And to be honest, not a whole lot has been going on. Not in my life or Lorne's. Lorne was working for a while translating books into Braille but he was bored witless with that job. Now he is sorting cards and while that job pays a bit more, it doesn't make him happy in the least because it is manual labor. Lorne does not do manual labor. I have to laugh...the last discussion we had about this he told me, "his intellect was too superior to be doing manual labor". I almost fell of the couch I was laughing so hard!
To a degree, Lorne is correct. He has an IQ above 145 which means he is extremely intelligent. However, prisons have no programs for intellectually gifted inmates. Sure, if you are below average, have no high school diploma, they have a program for you. And you get days off your sentence if you complete a GED program while you are inside too.
But where does that leave those inmates who are gifted? College courses for the most part are unavailable to them since most colleges have moved to an e-learning format. E-learning requires internet access and that will never happen inside a prison. Look at all the jobs that are good paying and NEED people in them...the technology sector is always in need of people and yet prisons do not allow any type of educational resources along these lines.
I get that internet access poses a problem because of the potential abuse problems. But with all the blocking programs out there, it seems to me that prisons could figure out a way to allow inmates to access the internet for educational purposes and still minimize abuse of that privilege.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Your entire life in 13 boxes...
With the recent passing of Lorne's father, his mother, with Lorne's consent, sent all of Lorne's worldly possessions to me. Here it is...Lorne's life in 13 boxes that arrived yesterday while I was at work.
My new task is to go through all these boxes and determine what is keepable (I'm not keeping 13 year old clothing) and what isn't. I don't even think that Lorne knows what is inside these boxes...certainly after almost 13 years, his recollection would have been diminished anyways.
At this point I have gone through 2 boxes and managed to find a ton of t-shirts, lots of legal documents, some amazing photos of Lorne when he was a child growing up (lots of school awards and newspaper clippings as well) and cutest of all...a hand crocheted Tigger...down to the curly, springy tail! Once I get through all these boxes, I will need to organize them a bit better and repack them so that when the time comes and Lorne does get out of prison, then they will be waiting for him.
I hope it will be sooner rather than later.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Death in Prison...
Well, that which I feared has happened. Lorne has lost one of his parents while he was incarcerated. There are many things that would make people go "well, it was bound to happen..." Yes, it was. Death is a natural part of the life cycle; as a Witch, I know this. The part that saddens me is that it was Lorne's father, a man with whom Lorne has an extremely long and contentious relationship with. So much of the man that Lorne, is today, good and bad, are as a direct result of the influence that his father had on him. And trust me, it was no small influence. His father brought out the worst and the best in him. The last few months of his life, Lorne's father, I believe was trying to reach out to Lorne and apologize to him for all the pain he had caused him. I truly believe that Lorne's father did love Lorne, deeply, but was one of those very flawed human beings who were unable to show true love, tolerance and acceptance of their child but did so in a very controlling and demeaning way.
It's sad really, that Lorne's father did not know how to show such emotional kindness to Lorne. The funny thing is that Lorne has adopted many of the same traits as his father, but Lorne doesn't seem to see that. Lorne had told me stories of how strained his relationship with his father was and how it developed over the many years. For Lorne, I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a parent and not be able to attend to their funeral or take over those duties that a child should when a parent passes.
As for Lorne, I am deeply saddened that he will no longer be able to heal the relationship with his father. The only option left open to Lorne is to forgive him and I don't think that is in the cards.
It's sad really, that Lorne's father did not know how to show such emotional kindness to Lorne. The funny thing is that Lorne has adopted many of the same traits as his father, but Lorne doesn't seem to see that. Lorne had told me stories of how strained his relationship with his father was and how it developed over the many years. For Lorne, I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a parent and not be able to attend to their funeral or take over those duties that a child should when a parent passes.
As for Lorne, I am deeply saddened that he will no longer be able to heal the relationship with his father. The only option left open to Lorne is to forgive him and I don't think that is in the cards.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 10
The day before my cellmate left, we had a conversation about slavery, and we both agreed that it is alive and well in the United States today. Lest any of my readers be offended by that statement, it is most definitely not true, and certainly not meant in the traditional Southern plantation, African-American context. Anybody who knows me will tell you that I am not a racist and that I associate myself with people of all ethnicities and walks of life. No, the slavery to which I refer is truly insidious, because the populace at large is completely unaware of its existence and because it is unbounded by ethnicity. The slavery to which I refer is this" the United States enslavement of its citizens who are convicted of crimes.
Any American with but a scant education likely can tell you that slavery was abolished in this country during the Civil War by executive order - Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. A percentage of the whole may know that the abolition of slavery was incorporated in this country's constitution. But, I daresay that very few outside the fields of history, law or political science are aware of what our nations constitution actually says about slavery. Please allow me to enlighten you.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. US Constitutional Amendment XIII, sec. 1 (emphasis added). I strongly suspect that this provision is the root of chain gangs being sentenced to "hard labor" but I do not have the research material at my disposal to bear out my suspicion. Of course, in this day and age, chain gangs and hard labor largely are things of the past, at least here in Nevada. Their legacy in my opinion, is fighting wildfires (for minimum custody inmates) or yard labor positions, and a certain amount of voluntariness is involved. I cite the Warren Court of the 1960's and 1970's as the most prominent cause for the decline and disappearance of chain gangs and hard labor camps, as that court promulgated and vastly expanded the scope of prisoner's rights, but again, such a statement is made without benefit of research. Therefore we inmates, aside from those of us who fight wildfires or voluntarily accept a yard-labor job, are not longer slaves compelled to long hours of physical exertion under the scorching desert sun akin to those of yore who under threat of pain were encouraged to spend incredibly long hours out in the plantation fields picking cotton.
But that doesn't mean we aren't slaves. A surprising number of parallels exists. The correctional facility, be it camp, prison, transitional housing, or whatever, is our plantation. The warden is the owner of our plantation. the lieutenants are our foremen, and the correctional officers are the field hands who send us into the fields (order us about our day), watch over us and whip (discipline) us when we disobey their orders (or violate the rules and regulations). The housing units are the ramshackle buildings, fallen into disrepair, where we sleep and spend our lives when we aren't working. And, our work area and job assignments are our fields. We are even told when and what we can eat, if we're unfortunate enough to be unable to purchase commissary. Our lives are controlled and governed in almost every conceivable way, just like our African-American predecessors were in the pre-Civil War South.
To those who have no experience with the prison system, neither firsthand nor via contact with family or friends on the inside, indeed, what I've stated may come across as hyperbole, as gross exaggeration by one of the "oppressed". I invite them to use their imaginations and consider how much drearier their lives would be without many of the choices and freedoms which are taken so much for granted that they have become almost entirely unnoticeable. Imagine what it would be like to be told when you can eat breakfast. What about when you cannot go to work until you are told to do so, regardless of the time or of how late you would be? How about being confined to a space of less than 100 square feet for more than an hour at a time, with a constant companion of the same sex who is little more than a complete stranger, when you're not at work? Add to that being told when you can stand and when you can sit at least once each day. Dinner is a repeat of breakfast and so is lunch - if you're fortunate enough to be in a facility which provides a hot lunch. Had enough yet? I could keep going, but I think I've sufficiently made my point.
Some may argue that this isn't slavery, that the prison officials merely are standing in loco parentis to us inmates. Others may argue that prison is very similar to military boot camp. Perhaps. My childhood in my parent's home was similarly oppressive, at least from my point of view, though perhaps not quite as extreme. I have never been in the military so I have no firsthand experience with boot camp, but judging by what I've gleaned from various media sources, it too is similarly oppressive. Maybe slavery , child rearing, and military training are all the same or all variations on the same theme. But at least in this country, military training is a choice; you voluntarily enlist. And, the point of childhood is to prepare for adulthood; adults are not meant to be treated like children - just ask your teenager.
I am a modern day slave. So are my fellow inmates. We are the property of the State of Nevada, and our prisons are where slavery is alive and well in the 21st century.
Any American with but a scant education likely can tell you that slavery was abolished in this country during the Civil War by executive order - Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. A percentage of the whole may know that the abolition of slavery was incorporated in this country's constitution. But, I daresay that very few outside the fields of history, law or political science are aware of what our nations constitution actually says about slavery. Please allow me to enlighten you.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. US Constitutional Amendment XIII, sec. 1 (emphasis added). I strongly suspect that this provision is the root of chain gangs being sentenced to "hard labor" but I do not have the research material at my disposal to bear out my suspicion. Of course, in this day and age, chain gangs and hard labor largely are things of the past, at least here in Nevada. Their legacy in my opinion, is fighting wildfires (for minimum custody inmates) or yard labor positions, and a certain amount of voluntariness is involved. I cite the Warren Court of the 1960's and 1970's as the most prominent cause for the decline and disappearance of chain gangs and hard labor camps, as that court promulgated and vastly expanded the scope of prisoner's rights, but again, such a statement is made without benefit of research. Therefore we inmates, aside from those of us who fight wildfires or voluntarily accept a yard-labor job, are not longer slaves compelled to long hours of physical exertion under the scorching desert sun akin to those of yore who under threat of pain were encouraged to spend incredibly long hours out in the plantation fields picking cotton.
