Mental Health Consequences Following Release from Long-Term Solitary Confinement in California: Consultative Report Prepared for the Center for Constitutional Rights:
Stanford Lab Final SHU Report 10.11.17
Human Rights in Trauma Mental Health Lab, Stanford University
October 2017
From: SF Bayview:
STATEMENT OF PRISONER REPRESENTATIVES ON SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF ASHKER V. BROWN SETTLEMENT
Oct 14, 2017 marks the 2 year anniversary of the approval of the Ashker settlement. We celebrate our victory in the Ashker case, in which virtually all of the over 1600 prisoners then languishing in indeterminate SHU were released to General Population. This victory was achieved through 3 hunger strikes and the non-violent legal and political action of thousands of California prisoners, their families, supporters, and their attorneys.
However, unfortunately our general monitoring is due to run out after two years unless the Court grants an extension. We believe that CDCR is still engaged in constitutional violations that deny prisoners due process and seeks to put us back in the hole, for many, indeterminately under the guise of Administrative SHU. Our attorneys will seek an extension of the agreement due to CDCR’s systemic violations of the constitution. We don’t know what the court will do, but we do know that prisoners and their families have to re-energize our human rights movement to fight against the continuing violations of our rights. Examples are:
· CDCR’s continued misuse of Confidential Information to place prisoners back in the SHU, particularly with bogus conspiracy charges;
· The lack of out of cell time, programming and vocational programs in Level 4 prisons. The last letter of CDCR stands for rehabilitation, and there is almost no rehab programs and opportunities in the level 4 prisons. They function like modified SHUs;
· The denial of parole to lifers and Prop 57 prisoners who have clean records simply because of old, unconstitutional gang validations and CDCR’s illegally housing us in SHU for years;
· The turning of the Restrictive Custody General Population Unit which was supposed to be a GP unit where prisoners who had real safety concerns could transition to regular GP, into a purgatory where the only way out is to either debrief or die;
· CDCR promulgation of new regulations which gives the ICC discretion to put people back in the SHU, allows for many prisoners to be placed in the future in indeterminate Administrative SHU, or to be placed in the RCGP on phony safety concerns.
We must stand together, not only for ourselves, but for future generations of prisoners, so that they don’t have to go through the years of torture that we had to. We need all prisoners – young and old -to make our collective outcry public to ensure that the victory that we have won is not reversed by CDCR behind closed doors. Ultimately, we are the ones who are responsible for leading the struggle for justice and fair treatment of prisoners. That is why we entered into the historic Agreement to End Hostilities, and why it is so important that the prisoner class continue to stand by and support that agreement. We cannot allow our victories to be nullified by CDCR’s abuse of power, and may have to commit ourselves to non-violent peaceful struggle if CDCR continues on its present path.
We need everyone- prisoners, their families and the public – to send comments on CDCR’s proposed regulations to staff@aol.ca.gov, send emails and letters urging Gov Brown to sign Assembly Bill 1308, make sure that prisoner complaints about unfair treatment are publicized, and to work together to rebuild our prisoners human rights movement.
We cannot let CDCR increase its use of prolonged solitary confinement either by misusing confidential information to place prisoners in SHU on phony conspiracy charges, or through increasing the use of Administrative SHU. As the Supreme Court stated over one hundred years ago in the 1879 case of Wilkerson v. Utah , it is “safe to affirm that punishment of torture…and all others in the same line of unnecessary cruelty are forbidden by that [the Eighth] Amendment.” The admired historian Howard Zinn noted the application of that decision to the modern SHU: “All we need then, is general recognition that to imprison a person inside a cage, to deprive that person of human companionship, of mother and father and wife and children and friends, to treat that person as a subordinate creature, to subject that person to daily humiliation and reminder of his or her own powerlessness in the face of authority… is indeed torture and thus falls within the decision of the Supreme Court a hundred years ago.”
Sitawa (S/N Ronnie Dewberry), Arturo Castellano, Todd Ashker, George Franco
Via CFASC – https://familyunitynetwork.org/cfasc/
We are within our 5th Year of the August 2012 historical document “AGREEMENT TO END HOSTILITIES.” followed by the PHRM’s third and the largest Hunger Strike within the State of California and equally larger then any Hunger Strike within the United States federal and state prison system, to which there were over 30,000 Prisoners here in California who participated (that is, from Solitary Confinement and the General Population. We (PHRM) have decreased California Prison Melees in half over the past five years with NO assistance by CDCr: SVSP, PBSP, New Folsom, Kern Valley, SATF, Lancaster, Centinela, High Desert, etc. Officials.
