MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
In March 2016, I sent a letter to Representative Borris Miles about not
having a law library at the Wheeler Unit. I also filed a grievance on
the indigent mail getting 5 letters a month sent out instead of 5 per
week. It was sent back saying that it was too old to file on.
I filed some legal work with Rep. Borris Miles because the other unit
where I was before didn’t have a law library. The Wheeler Unit is only a
few yards from here and they don’t have access to the law library or
access to the courts which is a Federal violation. Below is part of my
letter to Rep. Miles.
“I am writing this complaint to state from the evidence that I have,
which is some I-60s, inmate request slips, which I wrote requesting to
go to the law library to do some legal work, and was denied twice
because Ms. J. Lara stated that we didn’t have law library sessions at
this unit [Wheeler], because the law library which don’t have NO BOOKS
just a few stuff not enough that you could actually use to complete
legal work with. To the other request, her response was that I was
afforded with what they had, but every time a request is put in by
somebody it is denied. We have a full size library about 300 yards from
this Unit at Formby Unit. I have requested to be transferred over there
where I can have legal access to the law library so that I can have
access to the courts also.”
You can print this, just leave my name out, because I would have trouble
here and be retaliated against because of it. If you get this letter
please write back and let me know that you got it because mail don’t
always make it to where it’s supposed to go to. So please answer ASAP
when you get this so I’ll know that you received this.
If you have a grievance manual I would like to have one if possible. I
am in the processing stage of writing Rep. Miles about the grievance
process. They need to have grievances looked at by somebody outside
TDCJ, besides the grievance investigator here, because we don’t think
the Warden even sees Step 1, because the same answer comes back on every
Step 1, saying not warranted for further action. So this inital decision
is all on it and it’s been typed on every Step 1 and then Huntsville
looks at Step 1, copies this answer on Step 2, and sends it back to us,
agreeing with the answer on Step 1. And we use Texas Penal Codes on it
and it states clearly that state law is being violated by employees and
it’s covered up within the Unit. So legal action can’t be taken. Send me
a few of the petitions and grievance manual and I’m filing with others
about this also.
I also saw in ULK 51 that you said the Jailhouse Lawyers
Handbook is banned in Texas. I checked with the mailroom staff here
[Formby Unit] and they said it is approved on this unit as far as they
know. Please make this correction in ULK.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We’ve gotten confirmation from multiple
sources that the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook is not
banned in Texas at this time. Thanks to this contributor, and others,
who help us to stay informed.
We wrote about the need to connect the battles this comrade is fighting
with the larger picture of revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist
economic system in our article
“Texas
Comrades Need to Step Up” in ULK 52. Reiterating that call,
we also encourage this comrade to see how futile it is to call for an
outside review board to oversee the grievance process. Even if a review
board was put in place, it would be run by the criminal injustice system
or their allies, because that is who has the power in this country. And
the whole process will start all over again with lawsuit after lawsuit
filed and dismissed, and won and reneged. Revolutionaries can’t afford
to bang our head against this wall while people are dying the world
over, and their liberation is being stalled by Amerikkka’s runaround.
We should struggle for some reforms, as that’s all we can do
right now at this stage in our struggle where we are too weak to
struggle any other way. But we need to focus on reforms that will have
the greatest impact on our organizing work, which centers around
building independent institutions of the oppressed and building public
opinion for socialism. Is an “outside” review board an independent
institution of the oppressed? No, it would just be a facade of the
state, and a false victory. If we want to have our grievances answered,
we need to build unity, and come together to demand our grievances are
answered. Of course there are many ways and many steps to unity, but
this would be an independent institution of the oppressed to defend
ourselves and build for the future where we’re not begging prison
administration to please treat us like humyn beings.
“This operating procedure provides an administrative process for
resolving offender issues and complaints through fair, prompt decisions
and actions in response to complaints and grievances from offenders
incarcerated in Department of Corrections institutions.”
These are the clever introductory words of Virginia Department of
Corrections (VA DOC) Operating Procedure 866.1 governing “Offender
Grievance Procedure.” While offenders – captives – suppose to enjoy
non-repressive rights to utilize the grievance procedure, captives have
experienced for many years repressed rights by the Department’s Human
Rights Advocates (commonly called Institutional and Regional Ombudsman)
and administrative personnel. The VA DOC is at odds over effective
administrative application of the captive/offender grievance procedure.
