Medical Neglect at SCI Muncy

The Human Rights Coalition received reports from Stacey Detwiler, a prisoner housed at SCI Muncy, who is experiencing health problems and deliberate indifference from medical staff at the prison . Two months after being admitted to SCI Muncy and prescribed 9 new medications, Detwiler lost regular leg function and has trouble walking or standing without collapsing. She suspects her medication is not correct and has tried meeting with medical staff to resolve the issue. Staff refuse to intervene, saying she must wait until she is released in two years.  Detwiler’s laundry job pays $12 a month making it impossible for her to meet the $5 charge per sick call to get appropriate care.  Staff refuse to grant Detwiler any privileges offered to prisoners with similar health problems, claiming that she is not old enough to qualify for privileges, such as obtaining a white card to move to the front of the medication line.

In December of last year, Detwiler and other women reported to prison officials, racial comments made by Guard Wolfe.  Wolfe was removed from line duty for a short time, but then came back. Shortly after, Wolfe accused Detwiler of cutting the med line and charged her with 30 days in the hole for being in an unauthorized area. Detwiler reported being freezing in the RHU in February and having trouble doing breathing treatments in the cold cell. Juan Mendez, the U.S. Special Rapporteur on torture suggests 15 days in solitary confinement as a psychological limit for punishing people, yet the DOC doles out 30 days commonly, often in retaliation for filing grievances.

Additionally, Detwiler reports being denied food by Guards McElroy and Cramer. After collapsing on the way to the chow hall because of leg problems, Detwiler was sent to the infirmary. When attempting to get her meal later, expecting a peanut butter sandwich, CO Cramer told her he would think about it. After an hour and a half she alerted Sgt McElroy who informed her that there was no food left. Detwiler reports that other women have been denied food by McElroy and Cramer.  In addition to being a human rights violation, denying a prisoner food is against DOC policy.

Detwiler was convicted of 3.5 to 7 years for witness intimidation, after stopping over a neighbor’s house to see if she was going to go court for her son’s case.  Detwiler knew the women and had helped take care of her when the neighbor was a teen, but believe the court inflated the story to get a conviction.  Detwiler fears that she will not regain regular leg function and will have become disabled due to her lengthy prison sentence and lack of medical treatment.

Evening Journal

Today I did something different. I called my friends on the phone.  I said this isn't working.

I ate junk food all day, only.

But it was good for me she said.  I cried my face off.  It has been 7 years since we spoke.

I wanted to see if you were interested, so I could tell her on Sunday and we could go from there.

This is exactly the conversation I needed to have he said.

I went home and took videos of hanging up my clothes on your hooks.  It's been _________ without you here.

I read internets and slept.

Reading and Discussion on Censorship in Prisons-March 16, 2014

From the Movement:

"Battling Censorship Behind Bars" by Andrea Jones

"Censorship on the Prison Plantation: Extinguishing Dissent" by Saleem Holbrook

"No Mis-education Behind Bars" by Linn Washington Jr.

"July 2012 Censorship Report" by the Legal Coordinator of MIM(Prisons) 

http://hrcoalition.org/sites/default/files/Movement20sept2013.pdf

pg. 15-22

From PennLive:

"PA. Department of Corrections bans some books, magazines from prisoners" by Donald Gillard

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/pa_department_of_corrections_b.html

From the Texas Civil Rights Project:

"Banned Books in the Texas Prison System" by Texas Civil Rights Project

http://www.texascivilrightsproject.org/docs/prisonbooks/TCRP_Prison_Books_Report.pdf

pg. 31-35

From Decarcerate PA:

"Issue 3 January 2014" by Decarcerate PA

http://www.scribd.com/doc/202740527/Decarcerate-PA-Newsletter-January-2014

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Family Members Petition DA to Drop Case Against Prisoners

Luzerne County, PA - December 2, 2013- Family members and supporters of PA state prisoners accused of riot at SCI Dallas in 2010 are calling on the District Attorney of Luzerne County to drop the case, before the trial set to begin on December 9th.  They will deliver petitions to DA Salavantis and convene at the Luzerne County Courthouse today at noon.

In April of 2010, six prisoners who were incarcerated at SCI Dallas covered their cell windows with towels and barricaded their cell doors leading to cell extractions by prison guards.  The prisoners were removed from their cells, pepper sprayed and tased by correctional officers, strip searched, and moved to different cells.  The prisoners filed grievances against the prison on conditions of confinement and food deprivation leading up to the events and wrote to outside human rights agencies. The Department of Corrections filed riot charges against the prisoners in July of 2010.

Since 2010, one prisoner has been released from prison and plead out of this case, and another, Duane Peters, has been removed from the case and will be tried separately.  Court watcher, Debby Rabold,attended a preliminary hearing for 5 of the prisoners on September 19th in Judge Lisa Gelb's court, and found that one of the prisoners had not been arraigned yet and one had not been transported to the hearing.  

