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September/October 2007 Massachusetts Chapter JDC www.jeffdicks.org
Mental Health at OCCC
Robert Dajda
I received the July/August issue
of MPV today (July 8, 2007),
having spent from June 28th to
July 8th in the hole here at
OCCC. On the 3rd of July I had
a visit from (mental health
worker?) Jessica Ries Driscoll,
the Lyndie Englund of OCCC.
After refusing to talk to her, I
was told (several hours later) by
the block guards that I was on
eyeball watch? Imagine my
surprise when the clothes that I
handed over to the guard were
not returned to me and my cell
was stripped of everything but a
blanket and a mattress and a
bright light was kept on from
outside the cell.
I am a 65 year old decorated
and honorably discharged
USMC veteran. I was stationed
at Gitmo in the sixties, before it
became the shameful prison that
it is today. In George Bush’s
America, we condone women
torturing elderly prisoners for
refusing to talk to them. Here is
the $6.9 million suicide
prevention money in action.
Giving too much power to
mental health workers who
abuse it. I have worn glasses
most of my life so to have them
taken away from me was, I
thought cruel and unusual
punishment, as all I could see
beyond two feet was a blur. I
guess I was lucky I wasn’t
forced to wear a leash.
A Piece of My Mind
B.G.
I’ve been in prison now over 12
years and I’ve seen it all so far.
But yet I’m still shocked and
surprised that we as
cons/prisoners still bitch and
moan and weep about almost
every little thing. Then when
the time comes we do nothing.
Why, I ask myself. As I look,
do you know what I see? I see a
“mass” of people divided and
this is what I really believe is
the problem, when the truth is
this. We are all treated like 13
year old kids, we get movies
PG-13, we all eat the same shit
food. We all stand for count, we
all get pat downs. WE all deal
with shit bag cops. WE! Now
here is the oldest truth around
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and if this don’t hit you in the
face then nothing ever will.
UNITED WE STAND,
DIVIDED WE FALL, and it’s
not much simpler then that. The
good, the bad, and the ugly.
were all in this shit together.
WAKE UP! Look around and
treat your fellow con/prisoner
like a brother, because HE IS
YOU! Leave out prison politics
when it comes us cons/prisoners
this is what divides. Fight the
same fight, stand up or sit the
fuck down and shut the hell up
you weeper. Man up.
Prison is Really Slavery
Abdur Nadheeru Islam
In 1865, at the end of the
bloody American civil war, the
13th amendment to the US
Constitution prohibited slavery
in general domestic society.
However, it allowed the prisons
of the US to continue their
practice of slavery.
This exemption created the
“peculiar institution” practice
within American prisons
allowing brutal genocide and
racial discrimination to become
a sanctioned part of the US
government. Five years later, a
case in Virginia, Ruffin v
Commonwealth of Virginia,
upheld the practice by stating
that “an inmate is a temporary
slave of the state.” Effectively,
American prisoners were
legally considered slaves. With
this history, despite such cases
as Filmore vs. Lynch, which in
1970 stated that “prison
officials are no longer masters
of their domain and must abide
by the reasonability of the
constitution”, involuntary
slavery is still practiced within
US prisons today. By reviewing
several international treaties the
US has signed, this author
hopes to remind the US of its
legal obligations to uphold
international law as it relates to
crimes against humanity and
thereby end slavery in
American prisons.
In 1929, the US signed the
treaty to “suppress the slave
trade and slavery.” In 1948, the
US signed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
which states that “slavery is
prohibited in all its forms.”
In 1967, the US signed the
treaty for “supplemental
abolition of slavery and the
slave trade and institutions
similar to slavery.” This treaty
clearly states “institutions
similar to slavery” and US
prisons are institutions carrying
on activities similar to slavery.
The point is that slavery is
prohibited in US case law as
well as international law. This
should be the focal point for
addressing an end to the tragedy
of slavery in US prisons. In
conclusion, this on-going
violation of US case law and
international law should be
exposed to the general public
through the use of a multimedia approach as well as
dialogued in community
meetings.
In 1970, a presidential
commission on criminal justice
standards and goals stated,”
Sweden’s prison system should
be applied in America.” Let us
collectively seek to reform the
American prison system in
order to ensure that justice and
equality before the law applies
to everyone.
questions no matter how weird
it sounded and most
importantly, he was not
vindictive if a patient called him
names. He would not hold
anything against anyone; he
would find the best way to use
medication to treat patients.
