Under Lock & Key

I have been sexually assaulted 11 times in the last 24 months of incarceration in the state of Florida. My cries for help and justice have been ignored, shuffled around to 7 locations in the last 6 months, made to face the grim reality of assaultive sexual behaviors at each new facility with no regard for my welfare. I have been assaulted in the Sarasota, Florida county Jail by a prisoner and a Sheriff’s Deputy. Since arriving in the Florida Department of Corrections, I have been subjected to assorted sexual misconduct and rape at all locations I’ve entered (but one), having been assaulted while in what was supposed to be protective custody at one facility and most recently sodomized on a transport bus between facilities. My criminal case, causing me to bare these violations of my civil rights, is a travesty of justice, filled with bias, prejudice, undue influence, conflict of interest, all corrupting the sentencing outcome.

I am actually a San Francisco resident and openly gay man who unfortunately finds himself incarcerated in the State of Florida due to an automobile accident I was involved in (not caused) with a drunk driver, while here in the state comforting my 2 sons in the abrupt loss of their young mother (my ex-wife) from cancer. As a first time, non-violent, felony offender, never having been in jail or prison before, I have been made to endure horrors and tortures due to my sexual identity that can only be compared to those experienced by victims of the concentration camps era.

During my 24 months of incarceration in an especially non-gay-friendly state like Florida, I have been brutally and repeatedly sexually assaulted through rape, sodomy, harassed, threatened with physical harm, tortured, tormented and victimized by prisoners and law enforcement staff alike. I have been extorted in the amount of $500 paid to another prisoner’s attorney fees for protection which never came. I have been made to clean up prisoner feces left in front of my cell door and in the shower prior to my entry as acts of harassment and persecution for my sexual identity. I have often times, while in county jail, been taken to a secluded locked interrogation room, where I was left handcuffed to a desk for up to 5 hours for no apparent reason other than torture, as I have had no disciplinary issues. On one such occasion after a lengthy stay in this room, an officer finally came to escort me back to my cell, before doing so he stripped me naked while still handcuffed to the desk, then proceeded to “pat me down,” fondling my torso, buttocks, cavity searched and penetrated me with his fingers, before removing me from the room. These actions seemed for no other reason than my humiliation and his amusement. While these aforementioned abuses happened in Sarasota Florida County Jail, similar instances continue to persist, as were predicted would happen and used as reasoning for downward departure in court, but were ignored, and unacknowledged by presiding judge Charles Roberts.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This is just a small sample of the incidents this prisoner reported to us in a recent letter. In an in depth article on rape and gender in prisons, we did not address the role of sexual preference in rape and sexual assault. This was largely because the information analyzed did not discuss sexual preferences. But stories like this demonstrate clearly how homophobia can play into gender oppression. While the majority of sexual assaults in prisons are male on male, those who are identified as feminine or “faggots” are targeted for homosexual assault by macho guards and prisoners. This is just one more example of vulnerabilities that determine who is victimized, such as age, size and health status, including mental health.

I’m currently caught up in a property situation. Last month one of these pigs and I had an altercation which resulted in the CO setting my property on fire. He also gave another prisoner some of my property as payment for setting the fire for him so that he could burn my property. It took 2 1/2 weeks before the major notified me about my property and he only notified me because he knew that the “grapevine” dropped dime to me the day after it happened.

See, after the aforementioned altercation took place, I was moved to a different housing section. My property was to be moved to the property-room after I was moved. Well, before my property could be moved the CO that I had the altercation with returned and set my property on fire. MIM, if y’all will please excuse me because I just got my Step 1 grievance back and these hoes are talking about my shower shoes is the only thing they’re going to replace. Now I have to end this letter because I need to check these hoes about my shit!

I’m the comrade in the fight who wrote about the Alford Hughes Unit putting us on file to be a gang called “ULK.” When I wrote this I was pulled out of my cell in segregation. The gang officer, another officer and mailroom staff messed with me by not letting me eat and not getting me out of my segregation cell to go to dayroom or shower. They put down VR and just walked by my cell all the time because I wrote a letter to Under Lock & Key. I know if I do something to one of the officers I will get more time.

I sent Step Ones and Step Twos out and have written to the world, my family and lawyers. Officers lie to the people and say I have been lying about all this and they send my mail back without letting me know. I’ve been jumped on by officers when they found out that I’m a subscriber to Under Lock & Key and because of what I believe in.

I was going to visit last weekend but because they jumped on me I was not let out of my cell. They told my family I was on visit. My mom didn’t believe it and she was told if she did not leave they will call the cops on her. I don’t see why they are able to do this to prisoners.

