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Graterfriends ― A Publication of The Pennsylvania Prison Society ― January 2012

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The opinions expressed are of the authors and not necessarily those of Graterfriends or The Pennsylvania Prison Society.

A Publication of The Pennsylvania Prison Society Promoting a humane, just and constructive correctional system and a rational approach to criminal justice since 1787

Volume 43 Issue 1 www.prisonsociety.org www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaPrisonSociety January 2012

How Serious are You about Freedom? by LaFaye Gaskins, BF-8329, SCI Mahanoy

From the Editors, Mrs. GE-6309 Time .........................2 Our Voices, Pass the Word ............................................3 From the “Doc”, Birthdays, Crossword Solutions.........4 Legislative Highlights....................................................5 Legal Chat, Through a Far Eastern Window ............6-7 Mailroom, Medical Alert .............................................8-9 Literary Corner, Graterfriends Order Form ...............10 Crossword.....................................................................11 “The Last Word” by William DiMascio .......................12

In this Issue

I have been in prison over twenty years, and it has been the worst experience of my life. It has also been harrowing for my beloved family. They support me, but my incarceration has caused them severe pain. As a fam-ily, we have not achieved what we could have had I not been imprisoned. So, I am truly dumbfounded by how many parolees return to prison. It’s as if they think that prison is the place to be. It’s not.

I have to ask, “How serious are you really about free-dom?” As fast as a person is paroled, he or she is back — the same prison, the same block, and sometimes the same cell. I see them coming in every day and wonder if they realize that they are a drag on their families’ ability to be a productive unit. Are they content to waste the best years of their lives languishing in a prison cell?

When people are imprisoned, they lose control over their lives. They have to rely on others — family, friends, organizations — to take care of almost all of their needs. Families and friends spend hard-earned money on com-missary items for them. They accept their collect calls and visit them.

We try our best to convince them that we have changed, that we will never return to prison once released. They take us at our word because they want to believe in us, but most of the time our words are more chaff than wheat, more ruse than sincerity. I include myself in this because I am a prisoner and am no different.

But as soon as we reach the halfway house, all good sense goes out the window. Our “I’ll do good” promissory notes go straight into default. Pledges of responsibility and accountability are forgotten. It’s back to hanging out with old “friends,” standing on the same corners, party-ing, until it is as if we never went to prison. Families are left disappointed, and organizations that supported us are left looking foolish.

While we are running the streets, thoughts of what we owe our families and society never cross our minds, and it is inevitable that we get arrested and violate parole. Back in prison, all our so-called homies and old heads are happy to see us. Are you serious? Why should anyone be happy that we are back in prison? All they want to talk about is: Who got money? Who got shot? and other trivi-alities. Are they really friends?

After our return, it’s like we don’t care about the family and true friends we left behind. The best years of our lives are evaporating in these steel and concrete prisons and all we care about is playing games and eating chi-chis. So, I ask again, “How serious are we really about freedom?”

Eventually, the cell door closes shut and reality sets in and regret pricks our thoughts. We blame everyone but ourselves — the parole man, the cops, the guy in the car — but deep down we know it was out fault, our bad deci-sion. We get back into our old routine as if we never were paroled; back on the phone calling our mothers, aunts, wives, and friends to hassle them for what we need. We demand money, visits, and other support. As always, our family members give in. Our families are back in prison with us again, doing time.

Until that day when they get fed up — no more visits, money, or phone calls. We take and take without giving anything back. Like mice running on a wheel going around and around but going nowhere, we give up our freedom to live the life of a dependent: told when to sleep and when to wake, when to eat and what to eat, what to wear and how to wear it, and when to use the bathroom or take a shower, but never allowed to truly be a man or woman. Is this what we want? The only difference be-tween us and the mice is that if the mice are ever re-leased they will run away and never come back.

So, for those of us who will be released I ask again, “How serious are you about freedom?” If you are serious, make the choice to never come back to prison; make the choice to have a life. Choose freedom over incarceration.


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From the Editors

Graterfriends is a monthly publication from the Pennsylvania Prison Society. The organization was founded in 1787 and works toward enhancing public safety by providing initiatives that promote a just and humane criminal justice system.

This issue is made possible through contributions from our readers and funding from Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative through the Bread & Roses Community Fund.

We reserve the right to edit submissions. Original submissions will not be returned. We will not print anonymous letters. Allegations of misconduct must be documented and statistics should be supported by sources.

245 North Broad Street · Suite 300 Philadelphia, PA 19107

Telephone: 215.564.6005 · Fax: 215.564.7926 www.prisonsociety.org

www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaPrisonSociety

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: William M. DiMascio

MANAGING EDITOR: Mindy Bogue

FOUNDER: Joan Gauker

Letters more than a page in length (200 words) will not be published in their entirety in Mailroom or Legal Chat Room, and may be considered for another column. All columns should be no more than 500 words, or two double-spaced pages.

To protect Graterfriends from copyright infringement, please attach a letter stating, or note on your submission, that you are the original author of the work submitted for publication; date and sign the declaration.