I am not used to saying
anything positive about
Bridgewater State Hospital, I
think a lot needs to be changed
there, that said, good luck to the
new medical director. He is a
caring and good man, the State
Hospital is lucky to have him.
Change Is Good At State
Hospital
Mark Tassone
What do Massachusetts citizens
know about a day to life civilly
committing sex offenders?
Under the guise of Ma. General
Law 123A, sex offenders
nearing completion of their
sentence are moved to
Nemansket Correctional Center;
AKA, Mass. Treatment Center;
a misnomer to be sure.
To allow sex offenders equal
protection of law, our
Commonwealth hires two
psychologists, titled “Qualified
Examiners” and tolerated two
independent psychologists for
the defense. These doctors
examine offenders after which
they opine as to sexual
dangerousness. The
Commonwealth’s doctors
mostly find remains sexually
dangerous & independent
doctors find “not so”.
I feel the changing of the
medical director on July 2, 2007
from Dr. Skea to Dr. Robert
Diener at Bridgewater State
Hospital is a good one and long
time coming. I have been to the
State Hospital seventeen times
in twelve years so I think I can
give some insight on why I
think it is a good change.
First, Dr. Skea ran the hospital
from her office, Dr. Diener will
be hands on. He ran Max-1 for
over two years and saw the
worst of the worst of patients.
When he did rounds in the
Intensive treatment unit, no
matter who the patient was, he
took the time to explain side
effects of meds, answer any
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Civilly Committing Sex
Offenders
M.G.L. 123A Part 1
Randy Sargent
Note, the above paragraph
doesn’t use title of “Qualified
Examiner” in referencing
independent psychologist. The
DOC, an omnipotent agency,
has authority to bestow the title
of “Qualified Examiner”.
Question: why was the DOC
awarded such authority? What
credentials awarded them such
power? What purpose is
accomplished?
When diagnosing sexual
dangerousness of sex offenders,
DOC appointed “Qualified
Examiners” are sometimes less
educated than independent
psychologists. The title of
“Qualified Examiner” purpose
is the power of words to
influence the human psyche.
As jurors hear the
Commonwealth’s witness state,
my name is Dr._____. I am a
Qualified Examiner… I hold a
PhD in psychology... educated
at_____college… Next each
independent psychologist states
their name, the degrees they
hold and where they were
educated. Who sounds more
educated and whose statements
would jurors closely listen to?
The title “Qualified Examiner”
brings a connotation of higher
learning and a bias against a fair
and impartial trial. Next, news
media have citizens brainwashed into believing all sex
offenders are the same. That the
level of violence is equal in all
offenses. The truth is like any
violent crime. The degree of
violence is different in every
case. Yet all sex offenders are
pre-judged by society partly due
to media.
Ask yourselves what thoughts
come to mind when FOX 25
reports a rape. Not knowing the
facts, most believe a great deal
of violence was used. While the
media reports only the very
violent rapes. How does this
day after day reporting help the
victim or their family?
Are we to receive a fair and
impartial trial? When citizen
jurors have subconsciously filed
away news reports of only very
violent rapes. Along with this,
the Commonwealth, DOC and
justice system, everything is
functioning against us. A fair
trial? I think not, what do you
think?
I want to feel the winds of
change,
Blowing in my face,
I want to see what life unfolds,
As I move from place to place.
Train of Life
Author Unknown
The enjoyment of living,
Is not where we have been,
It’s looking ever forward,
To another year and ten.
Some folks ride the train of life
Looking out the rear,
Watching miles of life roll by,
And marking every year.
They sit in sad remembrance,
Of wasted days gone by,
And curse their life for what it
was,
And hang their head and cry.
But I don’t concern myself with
that,
I took a different vent,
I look forward to what life holds
And not what has been spent.
So strap me to the engine,
As securely as I can be,
I want to be out on the front,
To see what I can see.
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I want to see what’s coming up,
Not looking at the past,
Life’s too short for yesterdays It
moves along too fast.
So if the ride gets bumpy,
While you are looking back,
Go up front and you may find,
Your life has jumped the track.
It’s all right to remember,
That’s part of history,
But up front’s where it’s
happening
There’s so much mystery.
It’s searching all the byways,
Never should you refrain,
For if you want to live your life,
You gotta drive the train!
What is Your Name
Bill Simpson
In life your first gift is your
name, when you die, how will
this gift be remembered? You
have control of that, even right
now in prison. Instead of just
serving time, help yourself in
serving others. Oh, we all hold
many labels, or titles placed
upon us by others. Such as solid
con, stand up person, badass,
tough guy, trouble maker,
player, hustler, pimp, selfish
one, then of course there is the
other side of the coin rat, snitch,
punk, sissy, bitch, skinner.
