Guest guest Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 In this case some may call her a nut, and some may put her with Luther et. al. I have several Indian students who talk about Bhopal, and the relatives and friends their parents lost. This is a very emotional issue for some. Beyond political activism- The stories of medical treatment neglect is very much on track with most county jails. If you see bad things going on with the medical treatment of inmates, maybe something can be done to improve their care. As we all know innocent until proven guilty, and even if guilty - this does not effect our patient care. -MH >>> achambers@... 2/12/2006 9:04 pm >>> What a nice, one-sided, article/diatribe. This woman is a certifiable psychopath. This article does little to mention the havoc she has reigned and the things she has done. I am truly surprised she is in a jail and not a mental facility. How can this article even downplay what she is currently in jail for which says " she climbed a tower at the plant and hung a banner reading " Justice For Bhopal, " when what she actually did was run past security in a recent post-911 world, scale several fences and threaten a large chemical plant for hours. I don't know where this letter came from or the posters purpose in posting it here but I can assure you that this woman does not need to be in TDJC, she should be in some mental institution that they won't even let Hinckley in because they don't want him around all of the crazy people. Chambers -- Re: Inmate Healthcare That sucks... she still hasn't learned her lesson. Looks like TDCJ will be seeing her in the future - she's high on the recidivism scale. Mike > > A Letter from Prison: > > Diane Reports From Texas County Jail > > Diane , author of An Unreasonable Woman, is almost two months > into a 150-day sentence in a Texas jail for a misdemeanor trespassing > charge. The conditions in the County jail are deplorable, > according to , a dedicated activist exposing injustice wherever > she goes. Now is breaking through the walls of fear that > prevent so many inmates from speaking forthrightly to the > administrators of the penal system. She has written a public letter, > addressed to County Sheriff T. O'Connor, describing > abusive conditions within the jail, violations of basic inmates > rights, horrifying reports of the withholding of medical treatment > from ill women who were jailed on non-violent charges, and the lack of > a functioning avenue for inmates to address these problems within the > system. > > 's jailing stems from a political action at a Dow Chemical > facility in her hometown of Seadrift, TX, in 2002, when she climbed a > tower at the plant and hung a banner reading " Justice For Bhopal, " in > reference to the thousands of Indians killed following a toxic release > of methyl isocyanate in 1984 by Dow subsidiary Union Carbide. > > For updates on , please visit > www.chelseagreen.com/2005/items/unreasonablewoman/fromjail. > > Diane 's letter follows: > > Jan 20th 2006 > > Sheriff T. O'Connor > > County > > 101 North Glass St. > > , TX 77901 > > CC: > > Sheriff B. B. Browning > > Calhoun County > > 211 South Ann St. > > Port Lavaca, TX 77979 > (Additional CC recipients are listed at the end of letter.) > > Dear Sheriff O'Connor: > > I am a female inmate in the County Jail, TX, though I was > arrested on criminal trespass charges in Calhoun County. I was given a > sentence of 150 days plus a $2,000 fine for protesting Dow Chemical > Company's refusal to appear in Indian courts in response to charges > against its wholly-owned subsidiary, Union Carbide, and its treatment > of the survivors of the toxic-leak disaster in Bhopal, India, where a > catastrophic pesticide release has killed over 20,000 people to date. > > I am a fairly new inmate and have only been here since December 10, > 2005, yet I have a number of grievances. Many of these come from other > inmates and you may ask why they don't report them themselves. Well, > it's pretty simple: there is absolutely no effective avenue to raise > issues and if there is, the inmates have certainly not been made aware > of it. There is a standard form that inmates can use to make an > attempt at communication, but the response can take anywhere between a > week to never. > > There is no information available, no pamphlet explaining the > procedures or the rights of the inmates or even something as simple as > " when is commissary. " > > I asked to see the law library since the inmates rarely see legal > counsel, but was told that there is not one available. If inmates ask > for legal counsel they are told, " You'll see one when your trial comes > up, " and usually that's ten minutes before one goes to trial. > > The women in this jail are predominantly African American or Hispanic > and very poor. Most of their offenses are minor, for things like > traffic tickets or soliciting or violating probation*all non-violent, > yet they are forced to remain in the cell without counsel for long > periods of time. I don't think I am bringing up any issue that you are > not aware of. I spoke with someone within the jail system (I will not > name him), and he is aware of the length of time inmates have to wait > for legal counsel and a trial. He has talked to a judge about the > problem and the judge apparently said something along the lines of, > " Yes, we got a problem. " > > So you can understand my concern to at least have access to a law > library. Though jail personnel told me that the only time access to a > law library is provided is when legal counsel isn't available, I have > still not had access to either. > > When I requested, nonetheless, access to the law library on my title > form, a