Hungerstrike NewsSeptember 22, 2011No. 16 

Tortured SHU Prisoners Speak Out: Strike to Resume September 26

 Image by Pete Collins, imprisoned at Bath Prison, Ontario, Canada      For the past 10-40 years thousands of California prisoners have been confined in CDC-SHU units indefinitely based on status [E.G., a gang label – active gang classification, based on innocuous association activity, and allegations from confidential inmate informants] – wherein, they have been demonized as the worst-of-the-worst, in order to justify decades of human rights violations – including state sanctioned torture for the purpose of breaking the prisoners, and coercing them into becoming known informants for the state –thereby placing such prisoners, and their families in serious danger of retribution; as well as, the severe-permanent physical and psychological pain and suffering to these long term SHU prisoners and their families – directly related to CDCR-SHU policies and practices, all of which violate U.S. Constitutional, and international legal principles [as summarized in the prior formal complaint and 5-core demands available online].  As of September 2011, these SHU-prisoners continue to be subjected to CDCR’s torturous human rights violations, in spite of the July 2011 peaceful protest via hunger strike, wherein thousands of prisoners of all races/groups united in their effort to bring mainstream exposure and force an end to such barbarous policies and practices. [CDCR has responded with more propaganda, lies, and vague double talk promises of change in time].  SHU prisoners are dissatisfied with CDCR’s response to their formal complaint and (5) core demands, and therefore will continue to resist via peaceful protest indefinitely, until actual changes are implemented as summarized below.  

1. The Formal Complaint and Five (5) Core Demands

 Beginning Feb. 5, 2010, dozens of PBSP-SHU prisoners and their family members and friends began sending copies of the formal complaint to numerous law makers, CDCR Secretary Cate, and to many organizations. CDCR’s response was,..”file and inmate appeal.” In May 2011, the formal complaint, notice of hunger strike for July 01, 2011, and Five(5) core demands, were served on CDCR Sec. Cate, and Warden Lewis. There was no response…[notably, these documents were all posted on-line in March 2011]. 

