Nevada Prisoners’ Unity
Newsletter Building Character
# 7 (NPN volume 2, Nr 1
in 2011)
“Knowledge is power”
Trouble Speaks
This my first time writing to the NPN. I felt it
was vital for me to talk to all the young rads
throughout the Nevada system. I want them to
know that it´s time to open our eyes and wake
up. We must grow up and put all childish
behaviors to the side and move as one unit,
because right now all we´re doing is giving the
pigs what they want which is separation and
division. With this we can not make a change
or better our situation. To all my young rads
through the system I encourage you to turn off
the TV´s , put up the radios and begin to
Educate Yourself. Read and Study for 2 hours
a day. You can progress in this as time goes
by but you have to start somewhere.
Why do you think programs and things to
better ourselves are limited? The reason is
they are trying to control our minds by keeping
our minds stagnate and keeping us dumb.
These pigs have our bodies, let´s not give
them our minds too. We have to take action
and transform our ways of thinking. We must
educate ourselves. We can´t wait for
knowledge to come knocking on our doors, we
must seek it. The most important thing before
going into battle is preparation. Know what
your rights are. Know what these pigs can &
cannot do to you. A lot of young rads are
getting taken advantage of. One reason is
because a lot of the older rads have laid down
and they´re not living by an important rule
which is Each One Teach One.
Second reason is we can not wait to be
schooled by older cats. We see through
previous years that has gotten us nowhere and
Thirdly we refuse to do something as simple as
pick up the AR and learn our rights from one
young rad to another we must take action now.
Because each day that goes by that we don´t
stand up together is another day one of our
rads will be getting beat, stripped of his
property or even killed. If no one cares about
us we have to care about ourselves.
Bulletproof respect,
Trouble AKA Mashaka i Afua:
Transformation
Redemption
Overcoming Obstacles
1
Leadership
Educate
Revolutionist Catechism #1
Brother, what is a Revolutionist? Someone
who´s totally committed to the overthrow of an
oppressive, exploitative, spirit-deadening
existing order, to be replaced by one that sits
the full humanity of the people in its throne, not
some king or ruling clique. A Revolutionist has
accepted the Way of Death so that the people
and the future may have a more fulfilling way
of life.
What do you mean by Way of Death? The
Revolutionist transcends life as we know it. His
love for the people and his people-inspired
vision is total, in that he has freed himself of
the baggages of life and ego-driven pursuits.
He is committed to the revolutionary cause,
heart, mind, and soul. Damn the dangers and
impending death that awaits. Damn this life as
we know it. In a way, he´s already free, already
crossed over to the other side.
That seems pretty cold. What about family,
friends, personal relationships? There´s my
comrades. And what greater relationship is
there between men and women, brothers and
sisters, struggling and sacrificing together,
mending wounds and healing spirits, facing
death whilst sharing laughter, tears, and the
dream of a better world they all believe in?
There´s nothing cold in our hearts, except our
feelings for this system and those who would
fight to defend it. You may even call it hate. But
our love triumphs all of that.
Are you saying that all of your relationships
revolve around the Revolution? No, I´m saying
first that the revolution revolves around the
people, and there is love in revolution. Our love
is revolutionary. We surrender selfish love for
the love of all. Yet, we are still genuinely
human, and we´re not monks, though there´s
some that may be likened as such.
Revolutionists are down-to-earth prophets,
sword in hand.We may have a family or a
lover, but they too have accepted the
revolutionary idea and risk involved. And the
love we have for them is a love inseparable
from the love of the people and cause. How
could it be? It´s One Love.
“Down-to-earth prophets, sword in hand”… I
like the way you put that. Please elaborate.
First of all, just as me saying the political is
personal and the personal is political, we also
say the political is spiritual and the spiritual is
political. I mean, the spiritual is personal, right?
It´s said that religion is the opiate of the
oppressed, implying a deep spiritual yearning
within an oppressive social order, an
“otherworldly” search for happiness. When I
think of a spiritual person I think of a
wholesome person, someone free of anxiety
and quiet desperation and not feeling crushed
under the weight of the world and not knowing
why. Revolutionists shine light on this darkness
and provide a way forward, here on earth, and
in terms the people can relate to.
Our swords are whatever is required at any
given moment or stage in the struggle. Swords
are simply instruments of action for fighting
and conquering your enemy, and that could be
pen, gun, or noncooperation.
What about religion – does it have a place in
the Revolution?
Many people think it don´t. Of course, it does.
Religion probes the heart of the universe, or
even reveals it, depending on who you ask.
That´s why it has such a deep place in the
heart of the people. Two things man may never
conquer, despite his delusions to the contrary,
and that´s nature and religion. Revolution is to
must understand this and mine the universal
principles from religions, so that they will serve
man instead of making him a servant.
Revolutionists should be demystifiers. That
also involves exposing and subverting the
power of opportunist religious “ authorities”
who sell the people “the dope of hope” which
amounts to nothing but charlatanism. For those
who truly have the people at heart and see
God in the cause of the people, in the people
themselves, we should try to convert and make
allies. In history and the present, there are
examples of this.
(Photo: Italy, Student Demonstration´10)
And, I myself am
influenced and
inspired by religious
doctrines and figures.
God is One, and I
truly aspire to be my
brother´s keeper; and
I don´t mean that like
the oppressors who
act as zoo-keepers and the people as beasts
of burden. For they are the True Guardians of
Hell.
Kasi, Nov 27, 2010
2
From the editors:
The Nevada Prisoners´ Newsletter (NPN) is
made by volunteers for and with prisoners in
NV prisons so that they are more informed
about prisons, about new ideas and initiatives;
articles by prisoners published in other media.
We cooperate with Nevada- and Arizona
Prison Watch.
All views expressed are those of the authors.
Please share this copy with those around you.
Address:
NPN, c/o NV Prison Watch, P.O. Box 20494
Phoenix, AZ 85036
Email: Nevadaprisonwatch@gmail.com
Website: Nevadaprisonwatch.org
In this issue:
Trouble Speaks
Revolutionist Catechism #1
What is truth, part 1
Boycott for Change
Support the struggle for human rights in
Georgia prisons
Here are the demands of the Georgia Prisoner
Strikers
Inmate killed in fight at Nevada prison (HDSP)
Corrections furloughs to start
Que Dia Tan Bello
ESP Library Book Drive Update
Suicide or Murder (pt 3)
About a Victory in Ohio
Nevada Fact Sheet
Little Helper: Incarcerated Veterans
What is truth, part 1
Perfect Salutes!
Comrades, I compose this dissertation with
hopes of it igniting the flames of aspiration in
the hearts, the minds and the spirits of those of
you reading this zine.
What is the truth?
The truth is what we all strive towards
obtaining. It is the ultimate goal, and the key to
every door in life.
Through the truth, we as a people going
through the harsh reality of the struggle are
able to expose the injustices, the brutalities,
the oppression, and the dehumanizing going
on around this prison in Nevada and other
prisons around the world. And it doesn´t stop
there! We can expose the same conditions of
misconduct in our communities as well.
Truth brings about a conscious order, and
brings “confusion” to its mercy. However,
seeing as we all have our own individual
uniquenesses, so too do we all have an
individual truth, and this individual truth
determines our morals, our values, and our
principals.
So, in essence our truth is our foundation. It´s
the quality which makes us innate men and
women of order.
The never dying curiosity we possess to
experience new things in the cycle of life, is
what enables us to add to our Truth as we
grow and mature. What was once foggy
becomes a vividly clean picture. I call it: “The
Portrait of Infinite Perception.”
Nevertheless, when the truth is tampered with,
it becomes an agent of deception and
manipulation, so be careful of the wolves in
sheep clothing. Guard your truth. Yet share it
with those around you who are (in your eyes)
good brothaz, sistaz and comrades. We must
be adamantly in quest for a higher
understanding of self and the truth.
