Abuse of all kinds in FDC

[Pam]

HEY WANDA,
WENT AND CHECKED THE PO BOX TODAY AND GOT MORE LETTERS FROM FSP.. I WILL TYPE THE PARTS OF THE LETTER THAT HE WROTE THAT PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT, IT IS A VERY LONG LETTER. I WISH WE CAN FIND SOME PEN PALS FOR THESE INMATES, I FEEL SORRY FOR THE ONES THAT HAS NOBODY..

DEAR STINGETT,
I WANT TO THANK YOU , KAYLEE AND THE WHOLE ORGANAZATION FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING ON BEHALF OF THE INMATES INCLUDING MYSELF. I PERSONALLY CAN'T EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE ENOUGH TO YOU AND THE ORGANZATION. I MUST SAY YOUR LETTER CAME TO A SUPRISE TO ME BUT AFTER I READ IT I SAID THANK YOU JESUS! STINGETT IN HERE THEY CONSTANTLY TRY TO INSTILL IN OUR MINDS THAT PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF AND SOCIETY DON'T CARE HOW WE ARE TREATED INSIDE THESE WALLS BUT I ALWAYS KNEW BETTER AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY BECAUSE YOUR LETER REINFORCED WHAT I ALWAYS BELIEVED THANK YOU SO MUCH.
STINGETT HERE AT F.S.P. I MUST SAY EVER SINCE THEY BEAT AND KILLED VALDES THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ASSAULTING INMATES PHYSICALLY THEY THREATING YOU BUT THE MOST THEY WILL DO TO A INMATE HERE IS SPRAY YOU WITH CHEMICAL AGENT AND WRITE YOU UP BUT AS FAR AS JUMPING ON YOU THEY ARE NOT DOING THAT SO SINCE THEY CAN'T JUMP ON YOU THEY WILL FALSFIY DOCUMENTS AGAINST AND HARRASE YOU TO THE POINT YOU WISH THEY WOULD JUMP ON YOU AND KILL YOU. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU THE BIGGEST PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THERE ALLOWING SECURITY TO RUN AND MAKE DECISION FOR INMATES IN THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES THEY HAVE HERE WHAT IM ABOUT TO TELL YOU IS WHAT IV'E SEEN AND EXPERIENCED DEALING WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH. IM GOING TO START BY HOW THEY DO INMATES LIKE MYSELF, AND OTHERS WHO HAVE ATTEMPTED SUCIDES THEY JUST HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. WHAT THEY DO IS PUT YOU ON CONFINMENT WING WHERE SECURITY WATCH YOU INSTEAD OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL. THEY PUT YOU IN THIS CELL THE DOCTOR WILL ORDER SECURITY TO GIVE YOU A MAT! TRESS, BLANKET, SOMETHING TO COVER YOUR PRIVATE PARTS OKAY SOON AS THE DOCTOR LEAVE OFF THE WING SECURITY MAKES YOU THROW THE MATTRESS OUT GIVE THEM THE BLANKET BACK AND ALL. SO NOW YOU ARE MADE TO SLEEP IN THE HARD CONCRETE FLOOR THEY KICK ON YOUR DOOR GIVE YOU A HALF PLATE OF FOOD ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU GET THE DOCTOR TO PUT YOU BACK ON THE REGULAR WING WITH INMATE. IF YOU SO NOT TELL THE DOCTOR THAT YOU ALRIGHT THIS IS THE HARRASEMENT SECURITY GIVE YOU UNTIL YOU DO. YOU CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE MISTREATMENT TO MENTAL HEALTH DOCTOR OR YOUR CONSELOR BUT ALL THEY SAY TO YOU IS THAT ITS PART OF BEING IN PRISON SO DEAL WITH IT. BUT WHEN IMPORTANT PEOPLE COME FROM THE OUTSIDE TO LOOK AROUND SECURITY RUSH AND GIVE YOU A MATTRESS, BLANKET AND ALL BACK. AND TELL YOU IF THEY QUESTION YOU WE ARE TO TELL THEM EVERYTHING IS OKAY IF NOT WE WILL FIND OUR TIME EVEN HARDER. THE DOCTOR HERE DR. LAW FALSIFY DOCUMENTS FOR SECURITY TO JUSTIFY THE OFFICERS MISTREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS SO I! F YOU NOTIFY SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE ABOUT MISTREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH INMATES THE PAPER WORK WILL BE IN ORDER AND THE INMATE WILL BE MADE TO LOOK LIKE A LIE, THERS SO MUCH MORE I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE BUT IM SCARED TO. I'VE HAD AN OFFICER GIVE ME THINGS TO HURT MYSELF WITH. ONE OFFICER NAMED SGT C.K. DAVIS GAVE ME 40 100MG DALATIN PILLS TO TAKE WHILE I WAS IN SUCIDE CELL ON SECURITY WING, AND I TOOK ALL 40 PILLS JUST TO TRY AND DIE TO GET ME AWAY FROM ALL THE HARRASEMENT THEY DISS OUT TO INMATES HOUSED IN SUCIDE CELLS ON B-WING OF F.S.P. IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE SAME. ANOTHER THING NO MEDICAL NURSE COMES TO CHECK ON INMATES HOUSED ON B-WING SUCIDE CELLS THE CELLS ARE NOT BEING USED TO HELP YOU BUT AS A PUNISHMENT FOR WANTING OR TRYING TO HARM YOURSELF.

