| May 7, 2004, U.N.I.O.N. Newsletter
I stood before this evil Senator Peter Knight and begged for mercy
and humanity for so many lives at Lancaster prison and other prisons.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/9195189p-10120578c.html
Legislative aides to state Sen. William "Pete" Knight said Wednesday that the Palmdale Republican may be unable to return to the Senate before his November retirement.Knight, who led the statewide effort to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples, has been hospitalized with acute myelogenous leukemia since mid-April.Knight, 74, is unable to seek re-election to the Senate this year due to term limits. Knight was mayor of Palmdale and in the Assembly before he was elected to the Senate in 1996.Whether he returns to the Senate depends on the course of action chosen by Knight and his doctors, said David Orosco, a Capitol spokesman for Knight.
March 15, 2004 I waited a few days for the Los Angeles Times to write this story, but all it was amounted to a couple of paragraphs. Toua Harrison won't be able to attend his wife Vernicia's, funeral but he was with her when she died in the visiting room on Lancaster's A yard in front of his eleven year old daughter. Of course there are two versions, there always are when prison guards and the inmates tell their stories. But this time it was different, the public saw what happened. Several of them were interviewed for this report and no conflicts in their statements were made. It all occurred in California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster on Saturday March 6th. A Mother and 11 year old daughter were visiting her husband (father) on "A" Yard (the honor yard) Visiting. The room was packed with more than 40 families, possibly a total of 130 people. As usual, the air conditioning was not working very well. A woman had just returned from the vending machines which dispense food for lunch or snacks. She collapsed on the floor. By pure chance a nurse and a paramedic were also visiting and went to her assistance immediately. The guard sounded the alarm which in minutes brought twenty or so guards rushing into the room. The story the prison gave versus the visitors immediately changes from this point on. Many visitors claim the collapse occurred at about 11 AM but the prison claims it was 11:15. The MTAs (guards with some medical training) arrived and tried to separate the nurse and paramedic from the victim and tried to sit her up claiming that she had only passed out. One visitor observed she has lost her water, a sign that the event was very serious and not just a faint. The nurse would not move and began resuscitating again. The MTAs stood by unable to help. The paramedic calmly requested oxygen and a defibrilator be brought. There was no defibrilator and the first oxygen bottle was empty an second was obtained. The paramedic was heard to say, "Is this all you have?" Valuable time and maybe a life was being lost. Most of the guards continued to stand around and the families watched in horror. There is a medical facility at the prison but no staff work on the weekend. There is also an ambulance on the grounds but it never came. Some even claimed it didn't work but with only MTAs and no medical professionals there was little the available staff could do. The local hospital was called at some point. The visitors claim no ambulance arrived until 45 minutes after the collapse. The prison claims less than 15. The visitors claim it wasn't until 12 noon that she was removed one hour later. She was pronounced dead at the hospital but since a doctor must make the determination she may have been dead, as one guard insensitively said in the room with her daughter present and frightened, "...when she hit the floor." The question of the timing of these events might be resolved if the
camera located in visiting to monitor behavior by the guards recorded the
incident as it should have. Unfortunately these tapes seem to mysteriously
disappear, but if it was an inmate cuddling his wife too closely, it would
The questions raised by this incident are serious. With more than 5,000 people at the facility, why isn't medical staff help available? Why is the alert for a medical problem identical to that for a prison riot? Why is there no defibrillator? If this is how visitors are treated, what must the inmates face? The amount of money the state spends on prisons is more than adequate to take care of medical needs. Why did the California Department of Corrections have to be sued for millions a few years ago to provide such care and then apparently ignore the settlement? It might be possible to hide the deaths inmates dying of medical neglect, but when it begins happening to family members on a weekend visit, it is time for CDC to start living up to its own rules and promises. Is this the first time that visitor has died due to the lack of medical personnel, staff and equipment at prisons. NO! HELL NO! Please read the account of the death of visitor Jack Kryder on the same day Stephanie Hardie was allowed to die of medical neglect that I wrote in 2000 here. http://www.geocities.com/1union1/advice12.htm How many of the inmate families who witnessed this unbearable incompetence and gruesome death will organize to end medical neglect? I went before the senate over Jack Kryder's death. I made big noise to the press. Yes, a 124,000,000 lawsuit was won, but why the hell didn't it make conditions any better? Almost every airplane has defibrillators but prisons holding 3,000 to 5,000 people do not have them, what the hell is going on here? If inmate families don't care enough to organize to elect people to office who are going to treat people as humans, then we must take what the law enforcement voting groups give to us. Which is sheer hell on earth. How many DOA's are pronounced at the hospital instead of at the prison? B. Cayenne Bird