But that doesn't mean we aren't slaves. A surprising number of parallels exists. The correctional facility, be it camp, prison, transitional housing, or whatever, is our plantation. The warden is the owner of our plantation. the lieutenants are our foremen, and the correctional officers are the field hands who send us into the fields (order us about our day), watch over us and whip (discipline) us when we disobey their orders (or violate the rules and regulations). The housing units are the ramshackle buildings, fallen into disrepair, where we sleep and spend our lives when we aren't working. And, our work area and job assignments are our fields. We are even told when and what we can eat, if we're unfortunate enough to be unable to purchase commissary. Our lives are controlled and governed in almost every conceivable way, just like our African-American predecessors were in the pre-Civil War South.
To those who have no experience with the prison system, neither firsthand nor via contact with family or friends on the inside, indeed, what I've stated may come across as hyperbole, as gross exaggeration by one of the "oppressed". I invite them to use their imaginations and consider how much drearier their lives would be without many of the choices and freedoms which are taken so much for granted that they have become almost entirely unnoticeable. Imagine what it would be like to be told when you can eat breakfast. What about when you cannot go to work until you are told to do so, regardless of the time or of how late you would be? How about being confined to a space of less than 100 square feet for more than an hour at a time, with a constant companion of the same sex who is little more than a complete stranger, when you're not at work? Add to that being told when you can stand and when you can sit at least once each day. Dinner is a repeat of breakfast and so is lunch - if you're fortunate enough to be in a facility which provides a hot lunch. Had enough yet? I could keep going, but I think I've sufficiently made my point.
Some may argue that this isn't slavery, that the prison officials merely are standing in loco parentis to us inmates. Others may argue that prison is very similar to military boot camp. Perhaps. My childhood in my parent's home was similarly oppressive, at least from my point of view, though perhaps not quite as extreme. I have never been in the military so I have no firsthand experience with boot camp, but judging by what I've gleaned from various media sources, it too is similarly oppressive. Maybe slavery , child rearing, and military training are all the same or all variations on the same theme. But at least in this country, military training is a choice; you voluntarily enlist. And, the point of childhood is to prepare for adulthood; adults are not meant to be treated like children - just ask your teenager.
I am a modern day slave. So are my fellow inmates. We are the property of the State of Nevada, and our prisons are where slavery is alive and well in the 21st century.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 9 (cont.)
I also worry about my ability to adapt and adjust to a society, which will be at least two decades more advanced than the one which I left. Consider first that my arrest occurred in the early half of 1999 and what our society and culture was like at that time. For example, cellphones were not commonplace; cars were simple key driven affairs with nothing more than a CD player in the dash; the Pentium II was Intel’s newest processor; Windows 98 was the OS of choice; DVD players had just debuted at Comdex, flatscreen TVs were unheard of on this continent, etc. Then consider what the world was like in the early half of 1979. For example, the Atari 2600 was THE home video game console; cellphones were practically unheard of; disco was in; fuel injection was for high end sports cars; Sony hadn’t even invented the compact disc (remember cassette tapes?) and the top of the line personal computers were the Apple IIe, the original commodore and Radio Shack/Tandy’s TRS-80 (seen one of those lately?). Now imagine that a person inadvertently stepped into a time machine (Dr. Who style) on a spring day in 1979 and came out on that same spring day in 1999. How would that person feel and react, especially if they knew they couldn’t go back to 1979? Would the world feel familiar or utterly alien do you think? I wholeheartedly believe that the time traveler would feel as though they were an utter and complete anachronism, even after a lengthy period of adaptation and acclimation. And, feeling that way is very scary, not just for me but for many a convict who has served a lengthy term of incarceration. I mention it now because after more than 12 years, the world has finally changed enough where its alien qualities are too prevalent to remain subtle and unnoticeable. It makes me wonder if 12 years is the threshold value for institutionalization; interestingly enough, as I recall, Sweden does not have a term of incarceration which exceeds 12 years with the possible exception of a crime against humanity.
The obvious question is why I don’t seek treatment. There are a few reason for this. First and foremost, I have taken antidepressants before, and in my experience, they do little to alleviate my depression and do little else other than make me feel “fuzzy”, make it difficult for me to think straight, to be sharp and quick as I know I can be. That scares me to death, because my intellect is everything to me, my strongest asset. And under no circumstances can I afford to permanently damage my intellect, which these drugs may do and may have already done. Second, surprisingly, despite these new found deviations from my traditional thought patterns and personality traits, I am still too comfortable with the person I am to tamper with how I think; I like myself and that’s the bottom line. Third, I don’t trust prison mental health staff to have my best interests at hear. I truly believe that they’ll just give me whatever drug they think will get me out of their hair. Fourth, inmates are penalized for being on psychotropic medication. It adds an extra point in the penal system’s mathematical formula for determining custody level of an inmate (minimum, medium, or close/max). the parole board has, in the past, seemingly taken a dim view of inmates who require psychotropic medication, making them out to be more dangerous than mentally stable felons. Plus it necessitates going to pill call and dealing with that hassle, because inmates are not permitted to keep psychotropic medications on their persons or in their cell. Fifth and last, I am confident in my belief that all of the disorders, which I am currently experiencing, the OCD, the bipolar disorder and the depression or at least many of their symptoms will be largely, if not completely ameliorated by my release from prison. I will then be able to exert a greater degree of control over my life and environment, although I may then have to deal with PTSD and adaptation issues.
By the time this article is posted, my cellmate will finally have been released. I am very happy for him, especially as I believe that he will be one of the very few who avoid returning to this hell. As for me, however it means that I have the added stress of anticipating whatever random guy whom they stick in my cell to replace him, the “lop of the draw” as many in here say. I dread that the replacement will be some racist knucklehead who’s constantly “in the mix” and brings heat on my cell. I am concerned that such would be the proverbial straw that breaks the camels back. And yet, there’s one thing that would instantly make all of this more eminently bearable, if not downright trivial: the certainty of knowing that I had less time left to serve then the time which I’ve already served, or in other words, that I’m over the hump, the halfway point. It seems so insignificant on its face yet it truly means everything.
Nevada is one of the only, of not THE only state in which an offender does not know the date of his/her release until two weeks or even less prior to release. An inmate cannot even be sure of the latest possible date of release-expiration of sentence as opposed to release on parole- because that date fluctuates as well, based upon a number of factors such as job, disciplinary status, meritorious credit for completion of programs and the like. And sometimes, the difference between release on parole and expiration of sentence can be vast, especially when multiple consecutive sentences are involved. Such is the case with me. As things stand now, I could potentially return to the community in a wee bit more than six years if I am released on parole. (Based upon prior appearances before the parole board, I find that to be extremely unlikely, but it is possible) But in the absence of release on parole, my return to the community is more than 18 years away! That is a disparity of – hey, what do you know?- 12 years, almost the same amount of time which I’ve already been incarcerated. That is an enormous uncertainty for me to contemplate and accept. In contrast, had I been incarcerated in California, Arizona, Colorado or any number of states, I would have known beyond a shadow of doubt exactly when I was to be released from prison within a month of arriving at the reception facility.
I have come to believe, based upon my experiences, some of which I have related in this blog, that the Nevada penal system maintains a secret, unspoken policy of mentally abusing, punishing and perhaps even torturing its inmates. It starts with the statutes for sentencing and for the penal system, which creates the sometimes enormous disparities which I previously outlined. It continue with the statutes which empower the parole board, granting that body practically unfettered discretion in the granting or denying of parole and stripping those subject to the decisions of that body, any recourse, meaningful or otherwise. It appears in the attitudes of court officials, our judges, our district attorneys and their deputies, and our Attorney General and her deputies, especially when we have valid, meritorious claims to litigate, (be the proceedings civil or criminal). But perhaps it is no more readily apparent, at least to us inmates, on a daily basis that in the attitudes of prison and penal system officials, from the Department of Corrections on down. Onerous, oppressive regulations are written which place very few restrictions upon correctional officers, yet those regulations never seem to be enforced when an officer’s conduct is so abhorrent and abusive, that it violates those regulations. For example, here at Southern Desert Correctional Center, a vast majority of officers yell and cuss at us, violating Admin Regulation 339. Associate warden of programs, Cheryl Burson, denies all such grievances, responding that we don’t need to quote regulations to her because she knows them. This is behavior, which isn’t even allowed in our nations military boot camps anymore, but apparently, we have to take it because we’re lowly felons; the dregs of our society, the worst of the worst, human garbage better off discarded.
Nevada is ranked 43rd among the states in the care and treatment of its mentally ill citizens, so I heard on the local news tonight. With such a poor track record, I suppose that it really is no surprise that such little concern is given to the impact this omnipresent mental anguish has upon the states inmate population. Being mathematically inclined, it makes me wonder what percentages of Nevada’s total inmate population are mentally ill. I would be really interested to know what percentage of the inmate population developed at least one mental health disorder while incarcerated and what percentage of the total mentally ill population are felons and ex-felons. Perhaps the Bureau of Justice Statistics or some other agency can shed some statistical light on this subject, but I unfortunately lack the data at hand. Maybe, just maybe, its worth looking in to.
