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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 1 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 2 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. 3 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 4 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.” 6 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 7 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. 8 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. 9 Mass Prison Voice PO Box 441332 Somerville, Ma. 02144 [email protected] 10 11