When I told them something they didn’t like they put me in a cage about 2 by 3 and a foot tall with glass around, not able to go to the bathroom. All I could do was sit on the floor with spiders running around over my feet biting me. I was in it for 5 days with no shower just because I wouldn’t tell them what they wanted to hear.

The Texas prison officers label ULK recipients gang members in Texas. What should I do to fight this? I could use help from any comrades who can help.

MIM(Prisons) adds: Throughout history it has been illegal for oppressed groups to organize or educate themselves. This is true in the united $tates today despite the First Amendment. Going up against the state as an individual is a losing battle, that is why collective action is the only way to put an end to these sorts of abuses.

I am writing to let you know that Marion County Jail is a modern concentration camp. All prisoners in Marion County Jail are charged two dollars per day for very small portions of food that contain rocks, sticks, and sand, because all the food is grown on a farm that’s run by prisoners. We have no canteen to order except coffee, sugar-free Kool-aid and breath mints. We have no TV to watch even though we pay two dollars per day to stay in the jail.

The conditions of confinement in this facility are clearly designed to force innocent people to plead out to get out. Most people contained in this facility cannot make bond because the judge set it extremely high or they have no bond. The pigs of this town fabricate probable cause affidavits, so a lot of people in here are innocent. The U$ department of Injustice has an investigation going about the excessive force and prisoner suicide rate within this facility. We need a lawyer to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Marion County Jail prisoners, because it is futile to file grievances. The things that are going on are clearly unconstitutional.

I’m a prisoner confined in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. I’m launching this complaint concerning the unsanitary conditions of various areas of the French Robertson Unit in Abilene, Texas.

12 Building segregation recreation yard is the second most unsanitary area of the facility. The urinal is seldom cleaned and always seems to be backed up. The stench resulting from this condition is overwhelming and can be smelled at a distance of at least fifty yards. I have informed the security staff, as well as its supervisor, yet the problem remains unattended. The tables and weight case are also unsanitary, covered with bird droppings and littered with trash. This is an atmosphere that is in violation of state health codes.

8 building kitchen is absolutely the worst. On more than one occasion I have spoken to the Lt. and Sgt. about there being roaches in the food carts, food being served on dirty dishes, and food being served cold. Yet the kitchen area itself has not been properly cleaned or disinfected or sanitized.

The dayrooms are never mopped, neither are the runways, and the windows aren’t sanitized.

Expose the system!

The McKean Federal Prison in Bradford, Pennsylvania is on lockdown due to a fight between African-American gang members and Mexican-American gang members. Nobody was hurt and all those involved or thought to be involved have been placed in segregation. So the threat of continued violence no longer exist, however the prison administration has decided to continue the lockdown indefinitely!

Due to the ill-treatment that we are going through in here, we seek the help of MIM concerning this matter. As this lockdown is about money, not a security threat as you will see.

It should be noted that an Acting Warden took over the week following the fight, and does not want to take responsibility for lifting the lockdown.

It is obvious that the threat of violence no longer exists since the prison administration allowed 30 to 40 prisoners to go to work in the prison’s UNICOR factory. If there were a serious security threat why are these prisoners being allowed to go to work? They’re not feeding prisoners or washing clothes, but working in the prison factory making cups, spoons and forks!

The prisoners have only been allowed 2 showers a week. They have been feeding us 1 thin slice of cold cuts, 1 thin slice of cheese, 4 slices of bread, 1 spoiled fruit, 1 small pack of cookies, and 2 drink mixes. Several prisoners have been suffering from constipation. They have started giving us lukewarm meals, but those meals aren’t any better.

We have been denied access to commissary except to buy stamps and batteries, denied access to the law library, phone calls, etc. But the main problem, once again, is the food.

Now, due to the lockdown, the staff here gets extra pay. So there is this possible link which motivates the continuation of the lockdown, especially due to the situation our economy is in. And with the majority of the staff here being related to each other in one way or another, nepotism is rampant here. There is no one the prisoners can complain to in order to address our concerns. And that is why I am writing you. This lockdown is about MONEY!

It is my hope that your legal department will call the acting warden, any of the associate wardens or the Captain at McKean and inquire about this situation. As you know, they will LIE, but one or two phone calls threatening legal action will bring about a change.

The phone number to the McKean Federal Prison is (814) 362-8900.

see our analysis on the parasitic economics of the amerikkkan prison system in ULK 8

Under Lock & Key No. 10 page 11 has been found unacceptable for the following reason:

“page 11 violate guideline IIE of Directive 4572 as they allege that an inmate at a New York State Correctional Facility was being mistreated by New York State Department of Correction Staff. It is the opinion of the Media Review Committee that this article, if introduced into a correctional setting, could incite disobedience toward correctional personnel.”

