Texas Prisons

I am having a lot of problems with the medical department here at Michael Unit. I had surgery on my ankle in 2004 and had an ankle brace and medical boots so i can walk better than what i do. They tell me i don't work so i don't need them. But the concrete hurts my ankle and the nurses don't care, like P.A. Schafer don't.

I want ya'll to know that in January of this year, a prisoner was beat to death by his cellmate. Where were the guards? This took place here on High Security, where we are kept on lock 24/7.

In 1987, the Guajardo v. Estelle case, modifying the correspondence regulations in the Texas prison system, was finalized. One of the results of Guajardo was prisoners with less than $5.00 in their trust fund accounts were considered indigent, and thereby entitled to five one-ounce First Class correspondences per week, and unlimited legal and privileged correspondences.

Circa 1998, Jason Powers, attorney at law, with the firm Vinson & Elkins, contacted me informing me the state had filed a motion to vacate Guajardo pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Powers solicited my assistance in defending plaintiffs' objection to State's motion. Obviously, the plaintiffs failed to prevail.

My concern regarding recent constrictions in indigent correspondence procedures is: Since vacating of Guajardo, indigent prisoner correspondence has been reduced from the 5 personal letters a week and unlimited legal correspondence, to 5 personal and 5 legal correspondence per month. This, when the indigent requirement has remained less than $5.00 since 1978, never being adjusted per the inflated dollar.

As such, I intend to commence a petition campaign directed at State Senator John Whitmire, State Committee on Criminal Justice, demanding not only that the 5x5 weekly indigent correspondence regulations be reimplemented, but that the standard of indigence required be adjusted to reflect a realistic inflated dollar. So fly this by your grievance writers and gauge their thoughts on the matter.

MIM(Prisons) responds: The reduction in indigent prisoner correspondence envelopes has a direct impact on prisoners' ability to stay in contact with family, fight legal battles, and engage in political education and organizing. The criminal injustice system wants to curtail these activities as a part of the goal of social control. As revolutionaries we support campaigns to expand access to correspondence, as we know this is critical to our ability to reach our comrades behind bars. We look forward to input from other grievance campaign participants about this new tactic in Texas.

Another campaign that is active in Texas is the right to access to a law library. We also recently learned that the Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook has been banned across the Texas Department of Criminal Injustice as of October 29, 2015. Texas is continuing a long history of assault on oppressed peoples in that state, and the only way we're going to be able to overcome the new (and old) tactics developed (and re-instituted) daily is to overthrow the state apparatus that makes it possible. Obviously Amerikkka's government system has got to go.

I have been dealing with this unjust system in the federal court for their abusive action. In 2009 I was brutally injured by some TDCJ officers.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) found one of the Sergeants at fault for non-provoked unnecessary excessive use of force. With the help of his co-workers my tibula and fibula were snapped causing a compound fracture break so serious that the paramedics could not transport me. I had to be life flighted to a free world hospital. Then with it being an "offender and officer" ordeal, medical was lacking so gangrene set into my leg. Plus one of the screws of the hardware had bent and when medical did surgery they left half the broken screw inside my leg.

I thought the Attorney General's office was to seek justice, but even though the OIGs office found them at fault the AG's office is defending the officer like they did nothing wrong. To this day my leg is constantly swelling with major pain and I am not given proper pain treatment. I am supposed to be on a single level unit but I am not. I am not supposed to walk over 50 yards (50 feet by specialist suggestion, doctors that are specialists and work for University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) the same medical system that supplies the employees to the units). The doctors on the unit override their coworkers - the specialist - and making me put more pressure on my legs that has not fully healed. The mental stress - at times these officer get aggressive and this triggers an offense/defense mentality issue in me that almost causes me to get caught up in more trouble with this system. Is there a way to get this abuse to the mass media? You have officers jumping on handicapped and older people. The officers pick their battles.

I have been having trouble with the medical treatment I have been given since entering the system, to include mis-diagnosis and further injury after this. I have twice been charged for treatment of illness/injury caused by neglect and the negligence of the medical department. Not only am I being charged, I am being refused surgery to correct an injury because it is not life-threatening. But it is definitely causing a lot of misery/discomfort and diminished quality of life.

Without getting into specifics, I was treated for cancer in 2011-2012 and after 1 year of trying to get properly diagnosed, I had chemotherapy and two surgeries. After my last surgery, I was forced to return to work and, despite complaints, developed a hernia on my surgery site. I have seen a surgeon twice since 2012 and have been declined for surgery and only given work restrictions.

