Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Shake-Down
An inside view of what is really going on inside the Prison Industrial Complex. This is an update to an earlier article.
Shake-Down
Hate-Filled Retaliation
By: Boston Woodard
Searching a state prison for contraband is compulsory and has been going on for over 200 years in this country. Throughout prison history, right up until now, cel-blocks and other prison housing units are periodically searched by guards in pursuit of contraband and other forbidden goods.
The cognizant convict understands that there are minor to serious consequences to be dealt with depending on the type of stash that is uncovered. There are various degrees of punishment relative to what contraband is found. From loss of privileges to time in isolation (“the hole”) are some of the consequences. It’s no surprise to the convict when the (always expected) punishment is handed down by the “Senior Hearing Officer” (SHO) who is usually a correctional lieutenant. It is nearly impossible for a prisoner to be found innocent at one of the infamous pre-dispositioned disciplinary hearings. It rarely matters how much evidence against a charge of contraband is in the prisoner’s favor. Many prisoners are charged simply for being in a general area where contraband is found. Any honest audit of the California prison system’s disciplinary process, and hearing dispositions, would reveal substantial abuse of procedures by prison officials. Senior Hearing Officers will always find a “preponderance of evidence” even if it does not exist. Go to any prison, ask any prisoner. Forget that.
Examples of different types of contraband are:
“Prisoner Manufactured Weapons” (knife, shiv, piece, bone-crusher etc.), “Homemade Booze” (pruno, hooch, juice, wine, etc.), “Drugs” (the gamut), and whatever else the guards deem contraband of the day. Because there is so little contraband behind prison walls these days, the list of items deemed contraband grows and includes, but is not limited to: empty containers, too many state issued clothing, cardboard boxes, and the list can be endless. Anything to justify the shake-down. Oh! and let’s not forget - It’s always for the “safety and security of the institution.”
On April 7, 2008, at Solano State Prison in Vacaville California, initiated a massive shake-down for the second time in a one week period- An alleged “note” was discovered by prison staff (HMmmrn) indicating there is a gun on prison grounds- [See “ZIP—GUN” http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/11/18492221.php ]
Building by building, hundreds of prisoners were ordered to strip naked, searched, then forced to dress only after they were hearded to the prison yard. The sun was hot that day and prisoners were told that they could not wear sunglasses, an order making no common sense or logic when you consider protecting ones eyes is not a security risk.
Approximately 70 full-time guards and another 80 or so guard-cadets (new, spit-shined guards from an academy in Gait Ca.) stormed into one prison housing unit at a time for approximately seven hours per building. The guards destroyed, confiscated, misplaced or damaged the personal property of prisoners. TV’s, radios, music instruments, educational materials (books) etc.), personal clothing and a litany of other authorized items, were tossed into laundry carts and removed from the housing units- all of these approved possessions were bought and paid for by the prisoners, who work for pennies an hour, or was bought by their friends and families. Prisoners have to work hard and demonstrate good behavior in order to earn the privilege of possessing these amenities.
One ugly signature act discovered after the shake-down stood out like a sore thumb. There are two large bulletin boards in the housing unit’s day room. Hung up on those boards were dozens of pages from several prisoner advocacy group’s newsletters. The information was helpful to prisoners regarding family resources, case-law updates for lifers, attorney information etc. All the pages were torn off the boards, ripped into pieces and thrown all over the day room floor. Coffee and dirty boot prints were apparent on the newsletters. Nothing else displayed on the walls seemed to be touched or removed. This type of hate-filled, vindictive undertaking is typical throughout California’s prison system during many shake-downs.
Not one item plundered by the guards was paid for by tax payers as some prison officials would have the public believe. What was paid for by the tax payers of California was the unnecessary and ruthless pilferaging condoned by Solano State Prison’s warden D.K. Sisto, his administrative subordinates, and rank-and-file guards. Tens of thousands, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on what many believe to be retaliation because state government cut the guards overtime and because of an uprising in another prison 400 miles away in Tehachipi Ca. It would be interesting to know how many of the other 33 California prisons were all of a sudden shook-down during this same time period. The guard’s union, the California Correctional Peace Officer’s Association (CCPOA) would probably have the answer to that question. This group of hard-hearted CCPOA ruffians are masters at orchestrating uncalled for, self serving events to advance their agenda.
