Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Bodycam entering CDCR...





California prison guards must wear body cameras after evidence of inmate abuse, judge says

Posted:  Updated: 

     For the first time, California correctional officers will be required to use body cameras while interacting with inmates inside a state prison, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.

   The ruling comes in a civil rights lawsuit over disabled inmates’ rights, in which a federal judge found evidence to support allegations of physical abuse of prisoners at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. The order applies to interactions with all inmates with disabilities inside the Otay Mesa facility.

  Attorneys for the inmates with disabilities had asked the judge to issue an order mandating body cameras for correctional officers after documenting widespread physical abuse of the inmates.
     “Body cameras have never been used in California prisons. This is a very important order to help put an end to physical abuse and broken bones of those with physical disabilities at this most dangerous of prisons,” said attorney Gay Grunfeld, whose law firm, along with the Prison Law Office, represents the plaintiffs.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

     So, exactly what does this mean? For starters, it means the CDCR is pissed, and for good reason. You're talking about an entity which has gotten away with so much, for so long, they truly believe they're above the law, and why wouldn't they? They investigate themselves, they have qualified  and a virtually unlimited defense budget, which means most attorneys won't even consider handling a case for us. When we do file for ourselves, the courts usually make it so difficult we eventually lose, but this could change all of that. Of course, this assumes the bodycams work as intended.

     Another point to consider is that this only impacts a select few. What we need to do is expand it to all facilities, but know this: you can bet your was that CDCR is going to contrive situations to force us to complain, ie, using bodycams on us as we're stripsearched, walking in on us in the shower, etc. These are issues that need to be addressed. I'd suggest doing away with the routine stripsearched, but that's just my opinion.


Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Various CDCR bills you should be aware of...




Here are the various bills for various parole issues.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB88#:~:text=(13)%20Existing%20law%20establishes%20the,continuous%20incarceration%20on%20their%20sentence.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB965

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB118

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB411

Monday, September 7, 2020

Contraband cell phones in prison...




     Let's talk about contraband cell phones in prison, shall we? To let government officials tell it, we use them to threaten and harass witnesses and victims in our case, extort money from New victims and smuggle drugs in or plan escapes, but the truth is anything but. This isn't to say that the occasional idiot hasn't used a cell phone to do this, only that these are exceptions to the rule, very rare exceptions. For the most part, those who were fortunate enough to get their hands on a phone use them to be a part of their loved ones' lives. The other day, I personally loaned my phone to a guy to call his granddaughter to wish her a happy birthday. This was an older guy, a veteran biker of numerous turf wars on the streets and even more in prison. I didn't think anything about it, but 2 hours later he hasn't returned, so I went down to check up on him. When I got to his cell, he was just hanging up the phone, and I was floored by what I seen as he turned to see who was at his door. This grizzled old convict, a man nobody would even consider disrespecting because of his reputation, was in tears, and I'm not talking about a single tear that silently runs down you're face. His face and beard were soaked with tears, his face all scrunched up in a hideous mask as he unsuccessfully struggled to contain his emotions.

     I broke several cardinal rules that day. First, I walked into his cell without asking. Not only was it a violation for anyone to do this, it was a bigger breach of protocol for me to do it, as I'm bisexual. My next violation was sitting on his bed, next to him, no less. He was in such pain and I wanted to comfort him, but the orison code of conduct had me hamstrung. Suddenly, without warning, he turns to me and hugs me, fiercely. Without thinking, I returned his hug and he lost it. He held me with all of his might as his body shook and heaved with his sobs. I don't know how long he held me, crying, but he clearly needed. Finally, the story began to emerge.

     Turns out that this was the first time he'd ever spoke to his granddaughter. Not only that, but it being her birthday, everyone was there to celebrate, so he'd had a chance to speak with people he hadn't spoken to in years, including a number of family members he'd abused for years, and during this call, he'd done something he'd wanted to do for years, but had never been able to because of the ever watchful eye of the prison guards. He not only acknowledged his misbehavior, he also apologized, and this was a man who'd never apologized for anything in his life.