As a note to you faithful readers whom I’ve alienated with this personal and revealing article, this article took more than a month to write. Although I endeavor to keep article flowing without excessive delay, some topics, especially deeply personal ones it seems, do not proliferate as easily as others, and I am by no means immune to writers block. All I can ask is that you please bear with me, because more will come, eventually though it may be.
As it happens, the delay provided an interesting final thought for this article. A week or so ago, a new arrival on our tier, an older African –American fellow, asked me during the course of a conversation about how much time I’ve done and have yet to do how I manage to keep it together after so long. I looked at him quizzically, and he explained that practically everybody he knows who has served a decade or more is messed up in the head. I truly did not know how to respond. After a few moments of speechlessness and stammering, all I managed to say was something to the effect of “I just take each day as it comes. What else am I going to do? Nothin’ but keepin’ on keepin’ on.” Apparently, I was convincing enough because he accepted my answer. And yet, as this article aptly demonstrates, its all a lie, a façade which I unconsciously project out of force of habit because it is not the socially nor culturally acceptable for me to be the way or feel the things which I have described and related herein or share these thoughts, feelings or revelations with other inmates. We’re all supposed to be big, tough, strong, hard men right? Yeah right. So at least now, YOU know. And now, I’ll go back to trying my best to keep on keepin’ on. I just don’t know if trying my best is going to get the job done.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 9
February 25, 2012
At the risk of alienating some of my readers and unduly alarming my girlfriend, I recently have begun to suspect that I have become mentally ill, or perhaps what were once mild mental health disorders are worsening and becoming noticeable to me. I am also concerned that if I am aware of the symptoms, they may be apparent to others as well, affecting how those others relate to me and, in turn, how I feel about those other people. When it is taken into account that existence in a prison, perhaps even, or much more so than in normal, everyday society, if largely defined by a person relationship with others. After all, an inmate in constantly surrounded by and interacting with his/her cellmate, the other inmates who live on the tier, the unit officers, other officers throughout the facility, the unit caseworker, coworkers and bosses, not to mention periodic interviews by a panel of parole commissioners. It is quite evident why my concerns and suspicions exist and how serious they in fact are.
I have known for about five years that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This disorder takes two forms. First, I am a “checker”, meaning that I have to check and re-check all of my calculations, data, facts and figures to ensure their accuracy and perfection. The second form of this disorder manifests in my need for everything to be in its assigned place as defined by my highly intricate system of organization. I become mildly distressed and frustrated when I am unable to satisfy or even am delayed in satisfying, these compulsions. Fortunately, they distress and frustration does not rise to the level of severe disruption of functioning, but it is noticeable to me. The second form is also noticeable to others as evidenced by the many comments from several different people who have gotten to know me over the last five years.
Within the last six months, I have begun to notice that I experience severe mood swings consistent with bi-polar disorder. One or two other inmates who live on my tier have noticed this about me as well, as they have commented about it to me but my own suspicions arose prior to the comments. I do not believe that being bi-polar is a recent development but rather is a condition which I’ve had for quite awhile but which has only recently worsened to the point where it have become apparent to myself and others.
Depression is a component of bipolar disorder, although it is a mental disorder in and of itself, and one with which I have dealt with for much of my life, certainly since my teens and perhaps prior. I do not believe that my depression could have been described as anything other than mild prior to my incarceration but being incarcerated and repeatedly denied parole given the facts and circumstances of my case, coupled with my family moving on without me (which I know as only normal), without a doubt worsened it. I have begun to recognize, though, that it had become worse still, certainly since my transport to this facility on July 27, 2011, and perhaps even a month prior to that when the incident with Correctional Officer Sean Lagier occurred. My depression now is what I would categorize as pretty bad. My thoughts are…well, very dark, darker then they’ve been in a decade or more.
When I arrived at this facility from county jail on April 17, 2000, I was pulled aside from the other “fish” and interviewed by a mental health worker. During the course of the interview, I remember I told the worker that I wasn’t doing 12 years in prison, that I would exhaust every legal avenue, then go over the wall and if that failed, leave in a body bag. The twelfth anniversary of my arrest was May 23, 2011, a few scant days more than a month before the incident with Lagier. I obviously am still here, alive but perhaps not so well, with a legal avenue or two still unexhausted, too physically out of shape and decrepit to make a try at the fence. Every night now, for perhaps the last six months, maybe less, I plead with the gods before I go to sleep for their mercy in not letting me wake up but they have not seen fit to grant my nightly request. What gets me through each subsequent day are my parents and my girlfriend. My father is 88 years old, doesn’t have too many years left to him and has already had to bury one son; he shouldn’t have to bury another. I can vividly imagine the pain my mother and girlfriend would experience if I were to deprive them of my unique individuality, of the person I am.
Thoughts such as these are not new to me at all, although their frequency and regularity are. What is new, and quite terrifies me, that that I no longer seem to care about anything which I previously valued, aside from the three aforementioned people. For example, I have always cared about and placed a high value on my possessions, the items and conveniences, which make life comfortable and bearable. Yet for the last six or seven months, I have seriously contemplated stripping myself completely naked and throwing every last possession, including clothing, food and even the state owned mattress upon which I sleep, out on the tier just to deprive correctional officers of their most potent weapon; the cell search or “shakedown”. The cell search essentially uses our desire for possessions, conveniences and comfort against us. After all, an officer can’t threaten me with a shakedown if I have nothing to shakedown can (s)he? On the plus side, I used to cringe at the thought of a shakedown, sometimes so much so that I experienced physical discomfort, and now I don’t. On the minus side this is a major deviation from my normal behavior and personality.
What is also new and terrifying is the considerations and contemplation of the very likely possibility that new mental health disorders will manifest after I am removed from this severe and ongoing mental trauma that is my incarceration. My worst fear in this regard is the manifestation of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which I believe to be almost a certainty. My girlfriend has already suffered through the disintegration of a marriage caused in a large part due to PTSD, and it pains me terribly to think that I could end up putting her that again, unintentionally of course. I have begun to seriously consider never stepping foot outside of my residence once I am released back into the community, premised upon the theory that if I never leave my residence, I will never encounter a peace officer. I believe it to be likely that a mental health professional would consider such to be of evidence of a sever phobia of peace officers, strong enough to cause major disruption of functioning. Such irrational fears are one of the many precursors and symptoms of PTSD and they may already be forming.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Good news...sort of anyways...
Lorne called me on Friday, not his usual day to call but he actually was in a pretty good mood. It turns out that his most recent grievance was overturned. The warden decided that the notice of charges had no merit and overturned it. Lorne's record has been expunged of this charge and his visiting privileges have been restored. Needless to say he was VERY happy about that. Certainly he feels vindicated in the treatment he receives at the hands of the correctional officers there.
On the down side to all this, Lorne's latest blog article, which he just sent and I have yet to receive, apparently paints a decidedly darker picture of his mindset. Of course he starts out with, "now I don't want to alarm anyone" and of course my response to him was "when you say stuff like that, of course we are going to be alarmed" So of course, now I am worried about his mental state. Unfortunately the state correctional centers are not geared towards people with high IQ's like Lorne. If he were a high school dropout, fine...they could work with that.
I will keep you posted and expect another Lorne blog update soon.
On the down side to all this, Lorne's latest blog article, which he just sent and I have yet to receive, apparently paints a decidedly darker picture of his mindset. Of course he starts out with, "now I don't want to alarm anyone" and of course my response to him was "when you say stuff like that, of course we are going to be alarmed" So of course, now I am worried about his mental state. Unfortunately the state correctional centers are not geared towards people with high IQ's like Lorne. If he were a high school dropout, fine...they could work with that.
I will keep you posted and expect another Lorne blog update soon.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
What goes around ALWAYS comes around
Today I received an email from an organization that I am involved with. It had to do with a letter that the organization's president wrote to the NV state AG regarding the recent assault of a Nevada correctional officer by an inmate.
Don't get me wrong, I abhor violence...in any form; nor do I condone or approve of the actions of the inmate who assaulted a staff member. And here it is...BUT, there can be little doubt that this particular officer did nothing to endear himself to the inmates at this facility. I was not surprised when I saw the name of the officer since it was the one who dropped the bomb on Lorne last June regarding the confiscation of his financial information, 2 subsequent cell searches, loss of religious materials (destroyed by the state after this officer confiscated them) gave Lorne his first disciplinary actions in 6 years!!!
It has long been said that when you treat people like animals, they will respond as one. And in this instance, I truly believe that to be the case. Based upon past interactions with Lorne, this officer was given all that he had given out to the inmates. I think that is sad...so very sad. I think it is sad that people who are in positions of power and authority must rule with an iron fist using fear, intimidation and mental and physical abuse in trying to gain compliance from someone. It doesn't work...it never has and it never will.
I hope that as a result of his stabbing, that officer Sean Lagier (who has been characterized as the worst of the worst) will learn that his tactics to gain compliance have not worked, indeed, his very actions have placed his life in jeopardy. It goes to show you that respect for humanity, tolerance and compassion go a long way towards gaining an inmates compliance and obedience to the rules. Abuse of any kind will get you nothing but a shank.