Prison officials will hold the prisoner’s property for a period of time (if they get it back at all) until they (the prisoner) “can prove” ownership. Hundreds of cumulative overtime hours and massive amounts of money could have been saved if prisoner “property cards” were checked against the usurped property. It takes hundreds of guards to shake-down a prison and a half-dozen to check property cards. Retaliation has it’s price, the question is, do the tax payers agree?
While on the yard during the shake-down, sick, infirmed, and elderly prisoners developed severe sunburned skin. One man, Cliff, had facial burns that festered into huge watery, blistered burns the next day. This gentleman (age 66) who is a stroke survivor with partial left-side paralysis, was told to take two Tylenol and was given a small gauze so he could “dab cold water” on his burns. No cream, no ointment, no antibiotics for possible infection, and most of all, there was no compassion for this senior. Cliff’s hat was confiscated by a guard while he was headed to the yard. There is no shade on Solano’s prison yard and everyone was forced to sit or stand in the center of the yard in the blistering sun for seven hours.
Another elderly man (approximately 70 years old) fell into what appeared to be some sort of a seizure and is an insulin dependent diabetic. He too was exposed to the elements and the hot sun. He was eventually carried to the prison’s infamous Satellite Clinic. [See “They Don’t Triple Bunk Dogs” http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/13/18297041.php ]. His condition was so serious, he had to be rushed to an outside (free-world) hospital, and as of this writing, he has not returned to this prison.
Upon returning to his housing unit after the shake-down, another man, Marcus, learned that 15 photos of his mothers funeral were missing, taken during the shake-down. These photos are especially sensitive to prisoners as they are not allowed to attend funeral services to grieve for their loved ones. Many families send photos of those who attended the funeral so the prisoner can at least accept the loss and grieve in his own way. Marcus is still trying to get answers from prison staff regarding these very personal and irreplaceable photos. Dozens of other uncalled for atrocities and iniquitous acts were carried out by those who were involved with the shake-down.
California Code of Regulations policy (rules governing prisons) dictates worthless verbiage regarding searching a prison, such as: “...inspections [shake-downs] will not be used as a punitive measure nor to harass an inmate. Every reasonable precaution will be taken to avoid damage to personal property and to leave the inmate’s quarters and property in good order upon completion of the inspection.”
The blatant arrogance of these self-proclaimed public servants was evident in the aftermath of the shake-down. Sonic living quarters were in the usual post shake-down disarrayed condition. Many of the prisoners bunk areas were thrashed. Legal papers, personal photos, clothing, food items were strewn about and/or piled high on the bunk and surrounding floor area. Neatly packed boxes were dumped and confiscated. Plastic buckets used to wash clothing were all taken. Pillows and linen were gone from some dorms and plastic spray bottles for cleaning were taken; and much more. A crime scene profiler would probably surmise from the aftermath of the shake-down that only those of a sadistic bent could have been involved with this so called security search.
The public should sleep well tonight knowing that all cardboard boxes, plastic wash buckets, and extra underwear have been located and disposed of “per institution policy” at Solano State Prison.
###
Boston Woodard is a prisoner/journalist who wrote for the San Quentin News, The Soledad Star and edited The Communicator. The Department of Corrections pulled the plug on all three publications.
Boston Woodard, B-88207
CSP-Solano, 13-F-8-L
P.O. Box 4000
Vacaville. CA. 95696-4000
Hate-Filled Retaliation
By: Boston Woodard
Searching a state prison for contraband is compulsory and has been going on for over 200 years in this country. Throughout prison history, right up until now, cel-blocks and other prison housing units are periodically searched by guards in pursuit of contraband and other forbidden goods.
