Breaking Boundaries
7/25/2013
7/24/2013
6/23/2013
Hunger Strike California: San Quentin
Greetings
Death Row
prisoners in the Adjustment Center (A/C) Unit at San Quentin State Prison are
organized and united in planning and executing a Hunger Strike this summer of
2013 to protest inhumane conditions of isolation and long-term confinement of
prisoners in the A/C:
·
the
lack of law library access
·
the lack of exercise and yard equipment
·
the
unfair administration and classification committee practices
·
the
controversial and unfair practice of using inmate informants, anonymous
informants and confidential information
·
to
retain prisoners in the A/C for years
·
the
unlawful and under the table use of labeling a prisoner as an alleged prison gang
member, associate or affiliate
·
using
prisoners alleged gang status, validation, confirmation and documents (such as
130s, 128 A/B, staff information) to hold them in the A/C as grade B prisoners,
yet treating them as S.H.U. / ad-seg –grade D prisoners for an indeterminate amount
of time
·
the
unlawful practice of group punishment tactics and lockdowns
·
the
unlawful practice policy of “interviewing” / forced interrogation
·
the
illegal use and excessive practice of property restriction or “property control”
·
the
degrading practice and policy of “shower shoes only”, stripping prisoners at
yard in front of everyone, and not allowing prisoners to be fully dressed in
state blues when going to Law Library
·
the
denial of religious, hobby craft, library books and educational programs or
materials
·
the
unlawful practice of withholding, censoring, denying and returning
prisoners´mail without notification or legitimate reasons to do so
·
the
denial of contact visits, phone calls, participation in food charity drives,
nutritional items, honoring medical chromos and legal books or materials
·
the
excessive abuse of power and authority by Warden, his administration and staff
to do as they wish with condemned, S.H.U./ ad-seg prisoners in the A/C
In spite of
the ongoing negotiations between the Pelican Bay Human Rights Movement and top
CDCR administrators, the San Quentin administration is resisting any attempt to
improve the plight of death row prisoners housed in the A/C. Unlike the Title
15- California´s Code of Regulation for all California State prisoners- San
Quentin top officials have concocted and enacted an exclusive code of
regulations called the O.P.608., which mandates that death row prisoners are
under the control of the Warden of San Quentin. It is this illegal and
repressive code of regulations that A/C death row prisoners are vigorously challenging
as well.
Some may know about the A/C, but for
those that don´t, it´s a prison within a prison and S.H.U. unit, housing 102
prisoners with over 90% of it being condemned prisoners. Many of us have been
housed here since our arrival into the prison system as condemned men. The majority
hasn´t have a disciplinary infraction and for those that have, have exceeded
the time limitations triple the max set to be served for them. It´s a
punishment unit and a psychologically torturous dungeon. We hardly ever leave
the unit unless it is to see medical specialists. We´re fed and shit in our
cells. We´re kept confined to our cells 22-24 hours a day, only to come out for
five purposes:
1. yard, which is held three times a
week for 2-3 hours
2. showers, which are done three times a
week
3. medical sick calls
4. visiting (that is behind a dirty
plexiglass window, through a 25 year old 2way intercom that interferes with and
shares everyone´s conversations, leading everyone to shout over one another for
an hour. You hardly ever get extended visits, even when it´s possible, or a courteous
staff.)
5. Law library, which takes up to three
months to physically access it
Prisoners here
are constantly deprived, harassed, ridiculed, psychologically tortured and have
our only form of communication (mail) withheld for weeks and months –both incoming
and outgoing. Often times we will learn of the death / passing of a family
member or friend three months after the fact. Not allowing us to send our
condolences, or what we would like to have shared in our absence at their
burials, causing our family and friends to worry about us and not allowing us
to pay our last respects to the dearly departed. All with the purpose of
intimidating and breaking a prisoner´s spirit. In order to have them submit and
fabricate information on fellow prisoners to be released from this torturous
dungeon and gain better privileges for themselves and their loved ones.