[38special]

Ms. Pam:
I am responding for the sake of truth and offering you piece of my mind. Your decision of whom tells the truth is totally within your thoughts. I worked "P-ward" (psy. ward) many days and with hundreds of officers during my tenure at Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Alabama. The officers were, as a majority, the utmost caring, very cautious, and knowledgeable professionals of all Correctional staff. Reinforcing my statement by telling you that no prison doctor has jurisdiction or influence over security personnel. Security runs the facility, supervises the other staff such as prison psychiatrist, physicians, nurses, and counselor staff. Security is responsible for the safety of all people inside the facility especially the inmates. Inmates provide the maintenance of all facilities with their assigned laboring job assignments. We had several very capable and intelligent inmates in our "P-ward" that assisted the officers with cleaning inmates cells that could not or would not clean their cells. Suicide inmates were always housed within this area for observation and safety reasons. Working inmates returned to their housing quarters, in general population, every day. These inmates had constant access to institutional telephones that were not monitored or sensored. These inmates could call anyone they chose should they think an "gross mistreatment" had or was occuring.
Federal Marshall have United States jurisdiction with "Presidental Authorization" of entering any facility within the U.S. and its territories without notice or preplanned announcement. Federal Marshalls thrived on busting wrong doings within state facilities. They would appear like lightening in a thunder storm without anyone expecting their arrival. Now, let us suppose the above described "Wrong doing" had or was occuring. The F.M. would catch it and prosecute all involved including the officers on duty. Prison guards are notoriously cautious and self-protecting. No prison guard would ever jepordize his/her freedom and finances for the system or for mere satisfaction. Every facility has officers that inmates call "Hard-asses". Every hard-ass has his/her day in the "P-ward", but not alone. These officers have other officers of the opposite spectrum always present. No officer would allow another officer opportunity for intentionally mistreating an inmate during their shift. Why? Because when the F.M. appear, they investigate several days of shift documentation, interview most every inmate capable of making sound statements, and interview ALL staff members whom have came in contact with the psy inmates. These conversations are audio taped, video taped, and recorded in writing. Noone is present during the other persons interview. All staff's stories must match without a significant variation. All staff found committing perjury are prosecuted. Therefore, back to my previous statement, "No officer would allow their freedom and finances jepordized for the system or for mere satisfaction." Think about it, would you cover for a person that is constantly causing a problem, incident, or conflict; I doubt it.
We have officers and staff that smuggle drugs such as "Dilantin" into the facility on a regular basis for financial gain. The ploy is very lucrative for a short period until some informant gets parole behind the delivery of prosecutable evidence. "Dilantin" is a very powerful and expensive narcotic especially in prison. One pill reaps approximately $50.00 in prison for the person smuggling. The pill is broken into usually three to four shots and sold by the prisoner to addicts for about $30.00 to $70.00/ shot. Do the math, would you donate a person $2000.00 for a person to commit suicide on you? I really do not believe you would especially after you took a chance with your freedom by smuggling in "40 pills". If I were stupid enough that I smuggled "40 pills" into a facility, I would also bring syringes and needles. I would crush the pills, prepare them for injection, and sell them separately on a Friday night for an enormous profit. [You would need the revenue for the forthcoming attorney fees.] Also, one "Pill" of Dilantin crushed, prepared properly, and injected into a person would be enough for the "Death shot" described by your inmate.
Inmates placed in psy. wards are usually psychotic, temporarily suicidal, or other mental health states. The real psychiatrical person has "ideas of grandeur" meaning their normal thought patterns are: "Someone is trying to kill them. Every possession is enormous in amount ("I have twelve cars for going to the store. He gave me forty pills for aiding my suicide attempt.", etc.) Ability of holding normal and intelligent conversations, but have brief losses of reality. Have suicide thoughts with the method vocalized. Hear voices that tell them things such as," He want you to kill yourself and hurry before he does it for you.", etc. The list is long and described in detail in most psychology textbooks. These inmates are unpredictable, considered dangerous to others and theirselves, very emotional, and need extreme precautionary measures. The utmost skilled officers are assigned within these units. These units are monitored by cameras whom the Warden has installed video tape recorders which are placed in his personal locked room. The Warden can view officer and inmate behaviors anytime he/she chooses. No misbehavior of staff is conducted unnoticed.
Closing, a suicidal inmate will take a belt, shoe string, string from the mattress, sheet, blanket, underwear, undershirt, or any other item of strength for use in a suicide act. I have found successful inmates hanging from their heat vent suspended by the wires inside their cell lights. I have found them sitting on the floor with a sheet wrapped around their neck dead, but could have removed the sheet at anytime during the "dying phase". I have found them drown inside their toilet basin with only their head submerged while kneeling in front of the toilet. I have found them standing inside the toilet basin of water totally naked electrocuted while holding their cell light wires. I saved a young man once that hid his attempt for a long period of time by slicing his wrist not across, but up the arms, tucking the arms against his body, and bled until the blood pooled so much that it ran off the bed and into the cell floor. I have seen inmates attempt suicide by tearing strips of their plastic matress cover, tying it their neck and the cell's air vent, and jumping off their toilet, but usually this tactic fails. When a person really wants suicide as their choice of death, they are usually successful and creative, but timed (in prison) just after the officer's tour through the cellblock which is normally every fifteen minutes. Therefore, matresses, clothes, and all items of issue are taken as a last resort during a "stripped cell" suicide precaution, but ONLY UNTIL he/she becomes "Normal acting" again.
Please think about this letter also before publishing inflamatory letters on the internet for all "lay persons" that have their "Loved ones" in prisons across America. Not all inmate letters are telling the true picture inside the fences of our prison facilities. "Your letter could scare the hell out of a mother, wife, or truly concerned love one that reads and believes it", but has no real way of actually knowing the truth. This type scare could cause them serious medical conditions such as heart attacks from the fear brought forth from learning that their "Loved one" is on "Suicide watch precautions." These type letters and phone calls are the exact material that causes tremendous grief, total misunderstandings, and major documentation within a prison confinement. Officers spend about 1/3 of an eight hour shift documenting their duties and actions for prevention of frivolous lawsuits that transpire from serious allegations of this nature. PLEASE CONSIDER THESE THOUGHTS FOR I TELL IT LIKE IT IS, WAS, AND WILL BE INSIDE THE PRISON CONFINEMENTS. I hold nothing back and deliver the truth as I witnessed for many years.
"Madder Than Hell"
38 Special...............