However, there´s a truth behind the truth! 1)
There is the “Truth” we were taught, which was
really based upon society standards. And then
behind it, 2) there is the Truth we learned
through bloodshed, tears, Struggle, History
and Sacrifice! Take a look at the conditions of
the world; look at the state it´s in! Man, the
Government is for the Government; the system
is for the system. So we must be for us by
adopting the methods of “one breath, one
struggle,” for we can obtain victory by
acknowledging the truth and embracing it.
If not for us, then for who?
Truly Composed,
In Solidarity, Respect and Luv!!
The Silent One, aka The Active One
Growth, Progress and Prominent Change
Boycott for Change
By James “Gator” Wardell, #92924, H.D.S.P.
I know I don´t have all the answers, but I can
help find them! I know our prison system is
3
broken, that with over 2,4 million people behind
bars the methods being used to help a person
get out and stay out are not working, and that
society as a whole should be ashamed for
helping fund a system or design that´s been a
failure for so many years, we´ve all lost count.
We as men and women who are incarcerated
in these prison systems, committed our crimes
because of one or many of the following:
Drug abuse
Poverty
Mental, Emotional or Physical conditions
Lack of Education or Employment
Social stigma´s
Alcohol abuse
Economic disadvantages
And our Failure in Coping with Basic Life Skills
we needed in order to be productive members
of our society.
And it´s easy to say, if only we had this, or if
they would have done that, or if someone
would have tried to help me then. Then I
wouldn´t have done what I did to break a law
that got me here.
That´s the excuses we have been using on
ourselves and others for years, to somehow
make up for our own failures and mistakes.
Come on! We have to get real with ourselves
and the problems we have not wanted to deal
with, or this is what your lot in life will be. A
future location in a State or Federal Prison in
this State or another for years to come.
We cannot continue to go back to the same
conditions that put us here, when we walk out
the prison gates.
This is not a joking matter, you can´t go to the
same living conditions, same street corner, or
drug habit and relationships, or way of life that
brought you to prison! What do you think is
going to happen? That´s right! Within 24 hours
you´re back on the same path of self-
destruction, and the key word here is self.
You, me, us… We owe our-selves so much
more out of life, There is not a single person
I´ve known or met that woke up one morning
and said to them-selves…”Let me go sell drugs
for 6 months, lose my wife and kids, have my
personal property stolen – sold - or pawned,
and oh by the way let me go do 5, 10, or 20
years in prison, ´cause I think it´s cool.”
I don´t see men and women giving up their
soul, character, body, minds and spirit for a
destruction or force, that only pulls them down
or destroys their lives, and this was their goal
in life…
So, what do we do??
You have to want something different for
yourself in life. We already know it´s not going
to be easy, nothing in life ever is. Sure, in a
movie or book it is. But in real life, you have to
work hard to stay ahead of the bills, rent, credit
cards, student loans. You have to work and
bust your tail at a bad job, with bad wages,
because that´s where you´re at for the
moment.
(Photo by the Sidewalk Chalker, Phoenix, AZ)
You have to
learn to go
week to
week on a
pay check
that´s
already too small. Not to mention your every
day life situations, your girlfriend, the kids, the
old man, and dinner, or your parents asking
you why are you doing this, or living with her
again. And your car is about to blow its
transmission, and you know when it goes, you
really gonna be in a mess.
So how about we just say F… this! Get high,
sell drugs, go and gamble our pay check, and
go back to prison for 10 more years…
Do all of you reading this, see how crazy that
sounds?
Us men, we will come to prison, start working
out to get into or keep in shape, stop doing
drugs, get ourselves around other good men
we can trust, depend on, help out ´cause
they´re down, or receive help from them. We
will fight over one disrespectful word, and in
return demand honor – courage – respect and
loyalty.
You know, if I´m not mistaken, that sounds like
what normal people do outside of prison, it´s
called structure. So are we coming to prison in
order to get the family structure and support
system for ourselves that we´re not willing to
fight to gain for ourselves outside of a prison?
It´s almost like when we walk out of one of
these institutions we give up on ourselves in
order to come back to prison to have a
structure and family unit ´cause of the rules to
guide us, because we´re not finding it for
ourselves once we´re out; or we lose it and
somehow forget how to be responsible without
it.
4
Women do the same thing within their prison
setting, by willing family units, creating a set of
parents and siblings to be responsible to or for.
And men do it under the name of gangs – shot
callers, as those social groups lead and others
follow.
We have no one but ourselves to blame, ladies
and gentlemen. Because the truth of the matter
is this:
If we don´t have enough education, then go
back to school. If you don´t have a skill or
trade, then apply for one at a Vo-Tech trade
school or sign up to be an apprentice at a
union.
If you need help, there are places to help make
all of this a reality. The key is patience and
perseverance, and the desire to change. We
are not children, even though we may throw
tantrums or act like kids.
We have to learn to better our living skills in
order to not give up on life so easily. Get into
A.A. or N.A. Whatever it takes, we have to
break the cycle, get a hobby, anything to fill the
place of what you´re getting out of.
If you have a drug problem, you have to get
around people who don´t use. If it’s alcohol
then you have to pick friends who don’t drink. If
it’s gambling, you can’t go cash your pay check
at a casino.
Men have to start being responsible to, and for
themselves, their wife and kids, and to their
parents. And women have to start really loving
their men, being honest, faithful and trusting.
If either men or women are in a self/destructive
relationship, what do you think the outcome is
going to produce: failure, it always does, and
we both know it, some just won’t accept it
though, and that’s what hurts the most,
knowing and still refusing to change it.
Now to the prison situation, and it really starts
with us people, once we learn to become
responsible from the inside, then as
responsible citizens, tax payers, voters, and
ex-prisoners who have been on both sides of
this environment. We can get more attention
and action for the plight of our conditions within
these walls! We have to learn to become
united for a common cause: change.
As a prisoner who has been incarcerated for
almost 30 years in some of our worst
institutions: Louisiana State Prison in Angola,
LA, Coffield, Darrington and Eastham in the
Texas Dept. of Corrections (TDCJ), San
Quentin, Old Folsom, Pelican Bay in California
Dept. of Corrections, and now here at ESP,
NSP, HDSP, I think I have the capacity to
speak on these matters.
The United States prison system is a
multi/trillion dollar business, just look at the
New York Stock Exchange under Correctional
Corporation of America
(http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/cxw.html), in
November their shares were at a high of $
26.25 ad a low of $ 17.16 for anyone who
wishes to purchase these stocks.
So that means us, prisoners are the
commodity they use to drive their business.
We´re just like wheat, sugar, cattle, corn cotton
or pork bellies, out on the trade market.
That´s right. Humans, men and women are
being traded, sold, housed and managed for
profit! So why do you think our courts and
federal systems are not helping to correct
matters? Or that we can´t get media coverage
and private oversight committees into the
prisons to voice our plights?
Because we are a major economic resource
for any state and city where the prisons are
built. For example:
Documents pertaining to High Desert State
Prison will show that in the month of June and
July of 2009, that in a 7 day period to feed its
2,800 inmates breakfast, lunch sack and
dinner for that one week it cost roughly 50,480
dollars. Now multiply that by 52 weeks and you
have well over 3 ½ million dollars spent just on
the food budget for one year.
Now take into account every other expense:
clothes, toilet paper, cleaning supplies,
correctional officers´ wages, utility bills,
medical. You´re looking at over a 60 million
dollar budget just for H.D.S.P. to operate this
one facility. And you don´t think there is big
political weight being pushed around to keep
the prison business going!?
Come on men and women, wake up. We´re
the new meat market, and until we work
ourselves out of here, and back into society to
let our voice be heard, and help the men and
women who won´t be getting out have a voice,
until then, our voice is being suppressed or
drowned.
We have to alter our political setting in order to
make society listen and hear our screams.
