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HRC-FedUp! URGENT
Action Alert: 6 Prisoners
Assaulted in the SMU at Camp Hill; Chemical
and
electro-shock weapons used; racist violence and
repression on
the rise again; take action Today
Tomorrow and Next Week.
Forward further and wider than ever because enough is enough!
On
January 20, 2009 guards in the Special Management Unit (SMU) at the
State Correctional [sic] Institution (SCI) in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
assaulted six prisoners, reportedly citing as reasons that these men
file grievances against guard misconduct and are engaged in civil
litigation against DOC officials; contact outside organizations (HRC/Fed
Up! and
www.prisoners.com
in particular) to expose conditions of torture; also to send a
message-in their words: “fuck a historical day, y’all always going to be
niggers.”
Seven men inside the state’s premier torture unit have
testified to the following events in reports to HRC/Fed Up!, including
six men who submitted Declarations of Truth pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746
and subject to the penalty of perjury, adding to the hundreds of pages
of prisoner reports, additional Declarations, institutional paperwork,
and civil litigation documents sent to our offices from the SMU at Camp
Hill alone since only June of 2008. The incidents have been verified in
a personal interview with Mr. Damont Hagan, who has since been
transferred (as we’ve been demanding for 5 months). Superintendent’s
Assistant Robert Volciak further verified that four or five men were
subjected to forcible cell extractions on the 20th in a telephone
conversation of January 26th. Several others around the state and the
country, from Louisiana to California, have received reports of these
assaults as well and contacted our offices.
We are asking that
you read the alert, become angry, and act accordingly to help protect
the men in the SMU and by extension all others subjected to the
normalized white supremacist torture occurring on a daily basis inside
prisons in the state of Pennsylvania and throughout the U.S.
Inauguration Day
David Smith #FZ5176: On
1/20/09 C/O Liddick, C/O Zeigler, and Lt. Kuzar approached Gary Tucker’s
cell upon the pretext of wanting to conduct a search, despite having
conducted one on 1/15/09. When Tucker came to the door, Liddick said,
“Since this guy likes filing grievances, let’s make an example out of
him.” Tucker refused to leave his cell after Kuzar denied his request to
have a Captain or Unit Manager present. Willie Robinson then refused to
leave his cell out of fear for his safety. David Smith then consented to
a cell search, and was promptly assaulted by the above named staff and
thrown in another cell, separated from his property. Mr. Smith
reportedly suffered undisclosed injuries.
Gary Tucker #FG8520: In his own words: “A little later that morning a
cell extraction team came to my cell. I was then told to come to the
door and cuff up. When I walked to the door a guard opened the slot and
sprayed me in the face with a whole lot of OC mace. I backed away from
the door blinded; seconds later more mace was sprayed inside the cell,
trapping my lungs up, that’s when about 7 guards (including Lt. Kuzar,
C/O Brant) charged into the cell slamming me to the bed with electric
shields [that discharge 50,000 volts of electricity]. These electric
shields were pressed against my body and held there for several minutes
while the 6 guards took turns beating, kicking, and shocking me with
hand held stun guns. After cuffing me they continued beating me down and
shocking me. The guard holding the camera maneuvered the camera so that
the beating couldn’t be caught on it. From D-12 I was dragged out the
cell and hoisted into the medical cell. There the beating continued
(shocking, choking, and punching) and a male nurse squirted a liquid in
my eyes that didn’t seem to help at all. Next I was airlifted up a
flight of stairs (after protests from several inmates about my medical
condition [which requires me to be] bottom tier status. I was taken into
D2-20, slammed face first to the metal bed frame and the 6 or 7 guards
continued jumping and shocking me with stun guns. After several minutes
of this I was stripped naked, dragged to the floor and pulled up to the
tray slot and the cuffs were taken off after they tried to break my
wrists. I requested to see medical but was denied the request so my
injuries weren’t [recorded]. The injuries suffered were as follows: face
swollen both sides; wrists with deep cuts from the cuffs; stiff neck (I
can barely move my neck); severe pain in my lower back which makes it
hard for me to move; my right arm dislocated; badly swollen right ankle
that I can’t put pressure on and a bloody mouth. Several inmates
witnessed this assault and the Lt. Kuzar kept yelling,”Stop resisting”
which was merely a means to justify their actions in assaulting me.