Again, others give these labels
to us and we put them on others.
Yet when in front of the parole
board or whom ever we
ourselves do not want them to
judge us by a label or our crime.
It is alright for us to do it to
others. Being in prison, you
would think you would like
your name attached with
freedom. Do not attach your
name to the labels you are more
than, honor yourself and others
by not getting involved in the
label game. Our first gift was
your name, how will you use
that gift, for even in prison you
do have control of that, you are
not a label or a number!
A Chance
Tim Muise
A man hangs from a sheet in the
hole,
The warden sticks his head in
the ground like a mole,
The guards laugh and joke, “It’s
what he had coming.”
Their harps up in heaven the
angels cease strumming.
No man’s life is worth less than
another,
Don’t think it’s true? Just go
ask his mother,
Evil boils hot in the pot of
prison stew,
Equally among prisoners and
the men wearing blue.
The warden drives drunk, but
still rules the roost,
Who turns his key? What’s his
excuse?
Prisoners just asking to be
blessed with a chance,
No longer wanting to sway to
the warden’s evil dance.
by Julius Caesar
“Beware the leader who bangs
the drums of war in order to
whip the citizenry into a
patriotic fervor. It emboldens
the blood, just as it narrows the
mind. And when the drums of
war have reached a fever pitch
and the blood boils with hate
and the rights of the citizenry.
Rather, the citizenry, infused
with fear and blinded by
patriotism will offer up all of
their rights unto the leader and
gladly so. How do I know? For
this is what I have done. And I
am Caesar.”
Under the Shadows of Justice
David Jones
Some of you may remember
that I wrote an article for the
July/August MPV titles “When
is a juvenile a juvenile?” I
received a lot of positive
feedback from most of the
convicts that were able to read
the article. What I am writing
about now is another aspect of
the conniving judicial loop
holes that hinder our
constitutional progress as
people convicted by our peers
and sentenced by our judges.
As I had mentioned in my
previous article, I was handed
down a 19-20 year sentence for
manslaughter, under the old law
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for a juvenile homicide from
1975. I was arrested in 1997 at
the age of 38, on a fugitive from
justice warrant. I was not on
probation or parole. So how I
was a fugitive from justice was
beyond me. I was married and
living in Georgia when I was
arrested, and had no idea a
charge was looming, and would
eventually end up with me
sitting in a Georgia jail fighting
extradition to Mass. on a
fugitive from justice warrant,
for a death that was deemed
natural causes in 1975.
I hired a very good attorney
who fought very hard on the
fugitive warrant not to have me
extradited. This process took 10
months. At the end of those 10
months, a Georgia judge ruled
that I was not a fugitive and was
to be released from jail in
Georgia. The Mass. authorities
were notified. They asked the
Georgia judge to give them an
extension on my release to see
if they could secure a
Governor’s warrant charging
me with murder. The Georgia
judge gave Mass. 72 hours to
secure a warrant. 48 hours had
gone by and we heard nothing
from Mass. I had 6 hours left to
go before I was to be released
and low and behold, a state
police and local police from
Mass. showed up with a
Governor’s warrant signed by
Paul Celucci. This sealed my
fate. I was taken from Georgia
and brought to Mass. and
arraigned in juvenile court on
murder charges, 1 count.
As I said, that whole process
took 10 months. I was brought
here the summer of 1998. From
1998 till 2000, my new attorney
files motions to dismiss,
suppress, and I was granted a
probable cause hearing, etc.
Ultimately a juvenile judge
found probable cause to bind
me over to adult court and I was
indicted in 2000. So far we’re
into 3 years and no trial of any
kind.
After being indicted, the whole
process started all over, but now
its Superior court. Motions,
motions and more motions
along with lobby conferences
and one after other extensions.
Finally, in October 2004, my
trial came up. It was 18 days
long. So from my arrest in 1997
to 2004 a total of 7 years, I
awaited trial on a no bail status.
At my sentencing, the judge
credited me with 2,658 days jail
credit which was on November
1, 2004. Five months after my
sentencing, the DA filed a
motion to have the mittimus
corrected and take away 316
days jail credit, the time I
served fighting extradition on
the fugitive warrant in Georgia.