"If the District Attorney had any factual evidence against the inmates with which to proceed, the case would have been adjudicated long ago. Lacking evidence, the case has been continued month after month for over three years -- all at the expense of tax dollars which could have, and should have been, spent more wisely," Rabold said.

"After watching the 35 minute cell extraction video of Carrington Keys, it becomes clear that the conditions of confinement are inhumane," says Amanda Johnson of the Human Rights Coalition FedUp!  "The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that solitary confinement for over 15 days could be defined as torture. No one should have to live or work under these principles and procedures. "

Prisoners who are housed in the Restricted Housing Unit within the PA Department of Corrections are confined to their cells for 23 hours a day with little recreation or social stimulation. Prisoners can be held in the Restricted Housing Unit for years for disciplinary or administrative reasons.  The Disability Rights Network filed a lawsuit against the PA Department of Corrections last March on behalf of prisoners with serious mental illness being held in solitary confinement and not receiving treatment. The U.S. Department of Justice expanded their investigation from two to all PA prisons this past year.

Contact:

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trial Begins for 5 Prisoners Charged with Riot

Luzerne County, PA – September 18, 2013 – The trial for 5 Pennsylvania prisoners who were charged with riot at SCI Dallas in 2010 is scheduled to begin September 30, 2013 at Luzerne County Courthouse after a pretrial hearing today.

In April of 2010, 6 prisoners who were incarcerated at SCI Dallas covered their cell windows with towels to speak to prison officials about food deprivation and conditions in solitary confinement.  The men were removed from their cells, pepper sprayed, beaten, and tased by correctional officers.  The prisoners filed grievances and wrote to outside agencies about the event.  The Department of Corrections filed riot charges against the prisoners in July of 2010.  One prisoner plead out of the case and has since been released.  The remaining 5 incarcerated men will face trial under Judge Lisa Gelb.

The details of the case are documented in two reports issued by the Human Rights Coalition, a Pennsylvania based advocacy group for human rights.  The case was highlighted at a hearing, last September, on solitary confinement that was convened by the Democratic Policy Committee in Pennsylvania.  The Human Rights Coalition is calling on the District Attorney this week to dismiss charges against the prisoners.

Contact:

Lack of Hepatitis C Treatment Brings Lawsuit Against DOC

A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of PA prisoners in January, 2013 seeking injunctive relief for the testing and treatment of Hepatitis C (HCV) without regard to sentence length. Current DOC protocols stall and deny treatment for the deadly virus depending on sentence length, which lawyers charge is unconstitutional.

Prison Legal News reported on the case of Jason Runkle, who was sentenced in 2010 on drug offenses for 18 months to 5 years. Upon intake at Camp Hill, Runkle’s blood test showed elevated levels of AST, ALT, bilirubin and a decrease in blood platelets, which is indicative of HCV and liver disease. Runkle was transferred to SCI Mercer, received a second blood test with the same results, and sought treatment.

Typical treatment for HCV consists of a 24 or 48 week antiviral medicine, depending on the specific genotype of the disease a person tests positive for. The current DOC protocol passes off treatment and intervention of the disease if a prisoner will be released in the near future. Prisoners are denied the 24 week treatment if their sentence is less than 12 months, and denied the 48 week treatment if their sentence is less than 18 months. Prisoners who are diagnosed withHCV but are time restricted receive palliative care (taking a Tylenol) at the chronic care clinic rather than treatment to cure the disease.

Runkle’s minimum date was June 2011, 33 weeks from the start of his incarceration. He served 6 months unsentenced at York County before entering the state prison. He was denied genotype testing to see if his strain qualified him for the 24 week program. He continued to seek treatment and was denied despite his sentence being extended each time he came up for parole. Even after the parole board recommended Runkle serve his max sentence of 5 years, he continued to be denied treatment by medical staff because he was still eligible for parole and could be paroled at any of his hearings within the possible treatment period. He effectively received no treatment despite being incarcerated for well over the time constraints.

Prison Legal News quoted former Secretary Jeffrey Beard’s American Correctional Association’s conference speech in 2002 about HCV testing and treatment in prison as a smart and necessary public health investment. Beard acknowledged that early disease perception and intervention would prevent costly treatment of complications later on and prevent a significant number of deaths in the prison (17% of prisoner deaths in PA in 2001). With the DOC’s sentence protocol and the pattern and practice of denying prisoners parole despite their minimums due to incomplete or full programs, or a lack of home plans in the current political and economic climate, prisoners with HCV remain at considerable risk to die in prison.

Many Songs

Performed at the 10 Minute Play Festival 7/28/2013

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5 years. 18 housies. 14 new friends. 6 non human animals. 2 heartbreaks. Many songs. 1 death.  A memoir of 272.

I didn't have any pets as a kid.  I have been spending years of my adult life learning how to love animals.  I have spent the past five years at 272.  There is Klemmons, my best dog friend, who eats garbage and still comes over sometimes.  Sadie.  Nettle, who was a complete alien to me at first.  AND the cats...Tom, Lyra, and Lillie.  Lillie cleared up our mouse problem, but may have been a part of the reason that I decided to move.  We had a complicated door situation.  People have been asking me why I decided to move, and I can't really remember a reason.  But I feel ready.

