Monthly Archives: July 2013

Call: We have not been to yard in almost two weeks. We have not been allowed to shower in a week. We received no medical attention. No weigh-ins, no vital signs checks – nothing. Response: Some of the people on hunger strike are older men, and they have medical issues. Your display of power is totally out of place. Your purposeful neglect of their human rights and dignity seems to me shameful.

On Wednesday, July 17, Nick Long reported for the Voice of America that the Congolese army’s recent successes at driving the M23 militia from their positions in eastern Congo have caused euphoria amongst Congolese, particularly in Goma, the capital city of North Kivu Province on Congo’s border with Rwanda. Here’s that Voice of America radio report:

We ask you, Gov. Brown, to set an example. In their time, the U.S. Army consigned the inhumane prison conditions at Dachau to the trash heap of history. The same thing should happen now to the unbearable prison conditions in the prisons of the United States – and especially the prisons in the State of California, which you govern.

“The attempted repression of our protest has not broken our spirits. In fact it has only helped to strengthen each of us – individually and collectively. Despite CDCR’s retaliations and propaganda, we remain steadfast in our commitment. We will see our peaceful hunger strike through to victory, even if this requires us to endure the torture of force-feeding. We believe at this point in our struggle we are prepared to do what is necessary in order for Gov. Brown and the CDCR to realize how serious we are and how far and long we are willing to go to have our reasonable demands implemented.”

The Adjustment Center (AC) is the death row Security Housing Unit at San Quentin (SQ) which also serves as Administrative Segregation Unit overflow housing. But for all intents and purposes the AC is a secret torture unit at SQ and the fraternal twin of CDCR’s other torture units now partially exposed by media attention resulting from the 2011 peaceful hunger strikes at Corcoran, Pelican Bay and Tehachapi.

There is no doubt in my mind that Corcoran State Prison is nothing more than a death camp. The prison staff I liken to Hitler’s best. As for truth, justice and the American way, you can forget this at Corcoran. There is no honor or integrity there. I’ve been laughed at by every staff member when I quote the duty and obligation they have to the taxpayers and to America. “Fuck the Constitution” is a quote I often hear.

Prisoners in California have entered their 10th day of a statewide hunger strike to fight back against what they call inhumane conditions. The prisoners’ demands include a call for adequate and nutritious food, an end to group punishment, and stopping long-term solitary confinement where more than 3,000 prisoners are held in the isolation with no human contact and no windows – some of them for more than a decade.

We are all remaining strong as one in unity. Everybody back here is determined to push to their limit and the atmosphere around here is strong. The five core demands were re-submitted to the newest warden, Frank Chavez, and we also submitted a few of our own demands to better the conditions here in ASU. We’ve made it clear that we are going to continue hunger striking until the five core demands are met.

We want to provide a brief update on our collective struggle to end the torture of long-term solitary confinement. On July 11, 2013, 14 of us here at Pelican Bay were placed in Administrative Segregation, where we are subjected to more torturous conditions than in the SHU. Despite this diabolical act on the part of the CDCR intended to break our resolve and hasten our deaths, we remain strong and united!

Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) AdSeg detainees support the core and supplemental demands of our partners in CDCR Pelican Bay Prison AdSeg/SHU programs and we join them in opposition of their and ALL unconstitutional conditions of confinement in all California State prisons and jails. We hereby also provide notice of our own “Five Core Demands.”

J. Clark Kelso, the federal medical receiver, appointed by U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson to oversee the California state prison health care system, ordered Jerry Brown and the CDCR to immediately transfer 3,300 prisoners at high risk of infection or death from valley fever. Jerry Brown rejected this April 29 directive to save lives and instead opted to play politics with morbid consequences.

It is hot enough in Corcoran, California, to melt people. That being said, it still wasn’t hot enough to keep upwards of 400 people from braving 103-degree weather to mobilize and rally at Corcoran State Prison in support of over 30,000 prisoners on hunger strike in California. The immediate goal is to stop the cruelty and torture that being held in isolation represents. The long-range objective is liberation.

This message came to the Bay View on a postcard received July 15, 2013. In response to this message emailed to hunger strike supporters, Carol Stickman, attorney with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and a member of the hunger strike leaders’ legal team, wrote: “Our legal team is going up today to speak with our plaintiffs on Tuesday/Wednesday. We should have more info then.”

Trayvon Martin’s mother and father have my deepest sympathies and condolences in this tragic loss and travesty of justice. I would urge them to turn grief into strength and find peaceful, insightful means to fight for real change in honor of their child. The media blitz over Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has been in-depth, saturating mainstream news for days before, during and now after the trial – commenting on every aspect of this case. It has completely obscured the current hunger strike by tens of thousands of California prisoners protesting prolonged solitary confinement.

A jury in Sanford, Florida has found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. I know I am not alone in my outrage, anger and heartbreak over this decision. When a teenager’s life is taken in cold blood, and there is no accountability for the man who killed him, nothing seems right in the world, but we cannot let these emotions alone rule.

A comprehensive new article by Brandon Keim in Wired Science is titled “The Horrible Psychology of Solitary Confinement.” Keim does an excellent job of summing up the research on the psychological effects of solitary. He also points to the relative lack of cutting-edge neuroscientific research on the subject, which might show the physical effects isolation has on the brain.

As prisoners across the country prepare to strike, our hearts and thoughts are with them. As incarcerated women we know firsthand many of the abuses the strikers face on a daily basis – as well as many of the repercussions they may face in retaliation for the action against this abuse. As we stand in solidarity with striking prisoners, we ask you to stand in solidarity with us.

ABC News reported that 30,000 prisoners in California are on hunger strike. And the local news station, KIEM3-NBC Channel 9 reported that there is also a work stoppage here at Pelican Bay State Prison. It has become absolutely clear that Amerikkka’s secret domestic torture policies and practices are now deemed reprehensible by the people – the prisoners.

Letters written by prisoners since the hunger strike began are arriving at the Bay View. Here are two from New Folsom in Sacramento. On July 8, 2013, all affiliates of all races once again stood together in solidarity for a common cause. CSP-Sac is imposing underground and illegal methods of discipline for participating in the peaceful protest, and we need these corrupt acts to be exposed.

Urgent alert! Police have attacked, beaten numerous protesters who are holding a peaceful vigil to call attention to the brutal death of Malcolm X’ grandson. Among those known to be physically and badly assaulted are Metelus Wilner and Jah Zakah from Haiti. We ask you to forward this and are looking for assistance in this matter urgently.