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[Abuse] [Racism] [Clinton Correctional Facility] [New York] [ULK Issue 7]
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Victim in Clinton Brutality Needs Legal Help

Dear MIM,

I was the person in your article in ULK # 5 page 9. I was beaten for no other reason than the color of my skin! The pigs tried to pay me off with a television, in order to keep quiet. I’ve filed a grievance with the facility, but they all work with each other. I wrote to the Inspector General of New York, no help. I need a civil rights attorney to represent me, most attorneys in this area are friends of the officers responsible for my injuries: black eye, lost tooth, fractured rib cage, back cuts and welts.

MIM(Prisons) adds: Unfortunately there are not enough lawyers out there willing to take on cases like this. We are adding this to the campaigns page of our website because we are getting a lot of interest in this incident. But this is not unusual. Anyone who can offer assistance can contact this comrade through MIM(Prisons) by mail or email.

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[Abuse] [Alvin S Glenn Detention Center] [South Carolina]
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Rights violations in South Carolina

Too many constitutional rights are being violated against detainees of Alvin S Glenn Detention Center in Columbia South Carolina. On September 4, 2008 there was a snake found in one of the prisoner’s breakfast trays. Being fully aware of the snake, the officers decided to serve the remaining food. Their poor excuse of a grievance response said there’s no evidence that it was cooked in the food.

Another issue is that this facility is entirely infested with mice. On occasions I’ve killed a few in my cell. We’re also having problems with the soap that’s entitled to every prisoner. On December 15 the morning officer informed us that the soap would not be provided to those who ordered it.

Last but not least is abuse of authority. On one occasion I was placed on restriction for something I did not do. There was no proper investigation and they didn’t give me a hearing until 3 days later. The hearing just involves one Lt showing up asking what happened - they didn’t even give me a chance to defend myself. During the 3 day wait I kept asking to speak with the Lt, but he kept saying I should wait until he feels like coming to talk to me. I miss out on my visits, phone communication with my family and canteen.

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[Abuse] [Pennsylvania] [ULK Issue 6]
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Brutality in Pennsylvania

I was recently sent to the suicide observation cell due to a renegade C.O. I’ve always had problems with telling lies about me being suicidal. After 2 days of telling the proper people I wasn’t suicidal, they called for a “cell entry team” to remove me from my cell by saying that I was still a danger to myself as well as others. The “cell entry team” was getting ready to enter my cell without cuffing me first (which is against policy) and I just so happened to look at the officer holding the camera and he mumbles the words “they are gonna fuck you up!.” Later I found out that that wasn’t a warning at all, that was for me to have knowledge before hand that I was about to have my brains beat in. Upon hearing that message I thought was a warning, I went to the door and looked into the camera and stated, “I am not refusing to come out, I am also willing to comply with being cuffed and moved to another cell without any problems.” Once that was done that messed their whole game plan up to try to assault me.

Once I got cuffed I was ordered to get on my knees, to which I complied. Then once the door was buzzed open I was kicked in my back so hard I went face first towards the marble floor. Once they completely entered my cell I had one officer who made his way over top of my head and repeatedly used his knee to assault the back of my head. Once all that was over, instead of putting me in another cell as I was told, they put me in 5 point restraint chair for an unbelievably painful 8 hours. The straps across my upper body were the worst, they were pulled so tight I passed out after about 2 hours and when I woke up my whole eight hours was finished. I had to get medical attention due to cuts and bruises from the straps.

I filed a grievance on it and now I’m waiting for the first response. We all know that even though I have this whole incident on video it’s still gonna get shot down by the DOC to try to discourage me from going all the way with it. I’m filing a lawsuit and I will not settle until justice is met.

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[Abuse] [California] [ULK Issue 5]
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A political voice from a youth facility

Here in the Youth Correctional Facilities (YCFs) of California the wards are put into training camps to further their commitment to a life long criminal pursuit. The “youth councilor” (a.k.a. the imperialist swine puppet) make sure to not only further the cause of these criminal acts, but they play other methods of corruption throughout the units where they’re all given power over their assigned group of prisoners. All under one higher echelon of imperialist corruption, called administration control.

