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February 2002
Editorial
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A change must come
A friend of mine by the name of
Roy Pippin has been on a hunger strike to make a non-violent protest of the
inhumane conditions that we, men on death row, are enduring.
This is a one-man protest for everyone on death row.
Because of his actions, he was assigned to level 2 and moved to F-Pod,
which is the dungeon of death row. Every
time he comes out of his cell, he quietly squats down and sits on the floor in
protest. They (guards)
cannot touch him by law, and thus must go and suit up in battle gear, pick him
up and place him back in his cell. He
has been threatened with pepper gas, but it was only a bluff and he remained
firm. They have tried to talk to
him nicely, but he knows it’s only a trick.
Everyday, he refuses his meals and to discredit him, the guards do not
log on the roster sheet that he verbally refused a meal.
He began his protest hunger strike November 26, 2001 and has only
consumed water. He endured 35 days and has
just relented. We are far away
from each other and he’s on the very back, whereas I’m at the front.
I applaud his effort because sometimes a man has to take a stand and he
took a stand for all of us. Unfortunately,
I cannot participate in such because of health reasons and I spend a lot of
time fighting medical so that I may be treated properly. Our situation here has
gone from bad to worse and with a change of warden, it has only gotten worse.
Little by little they are constantly taking things and privileges from
us and State side, there are only a few people who will actually get out there
and fight for us prisoners and they are Bonnie Caraway, David Atwood, Dennis
Longmire and Rick Halperin. The
other Texas so called activists are counterfeit, a fraud, a poker and more
talkers than doers. So who better
than ourselves can take this fight to another level, than we, the men who
languish right here on death row. T.D.C.J
does not listen until legal action is brought against them and at that point,
they all of a sudden want to talk. The
brutality has to stop, the excessive use of force has to
stop, the excessive gassing has to stop and there is no time like “now” to
make a legal stand non-violently. I’ve asked certain members of the International Community
to assist me legal-wise, but to no avail…… nothing. My Granny always told me ……”don’t ask someone else to
do what you can do yourself”. Boy
was she ever right. Please do not
think I’m talking about any of my friends, because I’m not.
There are dignitaries who know of our conditions, who know of the
horrors we face, but our pleas seem to be unheard. Many people will say that they are with us and when we knock
on their door……..no answer. In
this world, there’s the “pretenders and the contenders”… who you are
is someone you had to live with. My
opinion doesn’t matter because it’s you who must be satisfied with the
person you see in the mirror everyday. If
I sat here and done absolutely nothing, I couldn’t go to the mirror and face
myself. Do I get frustrated…why
of course. So much that sometimes
I could scream because what’s being done to us death row inmates is wrong. This place was designed to
drive the sane à
insane. They are slowly taking
everything away from us and in 2003 during the Texas Legislature a bill will
be introduced to only allow immediate family on our visiting list. This is a bill prepared now for next year’s law making
session. They just aren’t
satisfied with the taking of our life, our sanity and our dignity.
They want to isolate us completely from the world because they know
many of our families have abandoned us and a lot of people from Europe travel
to see us. Next, they’ll try to
take correspondence from us and only allow us to write to immediate family.
As it is now, special visits are already taken away from all level 2
and level 3 offenders….as a measure to create an incentive for better
behaviour. When there’s nothing
left to take what will be our reasoning for good behaviour?
not nothing !!! That’s
what the officials here want. They
want to create a violent situation where they can have a free for all with
excessive brute force. They are
used to administrative segregation guys who had nothing and all day these
inmates were highly disruptive and very aggressive and violent towards staff.
Then we arrive and we, the so-called worse of Texas inmates, are all
quiet and polite. So they go on a
mission to push us over the edge. If
they take our European visitors from us, it’s going to get ugly around here.
The guards will constantly be in riot gear, with pepper gas and all of
a sudden in a split second the tear will fly open and 5 very big guards will
rush in and slam an inmate against the back concrete wall with about 2500
pounds of brute force coming from a riot team with a physical total weight of
about 1500 pounds. It’s not a pretty picture and often renders the inmate
unconscious. It’s
extremely dangerous and can easily crush an inmate skull, but they don’t
care….we’re sent here to die anyway and they’ll cover it up like they
did when death row inmate Rowlett died of a heart attack in the hallway after
coming from the medical dept, where he complained of chest pains…….