If you have a question about Graterfriends, please contact Mindy Bogue, Communications Manager, at 215-564-6005, ext. 112 or [email protected].

(See Society’s Mirror, continued on page 5)

SOCIETY’S MIRROR: DEALING WITH SHAME

By Reesy Floyd-Thompson, Mrs. GE-6309

Have you ever been to the carnival and stood in front of a fun house mirror? Your true likeness reflects back to you as something to make fun of — a distortion. When a partner goes to prison, prisoner’s wives (or partners) are distorted into a twisted, mangled mess. This big house alteration is not so fun.

I spent the better part of two years feeling ashamed of my husband’s incarceration. I didn’t talk about it; I couldn’t. I felt as if no one understood my decision to stand by him. I lied to many people about his where-abouts. When I did tell a few people, I felt the need to explain my choices. Back then, lying was much easier than telling the truth, or so I thought.

It wasn’t easier for me to lie about my husband’s whereabouts; it was easier for others. Shame lives in secrets. With every untrue word, I twisted my reality. Each lie served to validate the idea something was wrong with my life and relationship. I allowed society’s percep-tion of me to become more important than my own truth. I was mangled in the distortion of acceptance.

People’s opinions of us are rarely true. If we use soci-ety’s mirror as the barometer by which we measure our

Mrs. GE-6309 Time

Good news! As of February 2012, Graterfriends will go back to the 16-page format. Now that we’ve shrunk a few things down in order to fit as much as possible in the current 12 pages, we’ll be able to share even more infor-mation than before.

You may notice that we have a new column: “Mrs. GE-6309 Time” by Reesy Floyd-Thompson. Ms. Floyd-Thompson has been submitting columns to us pretty regularly over the last few months, so we thought it was time we gave her column a name of its own. She writes about what it’s like to have a husband in prison, and gives wonderful advice about how to deal with the differ-ent emotions prison spouses (and partners) go through. Ms. Floyd-Thompson is the founder of Prisoners’ Wives, Girlfriends and Partners (PWGP) and her website is www.pwgp.org.

Also in this issue, you will notice that we address both breast cancer (see “From the ‘Doc’,” page 4) and prostate cancer (see “Medical Alert page 9). We know that medical care for prisoners can sometimes be an uphill battle, and we hope the information in these two columns is helpful to you.

Finally, don’t miss Executive Director William DiMas-cio’s article (“The Last Word, page 12) about lifers who find a way to make their lives meaningful. We’d like to hear from other lifers, or those who have long sentences, regard-ing how you try to be a positive force in the life of others.


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MEETING THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW JIM CROW

by John Freddie Nole, AF-0346, SCI Graterford

I’m sure that there are people better suited than me to write about meeting Michelle Alexander. But for lack of the knowledge that that’s absolutely true, I share my experience and hope it will make for good reading.

Attractive, passionate, and very empathetic: expres-sions and comments shared by so many about her, and I agree. She’s also engaging, to say the least. Her pose stops you in your tracks, allowing you, if only for a brief second, to know the potential for greatness is still alive within you.

Ms. Alexander is humble as she begins to tell us about writing The New Jim Crow. She jolts her readers to ex-press excitement: “I have been saying that for years,” they tell her. She conveys her experiences of being caught in the syndrome of typecasting, and cuts to the underbelly of this disease of mass incarceration that plagues minority communities.

The “new Jim Crow” no longer displays the “Whites Only” signs and the Confederate flags that were the old symbols, announcing the prejudices and racism of white America. Today, a new spider web has been woven: the myth that black America has created its own upheaval. The sensationalizing of the war on drugs depicts users as sale-kingpins. Drugs remove fathers from households while family values decay, allowing pride, dignity, and integrity to become meaningless to a generation where instant gratification pollutes the honest work ethic and harms our drive toward social equality.

As I hear and listen to her words, I’m reminded of a juvenile at the beginning of the pipeline through the jus-tice system. I am that eight-year-old being carted off to a reformatory, with only tears conveying my message of hurt. There were no words yet in my vocabulary…only heart-wrenching pain; there’s something tragically wrong with this picture. Today, Ms. Alexander illumi-nates by relating battles; I reflect on learning at an early age how to befriend failure. At such an early age it was easy to make my negative lifestyle look positive. The act of paying back the system through more and more self-destruction has stumped my life potential.

She signs my copy of The New Jim Crow, “To Freddie, with hope for justice.”

We end the official session with a question put to all present… “What gives us hope?” I say in turn, “That as we educate ourselves, we eliminate our differences, and our differences becomes our sameness.”

Pssst… Pass the Word

DON’T TRY TO PLAY THE SYSTEM

by Kenny B. Davenport, AF-7921, SCI Dallas

In an opinion filed on June 20, 1011, a U.S. District Court in New Jersey held that to be timely, a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) must be filed both within two years of when the claimed accrued and within six months of the federal agency’s denial of the claim. See Seiss v. United States, Civil No. 11-763. The opinion deals with how to interpret the limitations period under §2401(b) of the FTCA.