Since my incarceration in 1993, the captive/offender grievance procedure
has always been a medium, used by captives, to receive redress for their
issues and problems. The Institutional Ombudsman, once upon a time,
investigated captives’ issues/problems with proper handling, meaning
they would speak to both the captive and staff before rendering a
decision. Ombudsman would render decisions reasonably, appropriately –
even if it was to the neglect of the system. After all, that’s the job
of the Human Rights Advocate.
Over the years, the captives have grown to understand completion of
Offender Grievance Procedure is the first step to satisfying the Prison
Litigation Reform Act (PLRA Federal statute). Before the legal court
system will entertain captive lawsuits, the first level one must meet is
exhausting all available administrative remedies. With this
understanding, VA DOC Institutional and Regional Ombudsman began seeing
a rise in filed complaints and grievances, and civil lawsuits (42 U.S.C.
1983). A conspiratorial plan was hatched by the department to suppress
captives’ grievance procedure and opportunities. Something had to be
done. VA DOC was being held liable, costing thousands of dollars.
The first step in repressing and suppressing the captive grievance
procedure was that many prisons and institutions removed captives’
complaint forms and level 1 grievance forms from availability. This
means, in order for captives to receive said forms, they must make
requests to officer/building sergeants. Captives must divest their
issues/problems to authorities. If the officer or sergeant disagrees
with your issues or problems, they refuse to give you needed forms. When
they do give you forms, it’s usually because the issue/problem is not
really a threat. Captives are left with suppressed and repressed
grievance rights, by the same system that swore to uphold these rights.
Once a captive completes the informal complaint process, an
administrative grievance can be filed. With next-level repression, the
Ombudsman uses fraudulent claims to deny grievances; such reasons as:
time barred, inquiring on behalf of other “captives,” not enough
information, and in some cases stating “If you’re not satisfied with
response file to next level – regional ombudsman.” (Some
complaints/grievances are not returned.) These alleged claims are used
by the institutional ombudsman to deny grievances, not logging
grievances, or otherwise repress the process. Regional Ombudsman, being
the last level of grievance process, usually side with Institutional
Ombudsman.
Captives who file complaints/grievances, at times, are faced with
reprisals. These reprisals, although forbidden by Operating Procedure
866.1, are usually felt in not receiving jobs, non-favorable housing,
denied transfers, and more. Captives face extreme difficulties seeking
to prove they are experiencing reprisal, due to filing
complaints/grievances. Often times, captives who file these documents
are labeled “paper-pushers,” and the new term, “paper terrorist.=”
(yeah, such a machination by the oppressors).
VA DOC has created a crafty method to suppress, and repress captives’
grievance procedure and right. This is reflected in the number of Level
1 and Level 2 grievances “found” versus those “unfounded.” Even when the
evidence submitted favors the captive’s claims, the grievance is still
returned “unfounded.” The Ombudsman no longer advocates on behalf of the
captives, nor upholds the integrity of the grievance policy.
In entertaining plans to file civil litigation (§42 U.S.C. 1883 claims
of civil rights violation) one must have satisfied §42 U.S.C. 1997(e)(a)
which states “no action shall be brought with respect to prison
conditions… by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other
correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are
available are exhausted.” With continuous suppression of captives’
grievance procedural rights, this satisfaction will prove to be
difficult. These measures are used by the oppressive system to derail,
suppress, or otherwise hinder captives’ ability to satisfy §42 U.S.C.
1997 (e)(a), and PLRA, and have any legal litigation dismissed for not
exhausting all available administrative remedies.
In a recent lawsuit (§42 U.S.C 1983) I filed against a VA DOC prison,
and its Director Harold Clarke, alleging Civil Rights violations. I was
advised by United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia, “Plaintiff has no constitutional right to participate in
grievance procedure - citing Adam v. Rice §40 F. 3d. 72, 75 (4th Cir.
1994) - because plaintiff enjoys no constitutional right to participate
in grievance procedure his allegation that his grievances were
improperly processed are legally frivolous - citing Banks v. Nagle. Nos.
3:09 CV419-HEH; 3:09 CV14 (2009) WL1209031, at *3 (E.D.VA. May 1,
2009).” Moreover, simply, “ruling against a prisoner on an
administrative complaint does not cause or contribute to the
[constitutional] violation, see George v. Smith 507 F. 3d. 605, 609-10
(7th Cir 2007)” I alleged in my First Amendment violation claim:
Ombudsman at this prison suppressed, obstructed or otherwise denied me
fundamental (and meaningful) access to “offender grievance procedure”
due to refusal to properly process and answer said grievances. It was,
and remains a continuous practice, within VA DOC, to deny “redress to
government,” in this case, the prison authorities who are agents of the
state.