5
I walk out soon, and it´s because of the mental
scars, emotional torture, and physical scars,
that have caused me to come to the mental
state of mind I´m now at with prison reform.
But I think prison reform is the wrong phrase
we adopted years ago.
I firmly believe we must cause a political –
judicial and social upheaval in order to really
crate the positive changes needed for men and
woman locked up in our state and federal
institutions.
I hope to continue working with Nevada Prison
Watch, and my goal is to build and achieve a
voice in the political and judicial arena´s that
will hopefully expose some of the bad
conditions man has forced upon man in our
institutions. After all, don´t you find it very
disturbing that we are the only species that
hunts, stalks, trapps, snares and cages our
own?
And too many court cases have been
overturned where one of our own fellow
mankind has lied, hidden, made up and
falsified the truth, all to imprison another man
under a banner of “justice, truth and honor.”
Intelligent beings they call us, yes we are the
most advanced in the animal kingdom. But
when it comes to the holding and care of our
prisoners in cages, we are the most sadistic
and in-humane to our captives.
And when power is the drug of choice, our
keeps know no limits to their deceit and
corruption.
That is why I will continue to fight for myself
and others in this struggle for justice.
Always remember:
He who has a why to live for, can bare with
almost any how.
But beware the anger of a patient man.
Because nothing in life gives more purpose
than the hunger for revenge.
In all my solidarity, Gator
Support the struggle for human rights in
Georgia prisons
By Ikemba S. Mutulu, SF Bay View
January 12, 2011
I’d like to offer this word of support to the
convicts and comrades out in them Georgia
dungeons doing your thing. As word comes out
about the inhumane conditions there, it’s
important we all stand in solidarity with these
men. To recognize and demand one’s own
humanity is to simultaneously acknowledge
and stand in unison for the human rights of all
peoples.
The state will make every excuse to deny this
systematic pattern of abuse and corruption in
the prisons. They will try to criminalize our
protests as riots and our self defense against
their brutality as unprovoked attacks on them.
So it is vital for loved ones and supporters on
the outside to witness as much as possible, get
as many first hand accounts as possible and
report it to the people.
And we on the inside must continue the
struggle, educating one another and doing
what is necessary to make our voices heard.
The young brothers there said, “Know your
rights.” And I would add, “Know your worth.”
Here are the demands of the Georgia
Prisoner Strikers:
A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK: In violation of
the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude,
the DOC demands prisoners work for free.
· EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: For the
great majority of prisoners, the DOC denies all
opportunities for education beyond the GED,
despite the benefit to both prisoners and
society.
· DECENT HEALTH CARE: In violation of the
8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and
unusual punishments, the DOC denies
adequate medical care to prisoners, charges
excessive fees for the most minimal care and
is responsible for extraordinary pain and
suffering.
· AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL
PUNISHMENTS: In further violation of the 8th
Amendment, the DOC is responsible for cruel
prisoner punishments for minor infractions of
rules.
· DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Georgia
prisoners are confined in over-crowded,
6
substandard conditions, with little heat in winter
and oppressive heat in summer.
· NUTRITIONAL MEALS: Vegetables and fruit
are in short supply in DOC facilities while
starches and fatty foods are plentiful.
· VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES: The DOC has stripped its
facilities of all opportunities for skills training,
self-improvement and proper exercise.
· ACCESS TO FAMILIES: The DOC has
disconnected thousands of prisoners from their
families by imposing excessive telephone
charges and innumerable barriers to visitation.
· JUST PAROLE DECISIONS: The Parole
Board capriciously and regularly denies parole
to the majority of prisoners despite evidence of
eligibility.
Prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No
more slavery. Injustice in one place is injustice
to all. Inform your family to support our cause.
Lock down for liberty!”
The Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners’
Rights, formed to support the interests and
agenda of thousands of Georgia prisoners who
staged a peaceful protest and work strike
initiated in early December, had a fact-finding
delegation visit Macon State Prison
(Oglethorpe, Georgia) Dec. 20 as a follow up
to a meeting with Dept. of Corrections officials
concerning the non-violent action by inmates in
10 institutions.
“The delegation was able to hear incredible
stories from inmates, confirm inmate
participation in and widespread support for the
peaceful strike that started Dec. 9 and to see
conditions that have raised serious concerns
and questions. It is clear that we must continue
to examine the complaints from prisoners, their
petition for change, and their appeal that their
human rights be respected and, therefore, visit
more institutions and speak directly with more
prisoners,” said former Black Panther leader
Elaine Brown, who has been spearheading
much of the support activity and outreach on
behalf of Black, brown, white, Muslim,
Christian, Rastafarian prisoners, including
those at Augusta, Baldwin, Calhoun, Hancock,
Hays, Macon, Rogers, Smith, Telfair, Valdosta
and Ware State Prisons.
“The corrections department made the proper
decision by allowing us to review conditions
and speak with inmates in this historic first step
toward learning what is happening behind
prison walls,” delegation member Rachel
Talbot Ross of the NAACP stated. “Inmates
paying for medication but not earning money
for their work, language barriers suffered by
Latino prisoners because of a lack of
information in Spanish, unclear disciplinary
policies and reasons for transferring or
isolating prisoners, too few opportunities for
education and self improvement were among
accounts offered by inmates,” reported
delegation member Ajamu Baraka of the U.S.
Human Rights Network.
“Most amazing was the renewed hope and
commitment to petitioning the institutions and
corrections department for reform expressed
by the prisoners. One inmate told us that in 15
years behind bars, this is the first time he has
seen any sign someone is concerned about
their plight. Prisoners also shared with us how
some policies are causing hardships for their
families when it comes to visitation and
financial support from loved ones," said
delegation member Charles Muhammad of the
Nation of Islam.
"We need more information and more access
to determine where policy is flawed and where
other problems come from. Our desire is to
reenter an institution the last week in
December. We hope to issue some kind of
report in early January,” said delegation
member Chara Fisher Jackson of the ACLU of
Georgia.
Members of the delegation included the
NAACP, the Nation of Islam, the U.S. Human
Rights Network, the American Civil Liberties
Union of Georgia, The Ordinary People Society
(TOPS), and the Texas Criminal Justice
Coalition.
The prisoners are petitioning the corrections
department for their human rights, including
being paid for their labor, provided educational
opportunities, decent health care and
nutritional meals, a halt to cruel and unusual
punishments, and an end to unjust parole
decisions.
Date of Publication: 12/23/2010
Inmate killed in fight at Nevada prison
(HDSP)
From the Las Vegas Sun
By Rich Coleman
Dec. 17, 2010
7
Authorities announced Friday they were
investigating a slaying at High Desert State
Prison.
An inmate at the prison was killed at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday night during a fight with another
inmate, Nevada Department of Corrections
officials said.
[cut due to copyrights]
The Associated Press, Dec. 30, 2010
Records show a 30-year-old Nevada prison
inmate killed in a fight with another prisoner
had been convicted of murder in 2008 in Las
Vegas.
The Nevada Department of Corrections says
Gonzolo Antonio Tejada-Rivas died after a
Dec. 16 altercation with another man at High
Desert State Prison in Indian Springs.
[cut due to copyrights]
Comment received:
Dahn Shaulis said:
The murder of the prisoner at HDSP last week
gives NDOC another rationale to make HDSP
the max. While the murder may appear to be a
security failure, and it was, it is also a victory
for higher-level state officials.
As I previously mentioned to Nevada Prison
Watch, officials for years have had a plan to
make HDSP the max prison (to include a new
death chamber). The idea actually precedes
Howard Skolnik's administration. I was in a
meeting at HDSP when Interim Director Glen
Whorton briefly discussed the plan.
The recession is the only thing that delayed
some of the plans for "prison city", the center
of the prison-industrial complex in Nevada.
Inmate killed in Level 4
On 12-16-2010, the yard was closed for an
Inmate to Inmate killing in the new Level 4
housing area in Unit 7.