I am quite certain the DA was
pissed off that he didn’t get a
first degree murder conviction
from the jury, so he had to get
one more dig in on me. The
conniving justice system once
again worked against me and
the trial judge granted the
Commonwealth‘s motion to
discredit me for 316 days.
This, my fellow convicts was
after the trial judge had already
granted me the 316 days. How
corrupt is this? Just because=se
the DA didn’t get a first degree
or second degree conviction.
With loop holes like these in the
judicial system for DA’s to
jump through, how do we stand
the chance to win the fight?
Seems like every time there is
some kind of breakthrough for
us, the Commonwealth shuts
the door to our hopes for
justification.
My fight is far from over as I
am under appeal and am
definitely hoping for the best.
My best wishes to all the men
and women in the system who
are fighting their own personal
battles for justification no
matter what they may be.
Notes from Ben LaGuer
Twenty three years in prison
and still searching for justice is
literally the story of my life. I
have never stopped making the
case for my innocence since a
jury found me guilty in 1984 of
sexually assaulting a neighbor.
There was a rush to judgment
and I became the victim of
mistaken identity. Support for
these claims may finally be at
hand.
According to Annie Demartino,
a Fitchburg City Councilwoman
and former caretaker of the
accuser, this neighbor was a
severely ill paranoid
schizophrenic,
deinstitutionalized, mental
patient. For months before the
trial, and for years afterwards,
5
Demartino says, whenever she
took the accuser out in public
“Everybody she saw who was
either Spanish or black, she
would say, “that’s who did it,
that’s who did it” and of course
it wasn’t, because basically they
were just people in the street.”
(I was the only colored person
in the courtroom in 1984, when
the victim was asked to point
out her assailant.) But an even
more cynical case is emerging.
My lawyers are weighing a
ninth motion for a new trial
based on evidence that the 1984
trial prosecutor James R.
Lemire, currently a superior
court judge, lied about the
mental history of my accuser.
He also lied about a search
warrant that was issued for my
apartment and about the fruits
of that search. (In October 2006
Peter Vickery, a new member of
the Governor’s Council, voted
against Lemire’s judgeship
because, in his view “the
LaGuer case cast a long
shadow.”)
In the winter of 2000, after I
had raised tens of thousands of
dollars in order to have a DNA
test to scientifically prove my
innocence, Judge Timothy S.
Hillman was given the
responsibility of overseeing this
test. Hillman, an ex-lawyer for
my accuser’s family, should
have stepped aside from my
case on a conflict of interest,
but he did not. Once the DNA
test was returned, indicating
that my DNA had been found
within the submitted evidence,
Hillman did not ask why the
State Police had underclothes
taken from my home in July of
1983, which had never been
authorized for seizure under the
search warrant. (As the lawyer
to the accuser’s family, Hillman
would not have exposed the
police to new criticism.)
Clearly, in order for the DNA
test to be accurate, my reference
DNA sample was supposed to
be matched against actual crime
scene DNA samples; not DNA
collected from articles illegally
taken from my home.
When I recently read in the
paper that the state’s chief
medical examiner recently
released the wrong body for
burial that its office had only
had for ten days, I began to see
that mislabeling 18 year old
DNA samples was not that far
fetched a story.
After hearing that my DNA test
was positive, journalists who
would usually double-check
even a cat’s name for accuracy
bolted without even a note of
skepticism.
Although a Worcester County
prosecutor argued before the
SJC last January 4th that my
2002 DNA test results made ant
new trial an academic exercise,
her new boss, DA Joseph Early
Jr. told a Telegram columnist
six days later,” I am concerned
about the chain of custody,”
referring to my case. However,
DA Early has not yet ordered a
forensic audit to establish
whether my DNA test was
based on legitimate and
properly handled samples.
With the State Police crime lab
director having resigned, and an
independent report identifying
16,000 neglected DNA cases, as
well as the State Inspector
General and the FBI auditing
the crime lab, the need for a
forensic audit in my case has
never been more compelling.
Despite Governor Patrick’s
statement that “justice has been
served”, a slogan that first
appeared during the context of
his campaign, he has now
ordered the state police to
review the DNA test. This is
possibly based on the analysis
by six national experts who
have now publicly challenged
the DNA test.
In addition, Richard A.
McGeary, the federal auditor
who identified numerous
deficiencies with the state
police crime lab has written me
in a letter;”The types of matter
you raise in your letter are more
appropriately considered by the
OIG Investigations Division.
Consequently, I have forwarded
your letter and its enclosures to
the appropriate agent in charge
for his evaluation.”