     I'm not going to say all of his problems magically disappeared, because they didn't. I will, however, say that he got up from that bunk a changed man, all because if a contraband cell phone. He's been writing to the people he spoke to that day, trying to understand just how his actions impacted them, trying to many amends, and from time to time, I let him use my phone to call home. When I do, I send it with a washrag, my way of reminding him it's okay to cry.

     I haven't used my cell phone to reconnect with anyone, mainly because I never really had those kinds of connections, but I have used it in other ways. I've started a Twitter account (@F0Q_CDCR) which I use to tweet about the various injustices in CDCR. In just a little under 3 months, I've accumulated over 1,300 followers, a list which includes numerous reporters, lawyers, advocacy organizations, an occasional Senator and family members of the incarcerated. These people seem to want to know what's going on in here, so I try to answer their questions as honestly as I can.

     I also have a Facebook account, John Imprisoned Smith. I participate in a number of Facebook groups, run a few of my own, including Destiny's Story, which is a story about the impacts of or incarceration on our loved ones. Most of what I do is helping the people in the outside world navigate the complexities of the ever changing CDCR, but I also run an underground free law clinic where I poi t my followers in the right direction, help them with research, etc. I've used these platforms to push for a number of changes in the CDCR, including the retirement of CDCR's current secretary, Ralph Diaz. With my cell phone, I've been able to become politically active in ways previously unimagined to somebody in prison.

     Finally, for almost 20 years I worked with my counselors and case managers on my parole plans, and at every step of the way, my plans were approved. Noe, at the last possible second I'm told my plans are unacceptable, that I'd have to parole to a different county as a transient instead of to one of the counties I had a place to stay, employment and a support group. Not being one to take defeat lying down, I started a fundraiser, and while I'm still woefully short of what I need to do what I'm trying to do, I've managed to raise enough to cover a month's rent in a motel room, so I can't complain.

     At the end of the day, a cell phone is just another tool. The technology exists to allow people in prison to safely use cell phones and social media, but they Choose not to, not because of the dangers our having a cell phone poses to people in the free world, but because of the danger it poses to the prison. With a cell phone, and freedom to use it, we'd expose the corruption in CDCR in a nanosecond, which is why they've never allowed us anything with recording capabilities, not even a cassette player.





Saturday, September 5, 2020

Sick with COVID 19 in prison...