The Hispanic prisoner killed his celly, we´re not
sure why, but the prisoner who killed his celly
has a history of assaults and mental issues
that the prison clearly has failed to address.
How many more people have to die, or be
assaulted by staff before someone in our
society will take notice of the Nevada Prison
System´s failure to provide a proper structure
in its facilities?
The wardens who run these prisons need to be
held accountable for their lack of leadership
and the abuses they allow to flourish under
their reign.
This was sent with authorization for reprint by
James Gator Wardell
#92924
H.D.S.P., 12/17/2010
Corrections furloughs to start
By Ed Vogel
Ely Times Capital Bureau
January 14, 2011
CARSON CITY -- State prison correctional
officers will be required to take one unpaid
furlough day each month starting in February
despite warnings that the safety of the public,
prisoners and guards could be jeopardized.
Gov. Brian Sandoval and other members of the
state Board of Examiners voted 3-0 Tuesday to
require correctional officers to take furloughs
after being told by new Corrections Director
Greg Cox that the furloughs would not be a
safety risk and that the step would save
$312,700 a month in pay, according to the
state budget office.
In contrast to Cox, former Corrections Director
Howard Skolnik said repeatedly last year that
furloughing correctional officers was a
needless safety risk.
Skolnik told legislators that violence would
break out in prisons if he had to furlough
officers.
"We are sitting on a powder keg the way things
are going," he said. "I just can't tell you when
the fuse will be lit."
Gene Columbus, an officer at the Northern
Nevada Correctional Center and president of
the Nevada Corrections Association, said
Tuesday that it would be a "terrible mistake" to
furlough corrections officers.
"You will endanger the staff and inmates with
this thing," Columbus said. "It is foolish to say
this can be done. Skolnik was right. This is a
powder keg that can be ignited at any time.
You do the math."
8
There are 1,612 correctional officers guarding
12,562 inmates in eight state prisons and five
conservation camps around the state.
Besides having to take 12 furlough days a
year, correctional officers, like other state
workers, receive 11 holidays, 15 days of
vacation and 15 days of sick leave. That
means they are off 53 days a year, a little more
than one day a week.
[cut due to copyrights]
We received this comment:
One way to start downsizing the prison-
industrial complex is to call for an Intermediate
Sanctions Bill (BDR 509) in the 2011
Legislature. The plan could reduce the prison
population by 400 people next year. Please
email Assembly Judiciary Chairman William
Horne at william@williamhorne.com and tell
him to support the Bill. Or better yet, call him at
(702) 457-6963.
(sent in by Dahn Shaulis)
Que Dia Tan Bello
To my dear friends who read these “few”
humble words, I wish to extend my most
sincere greetings of solidarity and respects,
hoping you are in the best of health and in the
brightest of spirits, with the joy for life going
strong inside your beautiful, unbreakable
hearts!
My dear friends, the beautiful and
compassionate people out there in the “free”
world, I wish I could give you the opportunity to
meet and talk to some of these guys I’m locked
down with. I wish you had the opportunity to
contemplate the wise and poetic words of the
warriors and radicals that I’ve been fortunate
enough to cross paths with in these dregs of
society.
Men who know pain, men who know strife,
prisoners who have been beat down by life and
who unfortunately had to survive by drastic
means and desperate measures, but who still
strive with determined passion to rise above
the constant madness and degeneration, with
the drive to come out of this situation as wiser
and stronger men, with a true and healthy
understanding of life. These prisoners are my
comrades, they refuse to just sit and dwell in
their cells, but instead, they make it a point to
stay occupied and to stay focused and just like
me they’re going through the same dilemmas
and insane situations, just trying to stay strong
and true through it all. We try to make the best
out of a bad situation.
Straight up comrades. We may have different
skin color, different cultures, different
backgrounds, and therefore different ways of
seeing and feeling about specific things, but
we’ve all been put up in this same situation
together, and we are all up in here doing time
together, exchanging bits and pieces of
conversation, head nods of acknowledgment
as one walks past another’s cell on the way to
the shower, we pass things to each other,
share literature, share magazine, share
pictures of beautiful women, we share books,
we share music, and even though the
administration here at Ely State Prison has
made rules against sharing, we still do it,
because we know that sharing is caring! We
trade with one another, buy and sell from one
another, and without really trying, we’ve
basically turned each tier into a little
community, just by being here, locked down
like this and just trying to find ways to socialize
and survive and to make it through this
madness without losing our minds.
As we separate the real from the fake, the
good from the foul, we’ve come to know of
each other through a similar set of standards
which convicts live by. After so much time and
so much bullshit, while living around so much
foulness under these locked down situations,
some of us still try to keep the dying idea of
solidarity alive.
A community that hates is one that perishes. A
community that co-exists is one that thrives. If
we can learn how to co-exist in these
inhumane conditions of confinement, then we
can definitely learn how to co-exist in a general
population setting. It’s already known that the
people who keep us here don’t want us to get
along, they don’t want to see us sharing,
borrowing, lending, and they especially don’t
want to see us thriving and striving together,
because they know that type of solidarity
threatens and undermines the power they hold
over us. Most of these oppressors would rather
see us locked down and suffering, with nothing
in our cells and no one to talk to. Which is why
they try so hard to break us all the way down
when they see how much we are trying to stay
strong and to survive, and when they see how
much we are willing to resist, they’re struck
with fear and fascination! We are here, alive
and stronger than ever, and we’re not going
out like that. That’s why we strive so hard to
9
learn new things, to exercise and to elevate!
We strive to grow and develop and sharpen
our intellects and strengthen our bodies and to
search our souls. We dwell in a graveyard, but
we are alive. Not only is this a political
struggle, but it’s an intellectual struggle, a
physical struggle and a spiritual struggle as
well. Never are we to lay down and accept this
shit, which is why we’ve made it our objectives
to come out of this wiser, stronger and more
refined.
You can see the pain in our poetry when you
read our words and our writings. You can see
how much time, effort and skill we’ve put into
our creations when you look at our drawings
and our art. You can see how we have taken
tremendous strides to break through the chains
that they try to use to keep our minds shackled
to ignorance and stagnation. You can see the
beauty in our struggle as it shines through. We
refuse to lay down, we refuse to give up, we
refuse to be buried alive in these steel and
stone cemeteries.
(photo: Book Bloc protesters in London, 2010)
With a
dictionary, we
are armed.
With a book
of our own
history, we
are armed.
With
philosophy
books, we are armed. And with the
fundamentals of true, radical thoughts of
resistance, we are armed and dangerous.
Ready for life, ready for death, ready for
freedom, and for revolution. We see what’s
happening, and we know what’s happening,
and we’re ready to make things happen. We
strive for change, we strive for a sense of
direction, for purpose and for self and
collective elevation. And everybody knows that
I could sit here all day and write about all the
misery, pain and suffer, but today, as I write
this, I wish you could see – my dear and
beautiful friends – how brightly the light shines
in a world of darkness.
We could not be strong in here, without the
support of the people on the outs. We could
not be organized, educated or liberated without
solid support from the people. We appreciate
the help, we appreciate the love. We
appreciate the books, the money, the letters.
We appreciate all that you do to help us
sustain and maintain. We’d have no lifeline if it
wasn’t for all the beautiful people out there,
showing us love, solidarity and support.
Without people like you in this world, we’d be
lost, we’d be through. Thank you.
Before I close this, I just want to leave you with
one more thought. Life in prison is a tragedy,
we all know that. But in all honesty, sometimes
I wake up feeling good about myself, feeling
good about life, feeling good about the
camaraderie and the spirit of resistance in the
hearts of the men around me, and I have to get
up and come to the door and yell out to
somebody, “It’s a beautiful day!”.
