Friday, April 6, 2012, 6pm - 8pm
UC Hastings College of the Law
Louis B. Mayer Lounge
198 McAllister Street
San Francisco
From: The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog
(San Francisco) --This free San Francisco event organized by the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 will mark 40 years of solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3, by exploring the expansion and overuse of solitary confinement, and mobilizing support for the Amnesty International Petition to remove them from solitary confinement and support for the California Hunger Strikers. Includes Keynote with Angola 3’s Robert H. King, 2 films and additional speakers.
The International Coalition to Free the Angola Three is presenting a free public forum and film screening entitled “The Outer Limits of Solitary Confinement,” at UC Hastings College of the Law, Louis B. Mayer Lounge, 198 McAllister Street, San Francisco, on Friday, April 6, 2012, from 6pm - 8pm, and co-hosted by the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal and the Hastings chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
The International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 stands in solidarity with the courageous prisoners that recently initiated hunger strikes throughout California prisons. The event will examine how the torture and wrongful convictions of the Angola 3 are part of a much larger problem throughout US prisons. With presentations from several speakers involved with supporting the hunger strikers, the audience will be presented with many ways in which they too can lend their support in the fight against solitary confinement and other forms of torture in California prisons.
The keynote speaker will be Robert H. King, of the Angola 3, who was released in 2001 when his conviction was overturned, after 29 years of continuous solitary confinement. King says today that “being in prison, in solitary was terrible. It was a nightmare. My soul still cries from all that I witnessed and endured. It does more than cry- it mourns, continuously.”
Since his release, Robert H. King has worked tirelessly to support the other two members of the Angola 3, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, who have been in solitary confinement since April 17, 1972. This coming April 17, which marks the 40th anniversary of their solitary confinement, King will be joined by Amnesty International and other supporters at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to present Amnesty International’s petition to Governor Bobby Jindal demanding that Wallace and Woodfox be immediately released from solitary confinement.
Read more about Amnesty International’s Angola 3 campaign, here.
At the UC Hastings event, King will talk about the Amnesty International petition demanding transfer from solitary and the broader struggle to release Wallace and Woodfox from prison altogether. Interviewed in a recent video by Amnesty International, King says about Wallace and Woodfox: “All evidence shows that they were targeted simply for being members of the Black Panther Party. There is really no evidence, forensic, physical, or otherwise, linking them to the crime. When I think about the ten years in which I’ve had time to be out here, that is ten more years that they are there.”
In their investigative report (http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/usa-100-years-in-solitary-the-angola-3-and-their-fight-for-justice), Amnesty International similarly concluded that “no physical evidence links Woodfox and Wallace to the murder.” Even further: “potentially favorable DNA evidence was lost. The convictions were based on questionable inmate testimony…it seems prison officials bribed the main eyewitness into giving statements against the men. Even the widow of the prison guard has expressed skepticism, saying in 2008, ‘If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare for 36 years!’”
Additional speakers will include:
• Hans Bennett, Independent journalist and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia
• Terry Kupers, Institute Professor at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California
• Manuel La Fontaine, Northern California Regional Organizer for All of Us or None
• Aaron Mirmalek, Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee Oakland
• Kiilu Nyasha, Independent journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party
• Tahtanerriah Sessoms-Howell, Youth Organizer for All of Us Or None
• Luis “Bato” Talamantez, California Prison Focus and one of the San Quentin 6
• Azadeh Zohrabi, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal
• And more (Full speaker bios below).
In addition, two short films will be featured: The Gray Box: A Multimedia Investigation, by Susan Greene, The Dart Society, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment, by Claire Schoen, for the AFSC Stopmax Campaign.
Event notes: Hastings is on the corner of Hyde and McAllister, two blocks from the Civic Center BART station. The Hyde Street side entrance is wheelchair accessible. Refreshments will be served and signed books will be for sale. This event is free and open to the public. Donations for prisoner support will be gratefully accepted.
A FORTY YEAR HISTORY OF REPRESSION:
On April 17, 1972, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 were placed in solitary confinement at Angola Prison in Louisiana. Wallace and Woodfox were subsequently railroaded and convicted for the murder of a prison guard, and remain in solitary to this day. They were framed COINTELPRO-style, in retaliation for co-founding a Black Panther chapter at Angola that initiated multiracial work and hunger strikes.
Currently held inside California’s notorious Pelican Bay State Prison, Hugo “Yogi Bear” Pinell, of the San Quentin Six, has now been in continuous solitary for at least 42 years. A participant in the recent statewide prisoner hunger strike, Pinell was a close comrade of Black Panther and prison author, George Jackson. Having been continually denied parole despite a clean record for the last 27 years, Pinell is, in the words of the Angola 3’s own Robert H. King, “a clear example of a political prisoner." His next parole hearing is scheduled for this May.
The stories of the Angola 3 and Hugo Pinell are the most extreme examples of a widespread human rights crisis in US prisons, where prolonged solitary confinement has become routine. According to www.solitarywatch.com, there are “at least 75,000 and perhaps more than 100,000 prisoners in solitary confinement on any given day” in the US.
On March 20, several human rights organizations jointly filed a petition to the United Nations Group on Arbitrary Detention, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and United Nations General Assembly on behalf of prisoners throughout California’s Security Housing Units (SHU) and Administrative Segregation Units (ASU). The petition calls for UN action against California’s prison administration and deplores the conditions of thousands of California prisoners, “being detained in isolated segregated units for indefinite periods or determinate periods of many years solely because they have been identified as members of gangs or found to have associated with a gang.”
