FIVE CORE DEMANDS
(Five Core Demands pdf HERE)
Indeterminate – SHU – prisoners (plaintiffs) respectfully request/demand the following Five (5) core issues be granted:
1. INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY:
This is in response to CDCR – PBSP’s application of “Group Punishment” as a means to address individual inmate’s rule violations. This includes the administration’s abusive – pretextual use of “Safety and Security” to justify what are unnecessary punitive acts, and it has been applied in the context of justifying Indefinite SHU -status, and to progressively restrict our programming and privileges.
2. ABOLISH THE DEBRIEFING POLICY, AND MODIFY ACTlVE/INACTlVE GANG STATUS CRITERIA:
The debriefing policy is illegal and redundant, as pointed out in the Formal complaint … The active/inactive gang status criteria must be modified in order to comply with state law and applicable CDCR-rules and regulations as follows; (a) cease the use of innocuous association to deny inactive status; (b) cease the use of informant/debriefer allegations of illegal gang activity to deny inactive status – unless such allegations are also supported by factual corroborating evidence – in which case, CDCR – PBSP staff shall and must follow the regulations by issuing a rule violation report and afford the inmate his due process required by law.
3. COMPLY WITH U.S. COMMISSION’S 2006 RECOMMENDATIONS RE: AN END TO LONG TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:
CDCR shall implement the finding and recommendations of the U.S. Commission of Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons Final 2006 report, regarding CDCR – SHU – Facilities as follows:
(a) END CONDITIONS OF ISOLATION (p.14), ensure that prisoners in (SHU) and (Ad/Seg.), have regular – meaningful contact, and freedom from extreme physical deprivations that are known to cause lasting harm (PP 52 – 57);
(b) MAKE SEGREGATION A LAST RESORT(p.14) create a more productive form of confinement, in the areas of allowing inmates in (SHU) and (Ad/Seg.) the opportunity to engage in meaningful self-help treatment, work, education, religious, and other productive activities relating to having a sense of being a part of the community;
(c) END LONG TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, and release inmates to the general prison population, who have been warehoused indefinitely in (SHU) for the last Ten (10) to Forty (40) years, and counting;
(d) PROVIDE (SHU) INMATES IMMEDIATE – MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO: adequate natural sunlight; quality health care and treatment – including the mandate of transferring all PBSP-SHU inmates with chronic health care problems, to the new Folsom Medical SHU – Facility.
4. PROVIDE ADEQUATE FOOD:
Cease the practice of denying adequate food, and provide wholesome nutritional meals – including special – diet – meals, and allow inmates to purchase additional vitamin supplements.
Also;
(a) PBSP -Staff must cease their use of food as a tool to punish (SHU) inmates;
(b) Provide a sergeant/lieutenant to independently observe the serving of each meal, and ensure each tray has the complete issue of food on it;
(c) Feed the inmates whose job it is to serve (SHU) meals, with meals that are separate from the pans of food sent from kitchens for (SHU) meals.
5. EXPAND AND PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAMMING AND PRIVILEGES FOR INDEFINITE (SHU) STATUS INMATES:
Examples are:
(a) Expand visiting re: amount of time and adding One (1) day per week;
(b) One photo per year:
(c) Allow a weekly phone call;
(d) Two (2) annual property packages per year – (30) lbs packages based on “item” weight, and not packaging and box weight:
(e) Expand canteen and package items allowed; allow us to have the items in their original packaging (and, the costs for cosmetics, stationary – envelopes – should not count towards the max draw limit);
(f) More T.V. channels;
(g) T.V./Radio combinations, or T.V. and a small battery-operated radio;
(h) Hobby craft items – art paper, colored pens small pieces of colored pencils, water colors, chalk, etc;
(i) Sweat suits and watch-caps:
(j) Wall calenders;
(k) Install Pull-up and Dip-Bars on (SHU) yards;
(L) Allow correspondence courses – that require proctored exams.
NOTE: the above examples of programs and privileges are all similar to what is allowed in other Supermax Prisons (e.g. Federal prison in Florence Colorado and Ohio), which supports the SHU – prisoners’ position that CDCR – PBSP -staff claims that such are a threat to safety and security are exaggerations.