In another recent letter to me,
an aide to Public Safety Kevin
Burke, acknowledging my
request to have the state police
crime lab conduct a forensic
audit of the case said, “Please
be assured the EOPS is
reviewing this matter. Once all
of the facts surrounding this
issue are determined, we will
work toward a reasonable and
just solution.”
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This past March, the SJC
refused to grant me a new trial;
The SJC concluded that Lemire
did not prejudice the 1984 trial
defense when he withheld crime
scene fingerprints. The SJC
reasoned that the withheld
report only reconfirmed that no
physical evidence linked me to
the crime; but could those
fingerprints have matched a
known sex offender whom the
SJC identified by name, who
had also lived in the building?
As readers know, my case has
been widely cited as a factor in
the demise of Kerry Healey’s
2006 gubernatorial bid. I sense
this all-Republican appointed
SJC may have been biased, as if
I had been responsible for Mrs.
Healey’s setting her own
campaign ablaze’ for her
running that controversial;
parking garage TV spot.
The odds of a criminal
defendant obtaining relief from
the SJC, even on bedrock
constitutional asserted
violations, have been slim to nil
in recent years. There are,
however, notable exceptions:
When a white Harvard law
student killed an unarmed
young Latino, smaller than him.
the SJC granted him relief after
his parents, both lawyers,
exercised the benefits of their
affluence. When a white British
nanny shook an interracial
infant to death, the SJC granted
her relief, in time for her to
attend law school back home.
(The recent Duck Lacrosse rape
case shows how swiftly the
legal protective systems gear up
for white injustice, compared to
cases where the race and class
are damning factors.) When a
black person walks into a Mass.
Court House, said SJC Chief
Justice Paul L. Liacos, “the
likelihood is that they are not
going to get equal justice.”
When my case appeared before
the SJC, I am sure my
connection to the governor was
not far off their minds. They
even scheduled oral arguments
for within hours of Governor
Patrick’s inaugural speech. Two
months later, a unanimous SJC
denied me a new trial despite
eight previous motions citing a
litany of new discoveries and
remarking that “the
Commonwealth could not place
the defendant in the victim’s
apartment by means of any
evidence, including fingerprints
or other physical evidence.”
In Virginia, Earl Washington
was finally exonerated. But not
before a state forensic audit
found that aides to then
Governor Douglas Wilder
pressured the State Police DNA
lab not to clear Washington, a
black man on death row,
convicted of raping and
murdering a white woman.
Douglas’ aides did not want the
first black governor in the
nation to be viewed as helping a
black rapist/murderer. If state
officials continue to remain
silent, then what they are doing
against me is no different that
what was perpetuated against
Earl Washington.
In civics, we learn that in
America, justice is blind. In
2001, one juror in my 1984 trial
recalled, “The life sentence
showed the judge agreed with
the verdict. We saw an animal,
and he saw the same animal.” In
1989, another juror from my
1984 trial said, in an affidavit
referring to another juror, “One
Joseph Nowick stated the
godamned spic is guilty just
sitting here; look at him. Why
bother having a trial?” The jury
foreman told the state police
later, “Racism was brought up,
and I asked the jury body to
knock it off.”
I am beginning to wonder if our
American judicial blindness is a
kind of blind indifference for
those of us who appear
different. However, I shall
continue to fight against this
injustice, no matter how many
stand to shadow the truth of my
life and divine purpose.
Unnamed
Luis Perez
This article is dedicated to the
individuals in prison who are
tracking the work of prison
reform. Back on March 29,
2004, the Chairman of the
Governor’s Commission on
Correction Reform, Mr. Scott
Harshbarger, incorporated some
of my ideas into his final report.
Recently, Governor Patrick
referred some of those
recommendations to acting
Commissioner James Bender
for a possible implementation.
Without any question, this is a
well intended approach, but
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prison reform can not be
implemented until the Governor
and Commissioner Bender deal
first with the complex problems
in correcting the internal power
struggles that have divided the
DOC for many years.
There are three different aspects
to this problem and I wrote
about them in the prior edition
of the MPV. In it I explained
how they are affecting the
treatment of people in prison.
By the middle of August, I will
obtain a restraining order
prohibiting the DOC from
implement ting any prison
policies and further forcing
different factions in dispute to
respond directly to the issues of
liberal interest that have been
protected by the Constitution.
I have also documented
important issues of confinement
that would be addressed at these
hearings. In particular, the role
of DOC staff acting as victim’s
advocates and who are playing
on victim’s emotions to enhance
political positions within the
chain of command for the DOC.