With love for the people,
Coyote
Nevada Prison Chapter (A.B.C.), ESP, 2009
(Photo: students protest in London disguised
as books, aka `Book Bloc`, 2010)
Quote:
“Crime belongs to the concept “revolt against
the social order”. One does not “punish” a
rebel. One suppresses him. A rebel can be a
miserable and contemptible man; but there is
nothing contemptible in a revolt as such – and
to be a rebel in view of contemporary society
does in itself lower the value of a man. There
are even cases in which one might have to
honor a rebel, because he finds something in
our society against which war ought to be
waged – he awakens us from slumber”. –
Friedrich Nietzsche
Updates on the ESP Bookdrive
As many of you know from the last Newsletter,
there is a major book drive in progress to help
turn the E.S.P. Library into a Real Library! I
cannot thank everybody enough for what
they´ve been able to contribute so far! This is
turning out to be a major event: people from all
over the world have been donating all kinds of
good educational and radical books! And
there´s still much more to come!
So far, from what I know, this is what´s been
going on with the Book Drive:
Our good companyera in The Netherlands has
donated:
1) Websters Pocket Dictionary
2) The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran
(hardback)
3) Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
4) Hinduism, by K. Sen
5) The Rebellion of the Hanged, by B.
Traven
6) Teach Yourself Esperanto
7) Dutch-English mini Dictionary
8) The Autobiography of Malcolm X
10
9) Introducing Psychology
10) The Elements of Sufism
11) Arundhati Roy: The God of Small
Things
And I´m sure she´ll be sending more in the
near future.
Someone in Ohio has donated 29 college text
books!
They are:
1) The complete home taxidermy
2) The United States brief ed.
3) Fluid Mechanics X2
4) Harbrace College Handbook
5) Performance Management
6) Successful Manager´s Handbook
7) Theory of Vibration &. Applications
8) Different Equations – Modern Intro
9) Dimensioning and Tolerancing
10) Plane Trigonometry
11) Chemical Principles in the Laboratory
12) Solutions manual for Engineer in
Training
13) Engineer in Training Manual
14) Calcius
15) Fundamentals of Physics
16) General Chemistry
17) Numerical Mathematics and
Computing
18) Engineering Graphics Fundamentals
19) Mathematical Methods
20) Vector Mechanics for Engineering
21) Essentials of Engineering Economics
22) Introduction to Physical System
Dynamics
23) Thermodynamics
24) Calcius and Analytic Geometry
25) Statistical Quality Control Handbook
AT&T
26) Contemporary Economics
27) Mechanical Engineering
28) Fundamentals of Electrical
Engineering
A friend of mine in NC (Durham) has donated
these 4 books:
1) Man walks into a room, by Nicole Krauss
2) Great House, by Nicole Krauss
3) The Duel and other stories, by Anton
Chekhov
4) The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
We have some more college text books
coming from someone in PA, don´t know what
they are yet. A volunteer organisation in
Pittsburgh called Book´Em has donated a box
of books to the E.S.P. Library, but we don´t
know the names of the books they´ve sent. A
friend of mine in Reno is going to donate a few
books, one of those is “Days of war, nights of
love” by Crimeth, Inc.
My comrade in S. Chicago, Anthony Rayson, is
going to be donating some of his books,
straight from his attic! My comrade in Austin,
TX, who works with Inside Books Project will
definitely be donating some books. Bound
Together Books in San Francisco has donated
8 books. (I do not know the titles).
I´ve contacted: DC Prisons Book Project,
Books thru Bars NYC, MD, and sent them all a
copy of the ESP Book Drive flyer asking them
to donate books, I´ve gotten books from each
of these places in the past, so I´m sure they´ll
help again. A friend of mine here in Ely State
Prison has his lady in L.A. contacting different
activists and organizations, trying to get a book
drive going in L.A. for our library. So that´s
going to be huge!
Another friend of mine here in ESP his lady in
Reno is in contact with Truckee Meadows
Community College, the Reno Public Library,
and the Literacy Project, all who are going to
be donating books to our library! So that´s
huge!
I have a friend in Oakland who is supposed to
be donating a box of books to our library. I
know one of those books is “Ojiba Warrior” by
Dennis Banks. This is actually one of my
favourite books, it´s about how the A.I.M.
(American Indian Movement) got started, it´s
very good!
I personally donated 5 of my own books, they
are:
1) Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, by John
Watson
2) Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the
Madness of Crowds, by Charles MacKay
3) Herbal Magick: a Witch´s Guide to Herbal
Enchantments, Folklore, and Divinations, by
Gerina Durwich
4) The Depression Book: Depression as an
Opportunity for Growth
5) Prisoners Diabetes Handbook: a Guide to
Managing Diabetes – for Prisoners by
Prisoners (Southern Poverty Law Center).
Also a place in Chapel Hill, NC called
Internationalist Prison Books Collective is
donating books to us, and a place in Wisconsin
called Samizdat Socialist Prisoners Project is
donating books to our library. I don´t know
what books yet!
The E.S.P. Book Drive flyer is posted on:
Craig´s List, Twitter, Facebook,
Nevadaprisonwatch.org, Coyote-
calling.blogspot.com, Infoshop, Las Vegas
Indymedia, facebook and many other sites,
calling on people to donate books! So we will
11
definitely be getting tons of books sent in. The
E.S.P. Library will soon be the best prison
library in the nation! This is a major event and
will definitely provide prisoners here with
unlimited educational opportunities. Those who
want to use this time to learn, grow and elevate
themselves on higher levels of knowledge and
consciousness will now have the opportunity to
do just that! Remember only a piece of shit
destroys or steals these library books, so don´t
be a piece of shit, let everybody get a chance
to read these books, because this cause is for
everybody!
These are just some of the books from some of
the people and places that I know of for sure.
But I also know that various prisoners here at
ESP have called on their friends and families
to donate books. This book drive is still going
until Ms Thiel says she doesn´t have room for
any more books!
Then we will take the flyers down off all the
sites and let everybody know it´s over. But this
is something we should try to do every 5 years
or so, keep that in mind. Also just so
everybody knows, the library here at ESP will
accept hardbacks, paperbacks, new, used or
old books. The only books they won´t accept
are spiral bound books. The more hardbacks
the better, because they will last longer in this
library considering the fact that they´re harder
to steal and harder to damage, so call on your
people to send as many hardbacks as they
can! We want educational books, non-fiction,
radical books, political books, biographies and
good fiction novels. Our mission is to turn the
ESP Library into a real library!
Also, one more thing before I close this. There
is someone in Chicago who works for the
Midwest Books for Prisoners bookstore, and
he says that there´s a library in Chicago that
throws library books away by the dumpster-full!
The good thing is he has access to all of those
books! The bad news is he has no money to
ship them to us! We need those books! Those
books belon gin our library. I´ve tried to get a
stamp drive going on my unit, but only one
person besides myself was willing to donate
any stamps. Most dudes want to read those
books, but they don´t want to pitch in to help
get these books sent in, it´s a damn shame!
But together, me and the other comrade on my
tier have pitched in $25 instamps to send to
the guy in Chicago so he can ship as many
library books to our library as he can. I´m
calling on all those who read this, all those who
care, to send whatever extra stamps you have
to:
Chris, Chicago ABC
1321 N. Milwaukee Ave,
P.M.B. 460
Chicago, IL 60622
Be sure to let him know that those stamps are
specifically for the ESP Book Drive in NV, so
he can ship as many library books as he can to
the ESP Library on behalf of the book drive.
Chris is my comrade and he can be trusted.
It´s important that we help out so that we can
all take advantage of this opportunity! Sitting
here on perpetual lockdown aint no joke, but
we can turn a bad situation into an opportunity
for growth and progression, I know everybody
ain´t gonna be on that, but for the ones who
are, I´m asking you to do what you can to help
out.
Also, anybody who has any other updates in
regards to this book drive, we would all be
happy to hear about whatever news you have
about what books are being sent in, etc. Feel
free to write in to NPN and give us your
updates, to be published in the next newsletter
(NPN, Box 20494, Phoenix, AZ 85036).