week later I got the answer, " We do not have a WRIT ROOM. " > Well, that certainly explains everything. No WRIT ROOM. No Law Library. > > Next, I asked for the jail's standards. These are the minimum > standards that jails have to maintain, and inmates have the legal > right to request and receive a copy of the standards. When I made my > request I got a response a good week and a half later asking, " what's > your concern? " > > My concern is that inmates have no voice, no access to legal counsel, > no law library, no WRIT Room, no jail standards. That is my concern, > but you can bet I didn't write that on the next form I dropped. I > could see I'd be " dropping forms " until this jail slid to hell in a > breadbasket. So this is partly why I am writing you. I figure that you > are next in the chain of command, and I am listing not only permission > to see the jail standards for ALL inmates*but other grievances and > concerns that have come up in the time I have been here. > > Healthcare > > I don't know if you are aware of the series of investigative stories > by Mike Ward and Bill Bishop of the Austin American Statesman about > the dismal state of health care in the Texas state prison system. What > the reporters were able to discover was a systematic neglect and > mistreatment of ill prisoners, the use of healthcare as a means of > punishment, and stupid, dangerous mis-administration of medicine that > can lead to viral and bacterial resistance and potential > epidemics*epidemics that will hardly remain within prison walls. > > I know that the state prison system is separate from the county jails, > but if you haven't read this report, then you should, because similar > neglect is happening in your jailhouse. I have only been here one > month, in one cellblock, and have collected these three instances > directly from the inmates about their experiences with the > County Jail. The cases cover approximately 10 years, so you can see > this is a long-term problem and seems to be continuing a legacy that > the Texas prison system has built for itself. It seems to be downright > overkill to repeat that, yes, all these girls are very young and poor, > and either Hispanic or African-American. > > 1. DeLeon > > Ms. DeLeon was jailed for 18 months in the county jail on drug > charges. The entire 18 months Ms. DeLeon was jailed, she was suffering > due to gallstones. The response from the healthcare of the jail was to > dispense Milk of Magnesia and tell her to lie down on her cot. > Eventually, Ms. Deleon's condition got so bad that she was shaking and > had chills and fainting spells. Again, the response was Milk of > Magnesium. Finally, towards the end of her 18-month sentence, Ms > DeLeon collapsed in pain and an inmate called the guards. was > rushed to Citizens Hospital, where it was found that her gallbladder > had ruptured. She was told that they almost lost her. Ms. DeLeon did > not file a lawsuit for criminal neglect because she was afraid that > she would be punished and lose her position as trustee in the jail. > > 2. Lacy Leyva > > Ms. Leyva had been arrested and jailed for one month. During that time > Ms. Leyva was suffering severe pain in her kidneys, but she was only > given ibuprofen every 8 hours for the pain. Pain and chills were a > steady diet for Ms. Leyva, but she was only given advice to lie down > and take ibuprofen. Finally, after one month, Ms. Leyva was discharged > and she went to the hospital and was immediately admitted for kidney > failure. After Ms. Leyva was discharged from the hospital, she got a > call from the jail on her cell phone saying, " Go to the hospital. We > believe your kidneys are failing. " > > 3. Shandra > > Ms. was picked up on a warrant even though her file stated > that Ms. should not be picked up because she was 6-7 months > pregnant and she had a very rare uterine condition. However, Ms. > was thrown in jail while pregnant, and her condition > worsened. She began bleeding, and the nurse was reluctant to believe > her and said, " show me your bloody pad. " So Ms. was subjected > to the humiliation of proving that she was really in pain and bleeding. > > Eventually, Ms. was put in isolation where she was removed > from contact with people, which Ms. hated. This was her first > child and she was very afraid since no medical staff was around. > Eventually, to keep her from complaining, Ms. was given Benadryl. > > When Ms. was finally returned to the cell, her water broke. > She was told that she was hallucinating, that her water hadn't broken. > Then the nurse told her that she shouldn't worry, she wouldn't have a > baby until a month later. Then they proceeded to put Ms. back > into isolation, even though she was frantic not to go where there was > no contact with people. Ms. was alarmed about the baby coming > early, especially since the nurse had expressed great disdain for even > performing a sonogram to determine the baby's condition. > > When Ms. became agitated about going into isolation, the > sergeant told her that she was going into isolation " the easy way or > the hard way, " and the hard way was being shocked with a taser gun. A > female guard was so alarmed that she grabbed Ms. ' stuff and > coaxed her to the isolation room. > > Sure enough, Ms. proceeded to go into labor without anyone > present and the baby was coming out breach! Worse still, the baby was > arriving while Ms. was on the toilet; so to get help Ms. > had to crawl approximately 60 feet to reach a button on the > wall. After three attempts to call and saying that she was in labor, a > female guard arrived. The baby was hanging with its feet first down > around Ms. ' knees. > > There was pandemonium followed by a