From an inmate in a GA Prison: 
LEFT TO DIE
On July 3, 2020 I knew I was in trouble. I had been sick for a couple days and now had most of the known symptoms. My roommate had the same thing. I tried to fight it off because most people were beating it in 3 or 4 days. I spiraled out of control until Sunday the 12th and couldn't take the pain anymore. I told my roommate that I was going to go to medical to get help. When they called pill call Monday morning I went out with them to medical.
The Lieutenant wouldn't even let me in, but made me wait outside for about an hour before telling me I had to go back to the building and they would call me back at 1:30. I told her that would not be a really good idea if I in fact had Covid 19. She told me firmly to "go back to your building, NOW!" This was July 13th.......The nightmare began that afternoon and escalated throughout the night.
Went back to medical at 1:30 and sat out front about half an hour before being called to the back. Two doctors came in the room and talked to me. I told them what symptoms I had, some that are not publicized much or not in here anyway. After I finished they both got up and left the room. I remember thinking, Man, they must be going to call the morque or maybe an ambulance. When they came back they brought a surgical respirator, told me to put it on and not to take it off unless I was in my cell by myself. One of them wrote me a prescription for 4 different drugs. Then I was taken to the hole and put in a cell by myself.
I never received the medication that the doctors prescribed. Did it get turned down? Did a nurse take it home just in case they or their family might need it? I never did find out even after questioning one of them a month later.
The next 10 days were hell.
It was unbearably hot in the cell, I would say at least 100 degrees maybe 105 through the daytime. The window has a shroud over the outside and the only thing visible is a little patch of sky, 1/2 inch, right at the top of the window. There is very little air flow coming in the window and when an officer leaves the front door to the cell house open the little air flow that the exhaust fan draws through the room stops. The rooms here only have maybe a 1 inch gap under the door for air to flow anyway.
I made a chute to put on the inside of the window to direct what little air flow there was down to the floor, that's where I was most of the time.
I couldn't and didn't eat for twelve days altogether, was only able to drink water, ice cold water when I could get it.
I lost my sense of smell the same evening, but did not lose the sense of taste per se. I could taste but I tried to eat every day and everything, even the stuff I liked the most tasted like CRAPPOLA. Swallowing even a miniscule amount of anything brought on puking episodes that would last for hours at a time.
That evening I began to cough up blood clots, and it continued for ten days. Coughed and coughed and coughed around the clock, usually until I passed or blacked out. I woke up 4~5 times a day laying in various places around the cell, usually face down, in a puddle of regurgitated water filled with spots of blood. I beat on the door for hours at a time to no avail, screamed when I could. I was so weak for a few of the worst days that I could not stand, but had to crawl around on the floor on all fours. During that time if I could have made it to the top bunk I probably would have hung myself, that is how bad the pain was, and I could not even isolate where it was.  It was like it was coming from outside of me and effecting all of me at once, very scary. I knew, KNEW, I was dying and I knew, KNEW, NO ONE...........NO ONE ..........gave a flying crap either.
I began to hallucinate on day two, the 14th. First I saw colored globes floating around the room, the kind you might see while you are tripping on LSD with the vapor trails behind them. Like the cheap movies from the seventies.  When I was still able to get on the bunk I looked at the floor one time and it was completely covered with cockroaches. The entire cell floor was covered with them, thousands of them. I stomped my foot on the floor to begin killing them and poof, they vanished.
Another time the walls were covered with ants. Not just a line of ants, the walls were covered. Millions of them. But there wasn't a single ant on the floor. Oh, another hallucination.
After that I learned to ignore the hallucinations.
I NEVER received chemicals to clean the room.
Since I didn't have anything to clean the room with I just pushed whatever I vomited up out under the door. The outside of my door was a hotbed of COVID 19. The orderly that worked the hold eventually caught Covid.
I was coughing up so much blood, and most of my intake of water, that i stayed dehydrated all the time. Waking up in a sweat soaked bed did not help with that either, or waking up face down in a puddle of dried puke and blood.
I was tested for COVID on the 13th of July and was not told the results until the 30th .............of August.
When I was beginning to have real difficulty breathing, I put a note out the door. It works like this when you are in the hole. You write a note on a piece of paper or whatever and slid it out the crack of the door about head high. It sticks out like a flag and the next officer that comes by gets it. I wrote on a manilla legal envelope ( 9.5 x 13 inches) "My name is ...... I have Covid 19. I am dying. Is there anyone out there who can help me get to a doctor or to a hospital....PLEASE." Two days went by and the note was still sticking out the door. An officer finally got it and called the evening duty officer to come down.  It was a lieutenant.  He opened the metal flap over the door window and spoke to me a minute. He told me I was not sick enough to go to the hospital. I told him that if I died, I hope the man upstairs would allow me to come back and haunt him every day for the rest of his life. He said, "fuck you" and slammed the door flap. Of course I said, "fuck you too." The officer logged all this in the log book.
One day the door flap was open and I could look out into the day room area. They started passing out ice. What they do is bring a cooler of ice around and fill up your cup, bowl, or both if you are lucky. The inmate that was filling the cups with ice had an ice scoop in his hand, but the first room he got to he just took the cup and scooped it into the ice to fill it. On to the next room, this one was a bowl and, yep, it went into the ice to be filled as well. Guaranteed that neither the cup, or the bowl, nor the rest of the cups and bowls in the other 46 rooms were sanitized on the outside or the inside for that matter.
After the talk with the lieutenant, I remember I was sitting in the floor across from the toilet with my back against the wall. I couldn't get up. I was struggling to breathe. It's hard to explain on paper, but imagine getting a little gulp of air like a fish does when it is out of the water, but having to get it through a ink pen tube. Gulp, gulp, gulp, so little air each time. About 3 hours later I woke up face down in a puddle of vomit water. I had literally blacked out from lack of oxygen and this wasn't the first time, nor the last.
If I had passed out and fell on my back one time, I would have drowned on my own vomit. The reported cause of my death would have been drowning, not COVID!
On the 10th day back there, the 23rd of July, I woke in the morning and felt a lot better, and by the end of the day felt almost better except lungs and chest and throat were very sore and stayed that way for weeks. I lost 22 pounds during those 10 days. The 24th came and I felt even better, was able to get up and walk for about 10 minutes at a time. Stayed in the hole until August 12th before being let out. The pain is the hardest thing to explain. I've been shot in the head with a handgun, almost had my hand cut off with a machete, and had several broken bones, but those pains were nothing compared to Covid.
During that time I also prayed to every God I knew the Name of to stop all this, especially the pain, or to take my life, either would be better then what I went through. I feel so lucky to be alive, even in here.....the weight is still off and I feel better than I have in years because of that, but.......I am haunted......every waking second.....that it may come back.....I'm sure I wouldn't survive round two of that.....But, I KICKED ITS ASS THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!!
Well, it may have won 14 rounds but I went the distance and am still standing!