[KConnor56]

Pam,

Here is my two cents. Some comes from personal experiance, & some from what I heard.

I have ran into a few guards (the exception not the rule) that take pleasure in telling prisoners they are a POS, & that no one on the outside gives a crap about what happened to us.

We use to say the worst weapon a guard had was his pen, because with his pen he could put you on suicide watch, the hole, etc. & guards do falsify documents, lie on reports, etc. I know what he means cause I too would rather take an ass kicking than do months in the hole.

I was put into a rubber room on a suicide watch by a guard that wrote me up as a danger to myself/others, after he felt that I made a veiled threat to him &/or other prisoners, which I did do. At least towards him that is. They slapped me around as they gaffled me up & took me to mental health where they stripped me completely, & roughly, threw (litterally) me into the rubber room, naked with nothing, no mattress, clothes, not even toilet paper. There was a hole in the floor about the diameter of a 1 pound coffee can, to urinate & defecate in. Without toilet paper I held everything in as long as I could. They fed us small amounts of food on paper plates with no utencils, so you had to eat with your fingers which is fun when you get pancakes soaked in syrup.
The light was left on 24/7 & a camera filmed everything you did. They would check on you every hour by opening a portal & slamming it shut, so you got no sleep. It also was freezing cold. Most of what I saw & heard of mental health was more neglect than mistreatment, although neglect is mistreatment but you know what I mean, LOL.

I do however agree with 38 special on the Dilantin thing. 40 pills would definatly be missed from a narcotics cabinet. If they were smuggled in they would probably hit a yard before they would give them to someone to kill himself with. There would be a big investigation as to how someone in isolation was able to get enough Dilantin to OD on. It would definately draw a lot of heat on the officer. Plus if he took 40 Dilantin he would be dead.