It appears the U.S. District Court has shifted their views and opinions
as to whether captives have a constitutional right to grievance
procedure. On one hand, the Federal statute §42 U.S.C. 1997 (e)(a)
states we have to satisfy the prongs of the PLRA, which requires the
exhaustion of all available administrative remedies, before filing a §42
U.S.C. 1983. But then, restrict such requirement in decisions rendered
in Adam v. Rice and Banks v. Nagle, which contradicts mandates of §42
U.S.C. 1997(e)(a).
Without protected due process rights, whether in society or behind these
walls of horror, the people are in trouble. Captives have seen a
consistent erosion of rights, or a limiting of such rights, over the
years; from the Anti-Terrorist and Effective Death Penalty Act, of
former President Bill Clinton, to the Patriot Act of George W. Bush.
High courts have repeatedly sided with state prison administrators,
citing “security takes precedence over certain rights, including
infringement upon certain civil rights.” This could very well open the
door for the pigs to get away with vicious assaults, property damages,
and other egregious acts that goes on behind these walls. The highway
for “organized crime” is without patrols.
Captives are subjected to a wide range of issues and administrative
confrontation, leading to needed remedies. Though, each “department of
correction” professes administrative remedy outlets, captives’ rights to
utilize these administrative outlets continues to be repressed,
ineffective, leaving issues unsolved. These create an environment of
mistrust, instability and an ethos of disorganization between captives
and “the system.”
Captives here at this VA DOC prison have organized around the “United
Front” and “United Front for Peace in Prison - Statement of Principles.”
We have organized, mobilized, and deputized. We’ve organized to the
point where we have a ten point agenda, designed to address our
oppression and oppressor in an organized and systematic way. We wish to
accept full responsibility for our actions, educate ourselves in seeking
justice, and assure that we remain at peace, on what we’ve agreed upon,
and united around our collective agenda.
We wish to join on to and with MIM(Prisons)’s campaign
“We
Demand our Grievances are Addressed.” Please send us the petition!
ASAP we will work to assure this petition is signed by as many we can
from behind these walls. We will continue to educate ourselves towards
the process, and our rights under Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act.
Let’s stop the repression of the grievance procedure within the VA DOC.
We stand with MIM(Prisons)!
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade and others in Virginia have
been doing some great organizing work, building the United Front for
Peace in Prisons, local study groups, and fighting the corrupt grievance
process in that state’s prisons. We look forward to the progress of this
campaign as a part of building a broad base of united prisoners in
Virginia fighting the criminal injustice system under anti-imperialist
leadership.
It has been a while since I’ve sent you anything due to all the time
involved with fighting the Texa$ Legalized Mafia (Texa$ Department of
Criminal (in)Justice) in Federal Court. But I’ve got to the point that I
had to make a report on the advances I’ve made in our struggle.
I sent a letter (which a copy of is enclosed) to the Medical
Practice Manager on my Unit who works for University of Texas Medical
Board (UTMB). I was reimbursed $100 of the $400 I owed them. Upon his
response I sent him another letter informing him that though I was
thankful for that, it was not enough, I wanted it all back. The next day
it was done. Enclosed is a copy of the first letter I sent to the UTMB
Practice Manager. I only have one stamp right now, so I will send the
rest of the paperwork when I get a chance.
My lawsuit against the Texas Board of Criminal Justice is going
great. The Court shot down the Ass. Att. General Leah O’Leary’s Motion
to Dismiss and her Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment and gave me
until September 9, 2016 to have all my Despositive Motions in. I’ve
already done that and filed two complaints of Bad Faith on the
Defendants’ part for attempting to defraud the Court on several
occasions. I’ve asked for two separate sanctions ordered and for the
Court to order a Default Judgment in my favor. It won’t be long and we
will get the Revision to Board Policy-03.91 Correspondence Rules
repealed.
My next 1983 Lawsuit in Federal Court against the Texas Board of
Criminal (in)Justice is going to be over them violating our 14th
Amendment right of equal protection under the law, which prohibits
sexual/gender discrimination, due to their grooming standard policy.
Women who are incarcerated in Texas can grow their hair as long as they
want to, but men can’t have it very long at all. This is a
gender-neutral act and the state is discriminating between the
sexes/genders. I’ve already gotten my informal resolution back from
Warden Butcher at Terrell Unit and filed my Step 1 grievance. When it
comes back I will file my Step 2 and so on into Federal Court.
