Phony charges against prisoners in Delano

I have been transferred to the new prison in Delano. It's a cold set up here. I've barely been here a month and have been in the hole the whole time on some trumped up charges about refusing a cellie. They said I threatened bodily injury to a non-existing cellmate. At the time I was in the cell by myself on August 21, 2005 and a big fat CO came trying to intimidate me and kept asking am I gonna take a cell mate? I said no calmly and without anything further to say but 10 minutes later they came back, like 5 or 7 COs cuffed me up and took me to the program office.

They put me in a cage and kept asking me am I gonna take a cellie, I said no. This lieutenant D. Stebbins kept asking me why I wouldn't take a cellie, so I finally briefly explained to him that the last cellie I had got caught with some weed on his person going to the yard at the last prison I was at, which was Corcoran, and then the COs searched the cell and found in his personal property 2 small joints which he told them was his. However they put me in a cage there too and charged me along with my cellie with possession of a controlled substance. And they referred the case to the DA for prosecution so now I'm facing 3 strike law. I don't smoke weed or have any other bad habits at all, period. But they gave me a urine test as well.

My point is I told the Lieutenant if I have to be responsible for another man's program and my own then I don't want no cellie because that ain't right. But he said if something is found in the cell then it is mutual area and we both get charged with it. So I said I don't want no cellie and then they want you to sign a paper saying you agree to live with someone, no I don't sign papers like that. Anyway I'm in the hole and waiting for my final copy on my 115. I got found guilty of a lesser charge, they found me guilty of obstructing justice in the way of a peace officer. I should not have been found guilty of nothing because they lied on me and now they get away with finding me guilty on a charge that don't make no sense.

This prison here is a real piece of work, they don't have nothing set up here and then they brought a bunch of programmers from CSP Corcoran 270 yard and put us all on a 180 yard that isn't meant for SHU kick outs and mess ups. They lied to us at Corcoran and told us that it would be the same type of program as a 270 yard and everything would run smoothly. The law library here is a big fat joke. They only had a copying machine and 2 books last I checked. And to top it all off they are putting people in the hole for a bunch of dumb stuff that don't make no sense at all.

For instance, on August 9, 2005 an alarm went off on B yard and they had 58 prisoners who refused to lay on the hot scorching ground prone position but they did sit flat on they butts with they hands on their knees. Well the COs and the sergeants didn't like that so they came to the yard like 50 or more COs deep with pepper spray and other gadgets they use when they are trying to force some rules that don't make sense. Anyways they pepper sprayed 2 brothers for no reason and end up taking 12 prisoners to the hole saying they was inciting which was not true they just didn't want to lay prone position on that hot ground and I don't blame them. Out of the 12 prisoners they brought to the hole they let 4 go the next day but 8 are still back here facing bogus charges on inciting. Of course all of their reports got trumped up and they was lied on.

- a California prisoner, October 2005