These YCC (Youth Correctional Councilor) and YCO (Youth Correctional Officer) are given power over the wards who are incarcerated in these housing units. The job of the YCC is to study their assigned wards and learn their past history and behavior, then act like they have solutions to prevent any further violence or acts of criminality that these wards might do. At the same time they (YCCs and YCOs) use their power to manipulate the ward’s behavior by falsely accusing the wards of doing or saying things that reflect off their past when they have not done anything at all. This of course frustrates these prisoners to the point that they attack the pigs, throw bodily fluids at these pigs, or they simply tongue lash, i.e. verbally threaten these pigs.

Just two months ago a ward here was placed on Specialized Modified Program (SMP) lockup for these same treatments. One day when he asked a YCC if he could shave, the YCCs all ignored his request. Then when he asked again the YCC he initially asked told him to “shut the fuck up or I’ll put you on suicide watch.” The ward then began to get frustrated and loud, which gave the YCC the incentive to go through with his threats. That same YCC said this ward had made threats to kill himself, so the YCOs used chemical agent spray to detain him, then they took him to the suicide unit. I was a witness to the whole incident – he didn’t say any of the things they claim he said.

There have been many more incidents where these pigs have lied and then tried to cover their mistakes with more lies. I mean why else would the higher ups put cameras in every unit, down every hall in this facility. Up north too, in Chad. The sick thing is that to some of these pigs this sort of treatment towards us is fun for them.

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[Abuse] [Billy Moore Correctional Center] [Texas] [ULK Issue 6]
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Corruption in Texas prisons

Here I sit in the infamous Texas injustice system. Examples of the conditions here at the Bill Moore Unit include watered down food, cornstarch added to thicken our food, and constantly being given less food than we’re supposed to receive according to the menu. When I complain through the official grievance process, the Unit Grievance officer has the exact same answer no matter what the grievance is about “…it has been investigated and no wrong doing has been found. No further action is necessary.”

At night we have a female ranking officer who, during the winter time, thinks it’s funny to turn the air conditioning on while wearing her winter coat buttoned up and saying how warm it is, while the prisoners are forced to shiver with blankets that are too short. The winter coats we’re given are nothing more than long sleeve shirts.

My unit is under contract to be operated by the Correctional Corporation of America, by the Texas Dept of Criminal Justice. This way when the public are given the numbers of prisoners in the Texas prison system, the state can lie and mention only those in the state run prisons and leave out the numbers in the private prisons.

One day soon I hope we will obtain victory and the corrupt corporate and state employees who misuse prisoners and steal from not only us but also the general public will be placed into the prison system where they so deserve to be.

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[Abuse] [Clinton Correctional Facility] [New York] [ULK Issue 6]
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Murder and brutality by white supremacist COs in NY

On September 12 at Clinton Correctional Facility I was a victim of Prison Official’s assault. They came to my cell searching it, and while one CO kept asking me what’s in my cell, as soon as I spoke up another CO kept slapping me in the face roughly for 20 minutes. I told the prison official to keep his hands to himself so COs took me to an isolation area for the beating of Blacks and Latinos where I was roughly beaten for 30 minutes. I was repeatedly assaulted with CO’s intentions to break something (an arm or leg), kick my teeth out, and they shouted racial slurs during these attacks. E block is a Special Housing Unit with no camera to record these attacks.

In a surprising move, Sgt. Randell transported me to the new hospital mental health unit where Sgt. Randell hit me in the face with his stick over my left eye causing a painful injury to my left eye, a bleeding cut on the side and a black eye.

Prison officials have begun to engage more frequently in a monstrous form of prison homicide, a strategy to instill terror in the hearts and minds of Black prisoners. This is Clinton County NY, a white district. We don’t have Black nurses or Black CO employees to lessen the racial tensions here at Clinton Corr Facility. In spite of the brutality, there is no special prosecutor and consequently no conviction of any criminal charge in recent homicide at Clinton Correctional Facility.