Depression...





     Let’s talk about suicide, shall we? Let’s talk about our reasons for not wanting to go on any longer, shall we? On any given day, I have to find a reason to get up, to find a reason to want to make it, through this day, To find a reason to make it to tomorrow. On any regular day, it's a challenge. On a day like today, after being locked down for months, with little to no privileges, It’s almost impossible. The things that I’ve seen, the challenges that are before me, the things that I know that are to come, the defeat that I’ve suffered, they all weigh upon my soul. Each moment before me, that weight grows, and I’m reminded of a story. It was of a soldier in the Vietnam War. He was returning to base after a long time out with the rest of his platoon. He was walking point, and the guy behind him noticed how slow he was walking, how it was a struggle to pick up each foot. It was as if the weight was simply too much. As he continued to watch, a butterfly landed on his backpack. The moment the way to the butterfly rested fully on the backpack, the soldier fell to the ground, as if the weight was simply too much. This is the way that I feel every day, Waiting for the weight of the butterfly to knock me to the ground. It’s not about being depressed per say, it's about having so many burdens thrust upon my shoulders that the weight becomes unbearable.

     My recent burden is self imposed. For almost 20 years I’ve watched the CDCR violate our rights over and over again with absolutely no consequences. They treat us worse than animals, they disrespect our loved ones when they come to see us, and they do it all knowing that they can, knowing they can get away with it, because we’re nothing more than inmates to them, not even worth the of the decency given to an animal. This, by the way, Is literal not figurative. Many of these prisons have something called a dog program, where we take dogs and train them to do various tasks for their owners. Some dogs are trained to be seeing eye dogs, some dogs are trained to be assistance for the physically disabled, And some dogs are trained to provide comfort for those suffering from PTSD. The training we’re taught to give is based on positive reinforcement, where we reward the dogs for doing things they're supposed to, for doing things we teach them, not negative reinforcement or we punish them for doing things wrong. We train the dogs this way because it works. Positive reinforcement will always work better than negative reinforcement, and yet, even though CDCR teaches this to us to utilize on the dogs were training, They turn around and use negative reinforcement on us every opportunity they have. So as you can see, these dogs truly are treated better than we are. It’s not just a positive reinforcement versus negative reinforcement, is the fact that these animals are loved and cared for by anybody and everybody who comes into contact with them. Their handlers are selected with the utmost care, the dogs get out of their cell even during lockdowns, dogs are taken out on a regular basis for grooming, veterinarian appointments, they are given plenty of food and exercise, cold water when it's hot, all the things that were not given. So you see, when I say the animals are treated better than us, I mean it truly.