Get well officer Lagier...you will soon have alot of explaining to do and you should be in top form to do so.
Don't get me wrong, I abhor violence...in any form; nor do I condone or approve of the actions of the inmate who assaulted a staff member. And here it is...BUT, there can be little doubt that this particular officer did nothing to endear himself to the inmates at this facility. I was not surprised when I saw the name of the officer since it was the one who dropped the bomb on Lorne last June regarding the confiscation of his financial information, 2 subsequent cell searches, loss of religious materials (destroyed by the state after this officer confiscated them) gave Lorne his first disciplinary actions in 6 years!!!
It has long been said that when you treat people like animals, they will respond as one. And in this instance, I truly believe that to be the case. Based upon past interactions with Lorne, this officer was given all that he had given out to the inmates. I think that is sad...so very sad. I think it is sad that people who are in positions of power and authority must rule with an iron fist using fear, intimidation and mental and physical abuse in trying to gain compliance from someone. It doesn't work...it never has and it never will.
I hope that as a result of his stabbing, that officer Sean Lagier (who has been characterized as the worst of the worst) will learn that his tactics to gain compliance have not worked, indeed, his very actions have placed his life in jeopardy. It goes to show you that respect for humanity, tolerance and compassion go a long way towards gaining an inmates compliance and obedience to the rules. Abuse of any kind will get you nothing but a shank.
Get well officer Lagier...you will soon have alot of explaining to do and you should be in top form to do so.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 8
Well...I got screwed. That shouldn't come as a surprise to me by now, but it amazes me just how inventive they can be when it comes to screwing inmates.
I was summoned back to the disciplinary office on the morning of January 9th; that was the first surprise because I was not on The List for such an event. In fact, I didn't know about it until the education officer caught me on my way into work and told me to go over there. So, I go, sans all of my materials, to discover the second surprise: instead of Lieutenant Filson awaiting me, it was Sergeant Torsky. I had already heard that this guy was a nightmare but there is nothing like having first-hand experience.
I began to guess that I was going to get the shaft when he asked about my witnesses, following my informal explanation of what transpired to precipitate the disciplinary action. Torsky refused to let me call my father as a witness despite the fact of him being the alleged victim of my misconduct. When I tried to call my next witness, Correctional Officer Williams, an female officer who was assigned to the visiting room on the date of my alleged misconduct, Torsky made a brief telephone call to the administration building and told me that she was not at work and not available as a witness. I tried to call my third witness, Correctional Officer Jeff Guerrero, who was assigned to the visiting room on the date when I was allegedly previously warned about my behavior by Correctional Officer J. Volden, but Torsky didn't even bother to pick up the receiver a second time; instead he told me to go wait outside.
When I was called back into the disciplinary office, it got worse. Torsky pretended that I was done calling my witnesses, promptly found me guilty of both general violations with which I had been charged and then sanctioned me to a loss of visitation privileges for a whopping 180 days! Perhaps the worst part of the whole ordeal was what Torsky put on the paperwork; he stated that when asked if I wanted to call a witness, I declined!
I've appealed, of course, via the administrative grievance process but I have no faith in the system. As some of my previous articles have indicated, the powers that be routinely fail to follow the regulations which they themselves write. I truly cannot understand why that is. Why bother to write regulations which are not enforced when correctional staff violate them. Why not just write regulations which strictly affect and govern inmates? And, it could be argued that AR 707 is the worst offender.
AR 707 is divided into two parts; the regulation itself and the Inmate Disciplinary Manual (IDM). The regulation prescribes department policy, the various violations and their categories and classes and what to do if an inmate is transferred to another facility while a disciplinary action is pending. The IDM is all about the process, up to and including appeals. As you will see, AR 707 and its IDM gut every procedural safeguard to ensure a fair process and give correctional staff huge loopholes to legitimatize their misconduct.
The IDM states that when a correctional employee believes that an inmate has violated the inmate disciplinary code, "the employee shall file a Notice of Charges...before the completion of his/her shift" IDM 2(A)(1) (emphasis added) The NOC, also known as Disciplinary Form 1, clearly displays the date on which the charges were written. Volden stated in the Report of Violation section of the NOC that he allegedly witness verbally abuse my father at 2:45pm on December 30, 2011 but the NOC shows that Volden didn't file the notice until December 31st, the following day, well after he completed the shift during which the alleged violation occurred.
The IDM also states that the Report of Violation "shall be a factual and professional description of the violation" and that "opinions and assumptions shall not be included" (IDM 2(A)(2) (emphasis added). Volden stated in the report that he witnessed me "in a loud voice verbally abuse" my dad but did not state what was actually said. Did I cuss at my father" Did I hurl insults at him or call him derogatory terms or names? What constitutes verbal abuse to the mind of Volden? These are the kinds of questions that the aforementioned provision of the IDM is designed to prevent. As it turned out, Torsky mentioned during my disciplinary hearing that the so-called "verbal abuse" was me telling my father, loudly and with repetition, (because he is 88 years of age and quite hard of hearing), that some of his choices and decision were indirect contributions to the events which led to my incarceration. Does that sound abusive to you? It certainly doesn't to me and definitely arouses Free Speech concerns; am I not allowed to disagree with my father in an institutional setting for fear of getting disciplined?
The IDM goes on to state that the Report of Violation "shall contain specific details of the violation, including...the facts surrounding the violation, in chronological order and the names of witnesses to the violation, if any" among other things. IDM 2(A)(3) (emphasis added) As was previously discussed, Volden provided very little if anything in the way of facts but he also neglected to list any witnesses to the report of violation and there apparently were some because Torsky told me so at my disciplinary hearing, although he neglected to provide their names so that they could be examined. Of course, this was news to me because other than Volden or Williams, I saw maybe one other correctional officer in the visiting room at the same time as those two throughout the entire visit. But even so, Volden was obligated to that put that information in his report.
As to the disciplinary hearing process itself, the IDM states that if an "inmate pleads 'not guilty' [the inmate] shall be given a qualified opportunity to call witnesses" on behalf of the inmate IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(7) (emphasis added) I did in fact plead not guilty, so Torsky was obligated to let me call my witnesses. You already read what happened with that. Now, that isn't to say that my opportunity to call witnesses is absolute. Torsky was permitted to deny witnesses if he felt "that the testimony would be irrelevant, redundant, hazardous to the security of the institution/facility, or would in any way endanger the safety of any individual, including the witness" IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(7)(a). However the catch to that is that Torsky is required to document each such denial. Id. Torsky alternatively could have "stipulated as to the proffered testimony of any proposed witness of the inmate." IDM 2 (B)(3)(e)(7)(b) As you've read, Torsky didn't do any of that, going so far as to conceal his malfeasance by stating on Disciplinary Form III that I declined to call any witnesses.
A reasonable person would probably surmise that the use of mandatory language, such as the emphasized words in the quotations from the IDM, would indemnify an inmate against a disciplinary action when, as in my situation, those provisions are not followed. Sadly, that is not the case. To ensure that inmates cannot use the procedure to their benefit, the regulation has what I call "The Great Escape Clause": Reliance on any published standard, the use of mandatory language, if such exists, or the ...procedures related to the conduct of the disciplinary process, including but not limited to timeframes, witnesses, appeals is solely for the purpose of providing guidance for employees and shall not be considered representative of the manner in which the Department has chosen to exercise its discretion in such matter. A. The failure of the Department to follow any procedure shall not result in any mandatory outcome, e.g. dismissal of charges but shall be one of many factors to be considered in exercising discretion as to the outcome of any violation. AR 707.01(10) (emphasis added)
Essentially this provision guts every procedure and requirement set forth in the IDM and, at its root, grants correctional staff the power to do whatever they want as regards the disciplinary process. Why bother to use mandatory language, then, if the procedures and requirements are not mandatory?
It is even more shocking when one considers the meager evidentary standard necessary to find an inmate guilty of a disciplinary charge. "A finding of guilt must be based on some evidence, regardless of the amount." IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(11)(a). As Filson told me, which I believe was mentioned in my last article, what that really means is that if anybody, particularly a correctional employee, says that I did something to violate the disciplinary code, whether that statement is truthful or not, then I can be found guilty of that violation. Wouldn't it make sense and be prudent, then, to have mandatory procedural safeguards to offset such a low evidentary standard? clearly not to the powers that be, which leads me to believe that their aims are strictly oppression and punishment and that they desire to strip an inmate of everything they can get away with on a whim and a moment's notice.
As you can see form the foregoing excerpts from AR 707 and its IDM and from my present situation, if a correctional employee takes a dislike to an inmate for whatever reason, such as the case between Volden and I, the inmate is screwed. Oh, yes, an inmate has resources. They can appeal the outcome of the disciplinary process via the administrative grievance process but let's face it, how many wardens are going to overturn the decision of one of their upper-echelon employees - disciplinary hearings must be conducted by correctional officers holding a rank of Sergeant or higher- in favor of some inmate? And when the appeal fails, the only avenue remaining to an inmate is litigation and by the time that's done, whatever discipline to which the inmate was sanctioned has long been served and discharged, so what good does that do even in the unlikely scenario of the inmate prevailing in court? That is why I have no faith in the system.