The petition states further that “as a result of the policies and practices that leave California with the largest population of prisoners in isolated segregation anywhere in the world, these prisoners suffer extreme mental and physical harm, including mental breakdowns, extreme depression, suicidal ideation, and breaks with reality, such that their treatment may be considered torture or degrading treatment illegal under well-established international norms and obligations of the United States and the State of California under, inter alia, the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (‘CAT’) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’).”
Fueled by the racist “War On Drugs,” and the broader criminalization of poverty, the US prison population has exploded from less than 300,000 prisoners in 1970 to over 2.4 million today. This 40-year policy of mass incarceration has turned the US into literally the world’s #1 jailer—with the world’s highest incarceration rate and total number of prisoners (http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php).
POSITION STATEMENT:
We declare that this human rights atrocity known as the “criminal justice system” has now reached its outer limits. This cannot continue! It is becoming increasingly clear to the public that prolonged solitary confinement is nothing other than state torture.
The recent collaboration of prison activists and Occupy Wall Street (www.occupy4prisoners.org) marks a renewed linking of economic justice activism to a critique of mass incarceration and the criminalization of poverty. As Robert H. King said in his message to Occupy 4 Prisoners, “the same people who make the laws that favor the bankers, make the laws that fill our prisons and detention centers. We have to continue to make the connection between Wall St. and the prison industrial complex.” The upcoming “Occupy the Justice Department” action in Washington DC on April 24 is calling for the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners.
The strength of the 99% is in our numbers. Our only hope is to unite against the 1%. A newly-formed multiracial coalition of hunger strikers throughout California’s prisons (most recently at Corcoran State) has demanded an end to prolonged solitary confinement and many other inhumane policies. These freedom fighters are on the frontlines of the struggle and they badly need our support. Our event is being held to give voice to their struggle and to present the audience with opportunities to show their support.
FEATURED SPEAKERS BIOS:
ROBERT H. KING (Keynote Speaker)-- A member of the Angola 3, released in 2001 after 29 years of continuous solitary confinement. Since his release, he has worked tirelessly in support of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox. In 2008, King released his award-winning autobiography, entitled From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Robert Hillary King(PM Press). His website is www.kingsfreelines.com.
HANS BENNETT-- A prison abolitionist, independent multi-media journalist and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal (www.abu-jamal-news.com), Bennett has written for several publications including Alternet, Truthout, Z Magazine, Black Commentator, ColorLines, Poor Magazine, SF Bay View Newspaper, Slingshot and Indymedia.
TERRY KUPERS-- An Institute Professor at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Dr. Kupers’ forensic psychiatry experience includes testimony in several large class action litigations concerning jail and prison conditions, sexual abuse, and the quality of mental health services inside correctional facilities. He is a consultant to Human Rights Watch, and author of the 1999 book entitled Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It.
MANUEL LA FONTAINE-- The Northern California Regional Organizer, All of Us or None (http://www.prisonerswithchildren.org/projects/all-of-us-or-none/). As a former street organizer (also known as a gang member), a formerly-incarcerated person, and a college graduate, Manuel brings street savvy, along with scholastic aptitude, and incorporates them into his work life to better assist those without voices.
AARON MIRMALEK-- The founder of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee Oakland, started in honor of his cousin Leonard Peltier (www.whoisleonardpeltier.info). Born in Oakland, he is a longtime community organizer. In 2010, Aaron was the Executive Producer of "Free Leonard Peltier: Hip Hop's Contribution to the Freedom Campaign." In 2011, he was the Executive Producer and Co-Host of "Free Peltier Free Em All!" DVD with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. For more information please visit www.FreeLeonardAlbum.com.
KIILU NYASHA-- A San Francisco-based journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party. Through the end of 2009, Kiilu hosted a weekly TV program, "Freedom Is A Constant Struggle,” on SF Live. She writes for many publications, including the SF Bay View Newspaper and Black Commentator. Also an accomplished radio programmer, she has worked for KPFA (Berkeley), SF Liberation Radio, Free Radio Berkeley, and KPOO in SF. Her website is www.kiilunyasha.blogspot.com.
TAHTANERRIAH SESSOMS-HOWELL-- Youth Organizer, All of Us Or None. Sessoms-Howell is a native of Berkeley, California. When she was arrested at the age of 15 she got her first glimpse into the cruel world of “rehabilitation.” While in jail and on probation, Sessoms-Howell found out very fast that there is no such thing as a fair justice system. She now works to inform the youth of their rights and keep connections between youth and their elders strong. As Youth Organizer for AOUON, her job is to help, by any means, ensure the safety and rights of future generations to come.
LUIS “BATO” TALAMANTEZ—One of the San Quentin 6, Talamantez also works with California Prison Focus, and is a long time Bay Area activist and organizer.
AZADEH ZOHRABI-- Co-Editor-in-Chief of the UC Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, Zohrabi is a third year law student at UC Hastings. Her family's experience with incarceration is what motivated her to become an attorney and an advocate for people in prison. Most recently, she has worked to advocate on behalf of prisoners in the Security Housing Units as a member of the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition and the mediation team for the prisoners.
MORE SF BAY AREA EVENTS WITH ROBERT H. KING:
--Let Us Not Forget: Honor Fallen Comrades and Political Prisoners, Saturday, April 7, 1:00pm, West Oakland Library, 1801 Adeline Street (www.itsabouttimebpp.com). For more information: (916) 455-0908.