Truth was I never resisted; I couldn’t resist at all.”
Damont Hagan #DS9488: In his own words: “I was approached by C/O Brant
who threatened me, informing me that I had to come out for a search,
stating ‘the camera can be manipulated Hagan, remember that.’ He also
called me a ‘nigger.’ . . . After a while, I told Unit Manager Chris
Chambers [about the threats] . . ., and informed him that ‘I fear for my
life.’ He retorted,”Hagan, I’m tired of this complaining to HRC and
www.prisoners.com
and preliminary injunctions. Y’all did this to y’all selves, now y’all
scared. You’re coming out regardless, so write HRC [which he did-let’s
be there for him] or have .com write the Attorney General again, who
cares.’ . . . A cell extraction team came and the same SMU staff (Brant,
Kuzar) were in suit. I also witnessed them abuse Gary Tucker. They told
me to cuff-up and I told them I feared for my life (on camera).
Sgt. Maxwell then sprayed me with OC which got in my lungs and eyes,
forcing me to cuff up.” After being cuffed Hagan was taken to a cell
where his clothes were cut off of him and Sgt. Maxwell whispered
sexually lewd comments to Hagan regarding Lt. Flowers (a female) being
present. Mr. Hagan was denied water for two days, his food was tampered
with when it wasn’t denied altogether, and he was left naked in a
freezing cell, which caused him to become sick. He was transferred on
1/27/09 to SCI Pittsburgh.
Ronald Jackson #CF3994: Mr. Jackson refused to exit his cell because of
the threatening and assaultive behavior of the guards, and was
subsequently attacked with mace and punched several times in the back
and head by C/O Brant, carried to another cell where C/Os Brant,
Liddick, Ziegler, Lt. Kuzar, and Sgt. Maxwell cut off his clothing and
cut his dreadlocks. Mr. Jackson was left bleeding behind both ears, had
numbness in both hands, and cuff markings remained on his wrists for 6
days. Mr. Jackson was left naked and without property or state issue
items for six days-like all the others assaulted on this day. On January
26th he was returned to his cell, which was still contaminated with
mace. C/O Huber, Jones, Sabolsky, Banks, Martz, and a Lt. stole and
destroyed much of his personal and legal property. In a written response
to Mr. Jackson regarding this theft, Superintendent Palakovich justified
yet another unmistakable effort on the part of SMU staff to deny access
to the courts under the pretext that his property was contaminated with
mace and needed to be destroyed as a result. Given that several of the
prisoners extracted that day have reported being returned to cells still
contaminated with mace, this explanation cannot be taken seriously.
Mr. Jackson’s lawsuit against the DOC will likely be sabotaged by this
theft and destruction of his legal documents, which is a widespread
practice throughout the PA DOC.
Willie Robinson #FX7258: After refusing to exit his cell for obvious
reasons, Mr. Robinson was attacked by the same guards with mace and
thrown in a cell that had dried blood on the walls and floor for 6 days
without bed sheets or underclothing. Following this he was returned to
his former cell, which was still contaminated with mace, including his
bedding.
Jamar Perry #DQ4432: Mr. Perry was also attacked with mace and cell
extracted on this day. According to Michael Edwards, in a Declaration
subject to the penalty of perjury, Mr. Perry is severely mentally
retarded, constantly covers his cell and his person with bodily
waste-which he also ingests-and suffers from suicidal tendencies. Staff,
including C/O Flynn, Sgt. Jones, and Lt. Kuzar, frequently call him
names such as “retarded nigger,” and encourage him to kill himself.