Thanks for your participation and support!
Solidarity and Respects,
Anarchist Black Cross, Nevada Prison
Chapter
Suicide or murder at Ely State Prison
Interview with Marritte Funches, by Nevada
Prison Watch
Part 3 of 3
Q. I recently read where an ex-guard there
speaking about the Patrick Cavanaugh case,
stated that unless we have family at ESP, it´s
none of our business what´s going on there,
and why should we care. Can you comment on
this please?
A.
Yeah I heard about that. Cavanaugh is the one
the pigs tortured and let him rot to death. As for
what this ex-guard said. They might wanna
consider the fact we have more laws, more
prisons, and more people in um than any other
country on the planet. A judicial system we all
know is inherently flawed and corrupt. So
whether you break the law or not, you can end
up in a cell subject to this same bullshit.
The truth is, everyone should be up on what´s
going on in these pens and in the courts. But
what you saw is the same psychological
warfare these pigs use to keep convicts
divided or from knowing our rights. Any time
we speak up on the mistreatment of another
12
convict, or try to tell another convict what his
rights are, the first thing the pigs say is: “Do
your own number, this has nothing to do with
you.” But it does, because if they brutalize or
mistreat one of us, they do it to all of us.
And this is the type of teaching that makes
men like myself a target for harassment and
isolation. They are very careful not to put other
Blacks around me. But they are fools. It
doesn´t matter how many skinheads or other
racist gang members they put around me.
That´s just another opportunity for me to break
the barriers and find ways to see things in
common with other convicts and move this
thing forward.
Q. That´s a very unique approach. It amazes
me you can be
(p. 10) so determined, even under the
circumstances you´re faced with. Knowing all
you´ve had to deal with. I think I might have
given up long ago. Can you give us something
for the people you want them to know about
prison life?
A. People must understand a society of sheep
will beget a government of wolves. People
want to trust their elected officials, the courts,
police and so forth. But these are the
individuals we need to watch even that much
more. According to these prisoncrats no guard
in the history of prisons has ever lied,
brutalized or harassed an inmate. And if they
used force it was in self-defense only. Never a
systematic abuse of authority. People need to
understand how convicts are treated in prison
does affect them directly on a daily basis. What
young person would respect the law when
those in charge of upholding it are allowed to
violate their basic human rights, even torture
and murder them with impunity.
What should we expect from these young men
who are emasculated and dehumanized every
day of their lives in prison? And who then are
ignored by the courts, and society, when
braving even more harassment by speaking
out? What happens is they get fileld with
frustration and hate. I´ve seen it over and over
again, young men in prison for non-violent
crimes, subject to this lockdown environment,
get out and become violent.
So we must understand these are human
beings. Many of them young impressionable
minds in need of guidance and love.
Q. What about people who will say: “They
broke the law, they need to be punished?”

A. First I´d say we must demand the same
from those who uphold the law. When public
servants, the police, courts, and politicians are
not held to the very same standard as every
day people, there is no law. I´d also say yes,
as young people and human beings, we all
need discipline. But discipline without love is a
destructive force. We see it every day. The
science is irrefutable. Most who commit violent
crimes were themselves subject to abuse in
their lives. I´m saying discipline without
conscience, without love, is abuse. And we can
expect no less than destructive behaviour as a
result. I´m not saying convicts need to be
coddled. But when you put people in prison,
and remove their ability to socially interact and
bond with other human beings, you are
actually creating the monsters these pigs say
we are.
Q. Wow that´s pretty deep. In just this short
conversation you´ve opened up our eyes a lot.
A. Well this shit gets a whole lot deeper, trust
me.
Q. I can´t let you go without asking your
thoughts on the recent kop killing in
Washington?
A. You´re talking about the four kops killed in
the doughnut shop this past November?
Q. Yes, we´re interested to know your
thoughts, and the general feeling of the
convicts there.
A. I can´t speak on what the next man might
be thinking.
But I will say this. With all the pain and hatred
manifested under these conditions. The whole
´us against them´ attitude in law
enforcement…
Q. Wait, what do you mean by that?
A. Okay, to sum it up briefly, the pigs in
general are trained to view every hood, barrio
and trailer park as a warzone rather than a
community you dig. Like we´re not even a part
of this society. They´re the allies and we´re the
axis of evil. In the hood, our mentality is fuck
what them pigs is sayin on the public service
announcements, tv and all that. We know they
don´t give a fuck about us. They whole get
down is to knock us off and to lock up as many
of us as they can. They give out awards and
throw parties for that shit. When they catch a
young man tryin to make a way outta no way to
13
escape the hood, they not givin that youngsta
nothing to cope with the struggles we facing or
to find a better way to live. They just wanna put
us in prison and take as much of our lives as
they can.
Q. So there´s no trust between the police and
the communities?
A. Not at all. And how could it be when all they
do is demonize us for not accepting a third
class existence, beat us down for questioning
their authority, murder us and get away with it,
and lock us up with no evidence?
(Mural of Oscar Grant, shot by police whiloe
unarmed and lying on the floor 1-1-2009)
Q. That´s not how things should be. Especially
when poor people are the majority who fight
then wars in this country. If you´re good
enough to die for this country,
Then you should be treated fairly like everyone
else.
A. Exactly. But to your question. There were
some expressions of satisfaction for what
happened to the kops. But most conversations
I had with other convicts centered on the fact
that both Lovelle Mixon and Maurice
Clemmons had recently completed prison
terms prior to their acts of rebellion. And we
heard the reactionary calls from the fear
mongers to place new restrictions on parole.
Basically: keep everyone of similar
backgrounds incarcerated indefinitely. Which
really means throw away the key on any
Blacks and Browns already in the system. And
anyone with half a brain could see this will only
exacerbate the problems what lead to these
tragedies.
Q. Because as long as there is poverty, there
will be crime. And throwing out the key will not
stop it. It´ll only make people more desperate.
A. Yes, and it will take us back to a more
draconian type system like we had in the mid
1900s, and which lead to many violent
rebellions in the 60s, 70s and 80s, in places
like Attica, New Mexico, and San Quentin.
The questions that need to be asked are, what
conditions in the prisons led those men to
commit such extreme acts of rebellion? Right
now there are tens of thousands of young men
in these prison subject to some sort of
segregation, locked in a cell 24/7 for months
and years at a time. With no regard to how this
might be effecting them mentally or
emotionally. Not to mention all the other
psychological bullshit one must endure or
witness under these circumstances, to see
your comrades who you´ve grown to love, and
who helped you make I tout of prison alive,
being tortured and humiliated on a daily basis.
It´s my observation as a long-term convict
Acts of violence and rage born from these
conditions are fairly common. One need only
look at the high number of violent crimes
committed by convicts after serving significant
SHU terms. Whether or not they were already
violent is of little relevance, as it´s the basic
premise of the judicial system and prison in
general to address these issues. To simply
lock someone away for a period of time without
any effort to humanely reform them, or treat
any underlying psychological issues, makes no
sense at all. Nor would it to excessively punish
them by throwing away the key. History has
already born out the fact, convicts who have
access to real education, real programs and
job training, and who have ample access to
family and loved ones on the outside, whether
they are in prison for petty crimes or murder,
are less likely to reoffend than anyone else.
Q. Mr. Funches, everything you´ve said is
already so insightful and eye-opening and will
give the reader insight into the broken society
we live in. But are there any studies you can
point to on this subject?
A. Actually there are hundreds of in depth
reports and studies on the effects of solitary
confinement and the prison system in general.
Two that I can mention off the top of my head,
the article done for the Commission on Safety
and Abuse in America´s prisons, in 2006,
entitled I believe “The Psychiatric Effects of
Solitary Confinement” by Dr Stuart Grassian.
(link)And then there´s a paper published on the
New Yorker just last year called “Hellhole”
(link), by Atul Gawande. Anyone interested in
what´s going on behind these walls, really
should read these.
