Telford Unit - Federal

BP-03.91 is being misused by unit officials.

ATC-020(Rev.4) Dated: May 26 2022

“To be scheduled or request material for/from law library access/in-direct access, each inmate will be required to provide their name, TDCJ number, housing assignment,”work assignment and work hours." (highlighted in yellow marker) An inmate is prohibited from requesting law library access/in-direct access or law library materials for another inmate."

So, whoever prepared this notice is forgetting that I am in Ad-Seg/RHU. Or they are just flatly depriving me access to law, legal case citings or material. Please se:: Tex Gov’t Code ANN, Section 552.001-552.029. (Information available under the TPIA)

Organizing is spreading around the Dillard v. Davis, et al. Civil Action No. 7:19-cv-0081-M-BP lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s use of long-term solitary confinement. Prisoners held in Allred Unit, ground zero for the Restrictive Housing Unit, and Michael Unit have filed motions to join the class action suit.

A comrade in Stevenson Unit wrote to say that there are only 12 restrictive housing cells there and they are only used very short-term. But ey is sharing the motion and other campaign materials with contacts inside and outside to support those in RHU fighting for their humyn rights.

Shutting down long-term solitary confinement is one of the key campaign demands of the Juneteenth Freedom Initiative, calling for a boycott of Juneteenth until real freedom is attained in this country. The lawsuit points to the irreparable harm on mental health caused by long-term solitary.

Anyone who is in a Restricted Housing Unit in Texas can use the linked example motion to join this lawsuit. The motion should be sent to all three addresses listed at the end of the attached PDF. Please download and distribute to those you know in Texas torture chambers!

28 May 2022 UPDATE from Tx TEAM ONE member - Telford Unit: I have submitted my interest in becoming a co-plaintiff to all inhumane conditions in all Ad-Seg/RHU buildings, especially on this unit, and the inhumane/treatment and living conditions endured by all alleged STG prisoners. Because for almost forty (40) years, those of Us that are considered STG’s have been in these living conditions.

I have already written to the Eastern and Northern Districts, United States District Courts. And I have also written to the United States Department of Justice.

Me and my fellow prisoners are also going through the struggle here at Telford Unit 12 Bldg. We are being denied showers, which are supposed to be given daily. We’re also being fed inadequate/insufficient sack meals resulting in less than 2200 calories that we are at least to receive. This morning we were fed 2 pancakes with a small portion of peanut butter/jelly and prunes?? We were then fed a peanut butter/jelly sandwich along with a beef sandwich for lunch. This makes no sense! Because it actually costs more to make sack lunches and sack lunches are only supposed to be fed during lockdowns. The state of TX has farms and even a trade in agriculture to provide sufficient amounts of food, even has factories for processing food from animals of these farms. Not to mention the state budget and federal funding. There should be no reason we are being fed insufficient amounts of food.

I did my duty and filed a grievance on this issue to see it partially taken care of, but it’s a matter of time until we are fed wholesome foods, and hot meals in sanitary conditions continually. Another issue is the denial of recreation. During the pandemic they took the basketballs away, which made it to where we could only stand around and converse/congregate. Which isn’t much actively being involved. We are supposed to receive out of cell time (recreation) at least two hours a day. Meaning being involved in some activity. I requested from the warden to have the return of the basketballs only to have my request not adhered to. I will also be filing a grievance on this issue. The coronavirus is no longer an issue as we have seen people going out in public without masks, packing basketball parks, basketball arenas, and football stadiums. There are some of the issues I have been plagued with here at Telford. Furthermore, I have been retaliated against through the commissary violating due process. They have also denied phone calls which we received at least once a month during the pandemic, but are trying to arbitrarily take it away. These are some issues being worked on.

The Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice(TDCJ) is Lorie Davis, and she ordered TDCJ for all units to follow a list of sanitation [protocols]. You can email admin@tpride.org to get this list that’s been ordered, and the phone number to call to report failure to follow these policies is below.

I wrote Lorie Davis and reported TDCJ Telford Unit not following policies implemented by Director Davis, and they still haven’t been implemented. Assistant Warden Mr. Marshall called me out and threatened me, told me to stop writing, and to set down.

My Texas Pack which I hustled hard to get has now come up missing. I think my legal mail is thrown away. If you can please send me a Texas Pack, I can send a donation when I get out, for all the hard work you do and help any way I can.