     So there I was, close to getting out. I’d served close to 20 years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit, for a crime that never happened. With only months to go, COVID 19 made its way into the prison system. I seen it coming from a mile away. I yelled, I screamed, I wrote letters, I found 602’s, I did everything in my power to prepare my facility for what was to come. Nobody listened. When people finally took notice it was too late. When the first case was diagnosed, it was too late. The damage was already done, the infection was rampant, and yet the prison still refused to listen. It was then that I decided to take matters into my own hands, that I decided to borrow a friend’s cell phone and use it to make a difference. It was the easiest decision I ever made.


     The first thing I did was create a Twitter account. I struggled long and hard to come up with the name, but at the end of the day I found one: @F0Q_CDCR. It said exactly what I wanted to say: FUCK CDCR! I wasn’t trying to be a smart ass, I was trying to prove a point, the point being that this place was so corrupt it was not worthy of even the smallest amount of respect. Honestly, I think I proved my point.

     Once I had my Twitter account, I had learned how to use social media. This was where my difficulties began. I hadn’t been online in 20 years, all the technology had changed, and social media was almost nonexistent when I was out. I was terrified that I would do or say the wrong thing, terrified that my mistake would harm my peers. There were so many things I had to tell the world, so many things that were going on behind bars, I simply didn’t know where to start. If I told the average person what really happened in here, they would never believe me. I also had to worry that I might inadvertently say something to reveal my location, it might be something as simple as an event that happened in the prison, an event that didn’t happen anywhere else, or it might be taken a picture of my dinner and posting online, which would in turn reveal my location. And then people started asking me who I was, where I was incarcerated, and other questions that, intentional or not, would reveal my location if I answered. I tried to explain my situation, tried to explain my dilemma, trying to explain the importance of maintaining my secrecy to protect their loved ones as well as myself. Most got it, but some didn’t. I also had to contend with CDCR. By now they’d learn it there was somebody online disclosing their secrets, airing their dirty laundry, trying to expose all of the dirt they’d done for years. They began to write incessantly, seeking clues about who I was, where I was incarcerated, anything that might disclose either. When I didn’t answer their questions, they resorted to other tactics. I was offered bribes, immunity, I even had money promised for information. I turned all of these offers down and so much more, because it wasn’t about me. It was about doing the right thing. Each day I grew more and more terrified, not about getting caught, because I had made up my mind from day one the any punishment would be worth it. No, my fear was failure. If I failed, it meant the very real possibility that others would be hurt, possibly even killed because of CDCR incompetence. And then the loved ones on the outside learned of my existence, learned of my skills, and learn to my willingness to help. Every day I was besieged with requests to help, And I did it all willingly, happily. I was finally making a difference, I was finally helping out, I was finally giving back, I was making indirect amends, and for the first time in my life I thought my life had meaning. Unfortunately, I thought the burdens continue to grow. Each person that came to me had a story that was both unique and tragic and a repeat of the one I’d heard before. I wanted to help them all each and everyone, but I’m not a lawyer, I don’t have the experience that a lawyer has, I’m just a guy in prison with a little bit of knowledge, a guy in prison trying to use that knowledge to make a difference. What if I gave the wrong advice? What if that one piece of information they failed to give me made a difference in how they should proceed? All I could do was my best, and that’s what I did. I pray it was good enough, but the burdens continued to mount.

     Let me be clear, I’m not frustrated the people needed help, I’m frustrated because they deserve more than I could give, I’m frustrated at the  harm I see caused by the justice system, I’m frustrated because nobody else seems to see the damage that I do, and I can’t fix it. With that said, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. These are some good people out there whose only crime was falling in love with somebody in prison, or somebody who went to prison. The pain and the suffering did these people endure are almost as bad at that inflicted on the people in prison. The pain and suffering inflicted on their children are even worse.