With respect to claims under the Prison Litigation Re-form Act (PLRA), a judge of the Middle District Court in Pennsylvania (i.e. Rambo) ruled that Pennsylvania’s two-year statute of limitations for bringing a personal injury claim is tolled during the time a prisoner is exhausting his administrative remedies. See Soto v. Leskowsky et al., USDC-MD Pa. Civil No. 1: CV-10-2366 (Memorandum filed 9/27/11).

The judge, in denying the defendants’ motion to dis-miss, stated in pertinent part:

“At first glance, it would appear that [Plaintiff’s] claims against [Defendants] are time barred. However, various courts of appeals, as well as district courts in the Third Circuit have concluded that the statute of limitations is tolled for the time period during which a prisoner ex-hausts his administrative remedies pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).” (Memorandum at *13)

The court cited Brown v. Valoff, 422 F.3d 926, 942-43 (9th Cir. 2005); Johnson v. Rivera, 272 F.3d 519, 522 (7th Cir. 2001); and Brown v. Morgan, 209 F.3d 595, 596 (6th Cir. 2000).

However, the time period prior to actually filing a prison grievance does not toll the time. See e.g. Gonzalez v. Hasty, et al., No. 07-1787 (2nd Cir. 2011) *12, n.2 (observing, in part, that “courts that toll PLRA claims apply the toll only to the time period in which the inmate is actively exhausting his administrative remedies, and not the anterior time period in between the accrual of the claim and when the prisoner initiated the administrative remedy process”).

I would urge all concerned to pay careful attention to accrual dates and time periods for both the administra-tive appeals process and also the statute of limitations. Don’t kid yourself by thinking you can game the system. The courts will carefully check and review accrual dates. It doesn’t matter when the defendants happen to raise the limitations period as a defense.

Our Voices


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January Birthdays

DEATH ROW

If you do not want your name published, send a letter to Graterfriends each year you do not want it to be included. Be sure to note your date of birth.

From the “Doc”

by Samuel L. Krakow

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS

Below are the solutions to crossword puzzles printed in this issue and the previous issue of Graterfriends.

December 2011 January 2012

Ralph Birdsong AF-9092, GRA

Dustin Ford Briggs GN-8696, GRN

Daniel Gwynn CW-5713, GRN

Sheldon Hannibal CG-5771, GRN

James Lambert AK-7472, GRN

Jerome Marshall AY-5932, GRN

Thomas James Meadows BL-5087, GRA

David Allen Sattazahn BT-7445, GRN

BREAST CANCER 101

I recently received two reminders not to ignore the women of the DOC. One was from my editor, Ms.Bogue, who called to my attention that incarcerated women often feel unheard. The second came from a letter authored by Ms. Mira Rainey (OH-6793), a victim of breast cancer during her incarceration. Her ordeal, a rather painful and disfiguring one, prompted me to write about this topic.

Breast cancer is the most common gender-related can-cer of women. (Of note, lung cancer is the most common cancer overall.) In 2004, there were 216,000 cases of inva-sive breast cancer and approximately 40,000 deaths. No wonder this illness receives so much attention! The good news is that rates relating to mortality are decreasing as a result of improved screening methods and treatment.

What is breast cancer? Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine says it best: “Breast cancer is a hormone-dependent disease.” The next line is more telling: “Women without functioning ovaries who never receive estrogen replacement therapy do not develop breast cancer.”

In short, anything that decreases a woman’s exposure to estrogen decreases her risk of getting breast cancer. For example, early initiation of menarche (your period) coupled with the late onset of menopause increases risk. Furthermore, never having gone through pregnancy (a full term one) has the same effect. (Curiously, a protec-tive effect occurs only if the pregnancy takes place after the age of 18.) Your risk of getting breast cancer also increases with age.

It’s important to note that not all breast abnormalities are related to breast cancer, especially in younger women. A “mass” could be a cyst, fatty changes within the tissue of the breast, an anomaly related to the hor-mone changes that occur during the cycling of menstrua-tion, or any number of benign conditions. The important take-home message is to learn the unique architecture of your own breasts and bring any changes to the attention of a physician immediately. Coupled with regularly-performed mammograms starting at the age of 40, self-exams help to reduce the rate of breast cancer.

What will happen if a mass is detected? It depends. However, the most important consideration is establish-ing a diagnosis and finding out how far the cancer has spread. (For example, has it moved beyond the breast to the lymph nodes or beyond?) Another consideration is determining if the cancer is “hormone responsive.” In other words, does the cancer have receptors that bind estrogen? All these situations have implications regard-ing treatment, from local surgery that conserves the breast to radical mastectomy coupled with chemother-

Michelle Sue Tharp OF-6593, MUN

Christopher Williams BT-3553, GRA

GRA = SCI Graterford PO Box 244 Graterford, PA 19426-0244

GRN = SCI Greene 175 Progress Drive Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090

MUN = SCI Muncy Post Office Box 180 Muncy, PA 17756-0180

apy, radiation, and specialized drugs that act as “anti-hormones.” These treatment recommendations are al-ways changing, so it’s difficult to summarize them all.