Mr. Perry has been constrained in a “restraint chair” on several
occasions, including the first three days of February. These devices are
widely recognized as implements of torture. He reportedly wants to die,
and ranking officials, including Regional Deputy Secretary Shirley
Moore-Smeal have witnessed his fetid condition and taken no remedial
action, despite policy provisions against housing severely mentally ill
and developmentally disabled inmates in the SMU.
White
Supremacy and Repression
In another Declaration from
Michael Edwards, Unit Manager Chris Chambers is again alleged to have
threatened Mr. Edwards for his correspondence with HRC/Fed Up! Chambers
and Huber and others have repeatedly threatened Damont Hagan and Gary
Tucker about their involvement with HRC and
www.prisoners.com,
along with other efforts to expose torture and officially-sanctioned
sadism inside the SMU at Camp Hill.
An all white staff in the
SMU is holding hostage and waging a one-sided war against a captive,
defenseless population that is “99.9% blacks and latinos,” according to
Mr. Edwards.
A small sampling of racist remarks made by SMU
staff, according to Declarations submitted by Michael Edwards, are as
follows:
1/19/09: C/O Brant stated over the PA system, “I
have a dream that one day all of you niggers will be dead,” after which
he laughed, clapped his hands, and lit a smoke; 1/20/09: Lt. Kuzar
stated, “He [Obama] may have won, in my eyes he’s still a nigger.” Brant
and C/O Flynn started laughing at this, and Kuzar continued, “There will
be no showers or yard today. We are going to show you niggers who run
this SMU.”
1/20/09: When told Tucker has a medical condition and
is not to be housed upstairs, Chambers replied, “I don’t give a fuck
what medical says, I want that nigger upstairs now.”
1/30/09:
After Chambers told Mr. Edwards he would not be receiving any law books
or property in retaliation for his working with HRC/Fed Up!, Huber told
the inmate, “Hey listen up nigger, I have the green light to kill your
black ass,” before walking away from the cell laughing.
*2/1/09: Lt.
Kuzar stated to Mr. Edwards, “Nigger do you honestly believe we are
going to let you, or any of these other niggers get away with what you
are doing?”
Hagan, Jackson, Tucker, Robinson, Smith, Edwards,
Terry Brooks, and others in the SMU are being targeted for their refusal
to be silenced and submit to a regime of white supremacist torture.
These men continue to file grievances, pursue civil litigation, and
write family, friends, and other allies on the outside to expose the
illegal and degrading conditions they are being subjected to.
Despite being starved, gassed, electrocuted, beaten, sickened, and
subjected to racist death threats on a daily basis, these men refuse to
submit, they continue to resist, and they are calling on us to take
action again.
This action alert is more comprehensive and far
ranging in the targets it lists than the ones in November and September
(provide links). We have watched the Emergency Response Network grow
considerably over the last 12 months, especially during the last 4, and
countless people have answered the call to defend the rights and lives
of prisoners. This is why we are asking even more from our allies this
time, because we trust you will continue to intensify your efforts,
channeling your outrage into action and building this movement against
torture and racism and for human rights.
As Michael Edwards
recently wrote from the SMU: “Keep doing what you are doing, because it
surely is working. Some of these guards are just walking around here
banging on any and everything, and using racial slurs. This means we are
winning the war.” I take this to mean that this latest outburst of hate
and violence by SMU guards is a desperate reaction to growing outside
pressure. They are trying to silence the men in the SMU through daily
acts of terror, but it is not working. Resistance continues, and the
outside pressure is growing. . . .
Action Alert Targets
and Talking points
DOC Targets
DOC Secretary
Jeffrey Beard-717-975-4918
2520 Lisburn Road
Camp Hill, PA
17001
Superintendent John Palakovich
SCI Camp Hill
P.O.