--Oakland International Film Festival, Sunday, April 8, 3:00pm, Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street (http://www.oiff.org/). King will be speaking in conjunction with a screening of the new British documentary about the Angola 3, entitled “In The Land of the Free…”
Monday, March 26, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Pelican Bay SHU representatives respond to CDCR’s proposed gang management strategy
From: SF Bay View
March 19, 2012
by Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, Sitawa Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry) and Antonio Guillen
Supporters of the mass California prisoner hunger strike marched on July 25, 2011, to a rally outside CDCR headquarters in Sacramento. – Photo: Indybay
Written to Kendra Castaneda on March 13, 2012, postmarked March 15 – The PBSP SHU (Pelican Bay State Prison Security Housing Unit) Short Corridor representatives have read and carefully considered and hereby reject CDCR’s gang management proposal (formally titled by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation “Security Threat Group Prevention, Identification and Management Strategy”) of March 2012, based on the following three points:
1) Prisoners designated Security Threat Group Members (STG-1) – e.g., the majority of those presently in PBSP SHU Short Corridor – will not receive any meaningful, substantive change to their current indefinite isolation status. Our status quo will remain the same as it has been for the past 25 years. (See the proposal at page 7 under the definition of sanctioned “Criminal Gang Behavior,” page 25 in the middle of the last paragraph, and page 36 at the second paragraph.) Remember, many of us have been held in the torturous conditions of isolative sensory deprivation for 25-plus years and counting.
2) The proposal requires STG-1 members to remain in SHU for a minimum of an additional one to four years, in spite of five to 25 years of zero serious rule violation offenses! This is NOT in accordance with our Core Demands Nos. 1-3 regarding realistic individual accountability and an end to long term isolation etc. (Reference our Core Demands online as well as the points in No. 1 above and the CDCR proposal on page 39 in the top paragraph.)
3) The proposal is typically full of CDCR Office of Correctional Safety (OCS) propaganda, such as references to the “worst of the worst” etc. – e.g., “CDCR manages arguably the most violent and sophisticated gang members and associates in the nation.” (See the first paragraph on page 5 of the proposal.) The proposal implies that although CDCR’s gang policies have been successful for the past 25 years, they recognize a need to change some things. (See the fourth paragraph on page 5.)
This is the view from inside a Pelican Bay SHU cell out to the corridor. The front of the cell is made of steel perforated with nickel-sized holes so that prisoners have no privacy. – Photo: CDCR
It’s arguably really all about money. See our September 2011 statement, “Tortured SHU prisoners speak out,” including a discussion of an expansion of OCS and Institutional Gang Investigations (IGI) staff and money, and the last paragraph on page 5 of the CDCR proposal. [In “Tortured SHU prisoners speak out,” the representatives wrote: “CDCR has made clear that one certainty is their plan to substantially expand on the use of ‘solitary confinement’ via targeting all prisoners deemed ‘disruptive groups’ (security threat groups) … – e.g., all street gang affiliates, prisoners deemed political-revolutionary etc. … It costs nearly double to house prisoners in solitary confinement!” – ed.]
While CDCR’s OCS staff may pat themselves on the back claiming their policies of torturous human rights violations for 25 years are a success, the facts prove otherwise – examples being the so called rehabilitated debriefers who simply went out and either got assaulted or formed new gangs – or both – all over CDCR sensitive needs yards (SNYs). (See the proposal at page 13, at STG-II, re SNY gangs.)
Also, don’t forget to consider all the families of these successful debriefers who’ve had to relocate and live in fear of reprisal, based on the debriefers’ self-serving actions. It’s doubtful they’ll agree with the CDCR-OCS view of success.
We will be presenting our counter-proposal soon. The struggle continues. Our resolve is solid and focused on our collective efforts to force real change of substance.
Send our brothers some love and light: Todd Ashker, C-58191, PBSP SHU, D1-119, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532, and Sitawa Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry), C-35671, PBSP SHU, D1-117L, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532. Arturo Castellanos and Antonio Guillen are not allowed any mail; that’s an issue that should be raised with CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. This letter was transcribed by Kendra Castaneda.
Link to article: http://sfbayview.com/2012/pelican-bay-shu-representatives-respond-to-cdcrs-proposed-gang-management-strategy/
March 19, 2012
by Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, Sitawa Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry) and Antonio Guillen
Supporters of the mass California prisoner hunger strike marched on July 25, 2011, to a rally outside CDCR headquarters in Sacramento. – Photo: Indybay
Written to Kendra Castaneda on March 13, 2012, postmarked March 15 – The PBSP SHU (Pelican Bay State Prison Security Housing Unit) Short Corridor representatives have read and carefully considered and hereby reject CDCR’s gang management proposal (formally titled by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation “Security Threat Group Prevention, Identification and Management Strategy”) of March 2012, based on the following three points:
1) Prisoners designated Security Threat Group Members (STG-1) – e.g., the majority of those presently in PBSP SHU Short Corridor – will not receive any meaningful, substantive change to their current indefinite isolation status. Our status quo will remain the same as it has been for the past 25 years. (See the proposal at page 7 under the definition of sanctioned “Criminal Gang Behavior,” page 25 in the middle of the last paragraph, and page 36 at the second paragraph.) Remember, many of us have been held in the torturous conditions of isolative sensory deprivation for 25-plus years and counting.
2) The proposal requires STG-1 members to remain in SHU for a minimum of an additional one to four years, in spite of five to 25 years of zero serious rule violation offenses! This is NOT in accordance with our Core Demands Nos. 1-3 regarding realistic individual accountability and an end to long term isolation etc. (Reference our Core Demands online as well as the points in No. 1 above and the CDCR proposal on page 39 in the top paragraph.)
3) The proposal is typically full of CDCR Office of Correctional Safety (OCS) propaganda, such as references to the “worst of the worst” etc. – e.g., “CDCR manages arguably the most violent and sophisticated gang members and associates in the nation.” (See the first paragraph on page 5 of the proposal.) The proposal implies that although CDCR’s gang policies have been successful for the past 25 years, they recognize a need to change some things. (See the fourth paragraph on page 5.)