The cognizant convict understands that there are minor to serious consequences to be dealt with depending on the type of stash that is uncovered. There are various degrees of punishment relative to what contraband is found. From loss of privileges to time in isolation (“the hole”) are some of the consequences. It’s no surprise to the convict when the (always expected) punishment is handed down by the “Senior Hearing Officer” (SHO) who is usually a correctional lieutenant. It is nearly impossible for a prisoner to be found innocent at one of the infamous pre-dispositioned disciplinary hearings. It rarely matters how much evidence against a charge of contraband is in the prisoner’s favor. Many prisoners are charged simply for being in a general area where contraband is found. Any honest audit of the California prison system’s disciplinary process, and hearing dispositions, would reveal substantial abuse of procedures by prison officials. Senior Hearing Officers will always find a “preponderance of evidence” even if it does not exist. Go to any prison, ask any prisoner. Forget that.
Examples of different types of contraband are:
“Prisoner Manufactured Weapons” (knife, shiv, piece, bone-crusher etc.), “Homemade Booze” (pruno, hooch, juice, wine, etc.), “Drugs” (the gamut), and whatever else the guards deem contraband of the day. Because there is so little contraband behind prison walls these days, the list of items deemed contraband grows and includes, but is not limited to: empty containers, too many state issued clothing, cardboard boxes, and the list can be endless. Anything to justify the shake-down. Oh! and let’s not forget - It’s always for the “safety and security of the institution.”
On April 7, 2008, at Solano State Prison in Vacaville California, initiated a massive shake-down for the second time in a one week period- An alleged “note” was discovered by prison staff (HMmmrn) indicating there is a gun on prison grounds- [See “ZIP—GUN” http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/11/18492221.php ]
Building by building, hundreds of prisoners were ordered to strip naked, searched, then forced to dress only after they were hearded to the prison yard. The sun was hot that day and prisoners were told that they could not wear sunglasses, an order making no common sense or logic when you consider protecting ones eyes is not a security risk.
Approximately 70 full-time guards and another 80 or so guard-cadets (new, spit-shined guards from an academy in Gait Ca.) stormed into one prison housing unit at a time for approximately seven hours per building. The guards destroyed, confiscated, misplaced or damaged the personal property of prisoners. TV’s, radios, music instruments, educational materials (books) etc.), personal clothing and a litany of other authorized items, were tossed into laundry carts and removed from the housing units- all of these approved possessions were bought and paid for by the prisoners, who work for pennies an hour, or was bought by their friends and families. Prisoners have to work hard and demonstrate good behavior in order to earn the privilege of possessing these amenities.
One ugly signature act discovered after the shake-down stood out like a sore thumb. There are two large bulletin boards in the housing unit’s day room. Hung up on those boards were dozens of pages from several prisoner advocacy group’s newsletters. The information was helpful to prisoners regarding family resources, case-law updates for lifers, attorney information etc. All the pages were torn off the boards, ripped into pieces and thrown all over the day room floor. Coffee and dirty boot prints were apparent on the newsletters. Nothing else displayed on the walls seemed to be touched or removed. This type of hate-filled, vindictive undertaking is typical throughout California’s prison system during many shake-downs.
Not one item plundered by the guards was paid for by tax payers as some prison officials would have the public believe. What was paid for by the tax payers of California was the unnecessary and ruthless pilferaging condoned by Solano State Prison’s warden D.K. Sisto, his administrative subordinates, and rank-and-file guards. Tens of thousands, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on what many believe to be retaliation because state government cut the guards overtime and because of an uprising in another prison 400 miles away in Tehachipi Ca. It would be interesting to know how many of the other 33 California prisons were all of a sudden shook-down during this same time period. The guard’s union, the California Correctional Peace Officer’s Association (CCPOA) would probably have the answer to that question. This group of hard-hearted CCPOA ruffians are masters at orchestrating uncalled for, self serving events to advance their agenda.