I need you to call Lori Davis, and please leave my name out of it. I fear what could happen. Right now I’m on the worst effected unit with COVID-19. There’s been 4 inmate deaths, 80 sick and 31 officers have gotten it. And the administration refuses to give any disinfectant to segregation inmates.

By Lorie Davis, we are supposed to be getting Double D [disinfectant]. We’ve not gotten it once. Bleach is not being used or anything else in administrative segregation.

**1-844-476-1289 is the number to report this

Also contact the TDCJ’s Director of Administrative Risk and Review Management Marvin Dunbar at (936) 437-4839 **

The Johnnies (sack) meals we get have little to no food on them. Special medical-prescribed meals, meat frees, are not sent out but every once in a while. Also we are not getting beverages of any kind.

We need you to report these things on Telford. Thank you for your time.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This is one of many reports we’ve been getting regarding prison staff not following basic sanitation guidelines in prisons across the country. We just heard from a comrade who got eir parole delayed on a bogus rules violation write up in California for signing eir name on a group grievance that staff were not wearing masks. Not only are staff putting prisoners lives at risk by not following these procedures, but they are punishing people for bringing it to their attention!

I was in I Pod in a cell that ended up having an electrical problem, which is a Facility Maintenance issue and should have been fixed A.S.A.P. Whenever the floor officer would come around for count and the picket boss would turn on the cell lights, it was knocking my power out. And not only mine but 3 other's beside mine. There are two people to each cell and no power means no fan; and it doesn't take long to start overheating in a prison cell in the Texas heat!

When it first happened, me and my celly along with the occupants of one other cell refused to go back into the cell when they put everyone up at night. So 4 of us sacked the day-room. The officers and Sgt understood, and got our power back on after about 30 minutes. So we went back in. There was a note put in the picket to not flick cell lights on. But every day, whoever was in the cell during count was stuck with no power because they would turn cell lights on despite the note. Sometimes the power would be returned relatively fast, about 10 minutes. But more often than not, the COs would finish count, which meant the power would not return for another hour or two.

I have cardiovascular disease and am on a *heat restriction*: I cannot be housed on 3rd Row because of this. I seen nothing was being done about the power outages so I wrote an I-60 to the warden which got put in the mail early Friday morning. The following Monday I was moved out of the Faith Based Pod and to another Pod, which caused another issue because I was put on a top bunk which is a risk because of the fainting I sometimes experience due to my heart condition. I told Medical; they said my bottom bunk restriction expired. I explained to the nurse the heart condition and symptoms. The nurses can issue a 3 day pass plus a follow-up with DA. But instead she was negligent and said there was nothing she could do and gave me a sick call request. I turned that in a week ago and am still on the top bunk.

Since I've been in this new pod I found out they still haven't fixed the maintenance problem of the previous one. There was a 57 year old American Citizen from Pakistan there in the cell next to mine and his cell was also affected by the power outages. He was on psych meds and heat restriction. He had an anxiety attack when the power was knocked out and was locked up for threatening to kill the CO. In my eyes, this was really a provoked issue because the safety and health hazard arose from a failure to properly maintain the facility. This could have been, or still may be, fatal to someone.

It is very hot 24/7 in TX prisons in summertime. A few months ago, a 29 year old inmate at the Robinson Unit died of heat stroke. This seems to happen every year during summer. At what point is it considered homicide? Murder? To me that's exactly what it is.

I've been spending a lot of time in the Law Library. I plan to write grievances on these issues.

I hope this letter finds you all in the best of health & spirits. As for myself, I'm not doing too good! I am in a great deal of pain in my back and testicles due to nerve pain. I was seen on 7-31-19, I believe, and a non-formulary [drug] was requested but denied. I was told by the provider that if I didn't receive the pain medication in a few days to send an I-60 (Request to Officials) to be seen again. I did so on the fourth of August; I still have not been seen. I've also filed grievances and sick calls. It is the prison's policy as well as UTMB (contracted medical care), for inmates to be seen within 10 days of being evaluated by a sick call nurse. I've seen the sick call nurse 3 times already. I turned in my carpel tunnel splint because it was sabotaged when I forgot it on rec. yard. Medical still hasn't provided a replacement even though they have them in their supply stock.

