[Pnews] 7 Months After Historic Prison Hunger Strike, Opponents of Solitary Confinement in California Prepare for a Hearing
Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Mon Feb 10 12:28:25 EST 2014
Seven Months After Historic Prison Hunger Strike, Opponents of
Solitary Confinement in California Prepare for a Hearing and Gauge the
Pace of Change
February 10, 2014 By Victoria Law
<http://solitarywatch.com/author/victoria-law/>
*http://solitarywatch.com/2014/02/10/seven-months-historic-prison-hunger-strike-opponents-solitary-confinement-california-prepare-hearing-gauge-pace-change/*
<http://solitarywatch.com/2014/02/10/seven-months-historic-prison-hunger-strike-opponents-solitary-confinement-california-prepare-hearing-gauge-pace-change/#comments>
Tomorrow, California lawmakers will hold a hearing about the use of
solitary confinement inside its state prison system. February marks
seven months since people incarcerated throughout California embarked on
the mass hunger strike that drawn legislative attention to prison
conditions. Just under two weeks ago, the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) released new proposed regulations
<http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/88723620b9304587a89d25e5a2bba009/CA--California-Prisons?utm_content=buffer00dba&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>
around its gang policies, and it points to changes already made.
Accounts from former hunger strikers and their allies on the outside,
however, suggest that change is slow in coming.
The hunger strike that began on Monday, July 8, 2013, was originally
called for by men in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) in California's
Pelican Bay State Prison. Inside Pelican Bay's SHU, people are locked
into windowless cells for at least 22 hours a day. Prison administrators
place them in the SHU either for a fixed term for violating a prison
rule or an indeterminate term for gang membership. Accusations of gang
membership often relied on confidential informants and circumstantial
evidence. Accusations of gang association were also based on
circumstantial evidence, such as possessing certain artwork or books
(including Aztec or Black history), exercising with others or even
signing a group petition. Hundreds of people have been confined within
the SHU for over a decade. Until recently, the only way to be released
from the SHU was to debrief, or provide information incriminating other
prisoners, who are then placed in the SHU for an indeterminate sentence.
The call to strike was taken up across California and in out-of-state
prisons where California prisoners are held. Thirty thousand people
responded, refusing meals that first day. Hunger strikers issued five
core demands, including the elimination of "group punishments for
individual rules violations"; changes in the criteria for being
"validated" as gang members, and for "debriefing" from gang
status; compliance with the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on
Safety and Abuse in Prisons regarding an end to long-term solitary
confinement; provision of "adequate food"; and expansion of
"constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU prisoners." The
men of Pelican Bay issued forty additional demands, such as expunging
all violations issued for participation in the 2011 hunger strikes, and
prohibiting retaliation for those participating in the most recent strike.
The strike ended on September 5, 2013, or Day 60. California legislators
Loni Hancock, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, and Tom
Ammiano, chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, issued a
statement of support for the hunger strikers and promised to hold
hearings around SHU placement and long-term solitary confinement. Their
support pushed both the CDCR and the hunger strikers towards a resolution.
The following month, on October 9, 2013, lawmakers held the first joint
Public Safety Committee hearing on solitary confinement
<http://solitarywatch.com/2013/10/22/one-month-historical-hunger-stirke-california-lawmakers-hold-hearings-solitary-confinement/>.
The hearing lasted four hours and included testimony from CDCR
officials, academics, former prisoners and family members.
But what changes have hunger strikers and other California prisoners
seen since then?
/The Stepdown Program Resumes/
On Friday, January 31, 2014, CDCR unveiled new regulations around its
gang policies
<http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/88723620b9304587a89d25e5a2bba009/CA--California-Prisons?utm_content=buffer00dba&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>.
Under these draft regulations, validated gang associates and members can
have the designation removed from their records if they avoid gang
activities for approximately ten years (for associates) or fourteen
years (for members). The regulations are an extension of CDCR's Stepdown
program, which was unveiled in Fall 2012, one year after the first round
of prisoner hunger strikes.
In Fall 2012, CDCR unveiled its Stepdown program. The program evaluates
prisoners with indefinite SHU terms for release into general population.
