Okay, so now we have a new Nursing Supervisor at OCI. His name is Sean, McCrae and we endorsed his candidacy. Sean was a really good RN, and well liked by staff and inmates alike. Steve, the second shift Supervisor would have been the most likely candidate, but he wasn’t looking to take the job.  We now are starting to have reservations with respect to Sean… He was slow to start, but we igured that was just a case of getting his feet wet before he made any real changes.  The picture that seems to be emerging though is one of Sean being a wondferful Nurse, but a mediocre manager.  Part of the reason is probably Collette…For those of you who aren’t enlightened , OCI is a place where nopotism runs rampant. It’s one of the few prisons that permits husband and wife CO’s to work on the same shift. That of course extends to unmarrieds who sleep and live together. Sean and Collette fall into that category. At night they share a bed. During the day he’s her boss… If I was another Nurse on that shift, I’d watch myself around Collette (who isn’t the mose pleasant human being to start with). If Collette gets ticked off at another staff member, and whispers into Seans ear, who do you think will be the victor? What about Collette? How does Sean the Supervisor discipline his night time live at home lover? It that doesn’t stink of impropriety, nothing does.

Sean has also become vindictive, and a bully. When a long time inmate Hospital Worker decided to quit because he could no longer deal with the sub standard care being rendered to fwellow inmates, instead of thaking him for his years of service, Sean had him thrown out of his Room and placed in a Dormitory. The inmate was entitled to live in a room whether or not he worked in the medical  medical department….

More follows

I rejoice with you in the recent new that the Supreme Court affirmed the 18 to 1 ratio for crack cases. I don’t have a crack case, but I’m happy for those of you who will be getting a second chance at freedom because of an unjust law. Your families are blessed, because they have done all they can in prayer and in works to ride this out with you, undeserving of having to endure such grief. No one wants to see someone they love in a situation like this. I guess the only question to ask now is: NOW WHAT?

Looking at the economic and political climate, you may be the trigger that influences the powers that be to move to change the laws for the rest of us. So, with great power comes great responsibility. I am by no means in a position to judge anyone. I am merely asking those may benefit from this blessing of justice that you PLEASE consider the ramifications of your future actions. I am involved in the most intense re-entry program in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is called Life Connections, and it is 18 months long. Yet I have been involved in this program for over 5 years. I have more time in LCP at the penitentiary level than anyone in the system, inmate or staff. And yet I still cannot get home to my own family. Please understand I am not griping or complaining about my present situation. I take full responsibility for my actions, and having been sentenced under the Career Offender act, it has been harder on me than it would’ve been if I had just been sentenced on the crime itself. So, although the change in the crack law doesn’t affect me YET, I believe, and others like me believe, that those of you who will receive grace from the system are going to be test cases for total prison-reform. I simply ask that you examine yourselves. Statistics say that 85% of you who will be released soon will come back in less than 6 months. That’s 85 out of 100… If you live cruddy in the joint then you will live cruddy on the street. if you lie,cheat, and steal in the joint then you will do it on the street. You don’t have to take my advice. I’m nobody. But when you get out, there will be more than just the street watching. Be mindful. All the things you would say you wanted to do with your children hour, go and do those things. Best wishes to you all. May God be with you in all you do. I will leave you as I came, in peace.

Respecfully,

Kevin E. Archer

USP Terre Haute

The Connecticut State Government is no stranger to abuses of power. Look no further back than our illustrious former Governor, John Roland who it is charged, enriched his own coffers on our dime. But there are other kinds of power abuses as well. I was a Corrections Head Nurse….a state employee for 22 years with not a single blemish on my record. At the very end of my career, I married a former inmate after he left the system. By reason of this high crime and misdemeanor, I was allegedly coerced and bullied out of my job under the threat of being fired, and losing the pension I’d worked my entire adult life to build. But it seems, the old Boys Club was not satisfied with obtaining their pound of flesh from me, they also allegedly decided to make my husband suffer as well.  And I might add, they are succeeding. My husband has a three year probation commitment remaining, and the good people of probation are going out of their way to single him out, cause him harm, harass him, and inflict all manner of financial and other grief upon him and our family.