I'm sending you this letter because I wanted to see if you can contact Health Services in Huntsville, Texas (936-437-3618) and report this for me. There should be at least one medical practice manager on this unit, but there isn't and as a result I'm being denied medical care. I'm also in need of the book Protect your Health & Safety or something like that; an inmate told me about it a while back, but since I'm indigent and halfway through my sentence I was hoping I wouldn't need it. I was mistaken.

They allowed my jailhouse lawyer's manual and Texas supplement issue to be stolen last year when I was raped and they lied to me saying it was in my property and I signed the property papers only to find out it was not in there. Can you please help me with the protect your health and safety book ro refer me to someone who may be able to help me?

I'm trying not to file on the law library because they handle my indigent mail, but they are denying me access to courts because I've asked them to send me an additional 30 sheets of paper so I can write out a motion for Tort claim and make a carbon copy for my records and they've refused to send it. Also they hold folders we send indigent correspondence and get supplies in for 3-4 days and as a result they are denying us access to mail letters 3 times a week and get supplies on our days to get supplies. I'm sending the warden a I-60. I've already wrote Huntsville, TX, TDCJ Headquarters, to try to resolve it without putting my name in the mix but I've about had enough.

Do you have any small claim Tort motions for Texas? If so I need them. The one I got I'm not sure if it's correct. I'm filing this Tort because on August 17th and early morning hours of the 18th, 2018 I was raped by my cell mate. Since the cell was "claimed a crime scene," I was not able to get my property. The assailant was left in the cell for who knows how long. My JHL manual and the Texas supplement issue were stolen along with a few other items. I am indigent and the pen-pal that bought them for me no longer writes me. I need these books to advocate for myself and others. I wish I some other books named in that censorship packet.

Ok you with me? I was pulled out like 2 months ago they said the DNA came back and my DNA was found on me but not on him or the sheets. When I went to the medical dept. after reporting it I told them I'd wiped myself because I had grease on me and feces and I threw it at the head of my bed but none of it was gathered nor my wash cloth or anything just sheets on my bed where the assault happened.

Now check this out on March 21st, 2017 I was sexually assaulted in Michael Unit. That DNA still has not come back. Now tell me how this can happen?

On the 9th of Feb a peaceful protest (sit in) was staged to protest early "rack up" because TDCJ was short staffed. The unit has been short staffed for awhile. So some prisoners protested, and TDCJ officers responded by "tear gasing" the whole pod. Thoses who were in their cells were gassed as well as the "sit in" group. They put the peaceful, non-violent protest group away in their cells.

The next few weeks some people received riot cases and some didn't. My cell mate was in the cell with me. He received a riot case. We thought that once they checked the cameras he would be shown not guilty. Well that was wrong. He got a case for rioting and we all got a case for rioting, because... well I don't know why. Just a report from Telford Unit.

I am seeking first the grievance petition for the state of Texas. Why? Well here in Texas it seems that every complaint on the unit goes to the Warden, at which time he will make sure that every one of them is denied. Even when you have proof of the events.

Here we have two main problems I would like to run by you to see if you can point in the right direction. One is that the mail room here holds mail for two working days, before it is mailed out. At times this will cause a delay in legal stuff going out. Or if you get mail on Monday and you mail out on Tuesday, it will not go out until Thursday. I have proof of this in writing and thru phone calls from my wife and daughter.

Next if we file on any of this we get a denial on the step one. When we file the step two it will sometimes get delayed so that the time has ran out. Next the officers who you wrote the step one on will be able to read it. And then come to work and do the following. Shake down your cell, trash your living space. This is all on video.

Also our mail will be left inside the staff bathroom for days at a time without being turned back in. At times it will get trashed, and when a complaint is made it is denied by the warden here. Even with proof that it is going on. We need some help here in more than one way. I have a step one where an officer lost my photos of family, then come to find out they where given to another offender. At which time it was on video and a statement was written. This was denied as well.

The other day I was attacked by this white boy guard, and he choked me until I passed out. They have it all on camera so I'm going to try to sue this fucked up place.

But the thing is I'm broke and I don't really have much experience on this or where to start. I really need a dictionary so my spelling will be alright. I was wondering you guys can help me? And if you have any other info that might be of use.