This is the view from inside a Pelican Bay SHU cell out to the corridor. The front of the cell is made of steel perforated with nickel-sized holes so that prisoners have no privacy. – Photo: CDCR
It’s arguably really all about money. See our September 2011 statement, “Tortured SHU prisoners speak out,” including a discussion of an expansion of OCS and Institutional Gang Investigations (IGI) staff and money, and the last paragraph on page 5 of the CDCR proposal. [In “Tortured SHU prisoners speak out,” the representatives wrote: “CDCR has made clear that one certainty is their plan to substantially expand on the use of ‘solitary confinement’ via targeting all prisoners deemed ‘disruptive groups’ (security threat groups) … – e.g., all street gang affiliates, prisoners deemed political-revolutionary etc. … It costs nearly double to house prisoners in solitary confinement!” – ed.]
While CDCR’s OCS staff may pat themselves on the back claiming their policies of torturous human rights violations for 25 years are a success, the facts prove otherwise – examples being the so called rehabilitated debriefers who simply went out and either got assaulted or formed new gangs – or both – all over CDCR sensitive needs yards (SNYs). (See the proposal at page 13, at STG-II, re SNY gangs.)
Also, don’t forget to consider all the families of these successful debriefers who’ve had to relocate and live in fear of reprisal, based on the debriefers’ self-serving actions. It’s doubtful they’ll agree with the CDCR-OCS view of success.
We will be presenting our counter-proposal soon. The struggle continues. Our resolve is solid and focused on our collective efforts to force real change of substance.
Send our brothers some love and light: Todd Ashker, C-58191, PBSP SHU, D1-119, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532, and Sitawa Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry), C-35671, PBSP SHU, D1-117L, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532. Arturo Castellanos and Antonio Guillen are not allowed any mail; that’s an issue that should be raised with CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. This letter was transcribed by Kendra Castaneda.
Link to article: http://sfbayview.com/2012/pelican-bay-shu-representatives-respond-to-cdcrs-proposed-gang-management-strategy/
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Hundreds of California prisoners in Solitary Segregation Petition the United Nations to intervene
From the website of the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law:
California holds more prisoners in solitary confinement than any other state in the United States or any other nation on earth. The treatment of these prisoners is barbaric and numerous experts agree amounts to torture. It destroys their mental and physical health, and destroys them spiritually. They live like prisoners held in a Gulag, not a modern democracy. They are locked in solitary segregation merely because they may have associated with a gang, and remain in isolation until shown to be “gang free” for “six years.” These prisoners engaged in a widely publicized hunger strike during the summer of 2011, and are now suffering retaliation (more time in solitary segregation) because they had the courage to protest their treatment by refusing to eat.
Hundreds of prisoners have joined together to petition the United Nations to intervene by conducting on on-site investigation, permitting Red Cross visits, and ultimately ruling that the California’s policy on isolated segregation amounts to torture and violates well-established international human rights norms.
These prisoners are joined in their petition by a coalition of the following organizations: California Prison Focus; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes; Fair Chance Project; California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement; Justice for Families; The Real Cost of Prisons Project; American Friends Service Committee; Community Futures Collective; Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights; California Prison Moratorium Project; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; and Disability Rights Legal Center.
The petition names as responding parties the United States of America, the State of California, Jerry Brown, Governor of the State of California, and Matthew Cate, Secretary, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
To obtain the United Nations Petition click HERE (PDF)
To obtain the 22 Quotes by main United Nations Petitioners click HERE (PDF)
See also the article in the Mercury News:
California inmates petition UN to monitor prisons
By Gillian Flaccus Associated PressAssociated Press
Posted: 03/20/2012 01:55:24 PM PDT
March 20, 2012 8:55 PM GMT Updated: 03/20/2012 01:55:24 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES -- An attorney for hundreds of California inmates held in solitary confinement in the nation's largest prison system because of their gang ties said Tuesday that he will petition the United Nations to intervene to stop the practice and launch an investigation into their living conditions and mental and physical health.
The petition, which asks the international body to allow an independent party to interview prisoners and review their medical files, comes after about 6,000 inmates at 13 prisons statewide went on a hunger strike last summer. They have since staged smaller and more intermittent strikes to protest what they call inhumane and torturous conditions in the so-called segregation housing units, or SHUs.
The petition announced Tuesday was drawn up on behalf of 400 inmates who wrote letters seeking help after being assigned to the isolation cells for years because of their gang ties, said Peter Schey, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. A half-dozen family members of inmates currently living in solitary confinement joined Schey at a news conference and shared stories of brothers, husbands and sons who have spent decades in the segregated cells.
"It's one thing to place a person into solitary segregation because they've assaulted another prisoner or threatened another person with violence. We're not arguing with that," Schey said. "What we're arguing is the vast majority of people ... are being put in solitary and the key thrown away merely because they're alleged to be a gang member or maybe even just an associate of a gang member. The punishment is barbaric compared to the allegations."
Read the rest here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20215585/california-inmates-petition-un-monitor-prisons
California holds more prisoners in solitary confinement than any other state in the United States or any other nation on earth. The treatment of these prisoners is barbaric and numerous experts agree amounts to torture. It destroys their mental and physical health, and destroys them spiritually. They live like prisoners held in a Gulag, not a modern democracy. They are locked in solitary segregation merely because they may have associated with a gang, and remain in isolation until shown to be “gang free” for “six years.” These prisoners engaged in a widely publicized hunger strike during the summer of 2011, and are now suffering retaliation (more time in solitary segregation) because they had the courage to protest their treatment by refusing to eat.
Hundreds of prisoners have joined together to petition the United Nations to intervene by conducting on on-site investigation, permitting Red Cross visits, and ultimately ruling that the California’s policy on isolated segregation amounts to torture and violates well-established international human rights norms.