How do I fight this? I truly am at a loss. Unless the warden overturns or reduces the sanction, I can't have visitors until July, and I'm pretty much resigned to that fact. What's worse is that every disciplinary charge which sticks goes on my prison record and that has a major impact on hearings before the parole board and on applications to the pardons board. Since the end of June 2011, I have been found guilty of three general violations and two minor violations, whereas prior to June 2011, I had been disciplinary free since October 2004. This is a disturbing trend which has a definite impact upon everything that I am trying to do to shorten my incarceration and get out of prison at the earliest possible time. I wish that I could say that it was entirely my fault but that would be just a lie. No, I have been victimized by two separate officers now, Sean Lagier at NSP and Volden here- and I'm starting to get scared, of the cops and of being forced to serve another 18 years before I can go home.
Perhaps the easiest solution would be to just lie down and take whatever they dish out. I sometimes wish that it was in me to do so. But, the truth is, that it's not. I was bullied throughout my middle school years and I recognize now that it had a profound impact on me. I can't abide it. I can't tolerate it. With perhaps a single exception, every single facet of my criminal history can be traced to incidents where I perceived that I was being bullied and/or assaulted. When I'm bullied, I fight back and I can't seem to not do that. And that's exactly what Lagier, Volden and Correctional officers J. Hill and Mendez have done-bullied me. They are bullies. And they have badges. And I'm getting scared of where that could lead.
I was summoned back to the disciplinary office on the morning of January 9th; that was the first surprise because I was not on The List for such an event. In fact, I didn't know about it until the education officer caught me on my way into work and told me to go over there. So, I go, sans all of my materials, to discover the second surprise: instead of Lieutenant Filson awaiting me, it was Sergeant Torsky. I had already heard that this guy was a nightmare but there is nothing like having first-hand experience.
I began to guess that I was going to get the shaft when he asked about my witnesses, following my informal explanation of what transpired to precipitate the disciplinary action. Torsky refused to let me call my father as a witness despite the fact of him being the alleged victim of my misconduct. When I tried to call my next witness, Correctional Officer Williams, an female officer who was assigned to the visiting room on the date of my alleged misconduct, Torsky made a brief telephone call to the administration building and told me that she was not at work and not available as a witness. I tried to call my third witness, Correctional Officer Jeff Guerrero, who was assigned to the visiting room on the date when I was allegedly previously warned about my behavior by Correctional Officer J. Volden, but Torsky didn't even bother to pick up the receiver a second time; instead he told me to go wait outside.
When I was called back into the disciplinary office, it got worse. Torsky pretended that I was done calling my witnesses, promptly found me guilty of both general violations with which I had been charged and then sanctioned me to a loss of visitation privileges for a whopping 180 days! Perhaps the worst part of the whole ordeal was what Torsky put on the paperwork; he stated that when asked if I wanted to call a witness, I declined!
I've appealed, of course, via the administrative grievance process but I have no faith in the system. As some of my previous articles have indicated, the powers that be routinely fail to follow the regulations which they themselves write. I truly cannot understand why that is. Why bother to write regulations which are not enforced when correctional staff violate them. Why not just write regulations which strictly affect and govern inmates? And, it could be argued that AR 707 is the worst offender.
AR 707 is divided into two parts; the regulation itself and the Inmate Disciplinary Manual (IDM). The regulation prescribes department policy, the various violations and their categories and classes and what to do if an inmate is transferred to another facility while a disciplinary action is pending. The IDM is all about the process, up to and including appeals. As you will see, AR 707 and its IDM gut every procedural safeguard to ensure a fair process and give correctional staff huge loopholes to legitimatize their misconduct.
The IDM states that when a correctional employee believes that an inmate has violated the inmate disciplinary code, "the employee shall file a Notice of Charges...before the completion of his/her shift" IDM 2(A)(1) (emphasis added) The NOC, also known as Disciplinary Form 1, clearly displays the date on which the charges were written. Volden stated in the Report of Violation section of the NOC that he allegedly witness verbally abuse my father at 2:45pm on December 30, 2011 but the NOC shows that Volden didn't file the notice until December 31st, the following day, well after he completed the shift during which the alleged violation occurred.
The IDM also states that the Report of Violation "shall be a factual and professional description of the violation" and that "opinions and assumptions shall not be included" (IDM 2(A)(2) (emphasis added). Volden stated in the report that he witnessed me "in a loud voice verbally abuse" my dad but did not state what was actually said. Did I cuss at my father" Did I hurl insults at him or call him derogatory terms or names? What constitutes verbal abuse to the mind of Volden? These are the kinds of questions that the aforementioned provision of the IDM is designed to prevent. As it turned out, Torsky mentioned during my disciplinary hearing that the so-called "verbal abuse" was me telling my father, loudly and with repetition, (because he is 88 years of age and quite hard of hearing), that some of his choices and decision were indirect contributions to the events which led to my incarceration. Does that sound abusive to you? It certainly doesn't to me and definitely arouses Free Speech concerns; am I not allowed to disagree with my father in an institutional setting for fear of getting disciplined?
The IDM goes on to state that the Report of Violation "shall contain specific details of the violation, including...the facts surrounding the violation, in chronological order and the names of witnesses to the violation, if any" among other things. IDM 2(A)(3) (emphasis added) As was previously discussed, Volden provided very little if anything in the way of facts but he also neglected to list any witnesses to the report of violation and there apparently were some because Torsky told me so at my disciplinary hearing, although he neglected to provide their names so that they could be examined. Of course, this was news to me because other than Volden or Williams, I saw maybe one other correctional officer in the visiting room at the same time as those two throughout the entire visit. But even so, Volden was obligated to that put that information in his report.
As to the disciplinary hearing process itself, the IDM states that if an "inmate pleads 'not guilty' [the inmate] shall be given a qualified opportunity to call witnesses" on behalf of the inmate IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(7) (emphasis added) I did in fact plead not guilty, so Torsky was obligated to let me call my witnesses. You already read what happened with that. Now, that isn't to say that my opportunity to call witnesses is absolute. Torsky was permitted to deny witnesses if he felt "that the testimony would be irrelevant, redundant, hazardous to the security of the institution/facility, or would in any way endanger the safety of any individual, including the witness" IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(7)(a). However the catch to that is that Torsky is required to document each such denial. Id. Torsky alternatively could have "stipulated as to the proffered testimony of any proposed witness of the inmate." IDM 2 (B)(3)(e)(7)(b) As you've read, Torsky didn't do any of that, going so far as to conceal his malfeasance by stating on Disciplinary Form III that I declined to call any witnesses.
A reasonable person would probably surmise that the use of mandatory language, such as the emphasized words in the quotations from the IDM, would indemnify an inmate against a disciplinary action when, as in my situation, those provisions are not followed. Sadly, that is not the case. To ensure that inmates cannot use the procedure to their benefit, the regulation has what I call "The Great Escape Clause": Reliance on any published standard, the use of mandatory language, if such exists, or the ...procedures related to the conduct of the disciplinary process, including but not limited to timeframes, witnesses, appeals is solely for the purpose of providing guidance for employees and shall not be considered representative of the manner in which the Department has chosen to exercise its discretion in such matter. A. The failure of the Department to follow any procedure shall not result in any mandatory outcome, e.g. dismissal of charges but shall be one of many factors to be considered in exercising discretion as to the outcome of any violation. AR 707.01(10) (emphasis added)
Essentially this provision guts every procedure and requirement set forth in the IDM and, at its root, grants correctional staff the power to do whatever they want as regards the disciplinary process. Why bother to use mandatory language, then, if the procedures and requirements are not mandatory?
It is even more shocking when one considers the meager evidentary standard necessary to find an inmate guilty of a disciplinary charge. "A finding of guilt must be based on some evidence, regardless of the amount." IDM 2(B)(3)(e)(11)(a). As Filson told me, which I believe was mentioned in my last article, what that really means is that if anybody, particularly a correctional employee, says that I did something to violate the disciplinary code, whether that statement is truthful or not, then I can be found guilty of that violation. Wouldn't it make sense and be prudent, then, to have mandatory procedural safeguards to offset such a low evidentary standard? clearly not to the powers that be, which leads me to believe that their aims are strictly oppression and punishment and that they desire to strip an inmate of everything they can get away with on a whim and a moment's notice.
As you can see form the foregoing excerpts from AR 707 and its IDM and from my present situation, if a correctional employee takes a dislike to an inmate for whatever reason, such as the case between Volden and I, the inmate is screwed. Oh, yes, an inmate has resources. They can appeal the outcome of the disciplinary process via the administrative grievance process but let's face it, how many wardens are going to overturn the decision of one of their upper-echelon employees - disciplinary hearings must be conducted by correctional officers holding a rank of Sergeant or higher- in favor of some inmate? And when the appeal fails, the only avenue remaining to an inmate is litigation and by the time that's done, whatever discipline to which the inmate was sanctioned has long been served and discharged, so what good does that do even in the unlikely scenario of the inmate prevailing in court? That is why I have no faith in the system.