     Going back to what started this topic, suicide, I, like everybody else, deal with depression on a daily basis, but the lockdowns, the uncertainty, the loss of  the inability to earn time off of our sentences, visitation, the inability to earn time off of our sentences, all work together to increase that depression exponentially. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to kill myself, people rarely want to kill themselves, I just want to convey the pressure that I’m under, I want you to understand because my pressure is nothing compared to theirs. I get out in a matter of weeks, many of them have no such hope. And now, without the support of their loved ones, The depression they felt has increased exponentially. So tonight, after you finish reading my post, take a moment to write a letter to your loved one, and if you don't have a loved one in prison, find a website advertising people in prison who need somebody to write and write to them. That letter that you sent tonight, may just ease some of the burdens that we feel, and it only takes a little easy to get us from today to tomorrow. If I, somebody who’s about to be released from prison in a matter of weeks, feels this much depression, and imagine the depression those who are left behind are feeling.

Friday, September 4, 2020

The Forgotten...


      Let's talk about something nobody seems to be talking about, shall we? Let's talk about the men and women in California's Department of State Hospitals (DSH). For those who aren't aware, these people are not being held because they're being punished (or so the court's have consistently said), they're being held because they have a mental health condition of some sort that necessitates them being placed here. Personally, I disagree with the assessment that this isn't punishment, but today, I'm not here to discuss whether or not it's right to put somebody in prison for being mentally ill, I'm here to point out how these people are suffering because of COVID19, suffering in ways even we're not dealing with in #CDCR.



     So, I called one of the units there. Apparently, these guys have phones on their units that allow incoming calls. According to the guy I spoke with, not only do they face more restrictions then they would in prison in many areas, but all treatment stopped in March of this year. This means that their sole reason for being in prison, mental health trsatment, no longer exists, and they can never be released. To make matters even worse, these guys only get out of their rooms twice a week for 50 minutes each time right now because of the COVID19 lockdown. So, you've got people with mental health conditions serious enough to warrant a civil commitment,  but instead of allowing them out on a regular basis for fresh air, they're locked up almost all week long. If you're having problems with sheltering at home, imagine how many issues they're having, how much worse their mental issues are becoming.


      As of this writing, 3 people have died, and 31 are currently infected, but unlike CDCR, I didn't see a patient tracker showing the totals infected or dead. Why? Does nobody care? Have we become so callous that we carelessly disregard our loved ones because of a mental health illness?

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

A new way to send a message..


So, here's my proposal, which I've already shared privately with some of you. How about we change tactics? Instead of protesting solely at prisons or homes like Diaz or Newsom, how about we ALL go to the office if Nancy Skinner, but instead of signs calling for her removal, how about signs THANKING her for attempting to hold CDCR and CCHCS accountable? Can you imagine the reaction we'd get if several hundred people all showed up with signs THANKING somebody for their efforts. We show up in mass to bitch, moan and groan, for good reason, but not to say thanks.

So, what would this do? For starters, it would send a very clear message. We're here to say thanks, and if we cared enough to drive all this way for that, we'd certainly vote for you come election. Secondly, do you really think a politician, ANY politician, is going to pass up an opportunity to get some valuable media attention from an opportunity like this? Hell no. My guess is she'll call her own contacts on the media and make the most out of this unexpected opportunity, which helps everyone's cause. And seeing this, what do you think other legislatures are going to do? They'll definitely take note, for starters, and with any luck, they'll remember it the next time a orison related issue is before them.

When you speak with her, designate a single person to speak for the group. Somebody articulate, polite, but assertive. Have a goal in mind that centers on 4 things. First, thank her for what she's done, second, explain what you'd like to see done (within reason), third, ask what she's already got planned and how you can help, and finally, ask for the name if a Senator who's standing in your/her way, somebody who might be persuaded by a protest. When you get that name, go to their office and marketing voices heard. They'll find out that you're serious, and when they learn you're just as willing to show up and say thanks, and vote, they'll see you in a whole new light.

I'd also suggest having ALL of your loved ones write letters of thanks to Me. Skinner for her role in the recent Senate hearing. Were it not for that, things here would be so much worse. We wouldn't bee seeing these early releases or these 12 week kicks. Bring all of these letters with you and present them in a gift box, something she could keep displayed as momento. Something people would see and ask about, something to keep us at the forefront of her mind.

  Just released!!     I was incarcerated for almost 20 years  for a crime I didn't commit. I could have stayed bitter and resentful, get...