Prison officials will hold the prisoner’s property for a period of time (if they get it back at all) until they (the prisoner) “can prove” ownership. Hundreds of cumulative overtime hours and massive amounts of money could have been saved if prisoner “property cards” were checked against the usurped property. It takes hundreds of guards to shake-down a prison and a half-dozen to check property cards. Retaliation has it’s price, the question is, do the tax payers agree?
While on the yard during the shake-down, sick, infirmed, and elderly prisoners developed severe sunburned skin. One man, Cliff, had facial burns that festered into huge watery, blistered burns the next day. This gentleman (age 66) who is a stroke survivor with partial left-side paralysis, was told to take two Tylenol and was given a small gauze so he could “dab cold water” on his burns. No cream, no ointment, no antibiotics for possible infection, and most of all, there was no compassion for this senior. Cliff’s hat was confiscated by a guard while he was headed to the yard. There is no shade on Solano’s prison yard and everyone was forced to sit or stand in the center of the yard in the blistering sun for seven hours.
Another elderly man (approximately 70 years old) fell into what appeared to be some sort of a seizure and is an insulin dependent diabetic. He too was exposed to the elements and the hot sun. He was eventually carried to the prison’s infamous Satellite Clinic. [See “They Don’t Triple Bunk Dogs” http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/13/18297041.php ]. His condition was so serious, he had to be rushed to an outside (free-world) hospital, and as of this writing, he has not returned to this prison.
Upon returning to his housing unit after the shake-down, another man, Marcus, learned that 15 photos of his mothers funeral were missing, taken during the shake-down. These photos are especially sensitive to prisoners as they are not allowed to attend funeral services to grieve for their loved ones. Many families send photos of those who attended the funeral so the prisoner can at least accept the loss and grieve in his own way. Marcus is still trying to get answers from prison staff regarding these very personal and irreplaceable photos. Dozens of other uncalled for atrocities and iniquitous acts were carried out by those who were involved with the shake-down.
California Code of Regulations policy (rules governing prisons) dictates worthless verbiage regarding searching a prison, such as: “...inspections [shake-downs] will not be used as a punitive measure nor to harass an inmate. Every reasonable precaution will be taken to avoid damage to personal property and to leave the inmate’s quarters and property in good order upon completion of the inspection.”
The blatant arrogance of these self-proclaimed public servants was evident in the aftermath of the shake-down. Sonic living quarters were in the usual post shake-down disarrayed condition. Many of the prisoners bunk areas were thrashed. Legal papers, personal photos, clothing, food items were strewn about and/or piled high on the bunk and surrounding floor area. Neatly packed boxes were dumped and confiscated. Plastic buckets used to wash clothing were all taken. Pillows and linen were gone from some dorms and plastic spray bottles for cleaning were taken; and much more. A crime scene profiler would probably surmise from the aftermath of the shake-down that only those of a sadistic bent could have been involved with this so called security search.
The public should sleep well tonight knowing that all cardboard boxes, plastic wash buckets, and extra underwear have been located and disposed of “per institution policy” at Solano State Prison.
###
Boston Woodard is a prisoner/journalist who wrote for the San Quentin News, The Soledad Star and edited The Communicator. The Department of Corrections pulled the plug on all three publications.
Boston Woodard, B-88207
CSP-Solano, 13-F-8-L
P.O. Box 4000
Vacaville. CA. 95696-4000
For more information:
http://www.fresnoalliance.com/home
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
Ok, Mr. Woodard, when exactly did this shake down occur, since it is just April of 2008, Temperatures at Solono have not reached above 75 degrees yet. Now I will grant you that there are Officers who have little care for an inmates property, I for one try to leave a cell pretty close to how I found it, unless the cell is in such condition that that is impossible. You claim to be a convict, but you whine like a fish off the bus. You know damn well why cell searches are done as well as knowing what kind of weapons can be made from plastic buckets, cardboard and other materials that are routinely taken during searches. I will not defend those that do not honor the system and the rules that come with it, but I will also be in your face for your excessive whining about everyday prison life. The pictures that were removed more than likely were taken by ISU because there were probably gang members in the pictures. For Validation reasons these photos are removed, photo copied and should be returned within a 2 week period, if allowed. CCPOA has no local control over when searches are done, so quit beating that dead horse. When a cell search is conducted under these circumstances, only boxers, T-shirt and shower shoes are to be worn outside the cell; this is common search procedure, no surprises. I understand you think you are being of service to those who don't understand prison life, but you must also be fair in your writings. You make every thing that custody does sound like it is punishment for the inmates. Very misleading and is slanted journalism at best. I do however have a way you and others can remedy this situation, how about following the rules of society and be a productive citizen, instead of being a criminal with no reguard for his fellow human beings. Quit being dead weight, a burden on society and start taking responsibility for your selfish actions that landed you in prison in the first place.