Both prisoners and their advocates have criticized the program, noting
that even those who have spent years in the SHU may still be required to
spend two to three additional years in solitary confinement under this
program. The debriefing program remains in place. In addition, criteria
that was formerly used to prove gang association---such as possessing
certain art or literature, exercising with others or even saying hello
to another prisoner---can now be used to prove gang membership.
CDCR temporarily halted its review process during the first weeks of the
hunger strike, but resumed evaluations before the strike ended. In
December 2013, Pelican Bay prisoners reported that the review process
had started for those who had been classified as gang members. According
to one prisoner, several were approved for Step Five---or release
directly into general population from the SHU. One of those approved had
been in the SHU for over 40 years. Since the start of the program, CDCR
has reviewed 632 SHU prisoners
<http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/88723620b9304587a89d25e5a2bba009/CA--California-Prisons?utm_content=buffer00dba&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>
for gang membership. Of those, 408 have been cleared for release
directly to general population; 185 remain in the SHU but with more
privileges.
While the possibility of being released to a less restrictive housing
unit is enticing, those waiting to be evaluated are wary of the program.
"The Stepdown program is still an institutional means of getting around
the indeterminate SHU program and incorporating a vehicle by which one
can still get stuck in the SHU indeterminately," wrote one person, who
was scheduled to be reviewed that week. "At any time, they can deny you
or set you back a step or two if they feel you are not meeting certain
requirements."
In addition, SHU prisoners in both Pelican Bay and Corcoran State Prison
decry the requirement that prisoners relegated to Step Two or Step Three
complete a journal focusing on subjects such as "the reasons I've led a
life of crime." Those who refuse to complete the journal are considered
as having failed to complete program requirements
<http://cdcr.gov/reports/docs/security-threat-group-prevention-identification-and-management-model-03-01-2012.pdf>,
are unable to move into the next step and thus remain in the SHU.
In Corcoran State Prison, Heshima Denham was recently reviewed for the
Stepdown program. As part of the review process, he was allowed to
examine the journal. He later called it "a blatant character
invalidation and brainwashing tool."
<http://sfbayview.com/2013/legislative-alert-mandatory-brainwashing/>
"It does not embody or address the needs of the majority of us in SHU,
of what and who we are," agreed a SHU prisoner in Pelican Bay, "nor is
it indicative of what's in our best interest." He described several
questions in the journal entitled /The Con Game/:
* Do you have a problem when people correct you, even if they
do it in a supportive way? Yes/No.
* Give an example of how you might think and/or act in this way.
* Do you ever play the "con game"? Yes/no.
* Explain.
"One can't help but believe if one does not respond in the affirmative
to the questions, that the reviewers/evaluators would deem one a program
failure, not suited for advancement within said program because the
overseers of this Stepdown program view us all as flawed in character
with no social or moral compass," he noted.
In addition, both he and Denham have stated that the journal dismisses
socio-economic factors as a "myth" of the con game. In separate letters,
both point to the same example
<http://www.ncttcorshu.org/2014/01/cdcrs-step-down-program-restructuring.html>:
Myth: Criminals are the victims of society. They are products of
dysfunctional families, abusive childhoods, bad neighborhoods, poor
schools, and an unfair economic system. 'My criminal behavior isn't
my fault. I just learned to survive the best way I knew how.' Truth:
Each person is responsible for his or her own thinking and behavior.
Many people grow up in difficult circumstances and lead responsible,
crime-free lives. Task: Explain how you have practiced this myth in
the past.
However, SHU prisoner Todd Ashker recalled that, during his September
2013 meetings with hunger strike representatives, Michael Stainer,
director of CDCR's Division of Adult Institutions, told them, "There are
no right or wrong answers to the journal questions. You maintain
possession of them. All that's required is that you show it to the
committee. They look at it on the spot, see it's done and give it back
to you and you can tear it up and trash it." Given Stainer's assurances,
Ashker urges, "If this isn't how it works, people should challenge and
document any/all problems."