It is understandable that victims
of crime should be allowed to
make impact statements which
are duly recorded in the public
record and taken into account
by the court in rendering its
decisions; victims and victim’s
advocates should not be allowed
to create policies for
correctional facilities. We can
never forget the amount of
murders that took place inside
the prisons during the 1960’s
and 1970’s. Nor should the
victim’s advocates be allowed
to further influence the media
and parole board members to
negate the positive efforts the
incarcerated and the effective
results of DOC treatment and
programs that rehabilitate
unless a particular offender
continues with the same
criminal patterns of behavior
after he/she has been convicted.
If victims of crime and victim’s
advocates groups are allowed to
run prison and parole policy
through media and pressure
politics, then the state
government should close the
DOC and retire all of the
professionals leaving only
correctional staff to run the
prisons under the direct
supervisors of victim’s
organizations and vigilante
groups.
I certainly am in no way
attempting to minimize the
impact of serious and violent
crimes. There is no justification
for it as considerable harm has
been done by our past criminal
activities. What I am saying is,
“Corrections should not and
can’t function and establish
policy by way of the emotions
and anger of some
understandably angry victims.
What Is Your Service
Robert Lesage
What is your righteous service
for our lord?
for some it is the ability of
rightly dividing the Word,
for another it could be as simple
as church cleansing
while others may be called into
the service of helping.
We Christians, all have a
specific job to do for Him
and a big part of it is to warn
others of sin,
to bring them His word and
teach and encourage them
then to lead the people to His
holy Son, for salvation.
A few are called to build
churches in foreign places
other’s are in His service to
emphasize and testify of His
grace,
His givers are very often
generous with money and their
time
and to some He gives songs and
words which rhyme.
Some are there for others to
have a shoulder to grieve on
some are leaders in His army,
He can depend upon,
others pray unceasingly, and
make warfare against the enemy
while others examine the
Scriptures, so they may see
clearly.
Yes! we all have many gifts and
talents we are to share
to exhort, admonish, encourage
and others’ burden to bear,
some are called to pastor God’s
chosen flock
while others are called to
rebuke those who His name
mock.
Evangelists go from place to
place always preaching the God
News that we serve a truly
living King,
even the prophets must remain a
humble servant while extending
God’s prophetic warnings for us
to repent.
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God is the ultimate Healer, the
Great Physician yet He gives us
doctors with the gift of
operations,
but what has God got for you to
do? I must ask you if you don’t
know, ask God and He will
reveal it to you.
From Sue’s Desk
There really isn’t much to
report at this time. I have been
in contact with Luis Perez and
he does in fact have a
restraining order, however the
defendants have until midSeptember to respond to it. We
will keep you posted on that. I
did receive a letter from
someone that I will keep
anonymous. The letter gave me
a brief rundown of the first class
mental health treatments that
anyone needing mental health
treatment can expect to receive.
Here goes:
The latest DOC
perversion/outrageous abuse
and willful disregard of the
DOC’s paid for (taxpayers paid
for) study of why there have
been so many prisoner suicides.
This was completed and given
to the DOC in February 2007.
Their response to/ for the
mentally ill. (“Conservatively
estimated to be 25% of the
prisoner population.”) has been
to hire a for profit mental health
care provider. This company’s
stated goals from their own
mission statement is to take
every one off of their psych
meds. Already, in this prison
alone, they have cut in half the
dose of these meds for many
and stopped them completely
for others. I speak from
personal experience. My psych
meds have been cut and
stopped. A medication that I’ve
been taking for 18 years and
another for 5 years. I have heard
personally at least twenty
stories like mine and that
represents only 2 units and we
have, I believe 19 units.
What this reader was told by a
very credible source is that this
new provider’s goal is to
eventually bring as many people
as they can of meds and to limit
the people that really need meds
to one or two medications to
cover the worst of that
particular person’s symptom.
The writer goes on to explain
that this amounts to mental
torture and he is right. Mental
pain can’t be seen by others.
Apparently, this new provider is
telling those that seek help that
they will have to be put in
observation while their meds
are adjusted. This is nothing
more than an intimidation tactic
and it is dead wrong. I’m also
interested in hearing if they take
the people’s clothes to add to
their humiliation like the other
provider did.
I truly hope that MCLS and the
Disability Law Group bring this
bunch of losers in their class
action lawsuit. I believe that
will happen sooner rather than
later.
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Mass Prison Voice
PO Box 441332
Somerville, Ma. 02144
[email protected]
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