These prisoners are joined in their petition by a coalition of the following organizations: California Prison Focus; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes; Fair Chance Project; California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement; Justice for Families; The Real Cost of Prisons Project; American Friends Service Committee; Community Futures Collective; Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights; California Prison Moratorium Project; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; and Disability Rights Legal Center.
The petition names as responding parties the United States of America, the State of California, Jerry Brown, Governor of the State of California, and Matthew Cate, Secretary, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
To obtain the United Nations Petition click HERE (PDF)
To obtain the 22 Quotes by main United Nations Petitioners click HERE (PDF)
See also the article in the Mercury News:
California inmates petition UN to monitor prisons
By Gillian Flaccus Associated PressAssociated Press
Posted: 03/20/2012 01:55:24 PM PDT
March 20, 2012 8:55 PM GMT Updated: 03/20/2012 01:55:24 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES -- An attorney for hundreds of California inmates held in solitary confinement in the nation's largest prison system because of their gang ties said Tuesday that he will petition the United Nations to intervene to stop the practice and launch an investigation into their living conditions and mental and physical health.
The petition, which asks the international body to allow an independent party to interview prisoners and review their medical files, comes after about 6,000 inmates at 13 prisons statewide went on a hunger strike last summer. They have since staged smaller and more intermittent strikes to protest what they call inhumane and torturous conditions in the so-called segregation housing units, or SHUs.
The petition announced Tuesday was drawn up on behalf of 400 inmates who wrote letters seeking help after being assigned to the isolation cells for years because of their gang ties, said Peter Schey, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. A half-dozen family members of inmates currently living in solitary confinement joined Schey at a news conference and shared stories of brothers, husbands and sons who have spent decades in the segregated cells.
"It's one thing to place a person into solitary segregation because they've assaulted another prisoner or threatened another person with violence. We're not arguing with that," Schey said. "What we're arguing is the vast majority of people ... are being put in solitary and the key thrown away merely because they're alleged to be a gang member or maybe even just an associate of a gang member. The punishment is barbaric compared to the allegations."
Read the rest here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20215585/california-inmates-petition-un-monitor-prisons
Thursday, March 15, 2012
CDCR releases new gang validation proposal
Via SF Bay View
March 14, 2012
Advocates fear expansion of gang criteria could mean more SHU sentences
by Isaac Ontiveros, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity
Jerry Elster, with All of Us or None, an organization of former prisoners who work for their brothers and sister inside and the children and families of prisoners outside, spoke out as a representative of the hunger strikers at a rally in front of the State Building in San Francisco Aug. 1, 2011. He says prisoners in SHUs and ASUs are the most important stakeholders; they should be given copies of the new gang validation proposal and their critiques heard and heeded.
Oakland – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has released its “Security Threat Group Prevention, Identification and Management Strategy,” which proposes new gang validation and Security Housing Unit (SHU) step down procedures. The document comes as a response to the historic prisoner hunger strikes which took place throughout the state of California in July and September of 2011.
The document proposes a three part step down process, which theoretically could lead to prisoners’ release from the SHU. In addition, the CDCR is recommending an expansion of the seven currently recognized prison gang affiliations to include other security threat groups, as well as redefining its current validation categories to include not only “member” and “associate,” but also “suspect” and “monitored” as possible ways prisoners’ activities could come under further surveillance.
“By expanding the number of prison groups affected by these policies, the proposed changes will expand the numbers of prisoners subject to long term solitary confinement,” says Carol Strickman, a lawyer working on behalf of the hunger strikers. “The result could be that more people than ever before will be housed under these torturous conditions.”
The proposal also claims that CDCR will be conducting a case-by-case review for SHU prisoners deemed to be in an existing Security Threat Group, which may mean their release from the SHU or transfer into one of the stages of the step down program. “This particular piece of the proposal marks a substantial gain won by the prisoners who risked their lives on hunger strike,” says Laura Magnani, interim regional director at the American Friends Service Committee and member of the mediation team working on behalf of striking prisoners. “It is also an opportunity for advocates and legislators to ensure that the CDCR conducts meaningful and unbiased reviews for these prisoners, resulting in a shrinking of the number of people currently housed in the SHU.”
The CDCR had previously stated that it would make a shift from association-based validation to behavior-based validation. However, the “Security Threat Group Prevention” document reveals that validation will still be based on a weighted point system that will include sources such as symbols, communications and tattoos.
Dorsey Nunn, also a member of All of Us or None, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and a hunger strike mediator, takes his seat to testify at the historic hunger strike hearing convened by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano on Aug. 23, 2011. With him are Laura Magnani, Terry Kupers, Craig Haney and Charles Carbone. – Photo: Wanda Sabir
“Overall this proposal shows that the CDCR is resisting both change and accountability,” says Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and also a hunger strike mediator. “They are using what could be a chance to actually reduce or eliminate the SHU altogether to create more opportunities to issue SHU sentences.”
The proposal has been released for stakeholder review which will reportedly include advocates, legislators and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The Committee on Public Safety of California’s State Assembly will be holding a hearing on the proposal but has not yet announced a date.
“The biggest issue with the stakeholder review is that the most important stakeholders, the prisoners who have been validated and are currently in administrative segregation or the SHU, are not included,” says Jerry Elster, an organizer with All of Us or None. “It’s really essential that all of these guys get to comment on the proposal because this could mean significant changes for their daily lives.” The CDCR has not yet set a timeline for the review and has not said how they will take any comments into consideration when crafting new regulations.
The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition will continue to monitor this proposal and the review process. For updates, visit www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com.