There is no way that an article could incite disobedience toward correctional personnel in this facility. Since my arrival at this very racist, corrupt, biased, gang-oriented facility, security personnel here have been on a war path brutalizing numerous convicts unchallenged. Three guys remain here on SHU who were allegedly engaged in fights with other prisoners who were brutalized by security staff. One of them was not only beaten in general population by security staff, but when he went on an escort call out of the SHU one of the officers who was involved in the first assault against him orchestrated an ambush while the prisoner was being escorted through the hall returning from this call out. The officer busted the man’s head open while he was in a waist chain and hand cuffs.

Most of the prisoners assaulted by gang staff members are alleged affiliates of prison organizations, yet none of their cronies raised up to the occasion. So how in the hell could an article incite disobedience?

MIM(Prisons): The article in question was one of a series of reports from prisoners at Clinton documenting the abuse there. As laid out in Johnson v. Raemisch, it is illegal for prisons to censor publications because they are critical of staff. Lesson from Clinton staff: if you utilize legal grievance procedures, you’ll have your rights and your persyn violated. But use of violence and abuse on the oppressed will get you a well-paid job with the state of New York!

I am currently in the Missouri Department of Corrections at Potosi Correctional Center. I am being housed at a prison which my state defines as a level 5 institution. Which is the most secure of our classification system. Our state has five of these institutions for people with anywhere from 8 years to life without parole and this particular prison of oppression also houses the state’s Death Row prisoners. Outrageous if I may say, because i found myself here for one reason alone, accumulation of minor write ups.

Housed with murderers, rapists and well humans I should say who have messed up and got way too much time. Why? Because this state and many other states would just assume to warehouse us for many years than try to help us. My environment is as real as it gets and here’s why.

There are six housing units on this prison yard and they break down like this: one house - supermax (where I am at right now we’ll touch on that later) holds 22 people and two suicide cells (no cameras in these cells) we have showers in our cells in one house and the temperature stays so cold it’s quite unreal, which I believe is to punish the ones who are at times in the suicide cells, which they also use for punishment/strip out/dry cells.

Then there comes two house, the worst house on the yard! This house is also the hole or segregated/oppression house. It has 3 wings A-wing consist of 30-double bunk cells, a total of 60 people. B-wing 32 single man cells and C-wing 30 single man cells. This house is out of control when it comes to custody officers. What is known to any and every prisoner is if you’re in two house you must stay on your toes, especially during the 7:30am to 3:30pm shift when the 5 “C’s” work Culton, Clubbs, Conrad, Comer, and Copeland. These oppressors are treacherous because they will deny you food, exploit your mail, ruin you property, free-case you, retaliate on you with frivolous write ups, and these five rogue oppressors have backing all the way to the sergeants, lieutenants, captains, majors, deputy wardens, and the top oppressor, the warden.

The things they do come natural to them: deny, abuse, exploit, deter. But all this doesn’t stop on their shift, it goes on 24/7, especially on weekends. What we refer to as the good ol’ boys, because we’re in a little prison in a little town, where damn near everyone knows everyone and they’re all related and friends.

I just watched a comrade refuse to be put in a hazardous environment man-handled by these people all except Copeland, who was the Bubble/Control Unit officer, maced this guy, pulled him out of his cell, and as soon as they were in a blind spot where no camera could see, he was slammed on his face/neck and shoulder. He is two doors down now in a cell that floods during showers.

But wait, there is more. Let’s examine why I am in a supermax cell. On September 11, 2009 I was given a medical lay in to receive a brown bag with my trays. Everything was going like it should, then comes Sunday evening dinner tray pass. I didn’t get my brown bag, was told they would order it, they gave me an excuse as I would get it later. I believed them, later came and went. This started at 4pm, it turned into 10:30pm. Still nothing so I covered my window in an attempt to see/get a Sargent, a custody count came by, they didn’t even see me. The sign in my window said I wanted a Brown Bag. I was told by one officer “your beat” the other said “wan-wan”. So I did get quite angry and decided to make the sprinkler head come alive and flood my cell and the walk. Yes, I know, stupid but can’t change it now. Well, anyways my cell started to flood and here com the oppressors. 4 or 5 blue shirts (foot soldiers) and the sargeants two or three of them. Now I’m not exactly calm so maybe I warranted 2 or 3 but 8 or 9, c’mon folks!