2. The July 1st Hunger Strike and CDCR’s Response(s)

 The H.S. began on July 1st at PBSP-SHU, and quickly spread to other prisons- at one point more than 6,600 prisoners participated at thirteen (13) prisons across the state!   On July 14, 2011, CDCR Undersecretary Kernan spoke to the inmate representatives via phone conference, promising them that the (5) core demands would be addressed, with positive changes occurring over time. The reps asked Kerman to put details of the changes on paper for their review. On July 15, 2011, the reps received the documents provided by Kernan and determined the documents were not satisfactory because they were very vague and did not specify any changes of substance in relation to the (5) core demands.  On July 20th, Kernan and additional CDCR administrators met with the inmate reps in the PSB-SHU parole board hearing room. Kernan made more assurances about positive changes to SHU policies being in the works, and stated he would meet with the reps again in a couple of weeks in order to provide specifics as to each of the (5) core demands re: changes and progress made. As well as agreeing that, other than adding an extra day of visiting each week…the rest of the demands on (#5) re: programs/privileges, were reasonable and would be granted, as a show of good-faith on CDCR’s part.  All of the reps (14) then met and discussed the proposals from Kernan, and then decided to temporarily suspend the H.S., in order to give CDCR “a couple of weeks” grace period to keep their word on the (5) core demands [per Kernan’s request and assurances].  On August 19th, Kernan and other CDCR Administrators, met with the reps again, to follow up on the July 20th assurances re: specifically addressing the (5) core demands in detail.  Kernan did not have anything on paper to specifically address any of the (5) core demands. The meeting consisted of Kernan’s words – in very vague, general terms, about CDCR staff working to come up with some type of step down program for inmates to get out of SHU, which does not require debriefing- informant status- and Warden Lewis stating (SHU) inmates would soon be allowed to purchase sweat suits, and have the use of a handball on the yard.  All of the reps (14) then met and discussed the proposals from Kernan, and then decided to temporarily suspend the H.S., in order to give CDCR “a couple of weeks” grace period to keep their word on the (5) core demands [per Kernan’s request and assurances].  On August 19th, Kernan and other CDCR Administrators, met with the reps again, to follow up on the July 20th assurances re: specifically addressing the (5) core demands in detail.  Kernan did not have anything on paper to specifically address any of the (5) core demands. The meeting consisted of Kernan’s words – in very vague, general terms, about CDCR staff working to come up with some type of step down program for inmates to get out of SHU, which does not require debriefing- informant status- and Warden Lewis stating (SHU) inmates would soon be allowed to purchase sweat suits, and have the use of a handball on the yard.  The reps pointed out that Kernan’s verbal, vague presentation was not what was agreed to on July 20th. Kernan responded that “a step down” program will be operational by the end of this year, or early next year.”  The reps asked for specific details to be provided on paper to all SHU sections so all inmates can have something tangible in their hands. And Kernan eventually agreed to begin providing this documentation within (2) weeks. Instead, on Sept. 02, a memo dated Aug. 25th, entitled gang mg. proposal was only issued to the (4) principle reps; this document is again, extremely vague and general. It is not adequate nor acceptable!  On Aug. 23rd, Kernan appeared before the Calif. Assembly Public Safety Comm., to answer questions re: SHU policies and practices, that were exposed to the world via the H.S….according to the transcript of this Aug. 23rd hearing, Kernan was very vague, general, non-responsive, and focused on propagating CDCR’s out right lies about PBSP SHU policies, and the inmates subject to the torture therein – examples are;a. “The courts have found PBSP-SHU policies meet constitutional standards.” [This is false- see e.g.,Madrid v. Gomez 889 F. Sup. 1146, at 1270, fn 217; see also, Griffin v. Gomez; Lira v. Cate, [cases cited in formal complaint!]. And, Chambers v. Florida, 309, U.S. 227, at 237-328 [1940].b. “SHU houses (3,000) gang generals, who spend 24/7 engaging in gang-activity which threatens prison and public safety; and, we need to isolate them in harsh conditions, to prevent them from ordering other inmates to kill staff on sight,” etc, etc, etc. [This is also false, There are no rule violation reports/or criminal charges to support this claim!]  c. When asked directly by the Assembly if “debriefing places the inmate and his family in danger?” Kernan failed to answer! Notably Kernan stated that one certainty is CDCR’s plan to expand the number of prisoners subject to solitary confinement torture, by applying the policies and practices currently reserved for some suspected gang affiliates, to encompass all inmates categorized as party to any type of “disruptive group”[1] [e.g., the tens of thousands of street gang affiliates in CDCR prisons]; as well as, CDCR’s intent to continue to rely on information from “debriefing” inmates, to keep other inmates in SHU indefinitely!!  On Aug. 31st, PBSP-SHU staff issued (4) memos, addressing the allowance of the following; handballs on the yard; ability to purchase sweat suits; and, with (1) year free of disciplinary action and committee approval, the ability to get a yearly photo taken and purchase art pens and drawing paper from the prison canteen. [While said memos were being passed out, a Sgt. Was loudly telling staff to start writing up all prisoner’s for any type of reason they can think of, in order to prevent prisoners from getting their newly won privileges!] 