rushed ride in the ambulance to > the hospital. The baby was dead and Ms. was handed the dead > child in a blanket. She was not told that the baby was dead, and she > only realized the fact when she saw on her own that the child was not > moving or breathing. No attempt was made to call her husband. When, > much later, he got word, he rushed to see his new baby. He was handed > the dead baby in a blanket. Ms. was not even allowed to > attend the baby's funeral. Later, Ms. said that you, Sheriff > O'Connor, called her into your office and told her that the > unfortunate incident was not your fault, but the fault of the jail > administration under the previous sheriff, Ratcliff. > > Given the long-term consequences and terrible suffering imposed on > these women, it is my hope that you will take this situation seriously > and give it the consideration it deserves. > > Cell window > > > Another complaint is that the only window within our cellblock is > either covered with a Venetian blind or plastered with paper. We never > know the time but are told that we are on `short time' and don't have > need of another. You would think that locking a person in a cinder > block cell for months on end for a trespassing misdemeanor is > sufficient punishment, but apparently not! I feel that the stress > levels of the inmates would be reduced with more visibility through > the window, and stress is a real problem here. > > Reading Material > > This might be a good time to point out a piece of paper plastered to > our window. It is a memorandum to all inmates that, henceforth, no > books bought from bookstores will be accepted. This is a jail where > the library consists of a single metal cart with about 30 dog-eared > romance novels. > > In this county jail, few diversions are allowed*I might even say > none*and perhaps that is one reason why these women inmates make roses > out of toilet paper and create their own stationery out of toothpaste > and map colors. I am a little reluctant to tell you this in the fear > that the guards will make a run on the roses and confiscate them as > " contraband. " > > What this jail administration hopes to accomplish by refusing reading > material to the inmates is beyond me. It seems counter-productive to > any form or rehabilitation and only exists to cruelly punish the jail > population. > > > > Access to High School equivalency program > > > > Since most of the inmates are very poor, young and from minority > groups, I was astonished to discover that while GED (high school > equivalency program) is offered, it is also used as punishment. A > 32-year-old woman in my cell who is struggling to better herself and > raise her nine-year-old child, had entered the GED program, but was > kicked out because she passed a note in class. This is merely one > instance I've heard. But I know for a fact that many inmates do not > have their GED. I wonder about the jail's reluctance to encourage the > inmates to pursue their GED. It is a well-known fact that a person > with a GED receives higher paying jobs than a person who doesn't, they > have more job satisfaction, and they are less likely to get in trouble > with the law in the future. Kicking a woman out of a GED class for > passing a note sounds totally counter-productive! > > > > Humiliating Treatment > > > > I realize that some of these grievances may mean nothing to you and > you may be thinking that the treatment meted out in Texas prisons is > nothing like the kind of abuse in Abu Ghraib in Iraq. That's true, for > what it's worth, but I want to inform you that I've read reliable > reports, and have experienced horrendous treatment myself. While I was > in the County jail in Houston for five days, I joined fellow > inmates stacked into cold holding tanks for hours and hours so that we > were forced to sleep on cement floors strewn with trash and waste from > backed-up toilets, while guards showed up at periodic intervals > yelling " Pigs! " We were eventually shuffled into rooms where we were > forced to strip our clothes and ordered to parade in our panties, then > spread-eagled on the wall. These were women, some picked up merely on > traffic violations, who hadn't even been produced in front of a judge > or seen a lawyer yet! Then 70 of us were packed into a 10- x 20-foot > holding cell for over an hour. A guard occasionally opened the door > and calls us " stupid bitches! " because the noise was loud. > > On December 10th, I was transferred to County jail, where I > was kept in a freezing holding tank for over six hours, then put into > the cell where I am currently housed, with only one thin mat to sleep > on a concrete floor. I was not given a blanket or sheet or any type of > hygiene kit because I was told there were none available. I never > received a blanket from the jail. After 3 days, an inmate who left the > cell gave me her blanket. Then too, after about three days, I received > a hygiene kit so I could finally brush my teeth and comb my hair. All > prior requests for a towel or toothbrush were met with " Drop a form. " > > In my experiences I consider myself relatively lucky, and because of > my activism I have supporters outside who have constantly supported me > by calling the jail and sending letters. > > Most inmates are not so fortunate. This letter is partly for them. It > is said that a civilization is judged by how it treats its weakest > members. It is my hope that you will recognize the seriousness of your > job and of the issues raised in this letter and respond accordingly. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > > > > > Diane > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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