Let us start with the fact my husband is now 66 years old. He is in failing health to a point wherein  he is unlikely to survive another five years. If he does, than he has really fooled the actuaries. The probation people are fully aware of his health issues.  Not only could they care less, they also make sure to exacerbate the problem by heaping on plenty of extra anxiety, just to make certain he’s kept on edge. which of course does wonders for his Heart symptoms.

 My husband was placed on probation one year ago today.  He has a series of felony charges that the newspapers and the state exaggerated to make  sound as if he stole millions of dollars. In fact, if he stole every dime they alleged, his crime would have been for a total of under $6,000.00. And the truth is, he did not even steal that sum of money. In the past he has indeed stolen, large sums of money, and when caught he freely admitted to the theft….ask yourself why a guy who stole many millions of dollars resort to over billing Medicaid for five grand. It isn’t even alleged he obtained the fruits of this heinous crime. It had to do with patients of his methadone clinic cheating the state out of bus fares and my husband condoning the thefts.  There is another component to his case. A misdemeanor sex offense. Most people when they hear the nature of the offense shake their heads and say it was a stupid joke gone bad, some even laugh. The fact is, there was nothing humorous about it, but the fact is it wasn’t what was alleged, and what was alleged was only a misdemeanor.  The proof is in the fact that the alleged victims litigated against my husband in the civil courts, and the case was tossed out because the Judge didn’t believe their story. The state and the news media never bothered to pick that up. But going back to my husband’s plea. He did in fact plead no contest because the state was out to legally bury him for political reasons. At first they thought my husband’s clinic was a sex for drugs operation. They made all kinds of noise and the media picked it up. They put a bail of almost 2 million on my husband for a crime with no violence and very little money alleged. In fact they made fools of themselves because when the safe was sealed by the DEA, and the Methadone counted, there was less of a shrinkage than was even permitted by law.  By this time however, the state wasn’t backing off because they’d held press conferences and made a whole big deal of what the case was about. No place was it ever reported that over 150 women were interviewed by the Police, and that less than 1/10 of 1% of the methadone purchased was missing.  They also didn’t report that the Judge became upset with the prosecutors who kept saying women would be coming forward, and none of course ever did. He reduced the bail all th e way down to $200,000….That sort of loss is more than acceptable. In his sentencing remarks, the Judge specifically said that he saw this as an economic crime and not a sex crime and because of that he was not ordering any evaluation or treatment for my husband, and he was only giving my husband a one year for the alleged sex crime, and that he was NOT placing him on sex offender probation. The reason he did have my husband register was purely political. The alleged victim’s uncle was at that time a state prosecutor (who by the way, was arrested himself two years later for fixing cases) and pushing the case. In any event my husband served every day of his sentence. He was not granted any parole because he fought the system and wouldn’t admit guilt on the charges for which he was not guilty.

On the day of his release he went to the local probation office. The very first day he was taken in to see the Chief Probation Officer and told he would be reporting weekly; that they wanted to have him evaluated, and that he was being placed on sex offender probation. They also wanted to monitor his computer, and of course he was subject to polygraph testing etc. He told them what Judge Damiani said. They weren’t interested. They told him to obtain a copy of his transcripts and they would hold off doing anything until the transcript arrived ( My husband can prove what they said). They of course could have obtained the transcripts free and quickly. My husband had to wait weeks even under an expedited service order, and pay something like $25.00. In the meanwhile notwithstanding their promise to the contrary, they set him up to be evaluated. He protested in writing, but went along with them so that they didn’t violate him. After the first evaluation session, the transcripts came in saying just what my husband said they’d say. So they discontinued the evaluation without apology of course, and they said they would go along and see how it went with regards to monitoring the computer. My husband has no history whatsoever of a computer crime, nor any record of going to inappropriate sites. He also said he didn’t mind the PO looking into his computer. At that time about one year ago he also informed the Department he was helping me with my business.