February 15, 2003 Dear Cayenne: The word is that Lancaster was criticized for the number of 602s that were outstanding (about 700 or more). So they put someone in charge to "expedite" the process. Instead of "expediting" he (along with other guards refusing to accept the documents) became the "first line of defence" and instead of directing the 602 through the system has effectively emasculated the system. Hey, if there is no 602, there's no problem. Bob
October 23, 2002 Inmate Kevin Woosley, Lancaster is dead from a neglected bladder infection it appears. I appeal to UNION families to furnish all information on conditions at Lancaster, specifically in this case of Woosley if possible. Some families have already stepped forward with information. We know there is retribution, the MAC chairman at Lancaster has been literally tortured in the hole there and denied visits for fear these details will leak out to the press. My own son suffers with intense psychological intimidation on a daily basis. We will not be broken, we will get the news to the media. CDC is denying all responsibility which is their usual mode of operation. The UNION is everywhere, let us focus on this one case right now and make incredible noise over the cruelty of lockdowns, medical neglect which is even worse during lockdowns and fully support this investigation of the Los Angeles Times. We know we have these problems statewide but for the purposes of this case, let us focus in right away. All people with family members in Lancaster should send me your phone
number right away. Retribution is real and we'll try and keep everyone
except the UNION name out of the spotlight,
Who will picket in Sacramento so that we can embarrass Davis with the truths of his great inhumanity to make the point that families of prisoners are not to ignorant to organize and fight back? Lives are at stake and the clock is ticking. I need 100 volunteers to make phone calls and write emails so that we can show our numbers right now. Who will be the next to die as this destruction continues at all prisons statewide on a daily basis? What are you doing about it? Who will phone, write, picket? Email me right away and let us alert all Lancaster families to respond right away to the LA Times investigation. B. Cayenne Bird
Cayenne, Didn't the Director say at his confirmation hearing that when one yard gets lockdown that it doesn't effect the other yards, yet , what happened at Lancaster in AUGUST has effected the whole prison except level 1. C. Yard 5 block had all signed a petition and sent it to the Inspector General. The petition was about the lockdown, the food, the medical. 5 block will be lucky if they get a shower once a week, the cops are so lazy they don't collect the trash. My husband wrote me and said that administration is threatening to put the whole block on C status because they are starting to fight back about the way they are being treated, and sensitive needs inmates get treated worse that other inmates. On searches that they have been doing, the CO's are taking everything, mail, magazines, if they can't find contraband they take personal items. Food isn't cooked, and its worse on C-Yard than the other 3 yards, if it is cooked, it has other things in it feces, chemicals etc. and smaller portions than the other yards. When my husabdn was in the whole, he was saying how much better the food was. I sent my husbands cellie a package back in August, he still hasn't received it, all packages and special purchases are sitting on the yard. I have been out of the loop for a little while, I get bits and pieces through letters of what's going on there. I had my visits suspended for 30 days, I should be going back real soon, as soon as I get re-approved. They are housing level 3 inmates in the gym on C Yard. Doesn't the Title 15 say inmates aren't to be held in a facility that doesn't meet their security needs. They sure as hell wouldn't put a level 4 inmate on a 3 yard. Anything else you want to know just ask. This is just a brief overview. Michelle
I have been told his bladder infections occurred regularly and it was common knowledge. The disturbing fact is that "critical" workers were let out of their cells during the "emergency" to do their chores, so while it was important enough to keep functions going, it was to dangerous to provide health care. During the first days of the shutdown the cells were trashed and the men sitting handcuffed in the yard. The CDC policy says the Inmate should be present and witness their personal possessions being searched. this was ignored because they use the cute trick of calling an emergency. One man suffered a dislocated shoulder during the time they were cuffed. Bob
Cayenne, Regarding lockdowns, I don't have the exact dates for lockdown for C Yard at Lancaster. they just got off lockdown on April 10th I think, they were on Lockdown for at least a month because D Yard suppossibly had a cell phone. Last July when a cell phone was found on B yard, the whole institution was on Lockdown for at least 2 months so the cops could go search every yard. My husband said that in the past year that we have been at Lancaster he had been on lockdown 90% of the time. Michelle
Lancaster Yesterday I was in "A" Yard and one of the inmates who works
in the Program Office said he saw his CO Supervisor's payroll check which
he had left on his desk. It read under "Year to Date" $44,000. It is only
mid-May. There has been a notice on the bulletin board for months stating
that funds for the visiting rooms; toys, games, books, playing cards have
been eliminated due to "budget constraints", of course donations would
be accepted. The budget for CSP-LAC is nearing $100,000,000. I'm sure the
few hundred bucks will pay for a few minutes of overtime the COs need.