Box 200
Camp Hill, PA 17001
Office of Professional
Repsonsibility
Director James Barnacle (formerly with the FBI
(i.e. u.s. political police) for 30 years-see the book Agents of
Reprssion by Churchill and Vander Wall for more on the criminal nature
of the FBI)
717-214-8473
2520 Lisburn Road
Camp Hill, PA
17001
1)-Report the truth of the Inauguration Day atrocity: six
men were targeted for assault with chemical and electrocution weapons by
guards calling them “niggers” in retaliation for these prisoners
continuing to file grievances, pursue civil litigation, expose prison
conditions to the public, and otherwise seek justice. Be specific, name
the names of the prisoners, guards, the threats made and injuries
suffered. Tell them that you are sickened by the endless reports of
flagrant racism on the part of guards and the obvious approval of such
by top officials in Camp Hill and the DOC. Grievances and civil suits
reach Supt. Palakovich and Secretary Beard by the thousands regarding
the racist attitudes and actions of staff under their command, and they
refuse to take action
2)-Emphasize the role of Unit Manager Chris Chambers-demand he be fired:
As our abuse logs indicate
(http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup/abusereports.htm),
Unit Manager Chris Chambers, who oversees the SMU, bears command
responsibility for the actions of Jones, Kuzar, Sabalsky, Banks, Flynn,
Brant, and the rest. We want to build his infamy and make him a
liability to the PA DOC and SCI Camp Hill. If his superiors lean on him
because of the heat they feel from the people, then he will lean on SMU
staff to end the torture in order to protect himself. Tell Beard that
you have reviewed the accumulated evidence from the 20th and the
preceding months, and that Chambers needs to be held accountable for his
crimes. Failure to do so will be understood as complicity in torture.
Emphasize that several prisoners consistently report that Chambers has
personally told them on multiple occasions that he is punishing them for
filing lawsuits and contacting HRC/Fed Up! and
www.prisoners.com.
3)-Transfers for Tucker, Jamar Perry, Michael Edwards, Terry Brooks,
Ronald Jackson: These men need transferred immediately. When speaking of
Gary Tucker tell them that his continued confinement in the SMU is a
violation of DOC Policy 6.5.1 (which is top secret-forbidden to the
public-and has been provided to HRC via clandestine means) which states
that an inmate who does not show progress in the initial 12 to 18 months
should be deemed a failure and transferred. Mr. Tucker has been in the
SMU for 28 months. Furthermore, Jamar Perry suffers from severe
developmental disability (i.e. reportedly mentally retarded) and needs
an immediate transfer. Edwards, Brooks, and Jackson continue to face
retaliation for filing grievances and lawsuits.
4)-Speak your own truths, make your own demands: If you have ideas of
who to contact (press, lawyers, the Justice Department, law enforcement,
United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, NAACP, ACLU)
then tell the authorities of your intention and then get a hold of these
organizations and have them contact us to learn more. Each one needs to
conduct their own investigations to verify these truths. Also, be
encouraged to tell them that they need to close down the SMU for good-it
is a failed program that does nothing but torture vulnerable prisoners,
and it is irredeemably racist. Please inform HRC/Fed Up! of your efforts
so we can keep track of where this alert and the supporting evidence are
sent and the various responses it receives. Be encouraged to become a
point person for reaching out to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, the NAACP, or whoever. Just make sure you are familiar
enough with the talking points and the evidence that supports them and
stay in touch with us.
5)-Prior Notice: Beard and Palakovich have been notified of the criminal
acts of retaliation, racist hate crimes, denial of access to the courts,
assault, medical neglect, etc. months ago. There is a paper trail
leading to their office and their adamant refusal to accept
accountability for the actions of staff under the command of Unit
Manager Chris Chambers amounts to complicity in torture.
6)-Accountability: Let it be known, finally, that we intend to see
criminals held accountable, and that each denial, evasion, and deception
on the part of prison officials will only strengthen our resolve to
pursue justice by every means possible. We want accountability now.
