Lockdown in Texas Prisons a Concern About Inmates Health
Food Portions Too Small for Grown Men, Among Other Conditions
A state wide prison search was ordered to search for more cell phones and contraband. Texas has 111 prison units, and all inmates were locked in thier cells, without visitation, necessary hygene, and nutritional food, being "shaked down" and facilities being searched.
Although some of the units are open for visitation, and getting back to normal, the death row unit Polunsky, in Livingston Texas is more "horrific" than usual. The Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement alleges the conditions these death row inmates are under is a violation of prisoners rights. They are working to end the lockdown and are asking abolishinists, prison and human rights activists, family and friends, and concerned people to proceed with action to help end the lockdown on the death row unit.
In an email being circulated on the internet the group has posted the following:
Here's our proposals. How many can YOU do?
Monday, Wednesday and Friday are "Call-in Days" until the lockdown ends. We want everyone to make 3 calls--to the Polunsky Unit warden, the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, and Governor Rick Perry. Warden Tim Simmons: 936-967-8082. Texas Board of Criminal Justice: (512) 475-3250. Governor Rick Perry: 1-800-252-9600 (All in Texas except Austin) everyone else 512-463-2000. The demands are to end the lockdown, end the shakedowns, restore visitation, restore commissary, restore regular showers and recreation-in other words, restore normalcy. Keep notes of who you speak with and what they tell you and them report it to us so we can keep track.
Attend the Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing on Nov. 13 in Austin at the Capitol. It will be at 10 AM in Capitol Extension, Room E1.016. According to their web page they will take public testimony and one of the items on their agenda is the use of lockdown procedures. Our point should be that once cells have been searched once or even two times, then life should return to "normal." Also, personal possessions that are permitted should not be destroyed-from typewriters, to radios, to legal papers to photos of loved ones. This is NOT contraband. Food should be enough calories that prisoners don't lose unintended weight and are kept hungry. So far, we have three people from Houston committed to attending and speaking. Who else can join us? We will notify the media about this.
Schedule meetings with members of the Board of Criminal Justice. We found that two of those on the board live in Houston and we are setting up appointments with them for a delegation to meet and discuss the abuses going on. Check their web page to see if some of them live in your city. . The chair of the board lives in Horseshoe Bay, which is in the Hill Country in Burnet and Llano Counties but his business is in Austin and is a corporation that helps clients implement effective labor relations strategies. Oliver J. Bell & Associates, 13449 Dulles Avenue, Austin, Texas 78729, Phone 512.249.6200, Fax 512.249.6607. The vice-chair of the board clerked for (gasp!!) Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court and Edith Jones (gag!) on the 5th Circuit. He lives in Cedar Park, which is in the Austin area. Others live in Amarillo, Highland Park (Dallas), Arlington, Lubbock, and San Antonio. Schedule these meetings soon and certainly before the Board meets on Dec. 2-3.
Attend the meeting of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on December 3 in Austin. The meeting is at the Sheraton Austin Hotel, 701 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701, Tel: (512) 478-1111, Fax: (512) 479-6458. The meeting on Dec. 3 will allow public comments only on agenda items, but surely the cell phone / security / contraband issue will be on the agenda. If it isn't, we should sign up to speak on an agenda item and then talk about the lockdown anyway. We plan to notify the media that we will be attending and have a statement for them.
Contact media / reporters and ask them to investigate why cells are being shaken down four and five times and why personal property is being destroyed that is allowed and NOT contraband, i.e. legal materials, photos, radios, typewriters, hot pots.
Find a lawyer who will investigate and possibly file a lawsuit regarding the arbitrariness of lock down procedures and the abuses that have gone on. Yolanda Torres was one attorney who was suggested. It was also suggested we contact the NAACP in every major Texas city, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense Fund), LULAC, ACLU and also their Prisons and Jails Accountability Project, and the Texas Civil Rights Project which has offices in San Juan, Austin and El Paso. Who can volunteer to help with this?