3. SHU Prisoner’s Dissatisfaction with CDCR’s Response to the Formal Complaint and Five (5) Core Demands;

 PBSP-SHU inmates have considered all facts and circumstances, summarized above, and remain united in our dissatisfaction with CDCR’s lack of specific substantive action on our (5) core demands. Our dissatisfactions are summarized below;  d. Re: Core Demands #1-3 Our problem with CDCR’s response to core demands #1, 2, and 3 is this…  #1. We remain in (SHU) indefinitely, deprived of our basic human rights – based on illegal policies and practices, that amount to torture; torture of us, as well as our family members and loved ones on the outside. CDCR remains in denial, and continues to propagate the lies re: “worst-of-the-worst” 3000 gang generals, etc. – in order to dehumanize/demonize us, so as to maintain the status quo, and “continue to hammer us” [per Sec. Cate’s press statement earlier this year], and subject us to “harsh” conditions [per Kernan’s Aug. 23rd testimony]. These terms “hammer” and “harsh” conditions, are used in place of the word torture – and the fact is, CDCR’s intent is to break us down, and coerce us into becoming state informants! A violation of international treaty law-period!! This is not acceptable!  CDCR has failed to produce any documentation re: details of how their so called “step-down” program will work, who it will apply to, exceptions-exclusions etc.; and our problem is,…”step down” from what”? When someone has been in (SHU) deprived of normal human contact- especially the lack of any physical contact with family/loved ones, for 10-40 years [based on a “label” without being charged and found guilty of illegal gang activity]; yet CDCR is dragging it out, coming with nothing but words, and vague “proposals,”…which indicate we will have to remain in (SHU), jumping thru a bunch of CDCR’s security hoops, to advance through “steps”…inspite of (3 to 25+) years free of any serious rule violations!  Plus, we’re certain that CDCR Administrators have no intention of ever giving most of us in PBSP short corridor, any real chance for general population!  #2. CDCR has made clear that one certainty is, their plan to substantially expand on the use of “solitary confinement”, via targeting all prisoners deemed “disruptive groups” [security threat groups], which is defined as: “2 or more inmates who are collectively deemed to be a security threat” – e.g., all street gang affiliates, prisoners deemed political-revolutionary etc, etc, etc. [see also; CCR Title 15; sec. 3000 “Disruptive Behavior”] which with CDCR’s history of abuse of policies re:”prison gangs” in solitary confinement, it’s clear, things will get worse, not better. This new policy is a way CDCR plans to maintain their staff and funding status quo, in response to the Plata order to reduce prison population – it costs nearly double to house prisoners in solitary confinement!  Our position is, CDCR’s “plans” to date, are not acceptable, and are another example of their intent to maintain, and expand on, “solitary confinement;” and demonstrate a failure of the entire CDCR management to make positive reforms! And, all long term (SHU) inmates should be released to general populations!! ASAP!!  #3. Also, the medical care problems re: core demand #3, have not been resolved!! All PBSP-SHU inmates suffering from chronic disease, and denied adequate care at PBSP, due to deliberate indifference, and efforts to coerce them to debrief..should all be transferred to New Folsom Medical SHU, while waiting to be released to general populations!!  e. Re: Core Demand #4 This issue concerns our poor diet, small portions – all watered down, dirty trays, etc… and has not been fixed- in fact, its gotten worse since we came off the hunger strike on July 20th!! This lack of adequate nutritional food/vitamins causes all of us to lack energy and harms our mental/physical health – which greatly increases medical care costs! Plus, our lack of sunlight, and related lack of vitamin D, is a problem too..we need better food and portions, clean trays, and ability to purchase healthy food items and nutritional supplements ASAP!!  c. Re: Core Demand #5 There remains a problem with many of our program/privilege examples listed on demand #5, not being implemented [e.g., phone calls, canteen and package issues; T.V./Radio – channels; extra visiting time- what about the ability to get photos in visiting room, wherein c/o takes picture of inmate and visitors thru the glass?]. And, the ones that have been implemented in PBSP-SHU, have been done in a way that it makes it real hard for most inmates to get a photo, or art pens/drawing paper, because the warden has state via memos, that inmates have to have (1) year free of discipline, and they must first “have to go to committee to get approved” [Kearnan’s Aug. 29h memo to all SHU Wardens does notsay inmates “need to go to committee” for these.  And, having to get sweat suits in yearly packages, equals another 40-50 ounces of weight, which meansless food items! This weight for non-food items takes a lot out of food amount; then, you add all the packaging [e.g. box, etc.], and we will end up with very little food items in our packages [e.g. packaging (50-ounces), tennis shoes (50-ounces), sweat pants, shirt, shorts (40 ounces), thermals (18-20 ounces), equals 158 ounces of a max weight of 480 ounces!] An easy fix for these non-food items, is that PBSP can return to their old policy of allowing us to purchase all “non-food” items, thru special purchase, just like we continue to do when ordering books and periodicals…  In closing, to all SHU-prisoners and all our outside supporters,[2] we wanted to let you know [as you can see from this], that this is far from over..and once again, hopefully for the last time, we will be risking our lives via a peaceful hunger strike on Sept 26, 2011 to force positive changes. Thus, we stillneed your support to contact the governor, etc, to force CDCR to make fair and reasonable changes to their policies, and indicated here. Thank you.  Respectfully and in Solidarity, From all PBSP SHU H.S. Reps.
        