Once I finish that one I am going to file against them for slowly but
surely denying us due process by removing the tools we need to fight
against unconstitutional acts. First in September 2014 they hid the
Offender Grievance Operations Manual, and now I read in your latest
ULK that they banned the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook.
It is unbelievable how people watched me struggle day in and day out
every day with this fight, and started donating paper, pens, envelopes,
and documentation to help me. Please send me everything you can on the
ban on the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook and the Offender Grievance
Operations Manual. Right now I’m in Ad-Seg because I was given 5 bogus
major cases and an illegal use of force. They didn’t use a chemical
agent; they had it on hand but instead just beat me for 30 minutes on
tape.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We commend this comrade on eir commitment
to continuing eir lawsuits which benefit all prisoners in Texas, even
though ey is facing persynal physical retaliation from prison staff.
We know that unfortunately the retaliation is more consistent than the
victories. So while we support this comrade’s efforts at this stage in
our struggle, we also know that legal action alone won’t put an end to
the litany of abuses. What we ultimately need is to organize for
self-determination of all oppressed peoples worldwide, including the
internal semi-colonies within U.$. borders. Until we are free from
Amerikkkan imperialism, we will always have a need for these lawsuits,
and face even worse conditions. In the meantime, we organize, educate
and try to carve out space for our survival.
We write to further enlighten you on the progress of our hunger strike
at the Southern Ohio Corrections Facility in the state of Ohio. Since
you were last informed, other comrades have joined our cause to end
solitary confinement and psychological torture in prisons all across
america.
We now have a total of about 30 prisoners who are currently refusing
meals. Some of us are being denied medical assistance. Correctional
officers have already sabotaged some hunger strikers, by planting food
in their cells.
The strike began on 5 July 2016, and staff are refusing to document the
strike. Prison officials claim they don’t care about our strike. If this
is true, then why does the prison administration resort to such extreme
tactics to discourage us?
A hunger strike is more than just refusing food. But the spiritual power
generated by our unified thoughts will manifest change. We enclose a
list of demands, along with a notification to the public to please
contact the Governor of Ohio and the media to inform that hunger
strikers are being denied medical assistance. We greatly appreciate your
integrity and will keep you updated.
List of Hunger Strike Demands
We of the inmates of Ohio ask for an end to solitary confinement and
torture of inmates.
We ask for the end of the practice of systematic racism.
We demand for the end of unfair Rules Infraction Board hearings, which
results in a denial of due process.
We demand an end to officer brutality, including the assault with
chemical agents.
We ask for your support by contacting the Governor of Ohio: 77 South
High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 or ohio.governor.gov
Inform them that hunger strikers are being denied medical assistance.
Salute!
Comrades
Lucasville Hunger Strike
MIM(Prisons) responds: We applaud the organization and commitment
of these comrades in Ohio who are risking their lives to fight torture
at SOCF. We have received a couple reports on this hunger strike.
We agree that a hunger strike is more than just refusing food, and as
another
comrade puts it, it becomes the only nonviolent option left to
protest how you’re being treated.
Rather than generating “spiritual power,” though, hunger strikes can
develop real world education and organizing. As more people see the
struggle and are educated about it they learn from the strike and we
gain supporters. How well we build this education and organizing depends
a lot on a careful evaluation of local conditions so our time and energy
and health is well spent. For instance, undertaking a hunger strike with
only a few people without outside support or a way of publicizing it
will most likely lead to not only a failed action but also will show
others that this battle can’t be won. It’s always important to build for
our actions so that we have the support and systems in place to make
victory possible. Lucasville has a long history of prisoners going on
hunger strike for basic necessities, and a broad outside support system
has been shown to be one of the factors that make these protests
successful.
So we call on outside supporters to take the actions listed above and
publicize this hunger strike through their networks. Through organizing
together we can abolish the SHU!
We also want to comment on the demand for an end to “systematic racism”
which we would call systematic national oppression. This is a function
of the criminal injustice system, by design. As a tool of social
control, the Amerikan prisons are set up to target the oppressed
nations. And so we cannot expect to eliminate this feature of the system
without overthrowing the entire system. Demands like this one are just
and righteous, but not winnable until capitalism is defeated.
While watching a movie last weekend, suddenly a stretcher and a lot of
officers walked by into the entrance of the max control unit. Bizarrely
an hour later a lot of officers came out of the max control unit. They
held all doors open leading to the infirmary down the hallway. Then
suddenly in a hurry came four officers and a nurse pushing the stretcher
with a white prisoner on it. I recognized the prisoner, who was
deceased. His pale skin was now very swarthy from head to toe, darker
than most fair skin New Afrikans. Later I found out that he was paroling
out the next day.