Of special note, to all those who have a diagnosis of breast cancer while in the DOC’s custody: I send you my concern and prayers. It’s scary to undergo the complica-tions of this illness while away from family and friends. I want you to know that you are not alone, that the women haven’t been forgotten.


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Ann Schwartzman Policy Director, The Pennsylvania Prison Society

Legislative Highlights

Society’s Mirror, continued from page 2

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate are in session for several voting days during the holidays. Below are several bills that are currently under consideration and moving. Please note that SB1153 is still in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

worth as a person, or the value of our relationship, then we are sure to receive carnival-like reactions. Fun begins when we recognize we do not have to prove anything to anyone outside ourselves.

Being ashamed about our partners’ incarceration means believing the distortions, “We are not worthy.” “No one understands.” “We don’t matter.” “We are crazy.” This is absolutely 100 percent not true. To eradicate

shame, we need to stop peering into society’s mirror, expecting strangers to legitimatize us. People who do not know or care about us cannot be our vessel for vali-dation. When we examine ourselves in our own looking glass and recognize our true being, not the twisted, mangled, distortion of having a partner in prison, shame dissipates.

Reesy Floyd-Thompson is the founder of Prisoners’ Wives, Girlfriends, & Partners (PWGP). Contact her at pwgp.org

BILL NO. PRINTER NO.

DESCRIPTION CHIEF SPONSOR PPS POSITION

HB 1958 PN 2702

Revises registration for sexual offenders in relation to SORNA and federal stipulations. Certain juveniles who are transient or homeless must register as sex offend-ers. (see SB 1183) (Amended in House Judiciary Committee 12/5/11; now on House Floor)

Rep. R. Marsico R-Dauphin

Oppose

HB 1963 PN 2710

Calls for sentencing enhancement by the court for cer-tain firearms offenses by those on probation or parole. Will be a consecutive sentence if found guilty. (In House Judiciary 11/3/11)

Rep. W. Keller D-Philadelphia

Oppose

SB 100 PN 1668

Provides for prison reform measures such as risk as-sessment, alternative sentencing, pre-release, and more. (Passed Senate 10/18/11; referred to House Judiciary 10/19/11)

Sen. S. Greenleaf R-Montgomery and Bucks

Support

SB 397 PN 380

Prohibits the death sentence for cases of mental retar-dation post-trial. (Passed Senate 10/18/11; referred to House Judiciary 10/19/11)

Sen. M. J. White R-Butler, Clarion, Erie, Forest, Venango, Warren

Support

SB 1183 PN 1821

Extensively revises provisions relating to registration of sexual offenders, pursuant to federal mandate; makes editorial changes. (see HB 1958) (Passed Senate 11/15/11; Amended in House Judiciary 12/5/11)

Sen. J.C. Orie R-Allegheny, Butler

Oppose

SB 1220 PN 1496

Requires expungement of criminal history records for certain misdemeanors committed when under the age of 25. (Passed Senate Judiciary 9/27/11; now in Senate Appropriations 10/25/11)

Sen. T. Solobay D-Allegheny, Beaver, Green, Washington, Westmoreland

Support

SB 775 PN 1826

Further provides for mandatory DNA testing; includes arrestees and those charged with crimes; mandatory DNA sampling and record purging; impact and costs for Pa. State Police. (Passed Senate Judiciary and Appropriations 12/6/11; sent to Senate floor 12/7/11)

Sen. D. Pileggi R-Chester, Delaware

Oppose


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Legal Chat simply because of the following:

• Phone calls from here to Philly are $13.50; to New York, $20. Local calls are $5.50-$7.50.

• Commissary items are much more expensive, and the maximum spending limit is $60.

• Visits are 30 to 45 minutes and are non-contact. The only exception is the Charlie Unit, which re-ceives two-hour non-contact visits.

There indeed are a number of other issues that I have not touched on. But if you are in the process of an appeal, you are in trouble because the law library is not adequate.

In the event your number is called and you’re told “pack up, ID Room,” get all your affairs in order.

Jamal McNeil DE-8533, Lackawanna County Prison

BEWARE OF BIAS

Anyone pursuing relief for “convicted criminals” before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court should consider submitting a related motion for recusal of Anne Covey, that court’s newest member.

During the 2011 election campaign for a vacant seat on the Commonwealth Court, Ms. Covey’s campaign televised daily political ads that derided her opponent for having sought, “to spend your tax dollars to register convicted criminals to vote.” She added: “That’s just nonsense!” Any-one who so blatantly heralds such bias against convicted criminals cannot be trusted to suppress such prejudice during the court’s disposition of civil cases involving any aspect of relief sought by a “convicted criminal.”

Prior to 2001, convicted felons were denied the right to register to vote for five years following release from prison. The Commonwealth Court annulled that five-year restriction, which was the foundation for Ms. Covey’s anti-convict-registration campaign ads.

Imagine what that court’s decision may have been had Ms. Covey then been a court member espousing her bias against convicted criminals registering to vote.

Jon E. Yount AC-8297, SCI Greene

ARE YOUR MEDICAL NEEDS NEGLECTED?