I have a lot of complications developing from this and twice the medical department has charged me for treatment. I would like some help in the procedures to properly grieve these issues and prayerfully get relief. Thank you for your assistance.

I am an amputee prisoner on a non-ADA-compliant Unit, Coffield. I have been trying to get prosthetic services for 1 year 2 months now. I have tried UTMB provider, ineffective grievance system, even less effective is the chain of command. Wardens Rupert, Cooper, and Richardson sign off on the grievances to cover ALL the issues wrong with this unit: solitary, overcrowding, much needed better medical system, unsanitary eating utensils, mail room opening of legal mail, etc.

I have been writing to a disability lawyer and building design access for disabled, all the way up to Governor Abbot, Director of TDCJ Brad Livingston, every possible department in TDCJ, even the regional director. But my prosthetic issue started out as a minor height adjustment. My condition(s) now have become painfully severe to walk or stand in line for long periods of time.

This medical area holds 27 but has up to 50 prisoners with TB, AIDS, insulin open sores, bandages bloodied and needing change. I have grieved every medical issue. Some grievances are never returned, others are signed off as "complaint noted" but NO good results.

The whites wanted to lay it down and refuse work, the Mexicans were strong in their backing of this, but waiting for the rest of the population to join in, and it just petered out. No unity here, everyone is down for theirs. Here is some paperwork you can print in your newspaper.

This is just an attachment to give you a slightly more detailed update of some of the conditions we experience here on Telford Unit in Ad-Seg.

1. Lack of access to the law library. We are able to request material 3 days a week but during any lockdown and the duration thereof, all access is suspended and non-existent.

2. The indigent mail program. Not only are we now limited to 5 letters a month but our mailroom here has taken these limitations even further at various times. Example: If a prisoner only uses 4 of his indigent letters in a month, then he is denied the full 5 envelopes the following month. Prisoners are required to "justify" all requests of carbon paper, which must also be returned upon receiving new ones. All of these mail restrictions are clear attempts at silencing prisoners and limiting their socialization with the outside world.

3. We have a major rat infestation. Literally, so many rats running around that they are visible at almost any given time. They leave trails of feces and this includes inside our cells if the bottom of our cell doors are not blocked. They are also known to cause damage to personal property. Rats are carriers of various organisms and disease that cause health problems. This is clearly an indication of unsanitary and inhumane conditions.

4. Many of our cells are less than fully functioning. Water buttons not fully functional, and even sometimes not at all for long periods of time. Cell lights are not fully functional, causing eyesight problems and not being able to read and write at night time.

5. Serving us spoiled food on a regular basis with no attempt whatsoever to rectify the situation. This is undeserved and unjust deprivation.

6. We also experience the "torturous methods" used as described by the brother at Pelican Bay in California in ULK 47. All movement is supposed to stop at 10 p.m. But they do their "security checks" by entering the pod through crash gates, crossover doors, shining flashlights in on us, and asking us to move around to "show we are alive."

Over a year ago I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a chronic liver disease. At one time I started treatment for Hepatitis B, something I didn't have. I told them I never requested this. Medical responded that it was for my protection. Medical care here is horrible. I keep complaining about my treatment, but the medical staff says there are people sicker than me. They have a new treatment but it costs a lot. However I am looking for some legal assistance in this matter. I have found out the pill they bring me is for asthma, an allergic disease. I don't have asthma, or no allergies and I know it has caused some liver damage. I started having some bad abdominal pains. I stopped taking the pill. And did my own research and found out this pill was not for my treatment. Can you assist me in finding a lawyer in this matter?

I filed a Step 1 grievance about the illegality of the restrictions on indigent correspondence. I cited Guajardo v. Estelle in my grievance. Below is the response I received from the Assistant Warden.

"The Unit Law Library operates in accordance with applicable policy. No action is warranted." - J. Alvarez, Asst. Warden

I've been really busy with that lawsuit on the conditions here, and other complaints and organizing activities related to that. The good news is that the judge reviewed the law on the case, and ruled that if the allegations are true the prison officials are violating the law, and so they must respond. He ordered them to be served with the suit and gave them 40 days to respond.

The bad news is that they have gone back to canceling recreation all the time, for any pretext they can think of. But you know, that's how it goes.