It seems like correctional officers get no respect or thanks from us. I mean, at least regular street cops get to have occasional positive interactions with the public, talk to kids, etc. But law-abiding citizens never see "prison guards," so basically all they deal with are the bad guys. It's easy to forget and ignore the tough, stressful work they do.
Um, I hate to tell you, but even if you are two people who are sympathizing with correctional officers, the vast majority of people who read this website are at minimum critical of the prison system, and many of us are opposed to the whole thing. The whole thing. Here's one reason why:
Rough life, having a job where you get to kill people and get away with it! That's one way of explaining to you that there are many unexplained deaths inside prisons. It's not ok for prison guards to kill their charges. Try talking to the families of the people who die suddenly in prison, like the kid who supposedly drank a bottle of poison in one of the CYA facilities a few years ago. Check out the Ella Baker Center and stolenlives.org for more info.
Rough life, having a job where you get to kill people and get away with it! That's one way of explaining to you that there are many unexplained deaths inside prisons. It's not ok for prison guards to kill their charges. Try talking to the families of the people who die suddenly in prison, like the kid who supposedly drank a bottle of poison in one of the CYA facilities a few years ago. Check out the Ella Baker Center and stolenlives.org for more info.
Blistering sun in April?
What crime was thee "Gentleman" serving time for?
So they got a sun burn.... wow.
Who gives a rat turd?
PS
Gentle men do not commit crimes.
What crime was thee "Gentleman" serving time for?
So they got a sun burn.... wow.
Who gives a rat turd?
PS
Gentle men do not commit crimes.
Due to apathy of people not registering the poor and making sure they get to the polls, California has become a police state. Lockdowns are caused for any reason whatsoever because it takes about six weeks to search the cells, meaning a lot more overtime for the guards. During these cell searches, the guards destroy family photographs, put irreplacable legal work in the toilet, and they are a form of torture that no human being should have to endure. Constant cell searches are actually against the law, but the guards don't care. If the prisoners are locked down, they have an easy life. The citizens have the power to get together as a voting group and put an end to the bloodhouses as we know them, this is what must be done as the law enforcement labor unions, crime victims, DAs, prosecutors have created quite a money-making nest for themselves off the lives of the poor. Good information Boston, thank you and watch your back.
For more information:
http://www.1union1.com
First, I would like to know why the well-versed "gentleman" that wrote this article is in prison. And I also want to remind him that he went to prison as punishment. Is incredible how inmates forget that they are in prison, and that they killed, rape, mutilated or took from others in some way horrible enough to take them to prison. Not only that, but all inmates in the CDCR have had so many chances prior to being sent to prison. They have already gone through the CYA, the county, probation and even parole. And these "abused" inmates just keep escalating their behavior and coming back for more. Tax payers should definitely be concern with the waste in the prison system, but they need to be looking at the 45,000.00 per year that cost to house inmates. They also need to be informed about the medical waste that these "gentleman" represent. All they have to do is lay on the floor and claim "chest pains" so that they can be taken to a hospital, where they can be given costly tests such as MRI's, X-Rays, Electrocardiograms, etc. Every time these inmates want to spend the night at a nice, air-conditioned hospital bed, all they have to do is come out with some bullshit symptomology so that they can take 10s of thousands of tax payer’s money. And they do it with no regard for the expenditure, they plain out don’t care for the children that don't have teachers or can't go to school because the money is unnecessarily being spent on their assess. Yes! taxpayers be concern, but do your research well before you blame it on the "Knuckle Dragging Guards."