14
But then they can always hit up your website,
the AFSC or the new Solitary Watch site, and
get put on to a wealth of information and
firsthand accounts that will blow their minds.
Again I honestly believe if people only knew
what was really going on… Look, these
extreme acts of rebellion we saw last year are
only shocking to the public because they don´t
see what we see in the hood every day. The
same sort of rage and violence goes unnoticed
and ignored in the hood, because usually it´s
directed inward. It´s like Post-Traumatic Stress
Syndrom, without that balance of love, without
addressing the effects of what these prisons
are doing to the people. Every day we kill each
other, we kill ourselves, abuse the people we
love, become drug addicted and alcoholic,
trying to escape the demons manifested in that
cell.
Q. Can you give us some solutions to consider,
moving forward in dealing with these problems.
Unfortunately, as the courts continue to block
our efforts to expose this corruption and
change things for the better, with bullshit laws
like the P.L.R.A., I predict we will see more
acts of rebellion like we saw in Oakland and
Washington. Not only on the police, but judges,
prosecutors, wardens, and all those who
support this broken prison-for-profit system.
So rather than this reactionary call for
retaliation, more laws and stronger sentences,
we need to take some lessons from our
European neighbors and learn better ways to
deal with crime and convicts.
We need to organize state by state and in
every region on a grassroots level to demand
of our legislators a real change in ideology.
We want an immediate end to long-term
lockdown units.
We want an immediate repeal of the Prison
Litigation Reform Act.
We want the creation of real educational and
job training programs in every prison.
We want a total revamp of the way inmates are
screened for mental illness and how they are
treated.
We need to organize an immediate boycott of
all companies that profit from the Prison
Industrial Complex, via the slave labor of
inmates, correctional officers unions, private
prison corporations, the security and weapons
manufacturers that create all of these medieval
torture devices, etc. Boycott their asses and
shut um down.
And we must, I stress we must, begin making
better use of the talent and abilities of the
convicts themselves. There are a lot of
talented and brilliant men and women in these
cells. We must work to transform these prisons
from houses of misery to training camps for
activism and community work. Here in Nevada
we need those in other states already doing
this work for prison and judicial reform, to offer
your insights and help the few activists we
have get better organized and moving in the
right direction.
Q. Hopefully reading this interview people will
see there are good people in the prisons there
trying to do some good things. And that they
will be moved to reach out to you and offer
their support. We know you have your own
prisoners rights group you are trying to build.
Can you tell us about that before you go?
A. Yes well, a prisoners rights group is one of
the things we´re trying to build / building. Our
primary focus is developing the social and
political consciousness of convicts.
Transforming the criminal mind to a conscious
mind, so that rather than destroyers of our
communities, we can become protectors and
righteous leaders of our communities.
As you know, our motto in the August Initiative
is “Redemption through Education and
Service.” So we have a number of things we´re
working on. People can hit up my Facebook
page and get plugged in there, or go to
Augustinitiative.org. and read our mission
statement. I wish you all out there health and
happiness.
One Planet One Peace.
15
Note: To learn more about Dr Grassian´s work
and findings, read his report via this link. And
to read the article Hellhole, and other news
about Supermax prisons and Solitary
confinement, visit
Solitarywatch.wordpress.com. Learn more
about Nevada´s prisons at:
Nevadaprisonwatch.blogspot.com.
Thank you Marritte for your insights and
inspirational ideas.
Typed March 21st 2010
Power to the people: A welcome prison
victory in Ohio
So this is OH, not NV, but it is heartwarming to
see things can be done with people power!
By Bomani Shakur
Although on a very small scale (which by no
means diminishes the deed), we, the people,
have wrought a revolution – “a sudden and
momentous change in a situation” – and
accomplished in 12 days what the powers that
be have repeatedly told us would never
happen. Indeed, for the first time in 16 years, I
will be able to hug and kiss my family again!
There are no words to express the profound
gratitude I feel.
The late, great, revolutionary leader, Che
Guevara, once said: “A true revolutionary is
guided by great feelings of love!” Well, while I
cannot claim to be a revolutionary in the strict
sense of the word, it is a great feeling of love –
for you, the people – that is guiding me right
now: Even as I write this, tears of hope and
determination are streaming down my face.
When one has been forced to live in a space
no larger than a closet for 16 years, 23 hours a
day, not only does one begin to feel extremely
insignificant, but the very world begins to
shrink; and everything, even the smallest thing,
seems impossible. Hence, never in my wildest
dreams could I have imagined the
overwhelming outpouring of love and support
that came flooding into my cell after I cried out
for help.
People from all over the country and the world
– England, Ireland, Serbia, Amsterdam –
reached out and joined together with us to right
an injustice; and surprisingly, miraculously, we
succeeded! Everything we demanded was
properly handed over.
It would be great if I could say that the worst is
over now, and that, with victory in hand, I can
live happily ever after. Unfortunately, I don’t
have the luxury of living in a fairy tale; the
people who are trying to take my life are real,
not a figment of my imagination.
In fact, not even a week after my piece, “If We
Must Die,” was posted and we embarked on
the hunger strike, a federal district judge turned
down my appeal, which placed me even further
in the balance. It would be naïve of me to
believe that this was just a coincidence, an
unrelated incident that just so happened to
coincide with our peaceful, nonviolent
demonstration.
As you may recall, I said some very harsh
things – all of them true – against the system;
and I say them again: This system is bogus
and sold to those with money. In other words, if
you don’t have the capital, you get the
punishment, and justice, like everything else in
this capitalist nightmare, is nothing more than a
commodity that is reserved for the highest
bidder. Need I say more?
Friends, I beg you not to abandon me to this
mockery; inasmuch as my life is not for them to
take, I intend to fight them, and I (we) need
your help. What they did to us cannot stand up
under the bright light of scrutiny.
Because of who we are, they felt that doing a
thorough job wasn’t necessary. After all, who’s
going to give a damn about a bunch of
criminals? With this as their attitude, they
utilized a “first-come-first-served” strategy and
ended up charging several different people
with the same crimes, using different theories;
and, in some cases, allowed the actual
perpetrators to point the finger elsewhere if
they were willing to assist the prosecution in
cleaning up its books.
Simply put, what they did to us is a travesty of
justice; and yet, our convictions have remained
intact through the lower courts of appeal and
are quickly making their way through the
federal courts. In other words, if we don’t do
something to get out in front of this thing, they
are going to kill us soon. And it may be that, no
matter what we do, they are going to kill us
anyway. Well, OK. But if that be the case, let
us at least make sure that they not be able to
call it justice. If they kill us, let us at least be
able to call it what it really is: murder.
Friends, we don’t have to accept this; we don’t
have to continue down the path of least
16
resistance, allowing them to do with us
whatever they please. If we stand together and
speak truth to power, they will have no choice
but to right this wrong. They did it in the current
confrontation, and they will do it again, not
because they want to but because they have
to.
Whenever hypocrisy is confronted by the truth,
it must capitulate. Therefore, the key to fighting
these people is to expose the truth and then
hold it up next to what they claim to represent.
If we can do this well enough, they will either
have to practice what they preach or, as
Malcolm X suggests, preach what they
practice. Our job is to make sure they don’t
have it both ways.
Our friend, Staughton Lynd, has written a book
about the uprising, “Lucasville: The Untold
Story of a Prison Uprising,” and we need to
encourage people to read it. In the coming
days, weeks and months, we need to formulate
plans to reintroduce the play and launch the
documentary, “Dirty Little Secrets,” all with the
intended purpose of making as many people
as possible aware of what actually happened
during the uprising and its aftermath.
Ultimately, the goal is to compose a petition,
similar in scope to the ones that were recently
circulated, which will then be presented to the
governor with the demand that he either issue
a general amnesty with respect to all of the
Lucasville cases or, in the alternative, convene
a panel of qualified experts to determine
whether or not a general amnesty is warranted.