Many Pennsylvania state inmates do not know that physicians and physician assistants are required to be licensed, and failure to properly care for patients can be investigated and disciplinary action taken by the state. They are licensed through the Department of State. If you believe you are not being properly treated for your medical condition, file a complaint against them, as well as Prison Health Services (105 Westpark Drive, Brent-wood, TN 37027). Include Prison Health Services in your complaint. Write to the address below and ask for a “Statement of Complaint” form to file against a medical professional or physician:

Department of State Professional Compliance Office 2601 N. 3rd St. PO Box 2649 Harrisburg, PA 17105

The more of you who speak out about the lack of proper medical care, the sooner you can make changes in how your medical needs are handled. Changes come from everyone speaking, and filing complaints can make a difference.

Ted Savage, CB-2674, SCI Cresson

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

Recently I was ambushed and told to pack for transfer. It was a Wednesday, so of course I already knew where I was going — Lackawanna County Prison (LCP). After spending 15.5 years in a state prison, out of the blue I was told to pack for a move I never requested. Appar-ently, I fit the requirements, which include:

• Misconduct-free for at least 6 months • Good block and work reports • Not serving a life sentence

I was also informed that the legislature is the one who authorized the Department of Corrections to move state inmates to county facilities. I don’t know if that is true. I was told that I must stay at least 9-18 months before I can return to SCI Dallas, and that there are specific re-quirements for my return. Regardless of my transfer status, I’m not to be housed at LCP for more than two years, and I must use a request slip to get a transfer back to Dallas.

This is a financial burden upon me and my loved ones,

When submitting a letter or column to Graterfriends for publication,

please remember to attach a letter (or note on your submission) that it is for publication and that you are the original author; date and sign

the declaration. Thank you.


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(See Rikai, continued on page 11)

Join the Pennsylvania Prison Society’s

Poster Competition

to celebrate our 225th anniversary!

Posters due by the end of this month!

This competition is open to all prisoners in Pennsylvania.

Requirements

• Posters must be received by January 31, 2012 at our office (see address on page 2).

• Posters must be either 11x17 inches or 18x24 inches.

• Artwork requires an accompanying paragraph or two about the artist.

The posters will be judged by a three judge panel, exhibited at Eastern State Penitentiary in April 2012, and the follow-ing month at our annual meeting. They will also be dis-played on the Prison Society’s website.

The 12 winning posters will be made into a calendar for the Prison Society and the winners will each receive a small gift certificate from Jerry’s Artarama. Once submitted, owner-ship of the artwork and reproduction rights become those of the Prison Society.

Through a Far Eastern

Window by Michael H. Fox

"RIKAI," NOT REVENGE

Sitting in an interior lobby at SCI Greene en route to visiting my friends on death row, I struck up a conversation with the corrections officer (CO) overseeing the drug detec-tion machine. Whenever I am back in the United States, I make it a point to chat with COs. Like a trip to Walmart, it is a clear glimpse into the raw heart of America.

“I don't see why we don’t execute,” he remarked. “It really is unjustifiable.” “No, actually there are many rea-sons,” I responded: “the possibility of executing the inno-cent; the chance of a botched procedure (like Romell Broom in Ohio — still alive); and the lack of closure for the family of victims.”

Not wanting to lecture, I stopped short. But I did skip one significant reason: the importance of comprehending the motivation behind the action. Why crimes occur, and who commit them, is a critical concern of modern sociology.

Interestingly enough, this very topic is in the forefront of news here in Japan. Several days ago, the last defen-dant in the crimes committed by a religious cult in the 1990s was sentenced to death. Overall, dozens received criminal convictions, and 13 were sentenced to death.

The most heinous crime was the release of sarin gas on Tokyo subways in March 1995. Twelve died, and hun-dreds were sickened. And in 1989, well before the gas-sings, a lawyer investigating the cult, his wife and young baby, were murdered.

The disaster brought a rage of hate against the cult. But as the public knows, the cult does not carry sole re-sponsibility for the tragedy. The attorney mentioned above was interviewed for a documentary. He and his family disappeared after the interview’s contents were leaked to the cult. The TV station should have informed the authorities, but chose to hush up the incident.

Likewise, after the murder, a high-ranking member of the group went to the police and requested mercy in ex-change for information. His ministrations were ignored. Had the media informed the police of the interview, and had the police listened to the whistleblower, many more people today would be alive.

Support for the death penalty runs high in Japan. Un-der the Confucian mentality, one is supposed to exercise self-control and sacrifice egoistic intentions for commu-nal advancement. Those who infringe these strictures

Regarding Ms. Eakle’s Sex Offender Reentry

Program

Many of you have been inquiring about Ms. Eakle’s Sex Offender Reentry Program, which was in the July issue of Graterfriends.

Unfortunately, we have since found out that this program does not exist. We regret the frustration and confusion this has caused.


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Mailroom

RE: SCARED

Ms. Hartsfield-Stokes states that the system has failed us because people are getting killed for being good citi-zens and testifying in court. If I understood the letter correctly, people should be encouraged to cooperate with the system to help incarcerate more people, but on the other hand the system is corrupt and unjust.