They gave him 2 aspirins and they told him to take them when he got
back to the cell. I don’t believe that
violence should greet violence, but we have only one alternative…..and
that’s to take all of this to the Federal Courts and obtain some Federal
mandates. I know I’ll suffer
repercussions once again but I’m used to it and I’ve outlasted all of
their abuse and I’m still standing… smile.
I don’t know what the outcome of this legal action will be, but only
a “try” beats a “failure”, and if I should happen to fail, at least I
will know deep in my heart that I tried to make a change. Peace and blessings to you all
forever Farley Federal
DNA testing grant scrapped
The
Justice Department has scrapped plans to offer $ 500,000 in Federal grants to
pay for DNA testing of some inmates so prosecutors could verify their
convictions. John
Ashcroft, United States Attorney General, and other Justice Department
officials were applauded by defence lawyers for their pilot program which
would have paid for the testing of about 250 inmates, was first made public in
August 2001. The
Defence lawyers association strongly contends that DNA testing should be
offered free of charge to any inmate who shows due and just cause for such
testing which may prove his or her innocence.
This would be in effect even when an inmate has exhausted all of his
appeals. The
plan was put on hold in August and then ultimately terminated by the National
Institute of Justice, which is the Justice Departments research arm.
Some state prosecutors had complained that these free DNA tests would
clog the judicial system with merit less appeals.
That’s a bogus excuse because Texas still gives free DNA testing but
there are guidelines to go by in order to obtain this such as, DNA must be
relevant somewhere within an inmate’s case to show due process for this
which will exonerate the inmate of the accused crime.
Not any one in Texas can just apply. The $ 500,000.00 dollar grant was
proposed during Janet Reno’s tenure as Attorney General in the Clinton
administration. Since
the late 1980’s, DNA test have cost doubt on 99 convictions, including 11
death penalty cases. Four death
row cases were cleared in the year 2000………..they were !
{these
two men were cleared of a 1987
murder of an elderly couple} A chief
prosecutor, Susan Gaertner of Ramsey County had planned to use the grant money
to test convicted rapists, murderers and others who argued that they were
wrongly identified. Her
sentiments were of disappointment because she stated that as a prosecutor, one
want or should have a clear conscience and DNA testing is the right thing to
do in order to make certain that justice has a clear conscience and every one
is afforded exact justice under the law. Prison
System’s Mental Health Evolution of Inmates
A
review of all Texas inmates in solitary confinement will begin in January to
identify those inmates who are mentally ill and may need to be
transferred to a more appropriate facility. That does not include Administrative segregation
and death row, which are both left in isolation where psychological
deprivation is induced. The Texas prison system alleges
that several steps have already been taken to identify, treat and properly
house seriously mentally ill inmates. That’s
misconstrued truth. TDCJ sent a
licensed clinical psychologist by each death row inmates cell and he asked
very quickly was everyone all right individually.
When you visibly see a death row inmate covered in faecal matter and
stating that there’s little people under his bunk trying to kill him, you as
a licensed psychologist should refer that inmate for treatment, but he looked
at the inmate, listened to the inmate babble and left…. All in the course of
5 minutes. In
1972 inmate David Ruiz filed a lawsuit against TDCJ on behalf of himself and
his fellow inmates, Judge William Wayne Justice found the prison system to be
for below barbaric….. it was a living hell in which inmates ran while guards
set back and watched. Judge
Justice took control of the prison and held control from 1980 to 2001.
He has relinquished control over everything except medical and
psychiatry. TDCJ
says “all” inmates are screened before they are placed in administrative
segregation – False ! They say
we are screened regularly by mental and medical staff – false !, they say no
offender with serious mental health problems may be placed in administrative
segregation until a mental health expert has thoroughly evaluated the inmate
– false ! They
are roughly 95 – 100 inmates on death row who are not receiving any mental
health treatment. The condition,
which we are being forced to live in, has caused mental dementia in a lot of
men and their sanity has slowly slipped from reality.
No one cares here and like the inmate who covers himself with faecal
matter, he’s just left to sit as he is without any treatment. Europe
says “No” to extradition of terrorist who might face the death penalty
The
United States will deal with European objections to the death penalty on a
case-by-case basis, as it seeks extradition of suspects linked to the
September 11th terrorist attacks.
This statement came directly from U.S Attorney General John Ashcroft.
He was asked by reporters whether he was willing to give a guarantee
that the terrorists being held in Europe will not face the death penalty if
they are extradited. In
the past, the United States have known that Europe will not extradite anyone
who will face the death penalty, when the September 11th attacks
happened and the world joined as one in an effort to fight terrorism,
I assume that the U.S. actually thought
that any terrorist were going to be handed over easily.