The place to be at 272 is the kitchen.  The door is always open.  Sadie was always underfoot, except when she was outside.  She couldn't hear, and she couldn't climb stairs, but sometimes, you could catch her in the act of a quick trot with a jolly tail wag.  Crystal decided to put her down on my birthday.  She was 16 years old.  We had a funeral party for her the same day.  I had a migraine and a melt down when everyone left because I didn't want to do any of it.  But I learned that loving someone, is a willingness to clean up their piss off the floor, day after day, after day, even if you aren't their designated human.

(Song for Sadie): The gate's open.  What's it mean when the gate's open, Sadie Girl? The gate's open.  What's it mean when the gate's open Sadie Girl? Oh shit. Sadie Girl. Oh shit. Hairs of pearl, and black she wanders the streets so free.  That's what the neighbors don't want to see. Sadie Girl, oh. Sadie Girl. (End song)

I don't like too many cooks in the kitchen.  If there's one thing I don't like, it's a small group of people having to make a long chain of decisions about the smallest things.  When I have a friend over for a meal, and they want to help, I ask them to tell a story.  Hundreds of butts have sat on this kitchen bench.  Hundreds of stories.  I almost can't take it with me, because it belongs here, you know?  I don't feel like I own this thing.  How could anyone own a thing that's made of so many other things?

(Song for Amy): Lately I've been thinking, that the spices must be missing you.  The shake and dash you used to do.  To make the rice taste sweeter.  But by now the diet's stricter, and the peas they aren't exciting, so I'm writing you this love letter, wishing and inviting you to.....Meet me in the kitchen.  Sit with me awhile.  Ask me what should I do.  Tell me about your day.  Meet me in the kitchen.  I'll tell you a story.  Maybe it is boring. But maybe it's okay and we'll toast. (End Song)

 In 2009 I began to be more formally and consciously politically educated.  I have a confession to make: it was the white boys I loved who taught me about feminism.  I started having new heroes and they were real people in my Pittsburgh life.  On this bench, I talked politics for hours and hours and hours.  I learned about power.  I learned about war, and genocide, and mass incarceration.  I learned about patriarchy, domination and control, capitalism and exploitation.  I learned that stories weren't told in newspapers you could buy at the corner store.  That the stories of pain and courage, and empathy were hidden.  I listened.  And I learned.  And the stories filled me, and I became this person.  I really like this person.  I settled into becoming her.

The years past, and I kept the same small room with the window that goes out onto the roof.  I filled the walls with paper and tape, with artifacts of friendships and experiences.

2007 bike gang t-shirt (hold up shirt)
photograph of craft night ritual (hold up photo)
art from my pen pals in prison (hold up lions)
prints and posters made by friends and local artists (northstar)
things to inspire me (mirah)

and sad reminders
this one is, yes these tears, but oh theses wings.

(silent hold up of resistance of the heart against business as usual)

There were many break downs and build back ups.  I wrote a poem about how good we were at recovering.  At breaking down and building back up.  It became possible for me to throw all of my belief into our power. Even in the face of everything.  What used to take three weeks of despair to pass began to take one evening.

I sat with a stranger, Clifford, in his saddest moment.  I sat with a best friend in one of her hardest times. And I watched them transform.  You sat with me in my hardest moments.  I learned loving someone is a willingness to sit with them in their muck.

(Song for KF) : Dave's going out fishing and I think I'll go with him but I'm not going to catch anything.  Cause I don't have the poles, and I don't have the bait, and I don't have the patience to sit here and wait, I was wrong. About moving on.  I thought. I was moving on.  This city is filled with people so pretty, but I'm still in love with, your itty-bitty, snaggle tooth.  What's the use? (End song)

 I didn't think it would be true for me, but time did heal all my love wounds.  I waded through heart breaks and I became strong.  I stayed when you left.  You could not make home here.  But then I visited you.  And I saw you, and I shared your joy.  I felt alone sometimes, but I knew better.  I still had everything.  I mean, all of it, added up.  I became less afraid.  I could give more.  I met my soul people. My voice became clearer.  My heart became fuller. I loved and was loved at 272.

(Song for Fall #2): It is raining.  And my brain hurts. And my back hurts. And my heart hurts.  But I'm swaying, under an awning, with my lover. And my groceries.  I'm so hungry for nutrition, I'm on a mission, I am wishing.  To have a prolific body experience. I get delirious. Without comfort. All the ghosts inside of your body.  Move around like electricity.  I'm glad your with me, while they are searching.  For where they belong. In some organ.  And then your brain makes.  A new wrinkle.  It's so magical. The way that you flow and, I'm not planning. For the future. Cause I know life is long, I know life is long.  I'm just being, with my lovers, under the covers, I gotta SNUGGLE, fall comes in and, fall goes out again. I just want to heal and, know I'm growing. (End song)