How do I fight this? I truly am at a loss. Unless the warden overturns or reduces the sanction, I can't have visitors until July, and I'm pretty much resigned to that fact. What's worse is that every disciplinary charge which sticks goes on my prison record and that has a major impact on hearings before the parole board and on applications to the pardons board. Since the end of June 2011, I have been found guilty of three general violations and two minor violations, whereas prior to June 2011, I had been disciplinary free since October 2004. This is a disturbing trend which has a definite impact upon everything that I am trying to do to shorten my incarceration and get out of prison at the earliest possible time. I wish that I could say that it was entirely my fault but that would be just a lie. No, I have been victimized by two separate officers now, Sean Lagier at NSP and Volden here- and I'm starting to get scared, of the cops and of being forced to serve another 18 years before I can go home.
Perhaps the easiest solution would be to just lie down and take whatever they dish out. I sometimes wish that it was in me to do so. But, the truth is, that it's not. I was bullied throughout my middle school years and I recognize now that it had a profound impact on me. I can't abide it. I can't tolerate it. With perhaps a single exception, every single facet of my criminal history can be traced to incidents where I perceived that I was being bullied and/or assaulted. When I'm bullied, I fight back and I can't seem to not do that. And that's exactly what Lagier, Volden and Correctional officers J. Hill and Mendez have done-bullied me. They are bullies. And they have badges. And I'm getting scared of where that could lead.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 7 (cont.)
Some of the officers here, primarily the younger ones, take bullying inmates to higher levels and hold grudges. I am experiencing this very issue with one such trio of young officers. My father paid me a surprise visit on Saturday, November 26, 2011. Because I was unaware of his coming, when the unit officer informed me that I had a visit, I wasn't even sure that he was talking to me. Once that was established, I then had to change my clothes as I was in casual wear; permitted in our cells and out at gym and recreation yard but not in visiting room. I did so in a huge hurry, forgetting to remove my watch, which an inmate is not permitted to wear in the visiting room. So, when I got to the entrance to the visiting room, Correctional officer J. Volden noticed that I was still wearing my watch and sent me back to my housing unit to leave it in my cell. When I finally got into the visiting room, watch free, I handed my prison identification card to the officer at the visiting room desk, who was Correctional Officer Mendez at that time. As Mendez took my identification, he asked me what took me so long and without waiting for a response, threatened me with cancellation of a future visit if I took so long again. Well that just pissed me off because I had hurried as fast as I could once I found out I had a visit and because my dad is 88 years old and doesn't have too many visits or years left to him. So I somewhat vehemently explained to Mendez that I got there as fast as I could and then began to walk away from the desk. My mistake was that I said the F-word somewhat loudly as I was walking away.
A few minutes later Mendez came over to our table and asked to speak with me, so politely, in front of my father, a member of the public. We went into the adjoining room where Mendez was joined by Volden and Correctional officer J. Hill. Mendez proceeded to ask me what my problem with him was, to which I immediately responded that my problem was that he threatened me. The conversation got a little animated but it ended with Mendez telling me that I should have been thanking him instead of cussing at him (which I'm not actually sure but don't believe I did) and to go enjoy my visit. I said forcefully "thank you" and returned to my father's table. The rest of the visit went without event and I considered the matter done. I discovered how far from done it was on Monday November 28, a mere two days later. Hill was filling in for the education officer that day and as a participant in the Braille program here, I report to the education building every weekday. That afternoon Hill recognized the inmate in line in front of me waiting to go into the education building, said the name of the inmate as Hill checked him off the list and then looked at me without saying a word. Figuring that he couldn't possibly recognize me, I waited. But after quite a few seconds of awkward silence, I finally volunteered my last name. Well Hill apparently took issue with the way I said my name because he said so and then told me to go to the end of the building and "hold up the wall". In all of my time in the Nevada penal system, I had never heard that phrase before, but rather than asking him what he meant for fear that he would escalate the situation, I went to the end of the building and stood against the wall with my back to it, hands in my pockets. Apparently that wasn't what Hill had in mind because he came over to me, put his mouth really close to my ear and told me to face the wall and put my hands on the wall, which I did, palms down at waist level. Hill still unsatisfied, came over to me, grabbed each of my forearms in turn, forcibly moved each of my hands high above my head, kicked my legs apart and angrily explained that I now was indeed "holding up the wall". By this time other security and escort officers had gathered around, Volden among them. One officer whom I did not know asked Hill what was going on and Hill snottily replied that I had attitude because of my (64 back number", the implication being that I wasn't respecting him due to the length of time I'd been in prison, or so I supposed, and that I had gotten "shitty with Mendez" in the same fashion. This other officer who was talking to Hill then tried to ask me what was going on but I clammed up and refused to answer, assuming at that point no matter what I said, I was going to face disciplinary charges and a trip to the hole.
Eventually the shift commander, Lt. Filson arrived. He asked Hill what was going on and Hill replied that he had asked for my name (a lie, as he did no such thing) and that I had gotten attitude with him and refused a direct order (which I didn't refuse because I didn't understand the order). Filson then sought my side of the story to which I responded that I had no attitude, that Hill never asked for my name and that I was not trying to be disobedient. Volden asked if I was calling Hill a liar and I responded in the negative; I did so because I didn't think it prudent to challenge Hill surrounded by nothing but cops. Filson asked me what my exit strategy was and I told Filson that I didn't have one because I didn't plan on being in this situation. Filson then asked me if apologizing to Hill would be a suitable resolution to the matter because, Filson said, an inmate always loses to cops. I said "whatever". Filson turned to Hill and asked if that was okay with him and Hill replied "yes". Filson finished by asking Hill if he ever had a problem with me before to which Hill replied "no" and then ordering me to report to the education building. I once again considered the matter done because of the lieutenant's involvement.
The belief was bolstered when my father came to see me on Friday December 16th. Neither Hill nor Mendez were in the visiting room that day or at least that I saw. My only interactions with Volden were immediately prior to the visit when he instructed me in a neutral tone of voice to discard a piece of paper which I had brought to give to my dad. (I thought I could give him stuff but apparently not) and at the the tail end of my visit when I politely asked him if I could go to my medical appointment immediately following my visits without having to return to my unit first and he told me that I could do so. It was further reinforced by my fathers last visit on Friday December 30. Hill was not in the visiting room at all and Mendez didn't arrive until there was only an hour or so left for the visit and I didn't really see much of him at all. Volden was there all day again but we only interacted immediately prior to the visit when I neutrally told him that I had nothing but my identification card and asked him if he wanted to conduct a pat search of my person to which he replied in the negative.
So imagine my surpise when I was summoned to the sergeants office to be served with a notice of disciplinary charges, written and filed by none other than Volden who alleged that I verbally abused my dad and that he has previously warned me about such behavior (which of course he hadn't). Yes, we had and argument but that's nothing new; my father and I haven't seen eye to eye our whole lives. Certainly my voice was raised as my father is hard of hearing, not an unusual characteristic of an elderly person. And I do get animated when I engage in a heated discussion. But I didn't verbally abuse my father; I did not call him names or cuss at him in any fashion. I didn't see any of the surrounding visitors go to Volden and complain about us. Neither Volden nor any other officer came over to us and admonished us in any way. Volden certainly never warned me about my behavior on December 16th as he claimed in the notice of disciplinary charges. It turns out that Filson is the hearing officer for these charges. After I informally ran all of the foregoing down to him he was very frank and understanding. He opted to postpone the hearing to next week because he wanted to speak with Volden before rendering a decision and Volden was not on duty this week. In addition the postponement also gives me time to get my father's contact information - he recently moved to Las Vegas and I don't have his mobile phone number yet as he is going to have to be my key witness at any formal hearing. but Filson did say something which gives me cause for concern: a disciplinary hearing officer needs only the tiniest shred of evidence, such as the statement of an officer regardless of how much testimony is elicited to refute it, to find me guilty and impose disciplinary sanctions. (FYI: Lorne had his hearing and was found guilty and had his visits stopped for the next 6 months- Erika) So now I am not sure what to do. Suffice it to say that no matter how unmanly it may sound, I am scared of this trio of officers (Volden, Hill and Mendez). They or at least Volden, seem to not want to let the matter go or worse, to escalate things. That can lead to dire, abusive consequences for me. Yet my only alternative seems to be to not go to the visiting room which is entirely unfair to my father. (FYI:Lorne had said that the visiting situation is so unbearable that he doesn't want me to come and visit him while he is any facility down south.- Erika) What do I do when these officers get re-assigned, especially if they become assigned to my housing unit? Is it my lot to suffer through daily trashings of my cell and bogus disciplinary action after bogus disciplinary action? I didn't even have these fears about Lagier.
The reason for all that boils down to the difference in the behavioral outlook between staff of the northern and southern facilities. Lagier may be like Volden, Hill and Mendez but the majority of his co-workers and superiors are not. Despite her denial of my grievances I know that Lieutenant Stacy Branham gave Lagier a butt-chewing over at least some of his wrongdoings in what he did to me and my property according to two reliable sources. But down south here, I have no such confidence because nobody, not even Filson, has given me any. Everyone else, with rare exceptions, comes off just like Volden, Hill and Mendez. One can see that manifest in the tension level of the inmates. Inmates are quite a bit more laid back up north than they are down here. I earnestly believe that if the officers were to dial back their attitudes, most, if not all, inmates would too.