They (the U.S.) prepared the Military Tribunal which assures that a
death sentence will be handed down. When
France caught the 4 suspects and the U.S. asked that they be handed over,
France shook its head………No ! So now the U.S. finds itself in a situation where they are willing to barter individuals on death row for these 4 individuals and others held in other European jails that were linked to Osama Bin Laden. This is a first, and merely shows how low the U.S. will stoop to enact vengeance. Support
for the death penalty declining
Juries
in the United States last year sentenced fewer defendants to death than in any
year since 1980. Many experts
assert that this is the declining thought about the death penalty in physical
form. More people on capital
murder juries are opting to give a defendant life, than death. Twenty-five
states and the U.S. Government handed out 214 death sentences last year.
That figure, according to the Justice Department represents a 29
% percent drop in death sentences from 1998 to present time. More than
half of the nations death sentences were
handed out in Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania –
for a total of 115 death cases all together. The number of people executed in
the USA is also on the decline with a 32 % drop compared to 1999.
For the first time in over 10 years Texas did not lead the nation in
executions. Oklahoma executed 18
people in 2001, whereas Texas executed 17 people. During
a 24-year period, five states, Texas, Virginia, Florida, Missouri and Oklahoma
all executed 446 inmates from 1976 to 2000.
Texas did not restore its death penalty until 1982. The methods of
execution varied from state to state. A
total of 518 inmates died by lethal injection.
Electrocution claimed the lives of 149 inmates.
Eleven died by lethal gas. Three
died by hanging……..2 in Washington and 1 in Delaware and 2 by firing
squad, both in Utah. Texas led all of these states with 239 executions .
Fourteen states executed a total of 83 men and two women during the
year 2000, which were exactly 13 fewer executions than in 1999. The end of
2000 held 3,593 inmates held under a death sentence.
California had the largest number with 586 and Texas followed with 450
inmates. From January through November 2001, 15 states and the government executed 62 inmates, all by lethal injection, which is a 22 % percent decrease from the 79 inmates executed in 1999. There is a steady flow of exoneration cases, cases with blatant injustices and increased availability of the life without parole for juries. Citizens are taking note of the many miscarriages of the justice system and they are being vocal with their opinions. Even prosecutors are seeking the death penalty less often. Mumia
Abu-Jamal’s death sentence overturned
A
federal judge overturned the death sentence of former Black Panther Mumia
Abu-Jamal and ordered a new sentencing hearing for Mumia.
The ruling, which was a defence petition let stand Mumia’s
conviction, but set aside the
sentence in the 20 year old case. The
272-page opinion left legal experts in a doze of confusion and stirred
emotions on both sides. Judge
Yohn gave the prosecutors 180 days to conduct a new sentencing hearing or
Mumia’s sentence would automatically be converted to life in prison, but he
would be granted a rare certificate of Appealibility (C.O.A).
That would allow him to contest the life sentence “if” it is given
to him. The prosecutor who is
responsible for Ira Inhorn who was recently extradited from France, Mrs Lynne
Abrahamson, has vowed that she will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the
law again. Judge
Yohn cited several errors, but the main concern was where prosecutors
“created” a reasonable likelihood that the jury believed it was precluded
from considering any mitigating circumstances that had not been found
unanimously to exist. Example è if the jurors believed Mumia acted in self-defence all 12 would have to
agree upon that theory. The
prosecutor, created this in their minds during the punishment phase arguments
and by law the trial judge should have corrected the prosecutor and informed
the jurors how they should deal with any mitigating circumstances or evidence. Lethal
injection criticized
Nineteen years after the first
lethal injection execution in America, anti-death penalty advocates called for
a serious end to capital punishment Opponents stated that our
minds are conditioned to believe that it’s okay to strip some inmate to a
hospital like gurney, sedate them and inject them with a chemical poison that
supposedly makes the inmate die in a painless fashion
With the many blunders of lethal injection executions, example guys who
were sedated, became conscious as they were literally suffocated when the
second chemical paralysed their diaphragm
That inmate died a horrible death and once the process begins there is
no irreversible way to stop what is already begun….and this being the
reasoning why they stood and watched the inmate gag and suffocate.
They say it’s painless, but anytime you cut off the oxygen supply, it
is anything but painless. It’s a torture and all of it must stop. We must come up with other alternatives to this barbaric act
and hopefully soon because 2002 will likely be the busiest year of the death
chamber… and I do mean he busiest it’s ever been in the history of Texas
capital punishment.
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