5 Reps of the PHRM: Sitawa, Todd, Arturo, Antonio, George
These historical acts of courage were led by the four Principal Negotiators Arturo Castellanos, C-17275, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry, C-35671), Todd Ashker, C-58191, and Antonio Guillen, P-81948, along with the Sixteen known Representatives, and along with our Unsung Heroes throughout CDCr.
We Salute Our Fallen Heroes
We shout out to the Families of those who died during the Historical Hunger Strikes (2011-2013), and to the Families who lost Loved Ones during the (AEH) struggle For Equal Justice, “Christian Gomez, Alex Machado, Alonzo Hozel Blanchard, A. “Baby Paya” Morales,
Billy “Guero” Sell, Johnny Owen Vick, and Hugo “Yogi” Pinell.”
“We also want to warn those in the General Population that [CCPOA guards & their Supervisors] will continue to plant undercover Sensitive Needs Yard (SNY) debriefer ‘inmates’ amongat the solid GP prisoners with orders from IGI to be informers, snitches, rats, and obstructionists, in order to attempt to disrupt and undermine our collective groups’ mutual understanding on issues intended for our mutual causes (that is, forcing CDCr to open up all GP main lines, and return to a rehabilitative-type system of meaningful programs/privilages, including lifer conjugal visits, etc. via peaceful protest activity/non-cooperation, e.g., hunger strike, no labor, etc. etc.).
People need to be aware and vigilant to such tactics, and need to refuse to allow such IGI inmate snitches to create chaos end reignite hostilities amongst our racial groups. We can no longer play into IGI, ISU, OCS, and SSU’s old manipulative divide and conquer tactics!!!”
(quoted from AEH, #3)
CDCr Secretary Kernan, Undersecretary Diaz, (DAI) Director Allison, Director Alfaro (of High Security Prisons) and Governor Brown have all been notified or the crisis here at SVSP C-Facility.
The lack of rehabilitative programs (i.e., Vocational Carpentry, etc.) here at SVSP and throughout the system remains dysfunctional.
Those within the PHRM here at SVSP C-Yard, who were released from
Laudatory Chrono for Sitawa Nantambu Dewberry for his mentorship in the prisoners’ designed program Life Cycle at Salinas Valley State Prison. Sitawa was the first mentor to interact with the youth at the event, May 24, 2016
Solitary Confinement over the last three years, have created our own Juvenile Divergent Program called “LIFE-C.Y.C.L.E.” (“Careless Youth Corrected by Lifers’ Experiences”), and this program has successfully for the past fifteen months conducted five Seninars, bringing in At-Risk Youth from the local Monterey County to guide them, while mentoring other prisoners. During the Seminars, the Youth share their thoughts and understandings of not wanting to come to prison, and what their goals are, that they will set for themselves to prevent that from happening.
The PHRM prisoners have realized that CDCr has caused harm to them over the past 2, 10, 20, 30-40 years of Solitary Confinenent. We – as Class Members of the PHRM here at SVSP C-Facility realize the negligence and adverse impact of that devastating ordeal coming out here to a partial General Population (G.P.). And we realized once again CDCr failed to acknowledge the harm that they caused to us, therefore, we took it upon ourselves to establish our our supportive MEN’S GROUP in order to cope with the devastating harm that was caused by Solitary Confinement.
The purpose of this MEN’S GROUP is to serve as a diverse multi-cultural support group for both those prisoners in- and being released to the G.P. from Solitary Confinement sucessfully settle-in, be provided access to rehabilitative pre-Parole Board (SR 260/261) Self-Programs, etc., that CDCr/SVSP are mandated to make available for all G.P. prisoners.
The primary purpose of the MEN’S GROUP is for the Participants to mentor and aid one another. Our Group’s vision brings a sense of community, respect and responsibility that springs from the 21st century insight of collective minds who have united in solidarity and have mutually agreed to end hostilities among racial groups. This historic agreement will continue to bring ahout substantive changes to the CDCr system of non-rehabilitation.