My husband’s Mother is 90 and in poor health, she lives in Florida. It took months to get an approval to go see her for no reason other than giving him a difficult time.  My husband wanted a pass to go to NY to the grave site of a religious leader, that too took months before an approval was granted. In the mean while his probation officer came (and still comes) to our home every month at least once, and my husband has to report to their offices weekly. Also, this PO doesn’t just come into the house and say hi. He walks though every room including the basement and garage. He reads every scrap of paper on desk tops, counters, tables and even our Bed Room Dresser. He looks into our Bedroom closet…a place where I keep my night wear, and he doesn’t even  miss the bathroom in our Bedroom . Even the contents of our refrigerator aren’t missed. Most often he comes with someone else. When my husband objected the PO said he was just doing his job. Over the year I’ve taken a survey of customers who have been on probation. Most probation officers do not bother to visit their clients homes monthly. Even fewer do a complete walk through and ask to look in closets and refrigerators…Did I mention he also asked to look through our  computer. Of course he found nothing. There is nothing to find. Even our vehicle in the driveway didn’t escape his scrutiny.

During this same year, my husband suffered two surgeries for Bladder Cancer with chemo therapy. He had surgery to have a defibrillator Pacemaker implanted. He suffered a Stroke, and he recently had a cardiac cath because he’s in Congestive Heart Failure. Finally he has Diabetes. There has been no time that this PO has come to our home or called where he wasn’t able to see or speak to my husband. We rarely leave our home. When he isn’t too ill, my husband  is generally working or reading.

About eight months ago, I became involved in a dispute with a physician. The fact is the medication this Doctor prescribed, given my condition could have killed me. With my husband’s help I wrote him telling him how I feel and that I planned to report him to the Medical Board. MY HUSBAND NEVER MET OR HAS EVEN SEEN THE DOCTOR. HE HAS NEVER SPOKEN TO HIM. A few weeks later, the PO came to our home with a Police Officer from another jurisdiction. He said my husband threatened the Doctor, and was abusive in the Doctor’s Waiting Room. As I’ve said previously, my husband has never seen nor spoken to the Doctor. He certainly wasn’t abusive. He did speak to a Receptionist about an overcharge which the Receptionist claimed was proper, but after I wrote to Blue Cross received a refund.  All communication has been through me, and there was NEVER a threat of any kind uttered.  I did say we’d be going to the State Medical Board, and that wasn’t a threat, and we did fill out a Health ratings questionnaire of the Internet… The PO brought the Officer into our home and the cop walked through it. When he complained afterwards he was told he should have said no to the officer at the time. That isn’t true. The officer unless he had a warrant required permission. Also, the Officer plainly stated a crime wasn’t committed. My husband was told it wasn’t his business and he couldn’t get involved. The Probation officer has no right telling my husband he can’t help me in such a situation. He did nothing wrong. The whole thing seemed weird at the time. I got the impression either the cop or the PO was doing the Doctor a favor. By the way, we subsequently learned that this Doctor was being looked at by Anthem Blue Cross for his Billing practices, and that he has bounced payroll checks to employees.

Many months go by and of course there are no incidents. Despite promises to the contrary my husband is still constrained to go every week.   They then insist he take a polygraph test.  They are in a big hurry to get it done. My husband fills out their forms and pays the fee within two days. Then they want medical clearance. He gets that within a week. Five months later they still hadn’t done the test. Then my husband has a Stoke. His memory is somewhat impaired, so now they can’t give the test. Yet they keep the fee.   

My husband helps me with such things as accounting, placing orders with vendors, packing books for shipment, post office runs, Banking, Bill Paying, and mailing out catalogs. He answers the phones from time to time. There has never been a problem and he’s done this for a year.