I am a Dutch citizen and I can inform you that our prison system has about a third of the number of guards who are all completelly unarmed. There's hardly any violence in our prison system despite the fact that the incoming and outgoing mail of the general population isn't read but only checked for contraband. There are no strip searches except from the time you are admitted to the prison; the rest of the time they'll pat you down. You'd think it'd be pandemonium in Dutch prisons but I have never heard of a correctional officer being seriously injured or killed while on duty. Strange, huh?
It might have something to do with the fact that inmates are treated in the same respectful manner like any other Dutch citizen. They may be in prison now and they may have done horrible things, but 99.99% of them will walk out of prison one day and we'd like them to walk out of there a better person they were when they came in. In other words: our aim is rehabilitation, not punishment. The punishment of being in prison is that your personal freedom is taken away from you. That's more than enough punishment already: not being able to be with your family and friends, not being able to go outside whenever you want to, not being able to celebrate your birthday and Christmas at home with the people you love. No matter how well you will treat a prisoner, the prisoner is still locked up. They'll never be happy because they're not free. I'd like to urge you to keep that in mind.
As far as Mr. Woodard goes, I don't care what he has done to end up in prison. I know that 80% of the prisoners is incarcerated for a non-violent crime so the chance that this man has taken a life or raped somebody is quite slim. The fact that Mr Woodard broke the law doesn't give the state the right to treat him worse than cattle. Because that's what the US government is doing right now. I wholeheartedly disagree with this whole "tough on crime" thing you Americans have going. It doesn't deter, it doesn't rehabilitate, it only makes things worse and not better.
Attacking Mr Woodard while all he does here is give a glimpse of what it's like inside prison and what kind of abuse goes on in there is very short-sighted to say the least. The average American has no clue what goes on behind those rows of barbed wires. They believe the rosy picture that is painted by the government, that all inmates are lazy asses watching TV all day and that they receive better health care and dental care than ordinary, law-abiding citizens. The actual situation couldn't be further removed from the truth. You only have to go to the websites of Amnesty Internation and Human Rights Watch to read for yourself about the reality in US prisons but most Americans are too lazy to Google something up and inform themselves properly. But they do have time to make unthoughtful and uninformed remarks on here. Although I suspect the majority of the commenters underneath this particular article to be correctional officers trying to do some positive PR for themselves.
I'm sure that not all prison guards are bad and I'm aware of the fact that it's the prison system that's totally wrong and that COs just carry it out, but the statistics don't lie. You folks eat up 75% of the total prison budget and among female inmates the problem of rape by CDC staff (whether that be doctors or COs) is huge. I've read this in a report made by the CDC itself. Google it up for yourself if you don't believe me.
There are many problems in the US prison system. I don't mind Mr. Woodard pointing them out in a public forum. He's living in this situation so he knows what he's talking about. I applaud this man's courage to stand up for his rights and that of his fellow inmates. They are people too with families and friends who love them and care about them. They deserve to be treated in a humane manner, lest we as a society don't lower ourselves to the level of murderers and rapists which we so despise.
I wish Mr Woodard all the best.
It might have something to do with the fact that inmates are treated in the same respectful manner like any other Dutch citizen. They may be in prison now and they may have done horrible things, but 99.99% of them will walk out of prison one day and we'd like them to walk out of there a better person they were when they came in. In other words: our aim is rehabilitation, not punishment. The punishment of being in prison is that your personal freedom is taken away from you. That's more than enough punishment already: not being able to be with your family and friends, not being able to go outside whenever you want to, not being able to celebrate your birthday and Christmas at home with the people you love. No matter how well you will treat a prisoner, the prisoner is still locked up. They'll never be happy because they're not free. I'd like to urge you to keep that in mind.