The writer is right about the CO's cleaning up the place for inspections. I've seen it happen many times & not in just mental health. I was at Corcoran when the feds were investigating the CO's for setting up gladiator fights between prisoners, & there was a show put on for them, & they tried intimidating prisoners regarding anything we told the investigators, but that didn't work for the most part.

One thing I've noticed in all the time I've done is prisons are all different in how they are ran. In fact different shifts ran the cell blocks differantly. We knew what we could get away with depending on who was working a specific shift.

There are guards who are like as this guy describes, but in my experiance, they are the exception, & abuse is more of an individual situation than an institutional policy.

As for feds coming into Calif. prisons they do have the authority, but the only time I saw it was in response to specific situations, & the staff always knew they were coming, professional courtesy i guess. They have made arrest & had some sucessful prosecutions, but these have been for extream civil rights violations, or where officers killing an inmate under questionable circumstances. Feds in other parts of the country may be more gung ho to get guards, but not here in Calif.

Just thought I'd give my two cents for what it's worth.-----Ken

[~cheenna~]

Sorry Special, I too, must take exception to what you have written here. I live about 30 +/- miles from 5 units of TDC, in Tennessee Colony. So what takes place hits the local media as well as the more outrageous news around the state. Many of the people around here are employed in the prisons there in one fashion or another. Over the years I had let most of what I heard go in one ear and out the other for I never in a million years would have thought I would ever deal with any of it in a personal manner. Boy, was I wrong. And you are right in saying that hearing these stories when you have a loved one behind bars is inflaming. Every horror story I have ever heard came flooding back to me when my Son was sentenced. Just last evening I had a phone conversation with someone who is now a guard but they started out as a CNA, who was relateing to me the abuses that regularly occur with psyc drugs being used simply for control. So, truth is truth and facts are facts. There have been CO's fired for as little as bringing in cigarettes and of course for bigger gain. So your argument of one not risking his pay check for so little personal gain doesn't hold. Just look what is going on in Inglewood, CA right now. That cop may very well, and deservedly so, end up in prison himself and there was "no gain" except the satisfaction that a bully derives from such action.
Are all prisons bad? No! Are all "Bosses" "dirty"? No, and thank God this is so. But just as cops have their "blue code" Co's have their code. I know this to be true as I have heard it from the horses mouth. And even if I had not, it is just plain ol' human nature. There are always the bad apples and just as birds of a feather, the dirty bosses will flock and migrate together. A CO will always be believed over an inmate just as in "you're in prison now, get used to it". You mentioned paper work, let me ask you, what is more time consuming, an uneventful report for your shift or writing up and documenting an incident?
As to the "dilantin"... my first thought when I read that was "how is it you are still alive to write this letter". Take all of them at one time and live to talk about it, no way and he didn't mention anything about his stomach being pumped! So that part is obviously, a lie, pure and simple. Which would lead anyone to think twice about what else he wrote.
We all KNOW for a fact, there are innocent people in prison because of injustices in the law. Are you going to sit there and expect us to believe that these same injustices do not occur behind the walls. I think not. And the ONLY way that SOME of these injustices will ever be brought to light is for the few brave souls who are willing, at times, to put their life on the line by speaking out over and over. And for those words to be heard on the outside by those willing to try and do something about it. AND, the only way those words will be heard by those who will attempt to make a difference is by posting them in a public forum such as this. Now I agree, there are many who will write infaming letters for what ever reason that are completely untrue. The psyc. cases such as you listed, simple anger at a particular CO, to someone maybe feeling sorry for himself because no one cares about him. These varibles are why it takes so long in most cases for change to be made. There will be no action untill many complaints are made about the same person/place.
As to the investigations of outside sources... I'll speak of what I know. One of my daughters was/is a Med aid who worked in several different nursing homes in each of 4 states. She would tell, as laughing, of the annual "surprise" state inspections that they always had a week(s) notice of. I seriously doubt this "curtesy" notice is only given to nursing homes that are notorious as a whole of abuse.
You and I have talked often Special, so I feel I know you to be not only erudite but a man of utmost compassion. You state you speak of what you have witnessed, is there no room for what occurs behind closed doors?

respectfully and with

[Pam]

I was only posting something that had been sent to me. As a person that does not believe everything that I read I do know that a lot has gone on in Florida's system. That is why Frank Valdez is DEAD. This is a man who was locked in a cell alone. He DID NOT beat himself to death, so if the guards didnt do it then they had to have unlocked his cell and allowed someone to go in and do it.