Ever since last year I’ve observed this type of pattern within East
Arkansas Regional Unit’s max control units. And it continues this year.
This means we need to push the campaign to shut down control units
harder, by asking all friends and family members to help spread the 2
hour documentary on long term isolation cells and our struggle to
abolish them. Ask them to put links to the website on their blogs,
facebook, instagram, twitter or whatever social media networks they use
and ask others to check out the
movie
Let’s push the hell out of this campaign the remainder of this year!
by MIM(Prisons) June 2016 permalink
Click here to download a PDF of the Mississippi grievance petition
Mail the petition to your loved ones and comrades inside who are
experiencing issues with the grievance procedure. Send them extra copies
to share! For more info on this campaign, click
here.
Prisoners should send a copy of the signed petition to each of the
addresses below. Supporters should send letters on behalf of prisoners.
Commissioner of Corrections MDOC Central Office 633 North State
Street Jackson, MS 39202-3097
Corrections Investigation Division 633 N. State st Jackson, MS
39202
USDOJ Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20530
And send MIM(Prisons) copies of any responses you receive!
MIM(Prisons), USW PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140
This is a belated final report on the United Struggle from Within(USW)
campaign to
“Reject
the I$raeli Settler State, Support the People of Palestine.” The
initial push was only among a small group of USW leaders, but as word
spread others requested the petition and used it to build public opinion
in their prisons in support of national liberation for Palestine. While
our
initial
summary had only tallied 60 signatures, this was based on the
specificity of the petition to current events at that time. Of course,
the broader campaign is one that has been carried out for decades. One
year after the initialization of this USW petition, comrades in 16
prisons had gathered at least 189 signatures.
Wisconsin prisoners at Waupun Correctional Institution are planning a
hunger strike to begin on 10 June 2016 to demand an end to the torture
of long-term confinement in control units in Wisconsin.
In 2015, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WI DOC) made some
policy changes to their use of long-term solitary confinement. According
to the DOC, the number of prisoners in “restrictive status housing” was
reduced by about 200 by reducing the maximum time prisoners can be put
in control units (which varies depending on the justification given for
this isolation). The WI DOC refused to release any information about
these changes until compelled by records requests, and the total number
of prisoners in control units reported by the DOC is highly suspicious
as it is far lower than information gathered from surveys.(1) In
addition, Waupun prisoners were not notified of the change to this
policy, and months later were still being held for longer than the new
regulations allowed.(2) It’s unclear if the new policy is being applied
uniformly across Wisconsin prisons at this point, but small reductions
in the length of solitary confinement sentences will not solve the
fundamental problem of this system of torture.
The actual policies are available on the Wisconsin DOC website and
include a table listing maximum time in “disciplinary separation” for
various offenses. This includes 180 days for “lying” and 360 days for
“lying about an employee,” 180 days for “disrespect” and 180 days for
“misuse of state or federal property.” These are all easily abused
accusations that prisoners are powerless to dispute. Furthermore, a
Wisconsin prisoner can be put in a control unit for up to 180 days for
“punctuality and attendance” issues and “loitering,” and up to 90 days
for “poor personal hygiene,” “dirty assigned living area,” and “improper
storage.”(3) The policy also states “More than one minor or major
disposition may be imposed for a single offense and both a major and
minor disposition may be imposed for a major offense” which sounds like
they can just pile on lots of offenses and sum up the total max days in
isolation so that prisoners are held there for years.
The demands of this protest include the release of prisoners who have
been in solitary confinement for over a year, a length of isolation far
exceeding what is commonly considered torture by international human
rights organizations.
As one prisoner
reported
to Under Lock & Key a few years ago:
“I have reasons to believe that these people have no plans of removing
me off A.C. … They have me in the worst conditions in the Wisconsin DOC.
… It is fly infested. I have black worms coming out of the sink. We
can’t have publications.
“I have been in seg for over 13 years. and I haven’t given these people
any trouble in a long time, and what I’m in seg for is solely political.
I am being punished for organizing for Black Unity and against
institutional racism. I simply created organizations that advocated the
advancement of Black people and that fought against Black on Black
crime, poverty, ignorance, etc. It wasn’t created to terrorize white
people, as the totalitarian state would have you believe.
“As a result of being in seg I have developed a long range of
psychological issues, issues that have left me scarred permanently.
