I am writing to update you on my current situation and the goings on
around the gulags. On 1/23/2013 Delta wing was hit unexpectedly with a
shakedown during which I was found in possession of a large shard of
glass. This is a level three offense so I was left in the dayroom for
several hours awaiting placement on L wing. Around 5:15pm John Ellis,
who the porkchops bow to as a sergeant, brought four of his cronies to
escort me to L wing. I have had words with Ellis in the past and he has
threatened to smash me.
When we get to L wing I was greeted to murmurs of disapproval and a
couple of porkchops who knew me shaking their heads and saying “there
goes the peace and conformity.” This brought a smile to my face and a
tear to my eye as it’s good to know I haven’t been forgotten. The
porkchop assigned to the position of turnkey was asked by Ellis what
cells were open, to which he responded quickly “121 is open”.
Immediately I realized it was a set up and mentally prepared for a
physical assault. It was not a physical assault but a mental assault.
121 is the hotbox, a small cage with plexiglass surrounding the outside
designed for mental torture and abuse. My placement in the hot box was
proof that the porkchops disregard their own rules and regulations as
possession of a weapon is not behavior that merits placement in the
hotbox. Ellis did this in an attempt to break my concentration and push
me into conformity. Ellis said “121 sounds good” and the rest of the
porkchops conformed to his intentional breaking of TDCJ policy.
When the cell door was closed Ellis told me to “have fun in the shit
water.” Two nights earlier an HIV positive prisoner flooded the cell
with water mixed with his blood, urine, and feces. To be honest I
noticed water, but floods are typical on L wing. That night my request
for cleaning materials was ignored. The porkchop working the wing was
Casey Ellis and he refused to bring me my property and I was forced to
sleep in boxers on a metal bunk with no type of clothing or covering,
and the temperature dropped to around 30 degrees.
I woke up and started making noise by kicking on the door. When I was
finally successful in getting the attention of a porkchop he threatened
to spray gas on me. When he realized I was calling his bluff he asked me
what I wanted and I told him I needed my property. He then told me he
was under orders by John Ellis to not give me anything, but because it
was their Friday he would personally inventory my stuff and get it to me
before he left which he did. The next night I asked everyone who walked
by for cleaning supplies but no one would give them to me. That morning
I finally got someone to listen to my demand to be moved out of 121, and
I was put in a regular cell.
After describing the specific abuse brought down on me, I’d like to
bring attention to the contradictions within the Ad-Seg policy (AD) -
03.50 as authorized by Rick Thaler CID Director.
Section IV 2. states “Indoor recreational areas shall be equipped with a
minimum of one exercise mat, one chinning bar, a game table, a toilet,
and a drinking fountain.” I have been on the Coffield Unit over three
years and have not seen an exercise mat ever. There is a urinal but no
toilet, therefore defecation is a process of torture because a prisoner
who may need to defecate cannot and is forced to hold it for an hour or
until the prisoner gets the attention of the wing chop and then the chop
may refuse to let him out. Further, several of the Ad-Seg wings
including Delta and L wing have either non working urinals and/or a
non-working sink. It is also per policy that the outside recreation
yards are furnished with basketballs, which they are not, as the
porkchops are known to stand in the hallway and continuously dribble the
balls.
This now brings me to Section IV F “wholesome meals.” The policy states
“administrative segregation offenders shall have access to nutritional
meals in accordance with the food service policy. Safety precautions
shall be followed in serving meals pursuant to PO-07.006 administrative
segregation officer.” There’s no such thing as a nutritional meal on
Coffield, the supposed diet for a healthy meal is usually an undercooked
hamburger or pork patty and a small serving of undercooked vegetables.
The regular trays are no better because the kitchen workers steal our
food, bag it up and sell it back to us and the SS help them get over on
us. Now I don’t knock the hustle, but steal from porkchops not the
prisoners. I’m doing a lot of research through TDCJ policies for more
potential grievances to which I’ll keep you informed on the outcome.
MIM(Prisons) adds: This comrade does a good job of exposing the
abuse at the hands of Coffield Unit pigs. And we need to document their
violations of their own policies, and use those policies to try to gain
some livable conditions for our comrades. The grievance system is one
battle we can sometimes use to win these victories. Though as is
documented by our Texas fight to get
[url-https://www.prisoncensorship.info/campaigns/TX/16]
our grievances recognized, all too often the prison ignores legitimate
grievances. Under Lock & Key is a good tool for exposure of
this type of information, but our work doesn’t stop there, we must
educate everyone around us about the need to fight back, and the ties
between the oppression in prison and the criminal injustice system as a
whole, and the underlying system of imperialism. This is our day-to-day
job as anti-imperialists.