Isaac Ontiveros of Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization working to abolish the prison industrial complex, is a spokesperson for the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. He can be reached at (510) 444-0484 or isaac@criticalresistance.org.
March 14, 2012
Advocates fear expansion of gang criteria could mean more SHU sentences
by Isaac Ontiveros, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity
Jerry Elster, with All of Us or None, an organization of former prisoners who work for their brothers and sister inside and the children and families of prisoners outside, spoke out as a representative of the hunger strikers at a rally in front of the State Building in San Francisco Aug. 1, 2011. He says prisoners in SHUs and ASUs are the most important stakeholders; they should be given copies of the new gang validation proposal and their critiques heard and heeded.
Oakland – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has released its “Security Threat Group Prevention, Identification and Management Strategy,” which proposes new gang validation and Security Housing Unit (SHU) step down procedures. The document comes as a response to the historic prisoner hunger strikes which took place throughout the state of California in July and September of 2011.
The document proposes a three part step down process, which theoretically could lead to prisoners’ release from the SHU. In addition, the CDCR is recommending an expansion of the seven currently recognized prison gang affiliations to include other security threat groups, as well as redefining its current validation categories to include not only “member” and “associate,” but also “suspect” and “monitored” as possible ways prisoners’ activities could come under further surveillance.
“By expanding the number of prison groups affected by these policies, the proposed changes will expand the numbers of prisoners subject to long term solitary confinement,” says Carol Strickman, a lawyer working on behalf of the hunger strikers. “The result could be that more people than ever before will be housed under these torturous conditions.”
The proposal also claims that CDCR will be conducting a case-by-case review for SHU prisoners deemed to be in an existing Security Threat Group, which may mean their release from the SHU or transfer into one of the stages of the step down program. “This particular piece of the proposal marks a substantial gain won by the prisoners who risked their lives on hunger strike,” says Laura Magnani, interim regional director at the American Friends Service Committee and member of the mediation team working on behalf of striking prisoners. “It is also an opportunity for advocates and legislators to ensure that the CDCR conducts meaningful and unbiased reviews for these prisoners, resulting in a shrinking of the number of people currently housed in the SHU.”
The CDCR had previously stated that it would make a shift from association-based validation to behavior-based validation. However, the “Security Threat Group Prevention” document reveals that validation will still be based on a weighted point system that will include sources such as symbols, communications and tattoos.
Dorsey Nunn, also a member of All of Us or None, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and a hunger strike mediator, takes his seat to testify at the historic hunger strike hearing convened by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano on Aug. 23, 2011. With him are Laura Magnani, Terry Kupers, Craig Haney and Charles Carbone. – Photo: Wanda Sabir
“Overall this proposal shows that the CDCR is resisting both change and accountability,” says Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and also a hunger strike mediator. “They are using what could be a chance to actually reduce or eliminate the SHU altogether to create more opportunities to issue SHU sentences.”
The proposal has been released for stakeholder review which will reportedly include advocates, legislators and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The Committee on Public Safety of California’s State Assembly will be holding a hearing on the proposal but has not yet announced a date.
“The biggest issue with the stakeholder review is that the most important stakeholders, the prisoners who have been validated and are currently in administrative segregation or the SHU, are not included,” says Jerry Elster, an organizer with All of Us or None. “It’s really essential that all of these guys get to comment on the proposal because this could mean significant changes for their daily lives.” The CDCR has not yet set a timeline for the review and has not said how they will take any comments into consideration when crafting new regulations.
The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition will continue to monitor this proposal and the review process. For updates, visit www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com.
Isaac Ontiveros of Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization working to abolish the prison industrial complex, is a spokesperson for the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. He can be reached at (510) 444-0484 or isaac@criticalresistance.org.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Join the press conference to release the U.N. petition Tuesday, March 20
Prisoners tell the world about the horrors of California prison isolation
March 2, 2012
From: SF Bay View
Join the press conference to release the U.N. petition Tuesday, March 20, 10 AM, at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring St., Los Angeles
by Kendra Castaneda
Prisoners’ families from around the state rallied in Sacramento on Aug. 23, 2011, at the historic hunger strike hearing chaired by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.
After the first Pelican Bay State Prison SHU statewide hunger strike in July 2011, Peter Schey, president and executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, reached out to men being held in isolation in solitary confinement units across the state known in California as Security Housing Units and Administrative Segregation Units (SHU/Adseg/ASU).
The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law believes that the treatment of California prisoners placed in Administrative Segregation Units and Security Housing Units should be brought before the United Nations. Placing thousands of prisoners in segregation for long periods of time is one of the most serious mass human rights violations taking place in the United States today.
The men being held in the Pelican Bay State Prison SHU Short Corridor agreed, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law has prepared a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, with 22 main plaintiffs of different races at different California prisons, ranging from one year in segregation up to 39 years in complete isolation based solely on a process of prison gang “validation” by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
Of these 22 main plaintiffs, Todd Ashker, Mutope Duguma s/n James Crawford and Alfred Sandoval at Pelican Bay State Prison SHU are just a few who will be exposing for the first time their personal experiences in “temporary” and “long term” segregation, including its effects on their physical and mental health. An additional 400 “validated” segregated prisoners of all races in SHUs, Adsegs and ASUs across California are also named in the petition.
The prisons represented in this unprecedented demonstration of unity across racial lines include Pelican Bay State Prison SHU and ASU, Corcoran State Prison SHU and ASU, California Correctional Institution SHU, Calipatria State Prison ASU, Salinas Valley State Prison Adseg, Folsom State Prison ASU, Sierra Conservation Center Adseg, High Desert State Prison Adseg, Kern Valley State Prison Adseg, Ironwood State Prison Adseg, California Institution for Men-Chino Adseg and a few more.
