit that the man might have lived if the response time was seen the slightest bit faster.

4. DOC staff couldn’t give a shit about any persyn other than one of their own.

The abuse of the mentally ill in Pennsylvania has surely reached epidemic standards. Today (12-31-18) I witnessed brutality by pigs against a severely mentally ill prisoner and I cannot keep quiet about it. A pig on my housing unit here at SC2 Rockview slammed a man up against the wall, tackled him, and smashed his head against the floor for no reason other that the prisoner disagreed with him. Then he lied about it to his superiors saying the prisoner attempted to assault him.

I and several other concerned prisoners witnessed the entire incident, and we all agreed to report it to DOC headquarters, Pennsylvania Prison society and several other prisoner organizations. We are demanding the release of audio and video footage that recorded the incident to the proper authorities and to PA Prison Society and eventually to the public. We demand that the pigs involved lose their jobs and that criminal charges be filed. It’s a shame that someone has to get seriously hurt for any type of unity to be accomplished. It’s about time someone stands up for what’s truly right and just. I expect retaliation but I can’t sit back and let this go. My conscious refuses to allow it. Feedback and critique is welcome.

Today at SCI Rockview, a state prison in Pennsylvania, the pigs claim that there is a power outage that will last for days. Meanwhile, we have no water running in our sinks or toilets because the water in the cells runs on electricity. The housing unit I am in is a mental health block, and most of the prisoners in this unit are on psychiatric medications that for the most part demand a lot of water drinking to keep them hydrated. The electricity went out early this morning and has been out all day. Despite many prisoners pleading for water, other than at medication pass this morning, none has been offered or given.

Meanwhile, the phones are ringing and desk computers are working, which must mean the electricity is working. One poor prisoner was caught drinking from the toilet and, as a consequence, was ridiculed and mocked by several prisoners and our captors. This is slow and systematic torture at its finest. And it’s sad that the fascists that are responsible for this cruel and unusual punishment will most likely get away with it because no one wants to take a stand and protest. Does anyone have any idea how I can take action? I can’t sit here and do nothing. I welcome feedback from fellow comrades.

I come to you today with news of an epidemic here at my home prison and prisons across the United $nakes of Amerika. I find myself amongst those who are seriously mentally ill. I’m in a step down program called the Residential Treatment Unit (RTU), where I will be housed for at least 90 days. I’m stepping down from a control unit called the Secure Residential Treatment Unit (SRTU). I’m finally in general population after four consecutive years in a control unit, AKA solitary confinement.

I look around me with disgust ,not at the people but the warehousing of the severely mentally ill. I wonder, why are most of these people even in jail. These people belong in a mental hospital, receiving treatment, not punishment. Oh, yeah, that’s right, the Obama administration closed most of the state psychiatric facilities and deemed it appropriate to warehouse these poor people in prison, under the guise of mental health treatment units.

Prison is prison, regardless of what you choose to label it. And the pigs treat these people with hate and contempt, abusing them verbally and sometimes physically. It sickens me. Anyone who defends capitalism, imperialism and the prison industrial complex are sadistic fools. Clearly this system is not working. Clearly, now more than ever, do we need an armed revolution and dictatorship of the proletariat. I will continue to struggle against oppression. I will die with these words on my lips: resist, resist, resist. I will have no peace until the liberation bells sound loud and clear, music to my ears.

I am writing to report the rampant and blatant mistreatment of the mentally ill. Prisoners will spread feces in their cells and play in it, and SRTU staff will leave them in their own waste for days without a shower or food/water. When I’ve questioned this mistreatment, I was told that if these unfortunate prisoners “play in shit,” they “won’t get shit.”

The smell is unbearable here in the SRTU, and this injustice is an outcry! Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to effectively deal with this issue? How can I help those that can’t help themselves. Grievances and other administrative remedies are all but ignored by prison officials, and go unanswered. What can be done to stop this inhumane treatment of the seriously mentally ill? Help is needed to put a stop to this injustice and cruel and unusual punishment. Until next time, resist, resist, resist.

It’s crazy that I read about abuses in other prisons across Amerikkka. Then it happens to me. On April 15, 2017 at 8:56 at Rockview State Prison in Bellefonte PA I was assaulted maliciously by two racist pigs, using the mental health policy to cover up their mess. On Saturday morning on BB unit at Rockview, which is a RTU block, mostly for mental health patients, I asked an inmate can I use a broom and dust pan. He screams I can’t I’ll get in trouble, so the CO whose name is Taylor yelled at me “get the fukk in your cell,” and I said “why are you talking to me like that.” Then he said get the fukkk in ya cell. So I went, then he locked my door with a key.

So I figured I was burnt all day of activities and lunch so I chilled and put a sheet over my door so I could use the bathroom in peace. While I was on the toilet, I saw someone at my door. The two guards came in, Taylor and Stove and closed my door and told me to get up. Didn’t even let me wipe my ass. Next thing I know Taylor hit me and struck me on the jaw and followed with a hook to my right eye. I fell to the floor and Stove hit me in the back of my head (lower occipital lobe) and caused a puncture which caused a tennis ball size hematoma to rise in the back of my head. The object he hit me with was a puncher which they make rounds with. CO Taylor whispered in my ear “Told you nigger we was going to get you.”

I feared for my life cause they could have killed me and justify it as a suicide attempt. I filed a grievance and I was placed in the A-seg unit. Now I am getting “burnt” for showers, yard, and sometimes food, depending what guards are on. But my argument is not what happeened cause it happens all the time and gets covered up. But I target mental health policies and the lack of independent supervisors to make sure those with mental health problems don’t have to be subjected to abuse. Most of the people on my block are so heavily medicated that there’s no challenge to abuse by staff. Staff will single out people like me and use me as a target so others will not follow or attempt to challenge them with the pen.

I haven’t even been seen by security to report the abuse. Seems like they are hiding, I’ve made numerous attempts to have a dialogue with the head of security but no attempts have been made by him to contact me. So now I see they are trying to hide something.

Rockview state prison has took up the challenge to become the treatment center of PA prisons. It wants to be the model of excellence on mental health treatment for other prisons to follow. But they know how to manipulate policy to better themselves. one strategy or solution to abuse can be body cameras on guards who have contact with the population of inmates. In this way it could decrease the number of assaults at the hands of guards. And create checks and balances, so we as comrades in prison don’t have to be targeted and assaulted by racist guards. And not every assault is a racist attack but of ignorance. But when you’re in areas that have been labeled as racist areas in books and films, it places that thought or perception that those working in this prison are just putting on faces for eight hours to leave and go back to their hateful ways. I challenge comrades to think of solutions for prison abuse at the hands of guards, cause grievances is just smoke and mirrors.

They have ways to tear up or misplace grievances but we need to challenge the courts and officials to protect prisoners from abuse. Especially those with mental problems.