These issues have caused some professionals to label me psychotic and
delusional among other things. I was diagnosed with Delusional Disorder
and am being treated for it.”(4)
It is well documented that long-term isolation causes mental health
problems including hallucinations and delusions. This technique is used
in prisons like Guantanamo Bay to torture military prisoners into making
confessions (or making up confessions for the many innocents who suffer
this torture). But in the Amerikan prison system this torture primarily
serves to slowly erode the health of prisoners who are either confined
to waste away for the rest of their life, or released back to the
streets unable to care for themselves.
The petition put together by prisoners at Waupun is printed in full
below:
Dying to Live
Human rights fight at Waupun Correctional Institution starting June 10,
2016. Prisoners in Waupun’s solitary confinement will start No Food
& Water humanitarian demand from Wisconsin Department of Corrections
officials.
The why: In the state of Wisconsin hundreds of prisoners are in the long
term solitary confinement units a.k.a. Administrative Confinement (AC).
Some been in this status from 18 to 20 years.
The Problem: The United Nations, several states, and even President
Obama have come out against this kind of confinement citing the
torturous effect it has on prisoners.
The Objective: Stop the torturous use long-term solitary confinement
(AC) by:
Placing a legislative cap on the use of long term solitary confinement
(AC)
DOC and Wisconsin legislators adoption/compliance of the UN Mandela
rules on the use of solitary confinement(5)
Oversight board/committee independent of DOC to stop abuse and
overclassification of prisoners to “short” and “long” term solitary
confinement.
Immediate transition and release to a less restrictive housing of
prisoners who been on the long term solitary confinement units for more
than a year in the Wisconsin DOC
Proper mental health facilities and treatment of “short” and “long” term
solitary confinement prisoners
An immediate FBI investigation to the secret Asklepieion* program the
DOC is currently operating at Columbia Correctional Institution (CCI) to
break any prisoner who the DOC considers a threat to their regimen
How you can help
Call Governor Scott Walker’s office and tell him to reform the long-term
solitary confinement units in the Wisconsin DOC and to stop the secret
Asklepieion program at once. The number to call is 608-266-1212.
Call the DOC central office and demand that all 6 humanitarian demands
for this hunger strike be met and demand an explanation as to why they
are operating a torture program. The number to call is 608-240-5000.
Call the media and demand that they do an independent investigation on
the secret Asklepieion program operating at Columbia Correctional
Institution, and cover this hunger strike.
Call the FBI building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and demand that they
investigate the secret Asklepieion torture program being run at CCI. The
phone number to call is 414-276-4684.
Call Columbia Correctional Institution and tell them you are aware of
their secret torture program. Harass them! 608-742-9100.
Join in on the hunger strike and post it on the net. Convince others to
join as well.
* Asklepieion is a secret DOC torture program based upon Dr. Edgar
H. Schein’s brainwashing methodology that in the 1960s was disguised and
turned into a Behavior Therapy Treatment program that deals with the
literal brainwashing and enslavement of an individual’s mind. It
retrogresses the individual to the character role of a child and
reinforces the need for paternal authority. To achieve such effect the
prison authorities, with the help of collaborating inmates, must first
break the individual’s mind through sleep deprivation and character
invalidation techniques, and then, recondition it with Stockholm
Syndrom. To see more go to
https://iwoc.noblogs.org/post/2016/02/16/personal-experience-with-behavior-control-in-a-wisconsin-prison/
[In December 2014 MIM(Prisons) received this petition against the Tier
II program from two different comrades, with almost thirty signatures.
Considering these prisoners are organizing in extreme conditions of
isolation and sensory deprivation, that number of signatures is
impressive. We publicize this petition as part of our overall struggle
to shut down Control Units in prisons across the country.]
We the People petition
We the people (jointly and severally) come together to petition the
government for a redress of grievance, pursuant to the Bill of Rights,
“Amendment I” of the Constitution for the United States of America.
Furthermore, we the people assert the rights set forth in “the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly
on December 10, 1948. More specifically, we assert the rights set forth
at Article 1-8, 18-22, 26 and 28 of the UDHR.
We the people now move to set forth the factual basis for this petition.
Fact, on December 7, 2014, at approximately 10:45pm, a man [inmate]
“died” inside of the J-1 dormitory (cell #124) at Smith State Prison. It
is stated that the man/individual committed suicide. The examiner and/or
coroner pronounced the man officially dead between 11:30pm and 1am.
We the people believe (with strong conviction) that the Tier II Program
(behavior modification program) is the root and cause of the death.