So I remained in the cell for about 20 minutes with oily/nasty water pouring by the gallons until I was given the directive to “cuff up”! I complied only to have the handcuffs slammed on my wrist. My door was opened and I was jerked out, put in a restraint hold with my arms lifted above my shoulder and practically drug out of the wing into the rotunda, I was doing everything I could to walk, well needless to say, on the way out of the wing I was slammed into a door frame causing a pretty nice cut across my right collar bone and a swollen eye/cheek, but they aren’t done with me yet. So far this was witnessed by quite a few. As I am being escorted out of the housing unit to medical I assume as soon as we are in another one of the blind spots I was slammed on the concrete causing quite a few inflictions. Left shoulder all scraped/cut up, left knee split open. Right side below my armpit a few scrapes. Right eye/cheek bone nice and swollen and cut open. Does this seem unreal? Believe me it’s not.

After they did the usual stop resisting shenanagins twisting my shoulders and wrist to points of probably near breakage I was lifted up and forced to walk bent over at a rapid pace into medical. I was sat into a chair while a nurse used some type of water and gauze to treat/first aid the multiple bleeding wounds. All the while I was having my wrist twisted when I made the comment. I’m not trying to resist I was told to shut up and twisted harder, again lifted up and walked say 500 feet to one house, put into the suicide cell, even though I’m not suicidal, completely naked. Searched forced onto a concrete slab onto my busted knee, almost over. Door shut unshackled and handcuffed. Phew I still have cuts and scars still healing due to improper medical care and the Good Ol Boys. I’m telling you as real as it gets this is not unusual, quite typical. People getting slammed, spit upon, mace bombs thrown in on us, riot cans of mace used, forced to subsist in freezing temperatures stark naked, it don’t stop, and when we try to organize and let our oppression be known about we are placed on limited property where we don’t have access to paper, pen or envelopes or stamps. This is outrageous. I ask myself why all this because we want our civil rights and we want our state issue (things we are entitled to) food, clothing, bedding, legal.

One more instance and I’ll be through for now. We have a chapel library assistant who was said to have been doing it for 3 years. Well just recently he was in the fabled two house and accused of bringing in contraband. No way, no how would he have if you knew this guy. Now we in two house have no chapel access.

Now back to the housing unit breakdown. Three house A-wing: 46 cells all double man cells, general population. B-wing: 23 double man cells, general population, the other 23 the hole. That’s 3 holes total! Crazy huh, and they all stay full, then we got 4 house with two wings 46 cells apiece, single-man A-wing sensitive needs unit, B-wing protective custody unit, 6-house with two wings general population, 92 double man cells total. 5-house - the honor house full privileges, no 22 hour lockdown. The ones who make no noise of the oppression are the ones who get to stay there and the ones who lay back and don’t do much of anything good or bad.

We are trying to get the ACLU involved in our struggle within. Grievances are met with excuses as to why we’re in the wrong. Seldom are they remedied inside the institution, and occasionally when they get to central office and when they are this prison doesn’t follow up. It’s chaos, it’s surreal, it’s downright bullshit!

Thanks to Under Lock and Key I know this is happening abroad and all around the U$. We must stand united. We will win!

I’m a 40 year old transgender prisoner activist. I’ve been held prisoner by the state of California for 20 years, including 10 years in Pelican Bay SHU and am currently confined to Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU), awaiting transfer to Tehachapi SHU for the past year.

I was initially placed in ASU for “refusing to double cell” and put in disciplinary segregation for objecting to random housing assignments with sexually violent predators because I am a transgender female on hormone therapy. I was placed in punitive, inhumane conditions, simply for exercising my constitutional right to personal safety.

Subsequently I was charged with “battery on a peace officer” for spitting on the lieutenant in ASU. Then I was physically assaulted by Correctional Officer Llamas, who falsified a report charging me with “battery on a peace officer” because I stuck my arm out of the food port on my cell door; he pepper-sprayed me and twisted my arm for demanding to see his supervisor.

I am an experienced jailhouse lawyer and am currently pursuing two federal civil rights lawsuits: 1) concerning medical neglect at Pleasant Valley State Prison, and 2) inhumane conditions and sex discrimination at RJDCF-ASU.

On behalf of my brothers here at the Michael Unit, Latinos, whites and Blacks have put our differences to the side and come together to speak out at the administration about our living condition here in segregation.

There’s no air circulation in the cells. Officers have come to verify this problem, yet administration has yet to respond to our situation. During rainy days our cells flood due to cracks in the walls. This has been written up yet no response. There’s no shower crew, and the showers are rat, spider and roach infested. Due to these conditions a lot of us have broken out in rashes and have been bit by spiders. The only thing we are being treated with is hydrocotisone 10% cream and anti-fungal cream.

We are now putting together a file for our verification. We get no response. this task is not easy because we are shaken down every 3 days in the day or night.