I understand that something has to be done to stop violence in society, but prisons are full and crime has only gotten worse. Speaking from my experience with the system for over a decade, many people that do testify have ulterior motives. Some are involved in the case and sell their co-defendants out to receive a lesser sentence. Many lie. Some honestly report a crime they witness. So, they take one person off the streets, then what? Are the streets now safe with him in prison for life, or sitting on death row? I’ve been in prison for almost 14 years. Is my neighborhood safer because I am in here? Not at all — it is worse. A new generation has taken my place. Many of them are more of a danger to society then I was then, or am now.

I don’t understand how anyone can be about justice but promote the idea of imprisoning more people to rot in these prisons. Many prisoners are children that are only a product of their environment.

How many prisons have to be built, how many children have to rot their lives away in these so-called “correct-ional” institutions before society sees that this is not the answer to the problems in our communities? If society does not understand that we must use alternatives to incarceration, it will only get worse.

Shariff Ingram DV-6749, SCI Greene

A CULTURE OF ABUSE OF POWER IN PENNSYLVANIA

By the time this is printed, the eyes of the nation may no longer be focused on Pennsylvania. However, at the time I’m writing this, the nation is transfixed on the she-nanigans of individuals entrusted with authority over others — children, in this case. The Penn State debacle highlights a culture of abuse of power and authority of-ten practiced by individuals who are responsible for pro-tecting the rights of others.

We recently discovered that Pennsylvania leads the nation and the world in jailing its juveniles for life with-out the possibility of parole. Pennsylvania judges have been convicted of sending juveniles to jails and other facilities for cash profit. Pennsylvania legislators have been charged and convicted for corruption and abuse of power. Several correctional officers at SCI Pittsburgh

were fired and arrested for abusing prisoners and allow-ing them to be assaulted sexually and otherwise. While these examples stand out and are in the public eye (and will be excused by some as isolated incidents), in reality these situations occur frequently — perhaps to a lesser degree almost every day — but they are not exposed.

Those in authority should stop fronting and start doing the right thing by us because they won’t always be in a position that allows them to abuse their power. When they fall, they will be on the same level as us. They might wind up being our cellies. How much power and authority will they have then?

Michael Twiggs AF-6967, SCI Greene

YOU MAY HAVE UNCLAIMED MONEY

I am a prisoner, have been for some time now. The first part of my sentence was at SCI Albion. I’m now at SCI Dallas, closer to my home for my family. Now 52 years old, I try not to let this place harden me. I’m a lifer, and I believe to help myself is to help others. There are a lot of us who were never able to return to our homes, apart-ments, or other places where we paid bills, down pay-ments, security deposits, or income tax refunds that we never received.

The state may be holding this money for people, and to find out costs nothing. I did not think I had anything coming, but I did, and so did two of my friends here in prison. If you want to see if the state is holding money owed to you, just follow the instructions below. You can even claim money that was owed to a deceased family member who never claimed it.

Write a letter requesting a record search for possible money owed to you, and that you are asking them to send you the necessary forms to fill out to claim that money. Be sure to include your full name and sign the letter. Ask them to send any correspondence to your cur-rent address.

Send the letter to: Pennsylvania Treasury Dept. Bureau of Unclaimed Property PO Box 1837 Harrisburg, PA 17105-1837

Timothy Mark Dodge EP-6184, SCI Dallas

MY HAT IS OFF TO THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

My hat is off to the Occupy Wall Street and related “Occupy” protestors throughout the country.

Public recognition of the immense economic inequal-ity that our nation not only harbors but nourishes is long overdue.

For too long, the wealthiest one percent of our popula-tion has manipulated and used the rest of us in an ongo-ing effort to provide themselves with a seemingly endless supply of luxuries. It is time to break this cycle.


9


Hopefully, any success achieved by the Occupy move-ment will include easing the oppression of those at the very bottom of the socio-economic exploited heap — namely, prison inmates.

Corrections employees have always depended on a steady influx of prisoners for their livelihood. However, in the last couple of decades, large and wealthy corpora-tions, such as Corrections Corporation of America, Keefe Commissary Network, and Aramark Correctional Ser-vices, have been increasingly influential in absorbing huge profits from the misery of prisoners. These corpora-tions vehemently oppose plans to reduce prison popula-tions through parole, good time, or clemency by procuring lobbyists to be “tough on crime.” Meanwhile, prisoners are left captive consumers with no option but to use these services. This, too, is a cycle that needs to be broken.

I wish the Occupy protestors well, and appreciate the struggle and sacrifices they are making.

