[Ppnews] Souls in Solitary Confinement

[Political Prisoner News]

From: 
http://www.sfbayview.com/20080220910/News/Behind_Enemy_Lines/Souls_in_solitary_confinement.html

Souls in solitary confinement
by Khalfani Khaldun
Wednesday, 20 February 2008

"Revolutionary consciousness is the only real 
hope of those oppressed by the system." - George L. Jackson.

Across the U.S. "prisons within prisons" are 
proliferating. These units used for solitary 
confinement go by bland and bureaucratic names 
like Security Housing Units, Closed Custody, 
Management Control Units or Special Confinement 
Units. Prison officials seem to feel they need a 
type of second sentencing at their disposal, one 
without the due process strings of state and federal law.

Prisons and control units alike are also a 
warden's dream solution for neutralizing convicts 
who have shown leadership potential, 
intelligence, legal expertise, integrity, 
independent thought, ethnic pride or allegiance 
to a higher power. The threat of being placed in 
these control units also produces a chilling 
effect, pressuring individuals to remain 
unaffiliated, extremely passive and vulnerable.

For these very reasons and many others, SHUs pose 
special dangers to prisoners' souls as well as 
their bodies, minds and relationships to the 
outside world. And among other things as well, it 
poses dangers to our First Amendment rights and 
freedoms of expression, association and religion.

Here in Carlisle, Indiana, the Wabash Valley 
correctional facility also houses the Special 
Confinement Unit (SCU). This is a 23-hour-a-day 
lockdown no-contact facility. The only contact we 
have is when we're being placed in restraints and 
escorted by several pigs holding a dog leash 
hooked onto the handcuffs. We are also not 
allowed any contact with our family, children, supporters and friends.

For the entire prisoner population here on the 
SCU, visits were once behind a thick glass window 
and communication was through a two-way 
telephone. These visits have long placed undue 
hardships on prisoners and our families. These 
visits were only one hour and only extended for 
families coming from as far as Chicago or Gary, 
Indiana. Traveling close to four hours here and 
then four hours back home is inhumane and 
dehumanizing. Then to not to be able to even 
physically touch our family members is tantamount 
to unwarranted punishment placed upon our loved ones.

On Nov. 26, 2007, prisoncrats in charge of the 
special confinement unit (SCU) engaged in another 
act of repression. They instituted yet another 
visitation change that further isolates our 
families and those we love away from us. For some 
strange reason, all SCU visits are now on a 
status called video screen monitoring. This 
procedure has now taken away our ability to actually see one another.

The no-contact visits at least allowed us to sit 
across from one another with a glass wall 
separating the visitors. Phones allowed for clear 
communication. Yet now we can only see one family 
member at a time on a video computer screen. It 
cuts the view at the heads and shoulders.

Only 10 visitor booths are available on this 
entire unit. These are four units on A-East Pod, 
A-West Pod, B-East pod and B-West Pod. Each Pod 
houses 72 prisoners, for a total of 227 for the 
capacity population. There is one cell on every 
range, 24 ranges in total, that are equipped with 
a computer for transferring the feed from the 
area where our families are to pinpoint our location.

This system is flawed, but they are not concerned 
about that. If 10 families show up all at once, 
and then if five more show up, there will be no 
room to facilitate them. Complications such as 
people's visits being cut short will be a constant reality.

We were never afforded the opportunity or the due 
process right to challenge these visits. No one 
at this facility issued a memorandum, directive 
or policy mandating the approved go ahead to 
implement them. In essence, these prisoncrats 
just went ahead and did it, saying damn the consequences.

Since the visits started, prisoners have filed 
several complaints that the screen is not clear. 
They do not allow our families to see us clearly 
- the camera causes us to look down at the 
computer screen, and our loved ones can only view 
the top of our head. This is absolutely wrong, cruel and dehumanizing.

Reasons why the visits are wrong:

1. These visits are placing restrictions and punishment on our visitors.
2. There was no reason for computer visits when 
there was no contact with the outside previously anyway.
3. The privacy of face to face communication was taken away.
4. Such isolation does more to discourage a 
visitor than it does to encourage them to want to come here.
5. This is not in accord with Indiana Department 
of Corrections standards, which claim to promote 
rehabilitation. This will break up families.
6. This visiting procedure further isolates 
prisoners from those they love instead of trying to keep them together.
7. Prisoners will not be able to see what 
officials their families or loved ones will come 
into contact with. They are left vulnerable to 
the whimsical nature of the officials working here.
8. The computer screen visitation system doesn't 
work right. This form of visitation should be discontinued as soon as possible.

What the outside can do to help

Help us expose the inhumane conditions 
surrounding this new procedure of video screen 
visitation. The prisoncrats at this facility 
claim that Commissioner J. David Donahue ordered 
video visitation. So we must demand an end to 
this dehumanization. The following is a list you 
may address your complaints to.

I would like to stress that the facility shut 
down the Lan System to install these visits. The 
Lan System gave prisoners individual access to 
law cases for review and research. This access 
helped us fight lawsuits and challenge our 
criminal cases. Now we have to go through the 
facility's law library to do so, which slows down 
our work by two to three days. This is a major blow for us.

Protest calls, letters, or faxes can be sent to

• Commissioner J. David Donahue, IGC South, 302 
W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204-2738, 
(317) 232-5711, fax (317) 232-6798, www.in.gov/indcorrection
• Governor Mitch Daniels, Office of the Governor, 
State House, Room 206, 200 W. Washington St., 
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2738, (317) 232-4567, fax 232-3443
• Superintendent Alan Finnan, 
afinnan at doc.in.gov7.This e-mail address is being 
protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

I can speak truth to power, but I wanted to share 
with you the voices of other prisoners who are 
also being affected by this. I was forced to tell 
my family not to come visit me in hopes of 
sparing them any humiliation and dehumanization. 
Please join us in exposing this new visiting 
procedure. May God bless and keep you.

Write to Bro. Khalfani Malik Khaldun, 874304, PO 
Box 1111, B-Unit SCU, Carlisle, IN 57838. This 
deplorable visiting system is being reported at 
other prisons as well. Check with your loved ones 
behind enemy lines. All governors, state 
legislators and prison administrators should know 
that installing this system will meet with vigorous protest.



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415 863-9977

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