Several treaties obligate the U.S. to conform to international standards against torture and inhumane treatment, such as the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1976 and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Solitary confinement is considered by many experts to be a form of psychological torture.
Pelican Bay SHU guards search a cell. – Photo: Laura Sullivan, NPR
If the Committee on Arbitrary Detention determines that the treatment of California prisoners may be in violation of international law, they can request an on-site visit and prepare reports calling for changes. Such actions could help to publicize the segregation and isolation of prisoners and may help lead to some improvement in their treatment. Through this petition, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law will try to get the United Nations to take steps that would benefit all inmates in segregation, not just the individuals named in the petition.
According to Pelican Bay State Prison SHU hunger strike organizers Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, Sitawa N. Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry) and A. Guillen, there is another hunger strike looming in the summer of 2012 unless CDCR meets the demands of the prisoners from the last two statewide hunger strikes in full. Although CDCR is currently considering prison gang validation reform, it is still just “talk,” and CDCR has been extremely slow at moving to make any real change happen. Men have not been released from the SHU to general population and except for a few very minor concessions, the organizers’ five core demands have not been met.
Stated briefly, these are the five core demands:
1) End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse
2) Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria
3) Comply with the U.S. Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement
4) Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food
5) Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.
The demands stated in full can be found here: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/the-prisoners-demands-2/.
The men at Pelican Bay State Prison SHU are calling on prisoners’ families, supporters and organizations to fully support the United Nations petition and for everyone to come together as one to put pressure on CDCR to make changes now.
Join our press conference
The press conference to formally release the United Nations petition in Southern California will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 10-11 a.m., at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring St., Los Angeles. A large crowd will show the press and the public how critical the issue of torturous prison isolation is to countless Californians. We ask supporters to please arrive at least 15 minutes early.
Plans for a Bay Area press conference have not yet been finalized.
This banner expresses the consensus of prisoners’ supporters at Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s hearing Aug. 23, 2011.
Speakers in Los Angeles will include Peter Schey, president and executive director for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, and families with loved ones in a SHU, Adseg or ASU. The United Nations petition will be made public, including statements from the 22 main U.N. plaintiffs.
Families, friends, supporters, organizations and religious leaders who support prisoners’ human rights are strongly urged to attend.
Organizations that support the United Nations petition include California Prison Focus, Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, Fair Chance Project, California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement, Justice for Families, The Real Cost of Prisons Project, American Friends Service Committee, Community Futures Collective, Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, California Prison Moratorium Project, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Disability Rights Legal Center and Occupy the Hood – LA Action Assembly.
CDCR is already feeling the pressure. The two main representatives named in the United Nations petition from Calipatria State Prison were “specially” transferred to Corcoran State Prison SHU recently. CDCR did this in hopes that when the U.N. petition becomes public, they could defend themselves against reports that these men were being held in in administrative segregation for two and three years past the “temporary” time limit.
To help prepare for the United Nations Petition Press Conferences or for more information, please contact Kendra Castaneda at kendracastaneda55@gmail.com or Bryan Lopez at blopez@centerforhumanrights.org or (213) 388-8693, ext. 301.
March 2, 2012
From: SF Bay View
Join the press conference to release the U.N. petition Tuesday, March 20, 10 AM, at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring St., Los Angeles
by Kendra Castaneda
Prisoners’ families from around the state rallied in Sacramento on Aug. 23, 2011, at the historic hunger strike hearing chaired by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.
After the first Pelican Bay State Prison SHU statewide hunger strike in July 2011, Peter Schey, president and executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, reached out to men being held in isolation in solitary confinement units across the state known in California as Security Housing Units and Administrative Segregation Units (SHU/Adseg/ASU).
The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law believes that the treatment of California prisoners placed in Administrative Segregation Units and Security Housing Units should be brought before the United Nations. Placing thousands of prisoners in segregation for long periods of time is one of the most serious mass human rights violations taking place in the United States today.
The men being held in the Pelican Bay State Prison SHU Short Corridor agreed, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law has prepared a petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, with 22 main plaintiffs of different races at different California prisons, ranging from one year in segregation up to 39 years in complete isolation based solely on a process of prison gang “validation” by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
Of these 22 main plaintiffs, Todd Ashker, Mutope Duguma s/n James Crawford and Alfred Sandoval at Pelican Bay State Prison SHU are just a few who will be exposing for the first time their personal experiences in “temporary” and “long term” segregation, including its effects on their physical and mental health. An additional 400 “validated” segregated prisoners of all races in SHUs, Adsegs and ASUs across California are also named in the petition.
The prisons represented in this unprecedented demonstration of unity across racial lines include Pelican Bay State Prison SHU and ASU, Corcoran State Prison SHU and ASU, California Correctional Institution SHU, Calipatria State Prison ASU, Salinas Valley State Prison Adseg, Folsom State Prison ASU, Sierra Conservation Center Adseg, High Desert State Prison Adseg, Kern Valley State Prison Adseg, Ironwood State Prison Adseg, California Institution for Men-Chino Adseg and a few more.
Several treaties obligate the U.S. to conform to international standards against torture and inhumane treatment, such as the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1976 and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Solitary confinement is considered by many experts to be a form of psychological torture.
Pelican Bay SHU guards search a cell. – Photo: Laura Sullivan, NPR
If the Committee on Arbitrary Detention determines that the treatment of California prisoners may be in violation of international law, they can request an on-site visit and prepare reports calling for changes. Such actions could help to publicize the segregation and isolation of prisoners and may help lead to some improvement in their treatment. Through this petition, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law will try to get the United Nations to take steps that would benefit all inmates in segregation, not just the individuals named in the petition.