During our examination it has been determined that there are numerous
“factors” that must be evaluated, and has been evaluated in reaching our
conclusion that the tier II program is the “root and cause” of the
“death.”
Factor #1: The Tier II program is a mind and behavior control
program for prisoners, via long term deprivational isolation and
segregation, which is a form of psychological, mental and emotional
torture/suffering.
Factor #2: The Tier II program is intellectually, mentally and
creatively stagnating. People/human-beings [prisoners] are prohibited
from receiving any and all books, magazines, newspapers, novels,
articles, etc. We are forbidden to read any and all books, magazines,
newspapers, novels, articles, and all other forms of reading material
[the only exception being a bible or Qur’an; either or, but not both; we
may choose one or the other]. This prohibition on reading causes
“stagnation” of the mind, which in turn, turns man back into what men
were before civilization [barbarians, cavemen, and savages]. To not want
people/human beings to read and or have access to divers reading
materials is self evident that the goal of this program is not
progressive and rehabilitating, but instead, by design it is regressive
and debilitating. Reading is fundamental [fundamental to growth,
improvement, learning, success and life itself, etc.] No one can put
forth a logical explanation for prohibiting reading and forbidding
reading. No one can provide evidence that prohibiting reading serves
some good cause or rehabilitation. All evidence is contrary to that
thesis/theory.
Factor #3: The Tier II program isolates and separates us from our
families and loved ones. Most individuals/people placed on the program
cannot receive visitation because of the way the program is designed.
Most people cannot use the telephone because of how the program
operates. For a vast majority of us, the “only way” to contact and or
connect with our families or loved ones is the letters. We must write
letters; we correspond through the mail back and forth. Mail
correspondence is the only form of communication for the majority of us.
Factor #4: The Tier II program is a health hazard. The conditions
of confinement are a violation of the 8th amendment (cruel and unusual
punishment clause) of the Constitution for the United States of America.
The food that is served is nutritionally inadequate. Everyone (all of
us/all the people) that are on the Tier II program has and/or is losing
weight. Some of us have lost a lot of weight, while other have only lost
10-15 pounds (since being on/in the Tier II program). But all of us are
losing weight, and have lost weight. Also, the food that is served is
often unclean and thus unhealthy. The milks are often spoiled. The
“meat” is often raw or old (spoiled). The food in general is old (half
of the time). The trays that the food is on are always filthy/nasty, as
if they have not been washed. The filthy ways contaminate the food that
is placed on them. We have no choice but to eat it or starve. (On phase
1 and 2 of the program we cannot purchase any food items from the
commissary/store.) No clean water is passed out or given to us. We are
forced to drink out of old, nasty sinks, with rusty spicket/faucet.
Sanitation: The showers are always filthy and disgusting. When I/we
enter into the showers, often there is hair (shavings), urine, semen,
(sometimes) blood, feces and other bodily filth. Cells have bugs, rats,
roaches, ants, spiders, and other unknown species of insects or bugs. In
the summer time the flies and gnats are overwhelming. We are only
allowed to clean out the cells 1 time a week and sometimes 1 time a
month. (But according to GDOC standard operating procedure cells are
supposed to be clean at all times.)
Exercise (yard call/outdoor recreation): We are denied and or deprived
the opportunity to go to outdoor recreation and exercise (which is a
judicial-constitutional guarantee - for prisoners; see Spain v.
Procunier, 600 F. 2d 1490 (9th Cir. 1984) and a plethora of other
federal cases). Yet and still they deprive us of outside
recreation/exercise for months and months at a time (case to case
basis). Some of us are deprived for days, and some for months and/or
years. The bottom line is, they deprive us of exercise. On phase 1 (of
the Tier II program) we are not allowed to buy any hygiene from the
commissary. We are prohibited form buying hygiene for months at a time.
Yet, they take all our hygiene items. The list on conditions of
confinement goes on and on, so for time sake we must proceed.
Factor #5: Many of us are put on the Tier II program without due
process of law (procedural due process of law, as set forth by the
Supreme Court on Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 563-655 (1974)). We
were put on the Tier program without receiving written notice; we were
not given a constitutional hearing; we were not allowed to call
witnesses; we were not provided an opportunity to present documentary
evidence or any other form of evidence; we were not provided an
opportunity to be heard/to speak; we were not provided an “advocate” to
assist us, or to put up a defense (of any kind) or to investigate (into
the alleged matter); thus, no due process of law.
Factor #6: When we were put on the Tier II program, all of our
property was confiscated illegally (confiscated without due process).