7)-Special for OPR: The Office of Professional Responsibility (which is
neither professional nor responsible, but is-supposedly-an office), the
DOC’s own internal “investigation” unit assured an HRC/Fed Up!
investigator in early January that they were in fact conducting an
investigation into documented human rights violations inside the SMU at
Camp Hill. After declaring that they always talk to the inmates, OPR
Director James Barnacle went on to directly contradict himself by
admitting that their “investigation” consisted of cross-checking our
documentation with the prison’s own records. Given that the prison
records will report only what guards say, since the word of prisoners is
deemed prima facie untrue according to their totalitarian (and, yes,
racist) ideology, Barnacle more or less admitted that his investigation
was in fact not an investigation at all. Furthermore, we have
specifically asked several of the men in the SMU if OPR has interviewed
them, and with one exception (Brooks was interviewed two or three months
ago about an assault he suffered in 2007), nobody had seen OPR-despite
several having contacted them-by the end of January. Tell OPR that we
know they are not engaged in transparent and good faith investigations,
because if they were SMU staff under the command of Unit Manager Chris
Chambers would not dare perpetrate such atrocities. Demand
responsibility and professionalism from Barnacle.
Political Targets
Governor Ed Rendell
See numbers 1-6 above. Rendell was informed at the end of November,
with considerable documentation. He sent it to OPR.
Senator
Stewart Greenleaf
Inquire into the appropriate process for
requesting hearings in front of the PA General Assembly, and then
request a hearing-to be organized by HRC/Fed Up! and our
allies-regarding torture in PA prisons. Provide him our contact
information and ask that his staff get in contact with us. Tell staff
what is going on in the SMU at Camp Hill.
Local PA
Representatives
Hammer away at them, make these lazy,
incompetent, and corrupt parasites take a stand. Demand they petition
Greenleaf for a hearing. Who are these fools anyway?
Reminders
about demeanor, temperament, manners, composure, etc.
Just a
reminder, it is acceptable and appropriate to express anger, be firm in
our demands, and not tolerate deceptions and diversions. That said, it
is critical that we control our anger and not vice versa, and maintain
composure and dignity in our demeanor. We want the functionaries manning
the phones and reading the mail to be impressed by our command of the
facts and message consistency.
Mary Ann Kushner at SCI Fayette
apparently told one of our allies that HRC people had been “nasty” to
her. Given Mary Ann’s less than sterling reputation as a truth-teller, I
assume that means you were all doing your job and holding firm to our
shared principles in defense of prisoners’ rights and lives, which no
doubt upset Mary Ann. So, keep the cursing to the minimum amount
necessary and get at them day after day after day.
And pace
yourself. Make a call today, two tomorrow, another the next day, and
keep at it for weeks on end. This is a long struggle and we’re in it for
life. Invite others to join, today. Thank you.
We need lawyers!
Please help us find lawyers with grit, intelligence, and integrity who
are willing to go to war with the DOC.
PS-Taking it to the
Streets
Phone calls and letter writing are important, very
important for providing some measure of oversight and security to the
men in Camp Hill and other torture chambers in PA and the U.S. But it is
but one tactic amongst many. We need to take this to the streets and get
on a move. Be on the lookout for an invitation in the near future, when
the entirety of the country-and beyond-will be welcomed into the state
to voice their collective outrage over the dehumanizing white
supremacist torture of the PA prison system.
HRC/Fed Up! has
accumulated over 100 pages of documentation of human rights violations
in PA prisons in the last 16 months alone, supported by thousands of
pages of prisoner reports, affidavits, declarations, grievances,
requests to staff, and civil litigation documents, and further
corroborated by hundreds of hours of interviews/conversations with
prisoners and their loved ones on the outside. We can assert with
absolute confidence and substantial-in fact, incontrovertible-evidence
that torture is a widespread, systemic feature of the prison system that
deliberately sabotages parole and increases recidivism, hence creating
the conditions for continued market growth for the prison-industrial
complex.
PPS-Call and/or write us!
Who are you? Have you
taken action? Can we know one another and work together to beat back
this insufferable brutality? Call, email, write whenever.
Please provide feedback as to your conversations with the peoples
above and other efforts undertaken to protect the men in Camp Hill’s
SMU.
Thank you.
Solidarity, Health, Respect,
Trust,
and Struggle
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HRC/FedUp!
5125 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA
15224
hrcfedup@gmail.com
412-361-3022x4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