Jeffrey Watson AY-7494, SCI Dallas

SOUND ADVICE TO TAKE INTO THE NEW YEAR AND BEYOND

Plan your work and work your plan. Learn to love in-stead of hate. Spend less time talking and more time listening. Stop spending your money in places you are not respected and appreciated. Only cowards remain silent when they know something is wrong and that it needs to be corrected. Always examine both sides of the story. If you do not know the history of your ancestors and their struggles, you are doomed to make the same mistakes. It is wise to share when you have more than others. Take responsibility for what is yours. Say no to anything that does not validate or support who you are. One must give respect to get respect. Teach your children the truth. Take time to laugh. Set an example. Think and examine before doing. Forgive, but don’t forget. Have faith. Strive for excellence. Don’t stress about things or situations over which you have no power. Know that you deserve better; dream it, see it, taste it, touch it, live it. Be your own best friend. Understand the power of words; they can cut, crush, soothe, heal, and create. Keep your word. Choose your battles wisely, and know that a sol-dier never knows his/her strengths until he/she meets a foe. Learn to rise when you fall, and when you rise, stand tall. Know that no one can ride your back unless it is bent. Success only comes to those who have the courage to pursue their dreams. It is often necessary to fight a battle more than once before you win. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, while the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. When successful people make mistakes they don’t quit, they keep trying; that’s how they became successful in the first place. When you get closer to that mysterious Reality out of which all things emerge, and into which all things return, you will become closer to God.

George Rahsaan Brooks-Bey AP-4884, SCI Frackville

UNDERSTANDING PROSTATE CANCER

Mr. Antonio Thomas (GG-1872, SCI Graterford) has sent us more information regarding prostate cancer that he wants all readers to see. Thank you, Mr. Thomas, for helping others who are dealing with this disease while incarcerated. The following information is from Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network (www.ustoo.org).

Stage I (T1) and stage II (T2) cancers are found only in the prostate. T1 cancers are small enough that your doc-tor is unable to feel it during your DRE (Digital Rectal Examination). T2 cancers are larger and can be felt as firmness or a lump on a DRE. Stage III (T3) and Stage IV (T4) cancers are no longer confined to the prostate gland. T3 cancers have spread to nearby tissues but still remain inside the pelvic area. T4 tumors deeply invade surrounding tissues and may have metastasized to lymph nodes or bone.

Prostate cancer appears to transition from latent to aggressive disease sooner, and to grow more rapidly, in African-American (AA) men than in men of European-American ancestry. Dr. Isaac J. Powell of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit has found that although the average age at diagnosis does not differ between the two races, specimens from black men had great cancer volume at a higher stage. Prostate cancer is four times as likely to be advanced or metastasized in black as in white men.

Lifestyle factors that may contribute to prostate cancer include obesity and diets high in fat.

Dr. Stephen Freedland of Duke University Medical Center writes, “Although our contention that prostate cancer grows more rapidly and transforms earlier from latent to aggressive disease in AA men requires valida-tion, it is undisputed that AA men bear a greater pros-tate cancer burden…Continued efforts to vigorously screen for prostate cancer and understand underlying reasons for more aggressive disease in AA men are des-

Medical Alert

We have an incredible opportunity to reshape the way in which our nation fights poverty, and one of the most critical elements is to significantly and substantively reform our prison system to break the cycle of recidivism.

—Sam Brownback (R) Governor of Kansas


10


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Literary Corner

DEATH ROW RAILROAD

by Kevin Brian Dowling, DY-6243, SCI Greene

A shrill whistle blows and pierces the stillness of the dawn, as the train approaches at a rhythmic gait, until it stops to pick up its precious cargo. The journey begins like any other, yet unlike any other.

You are unsure of your destination, only that you were told to climb aboard. You assume the tracks are solid and the course is certain, trusting the crew to guide you safely to your station.

Without warning, the tracks divert the locomotive onto a

treacherous downhill grade – a dead end line with fatal consequences. Your journey has evolved into a life or death struggle. The hurtling juggernaut tosses you about, as you attempt to make sense of your predica-ment.

You manage to work your way forward, only to discover that the engineer and the crew are asleep, and refuse to wake up. As it turns out, you are the only passenger. You see – the engineer is actually a judge and the crew de-fense attorneys. The police and prosecutor have diverted your train in an act of sabotage.

The smooth rails of truth and righteousness have been replaced with the warped iron of lies and deceit.

Emblazoned on the screaming engine is the name “Freedom.” Your destination was the town called “Justice,” but that is not where you are headed. Your ticket says, “One Way Only,” and was compliments of the house.

There is only one stop on the Death Row Railroad.

Prepare to disembark.

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11


Lifers, continued from page 12

Easy Crossword #11 by Dave Fisher (puzzles.about.com) For solution, see page 4.

Across 1. Coin opening 5. Mas’ mates 8. Certain evergreen tree 12. Small horse 13. Illuminated 14. Length times width 15. Above, in Berlin 16. Beer 17. Send 18. Dry place 20. Happenings 22. Fast driver 24. Exposed part of an iceberg 27. Tank filler 28. Camper’s shelters 32. Brainwave 34. Employ 36. Bug spray ingredient 37. Civil War side 39. Will Smith title role 41. San Francisco or Chesa-

peake, for example 42. Courtroom VIPs 45. Make waves 48. Crowds in on 52. Bakery offerings 53. Inclined 55. “Me neither” 56. Basilica area 57. Fib 58. Haul 59. Clutter 60. Call off 61. Adjusts, as a clock