The attitude, ethics and professionalism of northern staff goes a long way toward explaining why I want to be transferred back up north so badly. What I don't understand is why the disparity exists, why southern staff can't be like northern staff. Perhaps the disparity lies in a cultural difference between northern and southern Nevada as my girlfriend suggests. Whatever the reason, the behavior, the ethics and professionalism staff needs to be addressed and improved and soon before things get completely out of hand and dangerous prison uprisings ensue. (FYI: I think what I said to Lorne was something along the lines of the fact that officers in the north comes from solid NV rancher/farmer stock. For them, highly ethical behavior and being professional are reflections of their upbringing whereas the officers that come from the southern part of the state come mostly out of the Vegas area and are transplants...most of whom were looking to "get rich quick" in Vegas and ended up being miserable failures and had to get a job in order to support themselves. I think that this hypothesis was anecdotally confirmed with the layoffs of the northern officers from NSP mostly due to their refusal to move south for vacant positions...something I said from the word "jump" wouldn't happen. The officers at NSP were mostly local to the Carson City area, had established deep roots in the community and with the recent recession, would be unable to sell their homes and purchase another one in an area with a much higher cost of living.)
A few minutes later Mendez came over to our table and asked to speak with me, so politely, in front of my father, a member of the public. We went into the adjoining room where Mendez was joined by Volden and Correctional officer J. Hill. Mendez proceeded to ask me what my problem with him was, to which I immediately responded that my problem was that he threatened me. The conversation got a little animated but it ended with Mendez telling me that I should have been thanking him instead of cussing at him (which I'm not actually sure but don't believe I did) and to go enjoy my visit. I said forcefully "thank you" and returned to my father's table. The rest of the visit went without event and I considered the matter done. I discovered how far from done it was on Monday November 28, a mere two days later. Hill was filling in for the education officer that day and as a participant in the Braille program here, I report to the education building every weekday. That afternoon Hill recognized the inmate in line in front of me waiting to go into the education building, said the name of the inmate as Hill checked him off the list and then looked at me without saying a word. Figuring that he couldn't possibly recognize me, I waited. But after quite a few seconds of awkward silence, I finally volunteered my last name. Well Hill apparently took issue with the way I said my name because he said so and then told me to go to the end of the building and "hold up the wall". In all of my time in the Nevada penal system, I had never heard that phrase before, but rather than asking him what he meant for fear that he would escalate the situation, I went to the end of the building and stood against the wall with my back to it, hands in my pockets. Apparently that wasn't what Hill had in mind because he came over to me, put his mouth really close to my ear and told me to face the wall and put my hands on the wall, which I did, palms down at waist level. Hill still unsatisfied, came over to me, grabbed each of my forearms in turn, forcibly moved each of my hands high above my head, kicked my legs apart and angrily explained that I now was indeed "holding up the wall". By this time other security and escort officers had gathered around, Volden among them. One officer whom I did not know asked Hill what was going on and Hill snottily replied that I had attitude because of my (64 back number", the implication being that I wasn't respecting him due to the length of time I'd been in prison, or so I supposed, and that I had gotten "shitty with Mendez" in the same fashion. This other officer who was talking to Hill then tried to ask me what was going on but I clammed up and refused to answer, assuming at that point no matter what I said, I was going to face disciplinary charges and a trip to the hole.
Eventually the shift commander, Lt. Filson arrived. He asked Hill what was going on and Hill replied that he had asked for my name (a lie, as he did no such thing) and that I had gotten attitude with him and refused a direct order (which I didn't refuse because I didn't understand the order). Filson then sought my side of the story to which I responded that I had no attitude, that Hill never asked for my name and that I was not trying to be disobedient. Volden asked if I was calling Hill a liar and I responded in the negative; I did so because I didn't think it prudent to challenge Hill surrounded by nothing but cops. Filson asked me what my exit strategy was and I told Filson that I didn't have one because I didn't plan on being in this situation. Filson then asked me if apologizing to Hill would be a suitable resolution to the matter because, Filson said, an inmate always loses to cops. I said "whatever". Filson turned to Hill and asked if that was okay with him and Hill replied "yes". Filson finished by asking Hill if he ever had a problem with me before to which Hill replied "no" and then ordering me to report to the education building. I once again considered the matter done because of the lieutenant's involvement.
The belief was bolstered when my father came to see me on Friday December 16th. Neither Hill nor Mendez were in the visiting room that day or at least that I saw. My only interactions with Volden were immediately prior to the visit when he instructed me in a neutral tone of voice to discard a piece of paper which I had brought to give to my dad. (I thought I could give him stuff but apparently not) and at the the tail end of my visit when I politely asked him if I could go to my medical appointment immediately following my visits without having to return to my unit first and he told me that I could do so. It was further reinforced by my fathers last visit on Friday December 30. Hill was not in the visiting room at all and Mendez didn't arrive until there was only an hour or so left for the visit and I didn't really see much of him at all. Volden was there all day again but we only interacted immediately prior to the visit when I neutrally told him that I had nothing but my identification card and asked him if he wanted to conduct a pat search of my person to which he replied in the negative.
So imagine my surpise when I was summoned to the sergeants office to be served with a notice of disciplinary charges, written and filed by none other than Volden who alleged that I verbally abused my dad and that he has previously warned me about such behavior (which of course he hadn't). Yes, we had and argument but that's nothing new; my father and I haven't seen eye to eye our whole lives. Certainly my voice was raised as my father is hard of hearing, not an unusual characteristic of an elderly person. And I do get animated when I engage in a heated discussion. But I didn't verbally abuse my father; I did not call him names or cuss at him in any fashion. I didn't see any of the surrounding visitors go to Volden and complain about us. Neither Volden nor any other officer came over to us and admonished us in any way. Volden certainly never warned me about my behavior on December 16th as he claimed in the notice of disciplinary charges. It turns out that Filson is the hearing officer for these charges. After I informally ran all of the foregoing down to him he was very frank and understanding. He opted to postpone the hearing to next week because he wanted to speak with Volden before rendering a decision and Volden was not on duty this week. In addition the postponement also gives me time to get my father's contact information - he recently moved to Las Vegas and I don't have his mobile phone number yet as he is going to have to be my key witness at any formal hearing. but Filson did say something which gives me cause for concern: a disciplinary hearing officer needs only the tiniest shred of evidence, such as the statement of an officer regardless of how much testimony is elicited to refute it, to find me guilty and impose disciplinary sanctions. (FYI: Lorne had his hearing and was found guilty and had his visits stopped for the next 6 months- Erika) So now I am not sure what to do. Suffice it to say that no matter how unmanly it may sound, I am scared of this trio of officers (Volden, Hill and Mendez). They or at least Volden, seem to not want to let the matter go or worse, to escalate things. That can lead to dire, abusive consequences for me. Yet my only alternative seems to be to not go to the visiting room which is entirely unfair to my father. (FYI:Lorne had said that the visiting situation is so unbearable that he doesn't want me to come and visit him while he is any facility down south.- Erika) What do I do when these officers get re-assigned, especially if they become assigned to my housing unit? Is it my lot to suffer through daily trashings of my cell and bogus disciplinary action after bogus disciplinary action? I didn't even have these fears about Lagier.
The reason for all that boils down to the difference in the behavioral outlook between staff of the northern and southern facilities. Lagier may be like Volden, Hill and Mendez but the majority of his co-workers and superiors are not. Despite her denial of my grievances I know that Lieutenant Stacy Branham gave Lagier a butt-chewing over at least some of his wrongdoings in what he did to me and my property according to two reliable sources. But down south here, I have no such confidence because nobody, not even Filson, has given me any. Everyone else, with rare exceptions, comes off just like Volden, Hill and Mendez. One can see that manifest in the tension level of the inmates. Inmates are quite a bit more laid back up north than they are down here. I earnestly believe that if the officers were to dial back their attitudes, most, if not all, inmates would too.
The attitude, ethics and professionalism of northern staff goes a long way toward explaining why I want to be transferred back up north so badly. What I don't understand is why the disparity exists, why southern staff can't be like northern staff. Perhaps the disparity lies in a cultural difference between northern and southern Nevada as my girlfriend suggests. Whatever the reason, the behavior, the ethics and professionalism staff needs to be addressed and improved and soon before things get completely out of hand and dangerous prison uprisings ensue. (FYI: I think what I said to Lorne was something along the lines of the fact that officers in the north comes from solid NV rancher/farmer stock. For them, highly ethical behavior and being professional are reflections of their upbringing whereas the officers that come from the southern part of the state come mostly out of the Vegas area and are transplants...most of whom were looking to "get rich quick" in Vegas and ended up being miserable failures and had to get a job in order to support themselves. I think that this hypothesis was anecdotally confirmed with the layoffs of the northern officers from NSP mostly due to their refusal to move south for vacant positions...something I said from the word "jump" wouldn't happen. The officers at NSP were mostly local to the Carson City area, had established deep roots in the community and with the recent recession, would be unable to sell their homes and purchase another one in an area with a much higher cost of living.)