In closing, I want to thank each and every one
of you for coming forward as you did. I am both
humbled and uplifted by the support. When I
phoned my 8-year-old niece, Kayla, afterwards
and informed her that “Uncle Keith will be able
to touch your little hand soon,” she, with
excitement brimming in her voice, said, “That’s
awesome!” And I couldn’t agree with her more:
What we did was awesome! We came together
and spoke truth to power and won! Imagine
that!
Power to the people!
From articles by Denis O´Hearn:
Why a Hunger Strike?
The "Lucasville Five" includes the three hunger
strikers plus Namir Mateen, who did not join
the hunger strike due to medical complications,
and George Skatzes, who was transferred out
of isolation at OSP after he was diagnosed
with chronic depression. All five are awaiting
execution for a variety of charges, mostly
complicity in the murders of prisoners and a
guard during the Lucasville prison uprising of
1993. In a case that resembles that of the
Angola 3 in Louisiana, they have been held in
solitary isolation for 23 hours a day for more
than 17 years, since the evening the uprising
ended. This is despite the fact that three of
them helped negotiate a settlement of the
uprising that undoubtedly saved lives, and
despite a promise within the agreement that
there would be no retribution against any of the
prisoners.
The Ohio prison authorities went back on their
word. They not only put the five men in
isolation but they built the supermax prison at
Youngstown to hold them that way in
perpetuity. Having built the prison, they had to
fill 500 beds, despite the fact that a small
Secure Housing Unit at Lucasville had never
been full. But the 1990s were the decade of
the supermax. So men who were charged with
minor offences found themselves locked up in
Youngstown on "Level 5 security," meaning
that they were held for 23 hours a day in a cell
no bigger than a city parking space. The steel-
doored cells and even the recreation areas
where they spent an hour a day were built in
such a way as to ensure that they would never
have contact with another living being --
human, animal, or plant. "Outdoor recreation"
was in a cement-walled enclosure that was
only outdoor if you consider that the roof is a
steel grille. Hundreds of men have come and
gone since 1998. Only four, the three hunger
strikers and Namir Mateen, remain locked up
in perpetual isolation.
A case is underway in the Middle District Court
of Louisiana that is likely to judge this kind of
treatment as a violation of the eighth
amendment prohibitions on cruel and unusual
punishment. It may be that the Ohio authorities
see the handwriting on the wall and they want
to improve the conditions of Ohio's supermax
before they are forced to do so by another
court ruling, like the Wilkinson vs Austin case
of 2005 in which the US Supreme Court forced
them to improve conditions in the supermax.
One of the holdings of the Supreme Court
instructed the Ohio authorities to follow Fifth
Amendment provision on due process. In
2000, two years after the supermax opened,
they began giving annual reviews to the death-
sentenced Lucasville prisoners. But the
17
reviews are not meaningful. One of the reviews
even concluded, "You were admitted to OSP in
May of 1998. We are of the opinion that your
placement offense is so severe that you should
remain at the OSP permanently or for many
years regardless of your behavior while
confined at the OSP." Thus, the four have
been condemned to de facto permanent
isolation.
This lack of meaningful review, as well as the
continued lack of human contact despite the
agreement that ended the Youngstown hunger
strike, might yet be the focus of litigation not
just in Ohio but in other supermaxes around
the United States, such as California's
notorious "Secure Housing Unit" at Pelican
Bay State Prison.
The conditions of supermax are a running sore
on the US human rights record, a sort of
elephant in the room that few people want to
talk about. Yet there is a growing sentiment
among experts and policymakers against
extreme isolation, both because of its cost but
also due to the judgment that it is a form of
torture.
And it is these conditions of extreme isolation,
without hope of ever touching a fellow human
apart from a prison guard, that drove these
men to the ultimate protest of hunger strike. As
Bomani Shakur wrote in a statement that
announced his hunger strike, none of the men
wanted to die. But in such conditions of
isolation, and in the absence of any way of
proving to the authorities that they were not a
security risk if allowed to mix with other
prisoners or have semi-contact visits, depriving
themselves of food was the only non-violent
means of protest that remained for them.
…
Strange group
The system keeps its worst retribution for the
four hunger-striking men for whom it built OSP:
Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Keith Lamar, Namir
Abdul Mateen, and Jason Robb. They are a
strange group of prisoners. Two are Sunni
Muslim. One an unaffiliated African-American.
The fourth an Aryan Brother. Contrary to what
we might expect, they are friends and even
“best friends”. This is not supposed to happen
between an Aryan Brother and an Afro-
American.
Perhaps this is why prison authorities have
written to them that, despite a cursory annual
review of their cases, “You were admitted to
OSP in May of 1998. We are of the opinion
that your placement offense is so severe that
you should remain at the OSP permanently or
for many years regardless of your behavior
while confined at the OSP.”
The lack of a reasonable review violates the
due process clause of the Fifth Amendment of
the US Constitution. It also violates the explicit
instruction of the Supreme Court of the United
States in Austin v. Wilkinson. Moreover,
keeping men in supermax isolation for long
periods clearly violates the Eighth Amendment
prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Denis O’Hearn is Professor of Sociology at
Binghamton University — SUNY. His book,
“Nothing But an Unfinished Song,” is a
biography of the Irish hunger striker Bobby
Sands.
Published on Jan. 3rd 2011 in The Vindicator
And Bomani´s article in the SF Bay View
(Feb.).
Nevada Factsheet Incarceration
From the Fact Sheet of the Pew Center, 2009:
See graphics on P. 20.
1 in 48 adults (note1,2) is under correctional
control
• Growth over time: in 1982, the figure was 1 in
66 adults (note 1,2)
• Percent behind bars: at year end 2007, 54
percent of the correctional population was in
prison or jail (national rank: 3); the figure for
1982 was 38 percent (national rank: 12) (note
1)
$253 million (note 6) spent on corrections
• Share of general fund: 7.9 percent in fiscal
year 2008(note 6)
• Ratio of spending: For every dollar Nevada
spent on prisons in 2008, it spent 17 cents on
probation and parole (note5)
Sources/Notes:
1) Bureau of Justice Statistics, Correctional
Surveys (U.S. Department of
Justice);
2) U.S. Census, State Population Estimates;
3) Administrative Office of U.S. Courts;
4) Bureau of Prisons (U.S. Department of
Justice);
5) Pew, Original Data;
6) National Association of State Budget
Officers, State Expenditure Reports
18
03/02/2009 - As a supplement to the report
One in 31: The Long Reach of American
Corrections, these fact sheets describe the
size and cost of the correctional populations in
each of the states.
www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/
wwwpewcenteronthestatesorg/Fact_Sheets/PS
PP_1in31_factsheet_NV.pdf
See also the Pew Center Prison Count 2010,
Nevada has 12,539 prisoners as of January 1,
2010.
Little Helper
Online there is a Guidebook for Incarcerated
Veterans in Nevada. The 36 page guide
contains information and phone numbers to
help Veterans on release. Ask your family or
friends for a copy if you think this is helpful for
you:
http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/Reentry/0
9_nv.pdf
They have no physical address to write to.
Contents:
SECTION I: USING THE GUIDE AND
SEEKING HELP
SECTION II: HELP FOR VETERANS
Preparing for Release from Incarceration
Planning Your Return to Home
Inventory of needs
SECTION III: RESOURCES FOR VETERANS
Toll-Free Numbers
Where to Start – Homeless and social services
Military Records
Housing
Finding & Keeping a Job
VA Health Care
Mental Health Services
Alcohol - Substance Abuse Treatment &
Counseling
Financial Help
Legal Help
Women Veterans
SECTION IV: SEEKING FEDERAL BENEFITS
Eligibility for Benefits While Incarcerated
Benefits Payments while Incarcerated
Family Benefits – Apportionment
Help Seeking Benefits
Seeking Benefits on your own
Helpful Websites
19