In the meantime, prisoners, family members and the general public have
60 days to comment in writing about CDCR's new draft regulations. A
public hearing will be held on April 3, 2014, in Sacramento./ /
/Small Changes Come to the SHU, Along with Reports of Retaliation/
People in Pelican Bay's SHU have reported some changes since the hunger
strike. Lorenzo Benton reported that several items, such as sweats,
thermals, t-shirts, shorts and several foods, have recently been
approved for their use. Mutope DuGuma reported that SHU prisoners have
now been offered the opportunity to take free correspondence courses
from Feather River College Tsunami Adult School's Voluntary Education
Program. DuGuma has signed up and is waiting to learn what courses he is
eligible to take.
However, SHU prisoners have also reported that staff have taken
retaliatory actions towards hunger strike participants. "Since the
hunger strike, I been dealing with retaliation in the form of two
separate serious CDC-115 write-ups," wrote Paul Redd. He was found not
guilty on the charges of inciting a mass disturbance and work stoppage,
but was found guilty of what he called a "noncharge---refusing to eat."
In addition, Institutional Gang Investigators searched his property and
issued him a write-up for a ten-year-old greeting card. The card
depicted a Black man holding a child. On his arm were the words
"Weusi Agosti" or "Black August" in Swahili. Redd was found guilty of
promoting gang activity, thus drastically decreasing his chances of
release from the SHU when he is reviewed for the Stepdown program.
Mutope DuGuma has also reported retaliation. He states that staff have
tampered with food. He describes the Thanksgiving meal as "three small
diced sweet potatoes, 1×1 size cheesecake, two very small hot dogs,
green beans (about ten), and a salad that was all bad."
"If they wanted to provoke prisoners, they almost got exactly what they
wanted because people were furious," he recounted. When DuGuma
complained to the warden's office, he was told, "The problem with the
Thanksgiving meal was identified by correctional staff and is being
dealt with.'" A letter from another hunger strike participant, dated
January 15, 2014, confirms that the food portions remain small.
In addition, DuGuma, who was sent to the medical facility at Folsom
during the hunger strike, returned to find several of his
certificates---including one for his GED---missing. For DuGuma, the
missing certificate may prevent him from enrolling in the newly-offered
college courses.
Isaac Ontiveros, a member of the Prison Hunger Strike Solidarity
coalition, stated that the coalition has received letters from numerous
people inside California's SHUs detailing similar acts of retaliation.
Every hunger striker received CDC-115 write-ups for their participation.
He also noted that Black people appear to be bearing the brunt of
additional retribution. (Both Redd and DuGuma are Black.)
/ //Preparing for Another Hearing/
Legislators have scheduled a hearing focusing on CDCR's new Gang
Management Policy for February 11, 2014. According to Ontiveros, at that
hearing, legislators will press CDCR to provide a more detailed
explanation of the Stepdown program. Family members and supporters are
organizing caravans to attend the hearing in Sacramento. However, those
most impacted by the new policy---people in the SHU---have not been
invited to speak.
Ontiveros notes that, in addition to testifying about conditions and the
effects of long-term isolation, SHU prisoners can also speak about steps
that can be taken to reduce CDCR's overreliance on solitary confinement.
"The prisoners have been doing research," he pointed out. "They've been
looking at what's happening in Mississippi and how prison management can
be changed. They've also been reading about the Norwegian prison system.
The CDCR has cited security concerns [against having a SHU prisoner
testify before the legislature in Sacramento], but what about having
them use Skype to speak at the hearing?"
Opponents of solitary confinement plan to pack the hearing room, and
gather afterwards
<http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/flyer-for-ca-legislative-hearing-rally-feb-14/>for
a rally and lobbying visits to legislators. With more than 10,000 souls
in isolation on any given day (3,881 people in SHU cells and 6,734 in
Administrative Segregation Units as of September 30, 2013
<http://solitarywatch.com/2013/12/04/many-california-prisoners-solitary-confinement/>),
California is the nation's leading practitioner of solitary confinement.
With strong movements on both the inside and outside, and a few
apparently sympathetic ears in the legislature, reformers have sown the
seed for change--but only time will tell when they come to fruition in
the kind of sweeping reforms the state's prison system demands.
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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