Call Out for Letters from SHU Prisoners

Please forward to friends and family of SHU prisoners.

With the hungerstrike in Pelican Bay SHU about to resume, this month's 'Without Walls' will be specially focused on Security Housing Units.  We want the voices of people inside SHU to be heard, something which is systematically denied by prison.  'Without Walls' is a monthly program on Hard Knock Radio, 94.1 FM KPFA's daily drivetime Hip Hop Talk Show.

This month's program will be made up of extracts from  letters which have been sent by people in SHU- many of which have not been seen or heard.  Several hungerstrikers have expressed that they would like their letters to be published or used to raise awareness.  If you have letters from a family member or friend inside SHU which they would like to be broadcast on the radio please contact us.  Since SHU prisoners are prevented from speaking publicly we want this to be an opportunity for family and friends of our people inside to read their words. 

With the strike about to resume we hope this program will raise awareness about the reality of SHU and the current struggle, and amplify the voices of people most affected. 

For more information or to arrange to record your letter you can email georgehblavender@gmail.com.  Recordings of letter readings may be possible in person or by phone.  If you have access to recording equipment you can also email an MP3.  Please contact us with any suggestions or questions or for technical information about how to send your recording.  The show will be broadcast at the end of the month so all recordings will need to be done by 9/25. While we will try to include as many letters as possible it may not be possible to include everyone's letters in this program. Recent Media Coverage

• Prisoner at Pelican Bay State Prison died Friday; Sheriff's logs state he was found hangingby Megan Hansen, Eureka Times-Standard September 22 2011
• No Real Change, Hunger Strike Continuesby MIM(Prisons), Indybay September 20th, 2011
• California Prison Hunger Strikes to Resumeby Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report, September 20 2011
• Are Gang Members Special? From the California Supreme Court to Pelican BayCalifornia Correctional Crisis, September 20, 2011
• The Truth About Solitary Confinement in Californiaby Sal Rodriguez, Solitary Watch September 22, 2011
• California Teachers Union Letter of Support for Educational Programming in Solitary Confinementby Sal Rodriguez, Solitary Watch September 17 2011
• California SHU Inmates to Resume Hunger Strike September 26thby Sal Rodriguez, Solitary Watch September 15 2011
• “Where Punishment Becomes Torture”: Testimony of Dorsey Nunn on Solitary ConfinementStatement of Dorsey Nunn at Hearing of California Assembly Public Safety Committee, August 23, 2011
• Hunger Strike to Resume September 26—Support the Just Demands of the Pelican Bay PrisonersRevolution #246, September 25, 2011
• Behind Concrete and Barbed Wire (Part 2): Testimony of Torture in California SHUsRevolution Online, September 15, 2011
• From Attica to Pelican Bay – Tear down the walls!Editorial, Workers World September 7, 2011
• From Attica to Pelican BayBy Michael Ratner, The Nation September 12 2011
• Hunger strikes at California prison renew debate over confining prison gangsBy Matt O'Brien, Contra Costa Times September 18 2011
• A tale of 2 inmates in California's Security Housing Unitsby Michael Montgomery, California Watch September 15, 2011
• Hidden Behind Concrete and Barbed Wire: Hearings Expose Torture in California's SHUsRevolution #245, September 11, 2011