Bob
Lancaster is on lockdown 90% of the time according to UNION families
who do not know one another. High Desert, Pelican Bay have been locked
down the majority of the time for 2.5 years. The cell phone incident took
place when the son of a good friend, Shari Holland, whom I met in Detention
Ministry, was using a video camera to record some of the conditions inside.
he got a camera smuggled in and somewhere there is a tape. It seems the
FBI is also involved, but no one knows what is going on. The cell
phones were supposedly found during the lock-down and search. The rumor
was that several staff were involved in supplying the contraband. The shut-down
had the whole institution down. She also has a web site telling the story.
Bob
May 29, 2002 Another nightmare at Lancaster....MAC Chairman suffering severe retribution for standing up for inmates. Cayenne, My husband has yet to get his 115 and my husband tells me that there are other inmates back in ad-seg who have gone weeks and months without a 115... (one Inmate has been there 52 weeks) The longer my husband is back there the harder it will be for him to get back out to C Yard (Sensitive Needs), we didnt choose to go to Lancaster, it was the only place we could go when they forced to him to go into the sensitive needs program because of other inmates putting him down as an enemy.... I am sending an complaint to Internal Affairs Tuesday... Lancaster is also holding up our mail, I sent stamps, envelopes, paper and a money order on May 11th and he still hasn't received it....Lancaster has gotten away with to much for to long and I am fed up!!! Michelle Dear Michelle: I'd like to hear from the family of the inmate held for
52 weeks in isolation without a 115 write up. Your complaint has
been taken not only to the highest levels of CDC and the legislature and
you should be hearing soon. I realize how difficult it is to do anything
else in this time of extreme stress, but building our picket team at Lancaster
even higher is very important if we are to bring adequate news coverage
to this horrible mismanagement and perpetual lockdowns there. I know you
are working with churches on the Amend 3X in the Lancaster/Palmdale area
and we thank you very much. We're fighting for you and will continue
to do so. MAC is a suicide position, it is much better for the families
to do the fighting with their votes on the outside. Cayenne
September 9, 2002 Dear Cayenne: The lock-down at Lancaster continues. Interesting that the authorities now seem to be saying that only the D Yard is really under lock-down. The others don't have any program and are in their cells all day, now get this, because they need extra personnel to control D Yard. They even had the 200 level I down for a week and they are outside the Level IV perimeter. In the last week all the Yards were ransacked. Cells were torn up, wooden clothes hooks snapped off the walls (they are sold in the canteen and the indigent make their own out of popsicle sticks). TVs, typewriters, CD players have been damaged to the glee of the COs. Personal items have been taken. The Title 15 requirement to have the inmate witness searches was ignored and the men were handcuffed behind their backs and required to sit outside in the sun for hours while the search was conducted. One man suffered a dislocated shoulder. This is what occurred on the "Honor Yard". To top it off the inmates are being handcuffed to walk over on the visiting days. Its pretty obvious some elements in the prison authority want revenge for the fight on D Yard a few weeks ago. Two other things might be considered also. One is the Davis has decreed
there will be no problems in the prisons that would reflect badly on his
re-election bid. The other is the deliberate provoking of the inmates,
especially on an honor yard to promote the agenda of the COs. More staff,
more overtime, pay raises. It is interesting that there is a new warden
PLEASE HELP THE INMATES AT CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON IN LANCASTER! THEY ARE STARVING AND THEY ARE BEING DENIED THEIR QUARTERLY FOOD PACKAGES AS WELL AS CANTEEN PRIVILEGES. JUST LAST WEEK MANY OF THEM WERE SICKENED IN C-GYM FOR EATING SAUSAGE THAT WAS NOT EVEN COOKED BUT SOME ATE IT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO VERY HUNGRY. LAST WEEK THEY HAD A LOCKDOWN DUE TO THE FACT THEY HAD A MISS COUNT OF INMATES. I PHONED AND TALKED TO AN ANTELOPE PRESS EDITOR BY THE NAME OF PEGGY STEEL. HONESTLY I FELT SHE DID NOT CARE. PLEASE HELP ME. MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN ABUSED PHYSICALLY MENTALLY AND NOW HE'S BEING STARVED. I MYSELF AND MY HUSBAND ARE WILLING TO TALK WITH ANY REPORTER OR POLITICIAN WHO NEEDS INSIGHT AND INFORMATION. THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH THE COMPASSION TO HELP OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. THERE ARE TRULY INNOCENT MEN SUCH AS MY HUSBAND WHO ARE IMPRISONED FOR CRIMES THEY DID NOT COMMIT. I HOPE NO ONE ELSE HAS TO PLED FOR HELP AS I HAVE DONE. I'VE FAXED BARBARA BOXER, GRAY DAVIS, ATTY. GENERAL, STATE REPS AND OTHER PEOPLE INCLUDING THE JUSTICE DEPT. EACH TIME I WAS REFERRED TO AN AGENCY I HAD JUST COMMUNICATED WITH. I PLAN TO WRITE A BOOK REGARDING MY EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OR I SHOULD SAY INJUSTICE 
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hidesert11dec11.story Desert Hospital Still Struggling, County Reports