Our Hunger Strike begins July 2013
in solidarity with the National Strike. Our demands are fair, reasonable,
create no serious threat to the safety and security of the A/C, and are all
within the power of authority of the San Quentin Warden to order the following
immediate changes without delay. It´ll create a more positive and productive
environment because it will ensure that prisoners be treated with human dignity
and fairly.
We ask you for your support as we
place our health, bodies and lives on the line in order to bring about a
positive change –peacefully. None of us want to die, but due to our
deteriorating circumstances, having been sentenced to death and now the
administration has unjustly sentenced us all to an unlawful and indeterminate
S.H.U./ grade B program. A “civil” and psychologically torturous death in the
A/C as well as their abuse of power and authority and abuse of discretion has
left us with no other alternative but to place what we value most at stake –
our lives, for positive change and human dignity. We would truly appreciate and
welcome your support. Your help will give us strength and will nourish our
starving bodies.
Here´s what you can do to support:
Call/ write letters/e-mails to the addresses listed in this post consistently until we have
finally announced we are off. Which will be addressed by our lawyers.
Your support will put pressure on the prison to comply with our reasonable
requests. You can also inform the media and share this post to ensure that as many people as possible get involved. Thank you. Here´s what you can do to support:
Sample
script:
Hi, I´m______________________and I´m
calling/writing/e-mailing about the state wide prisoners hunger strike, more
specifically the Death Row Adjustment Center strikers. I support the prisoners
and their reasonable 10 core demands. I am alarmed by your (or CDCRs) refusal
to comply, intervene and implement these demands. By your refusal to intervene
as the prisoners´medical conditions are rapidly deteriorating. I urge you to
make sure the demands are implemented for all condemned S.H.U./ad-seg, CDCR
prisoners in California immediately. Please also contact the Office
of the Inspector General (OIA) and request them to investigate the practices as
well as the policies and procedures conducted on Death Row Adjustment Center
inmates or grade B Death Row prisoners. The prisoners may be on
death row, they may have done wrongs for which they pay with their physical
freedom, yet they are human beings nevertheless. Deserving of human rights and
dignity. To be free from long-term isolation and program deprivation.
Prison Law Office
General Delivery
San Quentin, CA 94964
Office of the Inspector General
P.o. Box 348780
Sacramento, CA 95834
Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-2841
Judge Thelton Henderson
San Francisco Courthouse,Courtroom 12 - 19th Floor
450 Golden Gate Avenue,
San Francisco, CA 94102
TEHpo@cand.uscourts.gov
CALIFORNIA APPELLATE PROJECT
101 Second Street
Suite 600 San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone: 415.495.0500 Fax: 415.495.5616
101 Second Street
Suite 600 San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone: 415.495.0500 Fax: 415.495.5616
http://www.capsf.org/Contact-form.asp
Warden
10111 Old Placerville Rd, Ste 200
San Quentin, CA 94974
(415) 454-1460
Internal Affairs CDCR
San Quentin State Prison
Sacramento,
CA 95827
CDCR, Office of the Ombudsman
1515 S. Street, Room 540 North
Sacramento, CA 95811
The California State Senate Research
Team
Attn: Senator Darrell Steinberg
Room 205
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94248
https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=SD06
Los Angeles State Senator
Attn: Curren D. Price
700 State Drive, Suite 105
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: (213)745-6656
Fax: (213) 745-6722
Marin Assemblyman
Attn: Marc Levine
State Capitol, Room 2137
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94203
https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD10
Marin State Senator
Attn: Noreen Evans
State Capitol, Room 4085
Sacramento, CA 95814
http://sd02.senate.ca.gov/contact
Regulation and Policy Management Branch
Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283
RPMB@executive.corr.ca.gove
https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=SD06
Los Angeles State Senator
Attn: Curren D. Price
700 State Drive, Suite 105
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: (213)745-6656
Fax: (213) 745-6722
Marin Assemblyman
Attn: Marc Levine
State Capitol, Room 2137
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94203
https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD10
Marin State Senator
Attn: Noreen Evans
State Capitol, Room 4085
Sacramento, CA 95814
http://sd02.senate.ca.gov/contact
Regulation and Policy Management Branch
Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283
RPMB@executive.corr.ca.gove
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