Commissioner Brian Fischer talks about NY gang-related violence in correctional facilities, but he is the gang leader of New York. The white supremacy CO mobs with a routine of beatings and murders that Inspector General in New York State Commission of Corrections fails to prosecute. The term homicide means the murder of one human being by another. A big percentage of COs mistreat Black prisoners, and there is no penalty. There is no regard for the life of the Black and Latino prisoners who have been beaten to death.

Prison official’s white supremacy still rules in every sphere, they kill five or six of us every year sending the message, ‘you best behave well or die.’ This philosophy of intimidation and murders lets prison officials legitimize their mob attacks under the name of “back up”. Prison official backup is often no different than the lynch mobs 100 years ago: Brutal murder of Black and Latino prisoners are twisted around and called justifiable homicide.

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[Organizing] [Abuse] [Arizona] [ULK Issue 5]
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Assassins with Badges

Another unarmed person was murdered in cold blood this month of September 2008 in Tucson Arizona by a police officer who believes he has a license to kill anyone in this county that he pleases just because he wears a badge. Police that murder unarmed people in this country are assassins with badges. These public servants who are hired to protect and serve the people of this great country, and are paid by the tax payers, have imposed themselves as judge, jury and executioners. And when they are taken to court and charged with murder they are acquitted by ignorant jurors who have been brainwashed by the ever constant cop shows on TV run by Hollywood on a daily basis. Society in general in this country has been misled to believe these cop shows that the police always tell the truth and that if they murder someone that they had “just cause” to kill.

I can go on and on about the countless murders that the police in this country have gotten away with in the past decade alone. But that would just be like beating a dead horse and expounding on the problem instead of the solution.

What is the solution? Marching like the honorable Martin Luther King Jr did back in the dayz? That worked back then, it won’t work today.

How about blowing cops up like the Black Liberation Army did back in the 70s? No. Violence breeds violence. Besides it didn’t work back then and it won’t work now.

So what is the answer then? Sacrifice, revolution and the propensity for action. It worked in the Attica prison revolt in 1971 (though the system has slowly taken back all the rights given to prisoners since then). Prisoners lost their lives to make that happen. Sacrifice has worked in many instances throughout history.

You know we write to MIM. We talk that talk. Blah, blah, blah. Then we get released and we do nothing to help the oppressed peoples and we get caught up in selfish crimes against ourselves and our own people. It’s time to step up. Are u down?

“A man who does not have a cause worth dying for isn’t fit to live” - Martin Luther King Jr.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We agree with this comrade that now is not the time for violence in Amerika, but not because “violence breeds violence” rather because violence by the oppressed from a position of weakness, and without strategic planning and support of the masses, leads to the destruction of a movement and the oppressed within it. We call this sort of violence focoism and history demonstrates its failure. We would also argue that King’s strategy of non-violence did not work in his day - he argued that pacifism and working within the system was the only possible solution, and that too has been proven a failure through history. We know that the imperialists will not give up without a fight, and that they will defend what they control with violence. Where we do agree is with the need for sacrifice and organizing both behind the bars and on the streets. We need to be clear that we are fighting for an end to the imperialist system, but in this country today this is a non-violent phase of the struggle.

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[Abuse] [Mule Creek State Prison] [California]
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Assault for refusing to double cell

I was placed in ad-seg again on July 5th, 2008. The corrupt Mule Creek State Prison CCPOA mafia prison guards dispatched six of their inmate rat pack cronies to assault me in my cell because I refuse to give up my single cell status and take a second prisoner in the cell. The six inmate rats beat me unconscious, both my right and left eyes were swollen shut for over 30 days. They tried to throw me off the tier. I sustained neck, ribs, liver and kidney damage. I was med-i-vac transported to Sutter Amador hospital. The CDCR guards kept punching me in the chest at the hospital, calling me names. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. I woke up and five days later MCSP CDCR is charging me with assault on a CDCR-CCPOA-Mafia peace officer.

