Microbe World
By Richard Gilliam
A fellow inmate recently informed me he will be undergoing interferon anti-viral treatment. He’s been diagnosed with state 3 Hepatitis C. This admission precipitated a discussion about what treatments were available here, and to prisoners in general, how long they lasted and how difficult it was to get them. I, for one, am keenly interested in this subject because, like many people of my generation, I have also been diagnosed with Hepatitis C.
Mike Cogh
By Richard Gilliam
File this in the “shooting yourself in the foot” file.
In years past, convicts performed many of the day-to-day jobs that kept a prison running smoothly. I remember arriving at the Reception Center in Chino, to find inmate clerks and trustees on-hand to take your initial mugshot, ethnicity, gang affiliations, commitment offense, medical concerns, and to assign each man to his housing location. Inmate-clerks typed, filed, and kept track of medical records, classification actions, and disciplinary records. They ordered supplies such as food, clothing, soap, stationary, and a myriad of other items specific to the operation of a small city. They saw to it that other items specific to the operation of a small city. They saw to it that cooks were awakened at the right time, and made sure critical positions were manned. it was said that it was the clerks who really ran each prison.
Rupert Ganzer
By Richard Gilliam (Richard Gilliam is a writer currently serving time in a California prison.)
The term “penitentiary” is derived directly from the word penitence. A person who has been confined to the penitentiary for a period prescribed by the courts (who represent the will of the people) has, theoretically, performed the expiation required of him by society. That individual should then be able to rejoin society as an equal member; though with the knowledge that his actions will be scrutinized more closely for a time sufficient to demonstrate to the community that he has re-integrated into society successfully. This is called “parole.” But, those of us familiar with the modern criminal justice system know that our punishment does not end with the opening of the cell door.
Still Burning
By Richard Gilliam
The term “class warfare” has cropped up a lot lately. This mainly comes from corporatists and the ultra-wealthy when the subject of raising taxes is broached. I don’t like to pay taxes any more than the next man or woman, but they are a necessity if government is going to supply services to its citizens which they expect and require, but today I’d like to talk about class warfare in a different light. I’m talking about a double standard the non-wealthy experience when it comes to crime and punishment.
Our jails are over-filled with drug-users, alcohol-abusers, small-time robbers, burglars, swindlers, and murderers. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the rule of law. I believe that persons that commit crimes against others deserve to be separated from the rest of us if they cannot leave others unmolested and abide by society’s rules. You see, I’m hesitant to use the “p-word”–punishment–because I believe that except in the most egregious cases, rehabilitation rather than punishment benefits both the individual and society more equitably. But a couple of current events highlight the inequality of our current criminal-judicial system.
CDCR
California Men's Colony
By Richard Gilliam
Recently, an inmate at California Men’s Colony received two disciplinary write-ups in less than thirty days: the first for refusing to attend school, the second for possession of a small amount of tobacco. Because he did not remain disciplinary free for at least 90 days, 30 days will be added to his release date. But who is really being punished? At a cost of approximately $50,000 a year to house and maintain each prisoner, these two infractions will cost the taxpayers an additional $4,000.
In a letter dated July 20, California inmate Richard Gilliam shares his thoughts on the state prison hunger strike, which began July 1 at Pelican Bay State Prison near Crescent City, Calif.
* * *
I’ve always known that for political resistance by prisoners to occur systemwide there would have to exist a centralized organization or entity acting as an information clearinghouse and support system. It seems this is now the case.
Laura Sullivan, NPR
The exercise yard at Pelican Bay's Secure Housing Unit.
I first learned of the impending [hunger] strike in an article in “The Abolitionist,” put out by Critical Resistance, an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Prison Industrial Complex.
Critical Resistance reported that during the Fourth of July weekend the action reached 6,600 prisoners across at least 13 prisons, including Pelican Bay, Folsom, Corcoran, and San Quentin. They report that medical staff have been ordered to work overtime to follow and treat strikers and that some strikers are “in renal failure.”
The prisoners at Pelican Bay began the strike in opposition to conditions they describe as “inhumane and degrading,” and issued a statement with five core demands that would have to be met before the strike would be called off.
One of the things that, until now, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did very well was isolate prisoners housed at different institutions to prevent them communicating. Until recently, prisoners at one institution had little opportunity to learn of current events at another.
The advent of cell phones and organizations, such as Critical Resistance, has changed that. Now prisoners have the ability to plan and execute sit-downs, hunger strikes, and work stoppages in response to abusive treatment, poor medical care, bad working conditions, and lack of services. Whether they will take advantage of this opportunity and what response it will provoke from those who feel their authority is being undermined remains to be seen.
The appearance of Critical Resistance and other groups as prisoner advocates has been a long time in coming. We must hope they engender positive change for prisoners as well as for society as a whole. As with the dawning of every new era, this one is bright with promise but also ripe for corruption. As of this writing the hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison continues.
Richard Gilliam is a writer currently serving time in a California prison.
Scott NJ
By Richard Gilliam
In response to the US Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Plata, requiring California to reduce its chronically overcrowded prison population, judges, politicians, and appointed officials have raised the hue and cry of alarm over concerns about public safety in the wake of impending mass release of state prisoners. Justice Antonin Scalia predicted “terrible things are sure to happen.” Another statement said, the court’s decision was “gambling with the safety of the people of California.” Governor Jerry Brown vowed, “I will take all steps necessary to protect public safety.”
CDCR
By Richard Gilliam
An article in the March 21, 2011 New Yorker magazine entitled “The Poverty Clinic” by Paul Tough discusses the effects–physiological, psychological, and cognitive–of Adverse Childhood Experiences on children and adolescents. The discussion was largely based on a study on the long-term effects of childhood trauma. The “ACE study” as it is commonly called, assessed the health outcomes of patients enrolled at Kaiser Permanente between 1994 and 1998. Study subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire describing what types of, if any, traumatic experiences they had as children. The survey garnered some startling results.
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