According to Pelican Bay State Prison SHU hunger strike organizers Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, Sitawa N. Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry) and A. Guillen, there is another hunger strike looming in the summer of 2012 unless CDCR meets the demands of the prisoners from the last two statewide hunger strikes in full. Although CDCR is currently considering prison gang validation reform, it is still just “talk,” and CDCR has been extremely slow at moving to make any real change happen. Men have not been released from the SHU to general population and except for a few very minor concessions, the organizers’ five core demands have not been met.
Stated briefly, these are the five core demands:
1) End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse
2) Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria
3) Comply with the U.S. Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement
4) Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food
5) Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.
The demands stated in full can be found here: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/the-prisoners-demands-2/.
The men at Pelican Bay State Prison SHU are calling on prisoners’ families, supporters and organizations to fully support the United Nations petition and for everyone to come together as one to put pressure on CDCR to make changes now.
Join our press conference
The press conference to formally release the United Nations petition in Southern California will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 10-11 a.m., at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring St., Los Angeles. A large crowd will show the press and the public how critical the issue of torturous prison isolation is to countless Californians. We ask supporters to please arrive at least 15 minutes early.
Plans for a Bay Area press conference have not yet been finalized.
This banner expresses the consensus of prisoners’ supporters at Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s hearing Aug. 23, 2011.
Speakers in Los Angeles will include Peter Schey, president and executive director for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, and families with loved ones in a SHU, Adseg or ASU. The United Nations petition will be made public, including statements from the 22 main U.N. plaintiffs.
Families, friends, supporters, organizations and religious leaders who support prisoners’ human rights are strongly urged to attend.
Organizations that support the United Nations petition include California Prison Focus, Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, Fair Chance Project, California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement, Justice for Families, The Real Cost of Prisons Project, American Friends Service Committee, Community Futures Collective, Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, California Prison Moratorium Project, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Disability Rights Legal Center and Occupy the Hood – LA Action Assembly.
CDCR is already feeling the pressure. The two main representatives named in the United Nations petition from Calipatria State Prison were “specially” transferred to Corcoran State Prison SHU recently. CDCR did this in hopes that when the U.N. petition becomes public, they could defend themselves against reports that these men were being held in in administrative segregation for two and three years past the “temporary” time limit.
To help prepare for the United Nations Petition Press Conferences or for more information, please contact Kendra Castaneda at kendracastaneda55@gmail.com or Bryan Lopez at blopez@centerforhumanrights.org or (213) 388-8693, ext. 301.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Photos of Cell in Pelican Bay S.P. SHU
We received these photos and the descriptions from Alice Lynd, a supporter, friend and comrade in the fight against injustices. Thank you Alice and Todd:
Dear Supporters of prisoners in security housing units:
I have scanned and attached five photographs that were taken of Todd Ashker's cell in the SHU at Pelican Bay State Prison, Short Corridor, in July 2007. Todd asked us to share them with whoever is interested.
Todd Ashker has been in a Security Housing Unit (SHU) for more than 25 years, since August 1986, and in the Pelican Bay SHU nearly 22 years, since May 2, 1990. The following is his description of the attached photographs.
#1 Front view of cell D1-119. The locked tray slot is where I get my food trays, mail, etc.
#2 View from approximately one step inside cell door area. View if of the 2 cement slab bunks. Note, back concrete wall along bunks is not insulated - 6" of cold concrete separates cell from the outside and cells are like meat locker ice boxes in winter. My "personal" items are at the right hand ends of the 2 bunks. The rest is all legal material and books related to civil cases challenging medical and SHU/Parole Board issues. The bags and cups on left lower bunk is my canteen I'd just been issued. Notably, I have less than half of the property depicted in the pictures today after much of it was trashed, and I was forced to store a lot, as retaliatory acts last June of 2011 in response to my posted formal complaint and notice of hunger strike activity. I was doing a legal motion at the time - lower bunk is desk.
#3 View of front of cell from inside cell. The home made shelf holds my cosmetics (shampoo, soap, lotion, toothpaste) and was destroyed in June 2011 by staff.
#4 View of sink, toilet, desk area with my TV I've had since 1992; and cement stool. Bags are canteen I'd just received; most are nearly empty.
#5 Floor area standing just inside cell, rough concrete floor.
Alice Lynd for Todd Ashker, #C58191, Box 7500/D1-119, Crescent City, CA 95532
Dear Supporters of prisoners in security housing units:
I have scanned and attached five photographs that were taken of Todd Ashker's cell in the SHU at Pelican Bay State Prison, Short Corridor, in July 2007. Todd asked us to share them with whoever is interested.
Todd Ashker has been in a Security Housing Unit (SHU) for more than 25 years, since August 1986, and in the Pelican Bay SHU nearly 22 years, since May 2, 1990. The following is his description of the attached photographs.
#2 View from approximately one step inside cell door area. View if of the 2 cement slab bunks. Note, back concrete wall along bunks is not insulated - 6" of cold concrete separates cell from the outside and cells are like meat locker ice boxes in winter. My "personal" items are at the right hand ends of the 2 bunks. The rest is all legal material and books related to civil cases challenging medical and SHU/Parole Board issues. The bags and cups on left lower bunk is my canteen I'd just been issued. Notably, I have less than half of the property depicted in the pictures today after much of it was trashed, and I was forced to store a lot, as retaliatory acts last June of 2011 in response to my posted formal complaint and notice of hunger strike activity. I was doing a legal motion at the time - lower bunk is desk.
#3 View of front of cell from inside cell. The home made shelf holds my cosmetics (shampoo, soap, lotion, toothpaste) and was destroyed in June 2011 by staff.
#5 Floor area standing just inside cell, rough concrete floor.
Alice Lynd for Todd Ashker, #C58191, Box 7500/D1-119, Crescent City, CA 95532
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