December 11 2002 High Desert Hospital has been unable to meet its financial goals halfway through a six-month effort designed to prevent the county-run facility from being downgraded to an outpatient clinic, according to a new report. Facing a countywide budget crunch, the county Board of Supervisors voted in August to eliminate the hospital's inpatient services -- treatment for serious problems that require a stay of more than 24 hours. Since then, the 75-bed Lancaster hospital has tried to make up for the $10 million in yearly cuts by contracting out beds to private medical groups, other hospitals and the state Department of Corrections, which runs the nearby state prison in Lancaster. The report was issued Dec. 5 by Thomas Garthwaite, director of the county Department of Health Services. It found that the facility is struggling to attract needed revenue from private medical groups and has been unable to reach an agreement with the Corrections Department. Hospital officials could not be reached Tuesday for comment. But Norm Hickling, a field deputy for county Supervisor Michael Antonovich, said the report held out hope that the hospital could reach its goals by the time the experiment ends in February. "It's going slower than we hoped, but this actually shows good signs of progress," said Hickling, a former health-care executive and a member of the advisory board that crafted the hospital's plan. "I think in a lot of ways it's a brand new way of working. It's the private sector understanding the needs of the county and the county understanding the needs of the private sector," he said. Hospital officials hoped contracts with private medical groups would bring in $4 million yearly, or $333,000 per month over the course of the program. But the hospital brought in only a little more than $100,000 in September and again in October, the report said. Statistics for November were not available when the report was written, Hickling said. The hospital also seeks to earn $5.6 million a year by treating inmates. A separate wing would treat as many as 50 inmates at a time from the high-security prison, Hickling said. But the report said the offer from the Corrections Department was "less than the amount required to offset the cost of operating the beds." Corrections officials also want all but the most serious medical problems to be treated within prison walls. "It's a question of cost, and a question of safety and security," corrections spokesman Russ Heimerich said. Antelope Valley officials who have been trying to save the hospital are concerned about the effect of the cutbacks on an estimated 25% of Antelope Valley residents lacking health insurance. High Desert offered such patients free or nearly free hospital care. Officials are also concerned about dwindling health-care choices in
the fast-growing but geographically isolated suburbs. The area's population
grew by about 27%, to 318,000, in the last decade when two of the area's
five hospitals closed.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/12/23/state0725EST0024.DTL Lancaster prison officials ban popular prison wine Monday, December 23, 2002
URL:
(12-23) 04:25 PST LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) -- Officials at one state prison are hoping to make a crude cellblock wine as rare as a 1945 Chateau Latour Bordeaux. Prisoners make the wine, known as pruno, from a variety of haphazard ingredients that could include moldy peaches and even ketchup. But pruno also has been blamed for violence at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County. As a result, officials decided in October to remove all fresh fruit from boxed lunches, which are delivered daily to the cells of its 4,000 inmates. "With a lot of our serious incidents, the inmates are drunk," said Lt. Ron Nipper, a prison spokesman. "We've got to put a serious damper on making alcohol." In the first nine months of the year, there were 102 assaults on staff and 122 inmate-on-inmate violent incidents reported at the prison, which sits in the Mojave Desert about 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Prison officials acknowledged it will be difficult to stop pruno production entirely. The basic recipes are simple and require only a rudimentary knowledge of the fermentation process, in which sugars are broken down into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide in the presence of yeast. Prisoners will still receive fruit during breakfast and dinner, which are both served in cafeterias. Under state guidelines, prisoners must receive 15 servings of fresh fruit each week. Corrections officials are considering whether to implement the fresh fruit lunch ban statewide. Prisons already are prohibited from serving three popular pruno ingredients: oranges, raisins and sugar packets. But a state report has found creative prisoners can make pruno from yams, flavored gelatin, honey and hard candies. Frustrated prison officials said they can't ban everything. "Some institutions have tried, and they've found that about the only thing they can serve is meat," said Russ Heimerich, a California Department of Corrections spokesman. "You can make (pruno) out of ketchup. Some inmates were even using the frosting off of cakes. It's pretty much an unwinnable battle." ©2002 Associated Press
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