As far as Mr. Woodard goes, I don't care what he has done to end up in prison. I know that 80% of the prisoners is incarcerated for a non-violent crime so the chance that this man has taken a life or raped somebody is quite slim. The fact that Mr Woodard broke the law doesn't give the state the right to treat him worse than cattle. Because that's what the US government is doing right now. I wholeheartedly disagree with this whole "tough on crime" thing you Americans have going. It doesn't deter, it doesn't rehabilitate, it only makes things worse and not better.
Attacking Mr Woodard while all he does here is give a glimpse of what it's like inside prison and what kind of abuse goes on in there is very short-sighted to say the least. The average American has no clue what goes on behind those rows of barbed wires. They believe the rosy picture that is painted by the government, that all inmates are lazy asses watching TV all day and that they receive better health care and dental care than ordinary, law-abiding citizens. The actual situation couldn't be further removed from the truth. You only have to go to the websites of Amnesty Internation and Human Rights Watch to read for yourself about the reality in US prisons but most Americans are too lazy to Google something up and inform themselves properly. But they do have time to make unthoughtful and uninformed remarks on here. Although I suspect the majority of the commenters underneath this particular article to be correctional officers trying to do some positive PR for themselves.
I'm sure that not all prison guards are bad and I'm aware of the fact that it's the prison system that's totally wrong and that COs just carry it out, but the statistics don't lie. You folks eat up 75% of the total prison budget and among female inmates the problem of rape by CDC staff (whether that be doctors or COs) is huge. I've read this in a report made by the CDC itself. Google it up for yourself if you don't believe me.
There are many problems in the US prison system. I don't mind Mr. Woodard pointing them out in a public forum. He's living in this situation so he knows what he's talking about. I applaud this man's courage to stand up for his rights and that of his fellow inmates. They are people too with families and friends who love them and care about them. They deserve to be treated in a humane manner, lest we as a society don't lower ourselves to the level of murderers and rapists which we so despise.
I wish Mr Woodard all the best.
YOU HAVE NO CLUE! It is because of bleeding heart people like you that this states penal system is in such a disaray. As for inmate Woodard maybe you could have adopted him back in the late 70's, early 80's when he committed his crime on society. Contrary to your google statistics I guess he's probably one of those exceptions you referred too. My guess is he's doing life, and albeit it not for jay-walking. He gets access to medical care just for the asking, his cost $5.00 to see a specialist of his choosing. I'm not talking about prison doctors either. By the way under your dental plan do they cover veeners at no cost? Guess who will soon be paying that bill too?.......YOU, ME and all the law abiding citizens of this state, thanks to the Federal judge. Been there, done that 23 years inside dealing with this BS. You can't rehabilitate the unwilling.
You must be tired indeed if you think that the federal government is going to approve veneers for teeth. It would be nice if the prison dental system actually did something to save your teeth but their policy is yank rather than save.
As for getting to see a specialist of your choice, HA HA HA HA HA. I'd really love to have seen that happen. I lay on the floor in a puddle of blood and all a CO told me was that I had to walk over to see the nurse if I wanted medical help. I couldn't move without blood coming out of me, yet I was supposed to get up and walk for help? A really pretty sight that would have been blood oozing down my legs with every step.
Yes, I'm female and yes it was female problems that finally ended on their own after 4 months. But there was NO help from the prison medical system. When did they finally get me in for my gyn exam? Two weeks before my release date.
As for getting to see a specialist of your choice, HA HA HA HA HA. I'd really love to have seen that happen. I lay on the floor in a puddle of blood and all a CO told me was that I had to walk over to see the nurse if I wanted medical help. I couldn't move without blood coming out of me, yet I was supposed to get up and walk for help? A really pretty sight that would have been blood oozing down my legs with every step.
Yes, I'm female and yes it was female problems that finally ended on their own after 4 months. But there was NO help from the prison medical system. When did they finally get me in for my gyn exam? Two weeks before my release date.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$155.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network