On November 3rd, 2015, the PHRM had discussed with Warden Muniz, Chief Deputy Warden Hatton, and Associate Warden Bienkale about the need for this type of Support Group to address the cause and effects of Solitary Confinement upon our re-entry into the G.P. These administrative officials’ response was positive and was witnessed by the outside citizenry activists hosting the event, Mary Lou, Barrio Unidos (Santa Cruz), Actor Danny Glover, and Mr. Kahn, Peace Academy.
We were told to prepare and submit our proposed Self-Help Support Group to AW Bienkale via SVSP’s Community Resource Manager (CRM) Carol Hernandez, which we immediatele completed.
However, since November, 2015 to April, 2017, CDCr-SVSP has continued to not address these serious matters of concern. Although, on the occasions when we speak with Muniz (and Bielkale in Nov., 2016), they are supposedly going to initiate the MEN’S GROUP (according to AW Bienkale). But to date they have failed to approve it, which left hundreds of prisoners suffering from the effects of solitary confinement with no administrative support.
We (PHRM) have been integrated into some of the worst CDCr 180/270-designed prisons in the State, not considering these same men were held illegally in Solitary Confinement up to forty-plus (40+) years and their Humanity is now again being withheld by new Green Walls/Old Culture. Yet, prisoners held at SVSP (facility-C) face the bigotry and prejudice by the Senior Correctional Officers and supported by their Supervisors (eg., Sgts) who allow for all new C/Os to be trained and taught the Old Culture/continual Green Wall.
Scott Kernan, CDCR Secretary, Ralph Diaz, CDCr UnderSecretary, Kathleen Allison, Director of Adult Institutions: Recognize Our Humanity and correct your Staffers’ here at SVS Old Culture Mentality here at SVSP forthwith.
In Solidarity,
Prisoner Human Rights Movement – Local Council (PHRM-LC)
Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry C-35671)
Sitawa in July of 2016
PHRM PRINCIPAL NEGOTIATOR
29 March, 2017 © SNJ
PrisonerHumanRightsMovement.org
typed by AP on April 16, 2017
by Baridi and Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa
March 25, 2017, in SF Bayview
Baridi Williamson in 2016
As always, allow us to begin by paying our respects to the families who lost their loved ones during the historic California hunger strikes. Prior to the solidarity hunger strikes, the four principal negotiators, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, Arturo Castellanos, George Franco and Todd Ashker, found ourselves locked inside Pelican Bay SHU Short Corridor. There we would discuss the vision of effecting genuine change in CDCr’s long term solitary confinement combined policies, practices and conditions. (See our Five Core Demands.)
Sitawa and his sister Marie, on their first contact visit since decades
And Brutha Sitawa would continue to share the broader vision, foreseeing not only our tortured class being released from solitary confinement, but also changing the backwards direction of the California and U.S. governments’ new Jim Crow systems of mass incarceration.
Then came the hunger strikes (2011-2013) and we saw CDCr (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – the last word often not capitalized because it’s proved to be an empty promise) being compelled to start releasing some of our class members – aka DRB (Departmental Review Board) kickouts – out of solitary confinement into the general population. And upon our arrival out to the GP, some of us knew that CDCr-CCPOA guards were plotting and scheming to not only figure out a way to stop from having to release the rest of our class from the SHU by finding a way to use us as their pretextual excuse, but to begin refilling those multi-million dollar SHU unit cages with the next generation of solitary confinement-tortured subjects.
CDCr-CCPOA guards have a long, sordid history of manipulating and playing prisoners against one another like pawns in the game being pulled on puppet strings, which is well rooted in its old ingrained culture, traditional patterned practices and institutional racism and impunity.
Many if not most of us DRB SHU released class members refused to allow CDCr-CCPOA staff assigned to OCS (Office of Correctional Safety), SSU (Special Services Unit), ISU (Investigations Services Unit) and IGI (Institutional Gang Investigations) to manipulate and play us against each other out here so the rest of us could have the same fair, rightful release out to see the sun, enjoy contact visits with their loved ones, socialize and begin the long process of healing from years and decades of being tortured by CDCr-CCPOA, OCS, SSU, ISU-IGI and LEIU (Law Enforcement and Investigations Unit).