View from the Inside...Lorne's Voice Pt. 7
My previous article briefly touched upon the wrongful behavior of Nevada correctional employees. When I consider this topic, it occurs to me that there is a marked difference in the behavioral outlook as a whole between the staff of the norther and southern facilities. In the north most employees are ethical, professional and of average to above average character. Of course, there were always a few bad apples. But in the South, poor ethics, professionalism and overall character seems to be the norm. This division has existed at least since April 2000, which is when I had the misfortune of entering the Nevada penal system.
I did my "fish time" (the time an inmate serves at an intake while they are being medically examined, processed into the system and classified to an institution) at Southern Desert Correctional Center from April 2000 until September 2000. I remember that almost every correctional officer with whom I interacted was verbally abusive and did everything they could get away with to make every legitimate task impossible or as difficult as possible for inmates to accomplish. Some officers were physically abusive as well. I remember David Horner and I were once physically abused by Correctional Officer Childress while we were on our knees facing a wall with our hands on top of our heads. The physical abuse was relativly minor with no lasting effect but it was conducted because the officer was under the mistaken impression that we were sex offenders. At the time I thought it was merely another dismal aspect of prison life and did nothing about it.
I resided at Lovelock Correctional Center, a northern facility from December 2000 until February 2006. My experience with correctional staff was entirely different. Officers were firm but polite, courteous and even friendly. There were a handful of misery-inducers but we inmates knew who they were and their poor conduct was generally limited to rudeness and making inmates wait for things which they had coming to them. The two worst offenders were Correctional Officers Crane (female) and Anderson (male) who were allegedly engaged in a relationship and of course wanted to work with each other. They also enjoyed "searching" (trashing) inmate's cells, particularly those of inmates whom they didn't like for whatever reason, sometimes even if it was just because an inmate made a legitimate demand of them, such as a request form, or if an inmate was living too comfortably. I personally never had a problem with either of these two, but when either of them were around, I laid low and stayed out of their way, even transferring housing units once to get away from Anderson in 2004.
I ended up at Nevada State Prison, which is also a northern facility, at the end of May 2006 and that is where I stayed until July 2011. There were approximately twice as many bad apples there but by the end of 2008, only about half of them were left. Those who were still there in 2009 were doozies, but as before, we knew who they were: Senior Correctional Officers Truesdell and Michael Cruse and Correctional Officers Franke, Murphy, Papke, Podesta and Sean Lagier. All of them lived to trash cell just for the slightest provocation or even just on a whim. My cell had never been searched more times than when Cruse worked my housing unit. Cruse would go the extra mile, though, and do his best to convince administration officials to keep restricting the rules more and more, especially when it came to inmate personal property and the hobbycraft program. And if administration didn't cooperate, Cruse would do what he wanted anyhow.
Sean Lagier was just as bad. He had a habit of confiscating, damaging and destroying legitimate inmate property during his cell searches and then threatening the inmates with disciplinary action on the altered/contraband/unauthorized items he found in the search if the inmates filed a grievance against him. Several times, shift lieutenants told him to stay out of the workers housing units because of all the problems he caused and inmates he pissed off. He possessed utter disdain for procedure and utter hatred for prisoners. It was if it was his mission in life to save the world from us, as if he was the last soldier in the country's war against criminals.
Up until the end of my tenure there, I never had a problem with any of those guys. I was never singled out by Cruse for anything; his shakedowns of my cell were part of training exercises for new recruits. Podesta was even somewhat friendly to me. But, Lagier finally got to me at the end of June 2011 and involved all the bad apples except for Cruse and Podesta. Lagier confiscated my debit card information, destroyed my wallet, trashed my cell (it took me 9 hours to clean up my cell!) removed a bunch of my property from my cell, filed disciplinary action against me for some of it and deliberately failed to account for the rest of it. I filed half a dozen or so grievances against Lagier and his cohorts and all of my grievances have been denied, or are about to be very soon, in the case of those still awaiting a response at the final stage of the process.
So, a month after all of that, I ended up back where I started, at good old SDCC. The names are unfamiliar but the prevailing attitude is still the same as it was 12 years ago. With some exception, the correctional staff here is rude and does everything possible to screw inmates out of what they're supposed to have. For instance, as I alluded to in a previous article, there is one officer assigned to our housing unit who, although quite respectful, even friendly to me and a select few other inmates, fails to let us out of our cells for tier time on time with delays lasting as long as an hour. If you need any forms, no matter how urgent, or need to use the stapler, do so on another shift because this officer won't do any of that unless you are one of those select few inmates with whom he's respectful and friendly. That brings to mind another officer who only works our unit once in a blue moon but specifically tells each wing of the housing unit not to bother him for ANYTHING, no matter what or he will summon security and escort officer to shake down cells on the offending wing.
(To be continued)
I did my "fish time" (the time an inmate serves at an intake while they are being medically examined, processed into the system and classified to an institution) at Southern Desert Correctional Center from April 2000 until September 2000. I remember that almost every correctional officer with whom I interacted was verbally abusive and did everything they could get away with to make every legitimate task impossible or as difficult as possible for inmates to accomplish. Some officers were physically abusive as well. I remember David Horner and I were once physically abused by Correctional Officer Childress while we were on our knees facing a wall with our hands on top of our heads. The physical abuse was relativly minor with no lasting effect but it was conducted because the officer was under the mistaken impression that we were sex offenders. At the time I thought it was merely another dismal aspect of prison life and did nothing about it.
I resided at Lovelock Correctional Center, a northern facility from December 2000 until February 2006. My experience with correctional staff was entirely different. Officers were firm but polite, courteous and even friendly. There were a handful of misery-inducers but we inmates knew who they were and their poor conduct was generally limited to rudeness and making inmates wait for things which they had coming to them. The two worst offenders were Correctional Officers Crane (female) and Anderson (male) who were allegedly engaged in a relationship and of course wanted to work with each other. They also enjoyed "searching" (trashing) inmate's cells, particularly those of inmates whom they didn't like for whatever reason, sometimes even if it was just because an inmate made a legitimate demand of them, such as a request form, or if an inmate was living too comfortably. I personally never had a problem with either of these two, but when either of them were around, I laid low and stayed out of their way, even transferring housing units once to get away from Anderson in 2004.
I ended up at Nevada State Prison, which is also a northern facility, at the end of May 2006 and that is where I stayed until July 2011. There were approximately twice as many bad apples there but by the end of 2008, only about half of them were left. Those who were still there in 2009 were doozies, but as before, we knew who they were: Senior Correctional Officers Truesdell and Michael Cruse and Correctional Officers Franke, Murphy, Papke, Podesta and Sean Lagier. All of them lived to trash cell just for the slightest provocation or even just on a whim. My cell had never been searched more times than when Cruse worked my housing unit. Cruse would go the extra mile, though, and do his best to convince administration officials to keep restricting the rules more and more, especially when it came to inmate personal property and the hobbycraft program. And if administration didn't cooperate, Cruse would do what he wanted anyhow.
Sean Lagier was just as bad. He had a habit of confiscating, damaging and destroying legitimate inmate property during his cell searches and then threatening the inmates with disciplinary action on the altered/contraband/unauthorized items he found in the search if the inmates filed a grievance against him. Several times, shift lieutenants told him to stay out of the workers housing units because of all the problems he caused and inmates he pissed off. He possessed utter disdain for procedure and utter hatred for prisoners. It was if it was his mission in life to save the world from us, as if he was the last soldier in the country's war against criminals.
Up until the end of my tenure there, I never had a problem with any of those guys. I was never singled out by Cruse for anything; his shakedowns of my cell were part of training exercises for new recruits. Podesta was even somewhat friendly to me. But, Lagier finally got to me at the end of June 2011 and involved all the bad apples except for Cruse and Podesta. Lagier confiscated my debit card information, destroyed my wallet, trashed my cell (it took me 9 hours to clean up my cell!) removed a bunch of my property from my cell, filed disciplinary action against me for some of it and deliberately failed to account for the rest of it. I filed half a dozen or so grievances against Lagier and his cohorts and all of my grievances have been denied, or are about to be very soon, in the case of those still awaiting a response at the final stage of the process.
So, a month after all of that, I ended up back where I started, at good old SDCC. The names are unfamiliar but the prevailing attitude is still the same as it was 12 years ago. With some exception, the correctional staff here is rude and does everything possible to screw inmates out of what they're supposed to have. For instance, as I alluded to in a previous article, there is one officer assigned to our housing unit who, although quite respectful, even friendly to me and a select few other inmates, fails to let us out of our cells for tier time on time with delays lasting as long as an hour. If you need any forms, no matter how urgent, or need to use the stapler, do so on another shift because this officer won't do any of that unless you are one of those select few inmates with whom he's respectful and friendly. That brings to mind another officer who only works our unit once in a blue moon but specifically tells each wing of the housing unit not to bother him for ANYTHING, no matter what or he will summon security and escort officer to shake down cells on the offending wing.
(To be continued)
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