So now I’m caged in ad-seg, held on a D.A. referral on a felony charge of assault on a peace officer. And I still refuse to double cell. The struggle continues.

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[Abuse] [Gender] [Montana] [ULK Issue 6]
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Psycho-Sexual Warfare Article Speaks to Others

I have been receiving your newsletter for a couple of years now and have thought to write on many occasions. But reading the article “Psycho-Sexual Warfare vs Political Prisoners” by a New York Prisoner has finally compelled me to do so. My own personal experiences within Montana’s prison system share some common ground and I thought I would take the time to offer a comparison.

Unlike most of your contributors, I am not only a political prisoner within the prison system itself, I am a political prisoner for opposing the corrupt authorities on the outside, as well. I did not commit a crime to be arrested, I sued the City of Kalispell, Montana, and was charged with a false crime and arrested, followed by a kangaroo court trial and conviction, to stop my suit against those authorities.

Upon entering the prison system I committed myself to fighting the system from the inside. I have used my legal knowledge to file hundreds of legal documents for other prisoners (in spite of unlawful rules and regulations prohibiting prisoners from assisting each other with legal matters) and filed several claims in the courts on my own, including an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) suit and a class action suit for numerous civil liberty violations.

As a vocally outspoken opponent of the prison industrial complex as a whole, and the Montana State prison system specifically, I have made myself quite the target for retaliations from the prison administration. Though I have not had the sexual element foisted upon me as my New York counterpart reports, I have had the rest done to me. I am a low custody prisoners presently confined in a high security lock-down facility, for instance. This has been done in spite of the authorities’ foreknowledge that I am claustrophobic, in spite of the fact that I am housed with predatorily violent prisoners, many of whom are staff bulldogs (prisoners who work for the cops, basically acting as strong-arms against anyone in disfavor with those same cops). I have been not only placed in “ambiguous and pressure-filled situation(s)” but I have been beaten by an inmate who did so I believe at staff instruction.

I have had privileges stripped from me, and even property stolen from me, by staff members whose only intent is to harass and provoke me. Yes, I have been on the receiving end of efforts designed to “dehumanize” me and to make me “subservient.” And I have only been subjected to all of this extra hardship because I will not break and I continue to fight the system. The New York prisoner is absolutely right in this regard - prison officials isolate those with the greatest potential and subject them to abuses designed to strip us of our focus and will.

I wanted him and everyone else suffering similar hardship to know that you are not alone. Others fight the war with you. Each time prison officials fail to break you, it’s a victory. Remember that and stand strong.

I wish my brothers and sisters in solidarity strength and goodwill.

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[Abuse] [California]
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Limiting toilet flushing in California

Just recently CDCR replaced all state owned prison institutions with new flushing mechanisms for the toilets, The flush-o-meters. This is supposed to save money on water waste, leaving the prison money, in other words. First off the flush-o-meter varies from prison to prison. But basically you get 2 flushes within a 15 minutes time zone. If you flush a 3rd time the toilet locks for 15 minutes. If you check within 15 minutes that the toilet is locked, the timer resets. So you could have your toilet lock for a long time (I myself had it lock for over 90 minutes).

The thing is, if you live with a cellmate you need to flush your waste down because of the smell. It’s the only logical thing to do. No one flushes that many times.

This is supposed to be a big money saver. First the CDCR pays pennies for work (prisoner’s work) so it’s a joke. It’s basically slave labor. A form of slavery in the worst kind. Because people want to get out of their cells they do anything, It’s like building your own cage. So right off the bat the CDCR saved for the installation of the flush-o-meter. Where did all the extra money go that they saved? Who knows.

Second off, the water waste is lessened supposedly. So the water bill for all state prisons are less. Where does that money go? My assumption is that it does not go back to help rehabilitation of prisoners. This machines is broken down, it needs reform and change. One thing for sure, whatever budget the CDCR wants, it gets.

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