Write letters to the editors of all major Texas newspapers describing what has been going on at Polunsky and asking for an investigation. Does anyone already have a list of e-mail addresses or street addresses together for Letters to the Editor for papers in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Livingston, Lubbock, Amarillo, El Paso and whatever is the biggest paper in the Rio Grand Valley.
Contact Texas legislators to be part of a delegation that will make an impromptu visit to Polunsky to make an inspection and question prisoners. Sherri will contact State Rep Dora Olivo, Gloria will contact Reps Jessica Farrar and Senfronia Thompson, and we will have someone contact Reps Harold Dutton and Garnett Coleman and Senator Rodney Ellis. Other cities and other Reps or Senators? This needs to happen asap.
A demonstration outside of Polunsky if the lockdown does not end. The rumor is that it will last for three months. This means until AFTER the holidays and is unacceptable.
Write to your friends family or friends on death row and ask them to document what is happening. Then share that with everyone, us as well as the media where you live.
Contact information for the group is:
Our e-mail address is: Abolition.Movement@hotmail.com. Phone number is 713-503-2633. Meetings on 1st Tuesdays at SHAPE Center, 3815 Live Oak in Houston.
Although a representative of the group was told the inmates are recieving hot meals, death row inmate Mark Stroman has stated to friends that he "drinks water to fill his stomach". Stroman, who had a regular blog on The Execution Chronicles also complains of being fed "pancake sandwiches," three pancakes and two pieces of bread with nothing in between.., and full coverage can be read here. TheExecution Chronicle web site is also concerned with this matter, and I urge everyone to visit thier site for more death row information.
Sources:
Fox news:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,441781,00.htm
Execution Chronicles:
http://www.executionchronicles.org/in-depth.htm
Published by Dee
I am a prison activist/advocate writing about prison issues, hoping to make awareness, and bring reform. One out of every thirty-two people in the USA are currently on parole, probation or in prison. I am ow... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a Comment"why personal property is being destroyed that is allowed and NOT contraband, i.e. legal materials, photos, radios, typewriters, hot pots." All these things are subject to prison regulations and can be confiscated and eventually destroyed if they are found to be contraband. If these items are altered in order to hide things, altered to be made into weapons, or in the case of legal paper work, have the personal information of staff members contained within, it makes these above mentioned articles contraband and subject to confiscation and eventual destruction.
That was a ridiculous situation! The women in Gatesville were even on lock down which was completely unfair. I was told by one Death Row inmate that they were unable to have showers or their one hour of outside time which is the one thing they look forward to the most.
I was told by a friend that is an inmate that even after the lock down, guards still smuggled in cell phones, chargers etc by bringing them in their butts. The guards complained that because they had to remove their shoes and socks it was unsanitary. The women have to go outside to another building to use the shower. They are allowed 10 minutes to shower, shampoo their hair and even when it is cold they are not allowed to cover their wet hair with a towel. The guards deserve to be punished, put in prison for a very long time.
Just called the polunsky unit, lockdown has been uplifted as of yesterday evening
Mary
The lockdown is "supposed " to end Thursday. Please message me privately about your son Ok. Thanks Dee
I am a mother of an inmate in the polunsky unit, can someone tell me if they are still on lockdown? I havent seen my son for 6 years, was going to viist him in dec, when will this end.
Very helpful article :) Sheri
Thanks for your article Dee.
thank you for bringing this to public attention
I am the sister a Death Row inmate @ polunsky, and the conditions are worse than what the public knows about. Inmates are fearful to report all of the conditions because they are petrified of retaliation. I have made several attempts to call the unit and speak to the warden but he has been "out". I was finally called back by the duty warden, and was very unhappy about how vague he was.
He did let me know that lockdowns were to remain in effect for the forseeable future, and the had no idea when the restrictions would be taken off.
Please also let me clarify...these inmates just started to get "hot meals" and it is only 1 hot meal a day...the other two meals are still Johnny bags; and it is still not near what they should be getting.
There is more, but I do not want to write a book....but I will close with a thank you Dee; you have outdone yourself again!