    Needless to say, a link to an article does not imply endorsement.  Click here for complete list of links to news articles since July 1.                 Upcoming Events   In the US: California Los AngelesMonday, September 26 3pm sharp: Protest at Obama Fundraiser!  Wear Orange ! West Hollywood House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd (Sunset Blvd. & N. Olive Drive ) West Hollywood, CA. Phone 213-840-5348 for information SacramentoWednesday, October 5th, 12pm-2pm: Rally! at CDCR, 1515 S St, Sacramento. San FranciscoMonday, September 26, 3:30 - 5:30pm: 1st annual Social Justice Panel Series, Hastings Louis B. Mayer Lounge, 198 McAllister St., SF. Speakers to include legal professionals, leading activists, former inmates, and family members of SHU prisoners. Thursday, September 29, 5-7 p.m.: Vigil at 14th & Broadway, Oakland. Thursday, October 6, 5-7 p.m.: Vigil at UN Plaza, SF. Saturday October 8th from 12:00 to 3:30 p.m: social gathering and potlock with Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition members, local activists, friends and family members of incarcerated loved ones in California prisons, to meet and socialized. Come and join us and share your favorite treat with us. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster Street, Oakland, CA. Thursday, October 13, 5-7 p.m.: Vigil at 24th  & Mission, SF. Thursday, October 20, 5-7 p.m.: Vigil at Fruitvale BART, Oakland.  In Canada: MontrealMonday, September 26 at 7pm: Info night in support of second California prisoners' hunger strike. At DIRA, 2035 boulevard Saint-Laurent, metro St. Laurent (Montreal). TorontoSunday, September 25 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm: Toronto Anarchist Black Cross letter-writing night to support California prisoners about to go on hunger strike. A vegan dinner will be provided, courtesy of Food Not Bombs. At Beit Zatoun,  612 Markham Street Toronto, Ontario.  This list is of upcoming events we know of. If you are organizing an event in your area, let us know!    Hungerstrike News can be reached at hstrikenews@yahoo.ca
Unsubscribe / Change Profile Throughout the month of July, 2011, thousands of prisoners across California participated in a hunger strike against torturous conditions at Pelican Bay State Prison's Security Housing Unit. Hungerstrike News documented their struggle and the actions of those who stood in solidarity with them. Word has come from prisoner representatives in the SHU that the hungerstrike is set to resume on September 26, as the Five Demands have still not been met. As we enter this new period, Hungerstrike News will continue to support the prisoners and report on their struggle.POSTERS TO SUPPORT
THE FIVE DEMANDS  The World Can’t Wait has designed six 11x17 posters to call attention to the  Five Demands; these can be downloaded from http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/july1/wcw_posters.php. Redwood Curtain CopWatch has reformatted these as letter size posters, and made them available online at http://www.box.net/shared/9sgsajomizdojm1hm8mnFor an overview of the July hungerstrike, see:"Hungerstrike Recap: California Prisoners Showed the Way" by K. Kersplebedeb, San Francisco Bay View, September 14, 2011.MAKE CALLS AND
WRITE LETTERS OF PROTEST TO: Secretary Matthew Cate
CDCR1515 S StreetSacramento95814
TEL: (916) 323-6001 Governor Jerry Brown
State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814TEL: (916) 445-2841 CDCR Public Affairs Office: (916)445-4950 & DON'T FORGET TO SIGN THE PETITION AT CHANGE.ORG!GET SUBSCRIBERS If you have a website or blog and would like to help promote Hungerstrike News, get in touch. To subscribe, send an email to hstrikenews@yahoo.ca or go to:http://www.kersplebedeb.com/hungerstrikenews.php FOR PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS CLICK HERE SOCIAL MEDIAfollow Hungerstrike News on twitter:
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