Shout out to all those who understand the bigger picture of our solidarity efforts coming out of the hunger strikes, which continue today as the Prisoner Human Rights Movement (PHRM).
Unfortunately, there are some California prisoners still allowing themselves to allow CDCr to pull them backwards into that old CDCr way of thinking and behaving that allowed us to be set up to be wrongfully placed and kept inside CDCr’s solitary confinement torture system under their old “snitch, parole or die!” mass validation, indeterminate SHU, coerced, enhanced, interrogative debriefing mind and spirit-breaking scheme.
Whether it be what happened at New Folsom last Aug. 12, 2015 – condolences extended to the family of Hugo Pinell for the loss of our Brutha Hugo to the old, evil, backward thinking of the past – or when it appears elsewhere throughout CDCr, we have to be mindful of what we witnessed and experienced during the solidarity hunger strikes, class action lawsuits, standing up against this wicked system together with our families, relatives and supporters who challenged and rocked CDCr and this state’s government to its core with our Five Core Demands, Agreement to End All Hostilities etc.
And now a course has been set to demand and win back most if not all the rights, privileges and amenities that were wrongly taken away and denied to California’s incarcerated residents being warehoused on these Level 180 and 270 institutions. We deserve fair and equal access to the state- and federally-funded rehabilitative programs and services, including access to immediate family and conjugal visits, vocational trades and classes, workable-skills jobs, computer literacy education etc.
Upon arriving at CDCr’s Level 180 Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) Facility-C general population (GP) Yard 1, which reflects a traditional CDCr GP for adult men, that is, Southern Mexicans, Afrikans, Northern Mexicans and Whites, except the other nationalities are over on Yard 2, along with some more Afrikans, Fresno Bulldogs and New Flowers, it was clear to us disciplined solidarity supporters of the Agreement to End Hostilities (AEH) that we had gone from one messed up, non-rehabilitative reality to an old traditional CDCr environment.
We even heard that certain staff had been overheard betting that “those guys won’t stay out here a month, certainly not six months.” And now they’ve come to realize that not only is this former indeterminate SHU class out here to stay, but we are still standing united in solidarity to demand and get our rights to all be treated with respect as human beings and provided with the same opportunities to have a parole date and to be released back home with our families, communities and society!
The winds of change are beginning to blow again in the direction of opposition to mass incarceration, rehabilitation and recidivism, as well as opposition to the long-term use of solitary confinement, which must include abuses even for short-term solitary. While much of this new direction for change is still in its idea and/or early stages of being worked out through the very same governmental branches and systems that have been identified as playing a large if not total part of causing the problems in the first place, it will take the courageous people, organizations and groups, independent of the government, to continue to stand in solidarity both inside and outside U.S. and California institutions to call for, demand and make real tangible change.
We prison activists recognize that CDCr and each of the solitary confinement housing units – SHU, Ad-Seg, Stand Alone etc. – have been illegally warehousing women and men prisoners for four decades. We knew that during the three non-violent peaceful hunger strike protests in 2011 and 2013. And we lost some prisoner activists who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We shall always honor those heroes!
We prison activists recognize that wardens and their subordinates are governmental peace officers and must be held accountable to discharge their public service duties and responsibilities in a professional and transparent manner. To ensure governmental accountability and transparency, these peace officers working in CDCr should also have body cameras on their California governmental CDCr peace officers’ uniforms, just like the outside peace officers throughout California.
We prison activists recognize that CDCr is operating semi-general population and modified general populations within the prisons, thereby violating general population prisoners’ constitutional rights. And as such, we prison activists cannot fulfill the personal goals and objectives of rehabilitative success.
We prison activists recognize CDCr Secretary Kernan’s statement: “To change CDCr employees’ attitudes as he (Secretary Kernan) tries to alter a culture that often pits prison guards against inmates and outsiders, CDCr has to train and bring racial diversity to its leadership for prison employees.”
In solidarity, Baridi and Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa
Send our brothers some love and light: James X (Baridi) Williamson, D-34288, and Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (R. Dewberry), C-35671, Salinas Valley State Prison, Yard 1, C1-118, P.O. Box 1050, Soledad CA 93960.
Prisoner Human Rights Movement 
You must be logged in to post a comment.