**Signed by
Todd Ashker
Arturo Castellanos
Sitawa N. Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry)
George Franco
Antonio Guillen
Lewis Powell
Paul Redd
Alfred Sandoval
Danny Troxell
James Williamson
Ronnie Yandell
…and all other similarly situated prisoners
Date: April 3, 2011
/span>(Five Core Demands pdf HERE)
Indeterminate – SHU – prisoners (plaintiffs) respectfully request/demand the following Five (5) core issues be granted:
1. INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY:
This is in response to CDCR – PBSP’s application of “Group Punishment” as a means to address individual inmate’s rule violations. This includes the administration’s abusive – pretextual use of “Safety and Security” to justify what are unnecessary punitive acts, and it has been applied in the context of justifying Indefinite SHU -status, and to progressively restrict our programming and privileges.
2. ABOLISH THE DEBRIEFING POLICY, AND MODIFY ACTlVE/INACTlVE GANG STATUS CRITERIA:
The debriefing policy is illegal and redundant, as pointed out in the Formal complaint … The active/inactive gang status criteria must be modified in order to comply with state law and applicable CDCR-rules and regulations as follows; (a) cease the use of innocuous association to deny inactive status; (b) cease the use of informant/debriefer allegations of illegal gang activity to deny inactive status – unless such allegations are also supported by factual corroborating evidence – in which case, CDCR – PBSP staff shall and must follow the regulations by issuing a rule violation report and afford the inmate his due process required by law.
3. COMPLY WITH U.S. COMMISSION’S 2006 RECOMMENDATIONS RE: AN END TO LONG TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT:
CDCR shall implement the finding and recommendations of the U.S. Commission of Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons Final 2006 report, regarding CDCR – SHU – Facilities as follows:
(a) END CONDITIONS OF ISOLATION (p.14), ensure that prisoners in (SHU) and (Ad/Seg.), have regular – meaningful contact, and freedom from extreme physical deprivations that are known to cause lasting harm (PP 52 – 57);
(b) MAKE SEGREGATION A LAST RESORT(p.14) create a more productive form of confinement, in the areas of allowing inmates in (SHU) and (Ad/Seg.) the opportunity to engage in meaningful self-help treatment, work, education, religious, and other productive activities relating to having a sense of being a part of the community;
(c) END LONG TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, and release inmates to the general prison population, who have been warehoused indefinitely in (SHU) for the last Ten (10) to Forty (40) years, and counting;
(d) PROVIDE (SHU) INMATES IMMEDIATE – MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO: adequate natural sunlight; quality health care and treatment – including the mandate of transferring all PBSP-SHU inmates with chronic health care problems, to the new Folsom Medical SHU – Facility.
4. PROVIDE ADEQUATE FOOD:
Cease the practice of denying adequate food, and provide wholesome nutritional meals – including special – diet – meals, and allow inmates to purchase additional vitamin supplements.
Also;
(a) PBSP -Staff must cease their use of food as a tool to punish (SHU) inmates;
(b) Provide a sergeant/lieutenant to independently observe the serving of each meal, and ensure each tray has the complete issue of food on it;
(c) Feed the inmates whose job it is to serve (SHU) meals, with meals that are separate from the pans of food sent from kitchens for (SHU) meals.
5. EXPAND AND PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAMMING AND PRIVILEGES FOR INDEFINITE (SHU) STATUS INMATES:
Examples are:
(a) Expand visiting re: amount of time and adding One (1) day per week;
(b) One photo per year:
(c) Allow a weekly phone call;
(d) Two (2) annual property packages per year – (30) lbs packages based on “item” weight, and not packaging and box weight:
(e) Expand canteen and package items allowed; allow us to have the items in their original packaging (and, the costs for cosmetics, stationary – envelopes – should not count towards the max draw limit);
(f) More T.V. channels;
(g) T.V./Radio combinations, or T.V. and a small battery-operated radio;
(h) Hobby craft items – art paper, colored pens small pieces of colored pencils, water colors, chalk, etc;
(i) Sweat suits and watch-caps:
(j) Wall calenders;
(k) Install Pull-up and Dip-Bars on (SHU) yards;
(L) Allow correspondence courses – that require proctored exams.
NOTE: the above examples of programs and privileges are all similar to what is allowed in other Supermax Prisons (e.g. Federal prison in Florence Colorado and Ohio), which supports the SHU – prisoners’ position that CDCR – PBSP -staff claims that such are a threat to safety and security are exaggerations.
**Signed by
Todd Ashker
Arturo Castellanos
Sitawa N. Jamaa (s/n R.N. Dewberry)
George Franco
Antonio Guillen
Lewis Powell
Paul Redd
Alfred Sandoval
Danny Troxell
James Williamson
Ronnie Yandell
…and all other similarly situated prisoners
Date: April 3, 2011
Prisoner Human Rights Movement 