Property that was taken include: all our CDs, CD players, headphones,
earphones, all pictures and/or photos, all books, magazines, novels,
articles, newspapers, and all other reading materials (except a bible or
Qur’an), lotion, deodorant, soap, toothpaste, grease, toothbrush,
hairbrush, nail clippers, comb, dental floss, soap dish, photo album,
free world clothes (tshirts, socks), pajamas, wave cups, thermals, etc.
All food items purchased from commissary, be it soups, honeybuns, buddy
bars, chips, drinks, etc. The property/items they took/confiscated
include the above mentioned things, but are not limited to those
things/items. Other personal property was taken that is not on this
list.
Factor #7: Some people are on the Tier II program for an
indefinite period of time which could last many years. Others will
remain on the Tier II program within the time line specified in the SOP
(ITB09-0003), which is 9 months - 2 years.
Factor #8: Whenever we are taken out of the cells, we are
mechanically restrained (handcuffed and/or shackled and/or waist
chained) and escorted by two or more guards.
Factor #9: If there is an emergency, such as death in the family
(or something of that nature), we are not allowed to attend the funeral
or memorial services, because of the Tier II program.
Factor #10: Because of the Tier II program, we can not look at TV
or listen to the radio. For some of us it has been over 22 months since
we last seen TV, seen a movie, or even seen a commercial, or heard the
radio.
Factor #11: Some of us, they will not let out the hole
(segregation/isolation) even when we may have earned and received a
certificate (and or receipt) stating “successfully completed the Tier II
program.
Factor #12: We are deprived of almost any environmental or
sensory stimuli and of almost all human contact.
Factor #13: The conditions of confinement are an “atypical and
significant hardship” upon us.
Factor #14: The above mentioned deaths, is not the 1st death this
year, that was caused by the Tier II program. Earlier this year (on or
around February 12, 2014) in J-2 dormitory, cell #240. On 2/12/14,
another man dead on the Tier II program. This man was killed by his
roommate. Currently his real name is unknown but he was known as
Sa-Brown. Sa-Brown was murdered, stabbed to death by his cell mate. We
believe and/or it is believed that the Tier II program drove the man
crazy/insane, then he murdered Sa-Brown.
Conclusion:
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) II B09-0003, Section I, Policy (page 1) states: “This
program is an offender management process and [supposedly] is not a
punishment measure… The Tier II program is a behavior modification
program.” The truth is - this offender management process/behavior
modification program induces death (whether directly or indirectly). And
we believe those that are responsible for the deaths are the creators,
maintainer(s), operator(s), and manager(s) of the Tier II program; that
would be: Brian Owens (GDOC commissioner) and Randy Tillman - the
authors/creators; and Stanley Williams (Warden of Smith State Prison)
and Eric Smokes (the unit manager of the Tier II program). These
individuals (Owens, Tillman, Williams and Smokes) are responsible for
the Tier II program and are responsible for the deaths (whether directly
or indirectly).
The above mentioned factors are not the only relevant factors to be
examined and evaluated in determining our conclusion. The above
mentioned factors are included (in the examination and evaluation
process), but are not limited to those factors (mentioned above). But
for time sake, we will cease to elaborate on the numerous factors.
The Declaration of Independence (in relevant part) We the people
inhabiting the North American continent, freemen, “…hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…” having been granted by our
creator dominion over all the earth, reserve our right to restore the
blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, under necessity,
that I/we declare, “that, to secure these rights, governments are
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed…” and as declared in many states constitutions; “we declare
that all men, when they form a social compact are equal in right: that
all power is inherent in the people” … and “that, whenever any form of
government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the
people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such
form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and
happiness.”
Therein, the greatest rights of the people is the right to abolish
‘destructive’ government, those administrating as trustee, or those
institutions that have become destructive and/or corrupted.
We the people call for an end to the Tier II program!
Click the PDF to download a copy of the Missouri petition to allow
prisoners in Administrative Segregation to receive cases from the law
library. This petition can be used on any security level where the law
librarian is arbitrarily denying prisoners access to legal materials. It
is meant to be rewritten by prisoners in Missouri and sent to State
Representatives and the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC)
Inspector General.
While we struggle to build public opinion for socialst revolution in the
United $tates, we use the courts to fight winnable battles – battles
that will help make space for our overall anti-imperialist movement. The
denial of legal assistance to prisoners without active cases prevents
our comrades from even beginning an active case, or studying law in
order to prepare for a case. We know that most cases will not be won in
our favor, but maintaining the right to challenge injustices in court
try is an important part of our struggle at this stage in the game.