Down 1. Tater 2. Ear part 3. Aces, sometimes 4. What the Michelin man

sells in England 5. High tableland 6. Be under the weather 7. Knight'’s mount 8. Did a decorating job 9. __ horse (locomotive) 10. Egg holder 11. Diner sign 19. Certain weapon, abbrev. 21. Dog doctor 23. School assignment 24. Food container 25. Bachelor’s last words 26. The ‘p’ in m.p.g. 29. Colo. neighbor 30. Mad Hatter's drink 31. Pig’s enclosure 33. Map books 35. Put in office 38. Controls 40. Like some verbs, abbrev. 43. Humpback, e.g. 44. Smooths 45. Unwanted e-mail 46. Organ part 47. Not as much 49. “Encore!” 50. Kind of fall 51. Email enders, abbrev. 54. ATM need

Rikai, continued from page 7

were attending a World Congress at the University of Pennsylvania. The Graterford meeting was titled “Ending the Culture of Street Crime.” The inmates pre-sented their paper and sought feedback from the distin-guished visitors. It was a truly remarkable undertaking and it continues today.

In similar fashion, lifers at SCI Dallas developed a re-storative justice program called a “Day of Responsibil-ity.” The men spend an entire day in sessions with crime victims, community leaders and others and they discuss in raw and vivid detail how crimes such as the ones they committed have hurt their victims, their families and their communities. In the end they ask participants to pledge to themselves to live a better life.

The Day of Responsibility is now held at Retreat, Hun-tingdon and other prisons using a guidebook available at the Prison Society.

None of this should suggest that life in prison is any-thing pleasant or that inmates don’t get depressed. But in the gloom and misery of life behind bars, it is possible to construct something of a positive life experience.

That’s a New Year’s resolution worth making.

deserve severe reprimand. The death penalty reinforces this mindset.

For these reasons, those of us in the abolitionist camp were rather shocked when the victims support group publicly announced opposition to placing 12 of the 13 cult defendants (minus the leader) on death row.

These defendants are not a ragtag bunch of social mis-fits. Most of the twelve have advanced degrees (medicine, immunology) from flagship universities. The abandon-ment of occupation and family by social elites for a new religion with a blind, apocalyptic guru is a perplexing phenomenon. It demands study.

Instead of execution, the survivors group has called for “rikai” — a term that embraces enquiry, compre-hension, and sympathy. Such progressive thinking deserves commendation. Rikai, rather than revenge, comforts the deceased, brings closure to victims, and advances humanity.

Michael H. Fox is director of the Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Research Center (www.jiadep.org).


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THE LAST WORD

Lifers Find Ways to Give Their Lives Meaning, Even Behind Bars by William M. DiMascio

Executive Director, The Pennsylvania Prison Society

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID CLAYSBURG, PA PERMIT NO. 84

First Class postage is required to re-mail

245 North Broad Street Suite 300 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

January 2012

(see Lifers, continued on page 11)

With such a huge number of men and women serving sen-tences of life without possibility of parole, the question often comes up about how one manages to live without hope.

I have yet to meet a prisoner who does not want to be free. There are some, of course, who are probably better off in prison than they would be on the street. Still, the desire for freedom is a powerful draw and for lifers it can be the cause of deep depression.

Somehow, however, these lifers get by – not especially pleased or happy with their circumstance – but trudging along one day at a time. For most of them, the dream of freedom dies slowly; eventually, though, reality pro-claims itself. For some, at least, this is a turning point because as the dream fades so too does their depression.

One seasoned prison visitor who also happens to be a noted psychiatrist recounts this experience from a meet-ing with a group of lifers:

“I once asked them how they can be so cheerful and joke with one another and seem not to have any depres-sion. They were quiet for a few minutes and finally came up with one answer with which everyone agreed. They say, ‘We have each other.’ They are able to make a fam-ily out of fellow prisoners to whom they attach.”

Hope is a yearning for something which leads to de-spair if it is unrealized. But hope of a sort may be re-channeled to focus not on what is out of reach but on what can be accomplished.

Lifers, Inc., the organization of life sentenced prisoners

at SCI Graterford, re-focused itself several years ago. The organization used to meet periodically with the sole intention of finding ways to advocate for parole release. But as commutations slowed to a trickle and the political environment turned increasingly sour, members began thinking about more positive pursuits.

They began strategizing about what they might do to change the culture of street crime. They acknowledged the damage they had done to their communities and their families and wondered what they might do from prison to improve the situations their families were con-tinuing to experience.

The result was the Public Safety Initiative – an effort by men convicted of murder or being accomplices to mur-der to convince others who were eligible for parole to become kind of urban missionaries when they were re-leased. They wanted the men getting out to not return to prison as so many do but also to talk truth to younger men who appeared to be headed for incarceration.

The organizers were convinced that they alone, by vir-tue of their own experience in the life, could persuade others to chart a different course.

Methodically, these men met and deliberated on how best to achieve their goals. They wrote a white paper explaining their theory and had it published in the Prison Journal.

Then, in 2005, they hosted a conference at Graterford for scores of criminologists from around the world who

Self Improvement

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