[Pnews] Water Crisis in the Prison, DOC in Contempt of Mumia Court Order

[Prisoner News]

  *The Campaign To Bring Mumia Home*


      February 6, 2017


      http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=41813959c5e8470c91faf3ab3&id=77fdef5805&e=52d3dbba2f

      Urgent Call to Action:
      *Water Crisis in the Prison,* DOC in Contempt of Mumia Court Order

       From Flint and Standing Rock to SCI Mahanoy and prisons across
      the country, people are defending the life-saving right to clean
      water.

      At SCI Mahanoy, the Pennsylvania prison that houses Mumia
      Abu-Jamal, the water is unsafe for prisoners to bathe in, shower
      in and drink.  It is "dirty, brackish, turbid, even black water"
      —that is how Mumia Abu-Jamal describes the dramatic situation in a
      grievance he filed last week. The grievance includes 6 demands,
      including 1) the immediate provision of an alternative source of
      "clean, fresh, safe, and untainted water" for bathing and drinking
      and 2) "testing of the water piped into the infirmary tub and
      showers."

      Please help amplify the voices of all prisoners*. Take action.
      Call the prison* and *publicize* Mumia’s grievance widely (see
      transcript below).

      As you know, Mumia has a severe skin ailment, a symptom of his
      untreated HEP C. The water contamination at the prison, therefore,
      poses a serious threat to his life through infection. For this
      reason Mumia has refused the three baths a week that prison
      doctors prescribed to alleviate his symptoms. In addition to
      violating the January 2017 court order of a federal judge
      mandating that Mumia be immediately treated with the HEP C cure,
      which is the root cause of his skin problem, the DOC is in
      violation of its own woefully inadequate "baths prescription" for
      the treatment of his skin condition and HEP C.


      *TAKE ACTION.* Call the prison, the DOC & the PA Gov

      *LANGUAGE TO USE *and *DEMANDS*

      Hi, I am a concerned citizen from______________. I am calling to
      demand that the Mahanoy prison administration

*1. Immediately provide all prisoners clean water for bathing, showering 
and drinking.*

*In addition, I am demanding that the institution

        2. Comply with Judge Mariani's court ruling of January 3, 2017, 
which ordered the immediate treatment of Mumia Abu Jamal with the Hep C 
cure by the DOC. Give Mumia the cure he needs.

Officials to Call:

1. Theresa Del Balso, Superintendent SCI Mahanoy: 570-773-2158 x8102 | 
570-783-2008 Fax | 301 Morea Road, Frackville PA 1793

2. John Wetzel, PA DOC: 717-728-4109 | 717-728-4178 Fax | 
ra-contactdoc at poc.gov <mailto:ra-contactdoc at poc.gov> | 1920 Technology 
Pkwy, Mechanicsburg PA 17050

3. Tom Wolf, PA Gvrnr: 717-787-2500 | governor at PA.gov | 508 Main Capitol 
Building, Harrisburg PA 17120

IN ADDITION, TAKE ACTION IN THE STREETS.

RALLY in Philadelphia at the Governor's Office
When: Thursday, February 9, 2017 --- 4-6PM
Where: 200 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia

______


Transcript of Mumia's Grievance.

OFFICIAL INMATE GRIEVANCE
TO: FACILITY GRIEVANCE COORDINATOR
Jane Hinman, Asst. to Supt.
FROM:
M. A. Jamal #AM8335
DATE: 1/25/17

A.     Provide a brief, clear statement of your grievance. Additional 
paper may be used, maximum two pages …. State all relief that you are 
seeking.

Over the last several months, I have repeatedly complained of dirty, 
brackish, turbid, even black water in the infirmary’s tub. In my 
discussions with c/o Easterday, I’ve confirmed this situation several 
times. I’ve received several responses from my prior grievances, which I 
believe are misleading, incorrect and untrue.

Several weeks ago, c/o Easterday informed me that he was told by someone 
looking into this issue that the water’s discoloration stems from the 
water pooling in the pipes (or words to that effect), and if one simply 
let the water run for 5 minutes, it would clear up.

When I reported for my medically-prescribed bath today (around 8:30 due 
to waiting some 20-25 minutes in the pill line(!) because of the length 
of the line), I found the water, upon running, dark, turbid, and quite 
discolored. I again showed it to c/o Easterday, who repeated what he 
told me several weeks earlier.
I let the water run; for 5 minutes; for 10 minutes; for 15 minutes; for 
20 minutes—and not only didn’t it clear up—it got worse! While the water 
appeared like tea in the beginning, it looked more like coffee after a 
20-minute run. I left the stopper in after the last run, and showed it 
to the c/o, who replied he ‘understood,’ when I informed him there was 
no way I could/would get into a tub in that condition.

He made a call (to whom, I don’t know) and he explained (as I was then 
outside the room), he explained that the water in the shower room also 
was running dark, discolored, coffee-colored, and dirty, _despite the 
fact that a man in a wheelchair had just showered in this stuff! _This 
was clearly a situation that went beyond ‘a dirty pipe.’ How am I 
supposed to clean myself in dirty water? I left the water in the tub, 
and thereby left it ripe for testing by the person contacted by c/o 
Easterday.

If this was not done (why wouldn’t it be?), I hereby request the following:

B.     List actions taken and staff you have contacted, before 
submitting this grievance.

(As shown in the text, I showed this matter to c/o Easterday, several 
times this morning.)*

*  1.  Immediate testing of the water piped into the tub and shower rooms;*
*  2.  A clear determination of what substance (or substances) turned 
the water such a dork, turbid color;*
*  3.  Immediate correction of this situation so that people won’t be 
further harmed by whatever is in this water.*
*  4.  Please explain how, and when this matter will be corrected.*
*  5.  Please provide an alternative, which timely provides clean, 
fresh, safe, untainted water, not just for bathing, but for drinking.*
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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