38, I to had dealings with Kilby. Did you work in the old one or the new one? I know that all prisons are not bad and that there is good officers in all of them. I have met quite a few of the good ones here in AL

[KConnor56]

Pam,

It is a good post, as you can see it got a varied response, LOL. We had a guy here who according to the police shot himself in the head twice, with either wound being a fatal wound. So who knows, we all know how tricky these prisoners are. -----------Ken

[Pam]

THANKS K FOR YOUR POSTS. I DID NOT REPLY INDIVIDUALLY LAST NIGHT WHEN I GOT IN AS IT WAS LATE AND I WAS A BIT TIRED. I HAD BEEN TO OUR CAPITOL FOR A RALLY IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT THE STATE OF ALABAMA HAD KILLED. THERE WERE TWO MEN THERE WHO HAD BEEN ON DEATH ROW AND HAD GAINED NEW TRIALS AND WERE FOUND NOT GUILTY. ONE HAD BEEN THERE 20 YEARS, YEAH THAT IS RIGHT 20 YEARS. HE KNOWS MOST OF THE ONES THERE AND KNEW ALL OF THE ONES THAT HAD BEEN KILLED. WAS HEART BREAKING TO WATCH AS THIS GROWN MAN WAS REDUCED TO TEARS IN FRONT OF ALL TRYING TO READ THE LIST OF NAMES OF THE VICTIMS OF THIS STATE. DONT KNOW HOW ANYONE INCLUDING 38 CAN ACCEPT THE FORCE THAT IS USED IN WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE "OUR" FACILITIES. "WE" CERTAINLY DONT HAVE ANY CONTROL OR SAY SO ABOUT WHAT IS BEING DONE IN THEM. I KNOW ON DEATH ROW AT DONALDSON HERE IN AL THEY WAKE DR INMATES UP TO FEED THEM "BREAKFAST" AT 1:30 IN THE MORNING. YEAH MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IS MORE LIKE IT. ON WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS THEY ARE FED AT 2:30 AM AND AGAIN AT 2:30 PM. HECK THE HUMANE SOCIETY/ANIMAL SHELTERS FEEDS THE DOGS AND CATS MORE OFTEN THAN THAT. THEY PROBABLY GET MORE FOOD TOO. ANYWAY THANKS FOR YOUR POSTS

[Budwoman]

WELL, I MIGHT AS WELL ADD MY 2 CENT..... I DO KNOW THAT IN SOME PRISONS, 75 % OF THE PEOPLE CAN BE VERY VICIOUS... I HAVE SEEN THAT WITH MY OWN TWO EYES... BUT, IN DEFENSE, I ALSO HAVE SEEN THE OTHER 25% OF GUARDS AND OTHER PERSONNEL WHO REALLY DO CARE ABOUT THEIR JOB AND ABOUT THE INMATES.... I HAVE HAD PRISON GUARDS CALL MY TO LET ME KNOW THAT SOMETHING UNFAIR HAS HAPPENED WITH MY SON.... I HAVE HAD THEM CALL ME TO ASK ME JUST HOW I AM....

THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED AS FAR AS TREATMENT OF INMATES GO IN SOME PRISONS.... ONE OF THEM IS PULANSKI TX. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TREATMENT THESE GUYS GET... AT LEAST, HERE IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, OUR DEATH ROW INMATES ARE TREATED WITH SOME RESPECT AS HUMAN BEINGS.... I KNOW THIS FROM FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE WITH A DEATH ROW INMATE. HE HAD NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT HIS TREATMENT.

I UNDERSTAND WHY 38 SPECIAL FEELS THE WAY HE DOES... PAM, I KNOW TOO THAT YOU HAVE A VAILID POINT AND THAT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE WHEN THERE IS A SITUATION LIKE THIS.

BUT, I DO KNOW, THAT WE MUST INSURE THESE THINGS ARE REALLY HAPPENING AND NOT JUST RUMORS... WHEN WE HAVE PROOF, THEN WE MAY BE ABLE TO REALLY DO SOME GOOD IN REFORM. IF THEY ARE ONLY RUMORS AND WE GO IN SO HEADSTRONG THAT ARE FIGHTING FOR AN UNJUST CAUSE, THEN WE WILL NEVER GET ACOMPLISHED WHAT WE WANT TO.

THINK ABOUT WHAT I AM SAYING... KNOW THE TRUTH BEFORE WE MAKE ENEMIES WE DON'T NEED TO MAKE


MY LOVE TO ALL OF YOU
DONNA