About two months ago, I received a letter from an inmate customer. The inmate said that he’d found religion, and now wanted to confess to an uncharged homicide. The letter upset me, and since my run in with CT, I prefer not dealing with government. I asked my husband what he thought I/we should do. He did the right thing. He called NJ law enforcement. It required several calls and faxes. My husband duly reported it to his PO because he had contact with Police, EVEN THOUGH HE DID THE RIGHT THING AND IN FACT ASSISTED LAW ENFORCEMENT. When he went to see his PO, the guy said he shouldn’t have done it, I should have. He then decided based upon that my husband consorted with felons. He never asked what my husband does for me. He simply called up one day and said he is requesting a modification so my husband can’t work my business and that his computer is monitored…..Let no good deed go unpunished in CT.

I do not know the business end of the business. We have hundreds of thousands invested in the business. We can’t yet afford to hire someone else, and I need my husband’s knowledge to make the business work. We’ve offered to show these people what he does. His office is monitored by audio and visual cameras and they know it. They allege he is consorting with felons by working in the business. He has almost no contact with felons and that which he does is long distance and only about an order problem or something of the like. There are countless numbers of felons in this state working in businesses with other felons, and in positions where they have felons passing through daily.

We’ve offered every possible compromise, and by the way, we are awaiting approval to move out of the state as soon as such move is approved.

My husband now has to go to Court with an expensive Lawyer to try and save my business.

This happens in the worst economy in years, when there are no jobs around, recidivism is high, and these people have nothing better to do than harass a sick old man who is helping his wife.

My husband knows nothing of this Blog. I do not wish to get him involved, because knowing those people as I now do, it would not surprise me if his out of state transfer became slowed down, or they found something else wrong.

A word of advice, don’t get caught up with Connecticut state government, and frankly after all is said and done, their system is still one of the best probation systems in the country…. What a pathetic commentary on probation in America today

The newest and best thing that has happeend over the past two months is the formation of a not for profit corporation…New Hope Scholarships, Inc. (Web Site www.newhopescholarships.org). Through New Hope, and with the help of inmates, their families and friends, and those in the community who care, we plan to provide educational assistance, both academic and technical to freedom challenged persons. The answer to the high recidivism rates lies not in building more prisons, but rather in educating prison populations so that when they are released, they will be possessed with marketable skills, and  finding decent employment won’t be as much of a chore. Next week we’ll tell you how you canhelp us help them.

     As I walked to the table where both of my lawyers sat, I saw the audience.  Twenty-five or so of my closest friends and family.  They sat in the chairs behind me, just twenty feet away; so close, but so far.  To my right sat my adversary, the prosecutor.  Funny if you think about it, the one who persecutes.  Saul must of been like this before he became Paul.

     I sat in my chair with my back to my family.  The court jester stands and calls all to rise.  His majesty, the judge hobbles in and slumps down into his large, black leather chair.  In his old age the chair just about swallows him whole.  The court is in session.

     My name is spoken, the charges too.  By now I am in a cold sweat.  My knees tremble, my breath catches in my throat.  Over my shoulder I see my aunt crying.  The tears well up in my eyes and the speaking begins.

     I am accused of this and that.  I am torn apart.  I have been reduced to a dog.  As they kick me time and time again, I sink deeper and deeper into my chair.  My leg cuffs feel sharp on my ankles.  Now it is our turn.

     Strong and tall my lawyers do battle.  They hold their own; blow for blow.  It’s my turn now.  I slide forward.  I speak the words I’ve spoken for months now.  My memory kicks in.  I am so sorry, I have learned from the errors of my ways.  My actions were stupid, not criminal.  I shuffle my pages through one by one until I am done with the fifth.

     Words are spoken, my fate is sealed; one hundred and fifty one months, no light.  One hundred and fifty months; now there is no fight.  My breathing is labored, my hands are shaking.  I am held by the arms and stumble away to my dungeon; the holding cell.

     A day of days.

The above was written by Christopher Zoukis, an inmate at FCI Petersburg Med, in Petersburg, VA 23804.

     ATTENTION PEOPLE!!!  I’m speaking to all people, not just one culture.  The problems and blatant disrespect we’re experiencing in our beloved communities is sickening and we have the power to change this dilemma and reclaim our just authority within our own households and beyond.  Why I speak of the household so much is because as I reflect back to my childhood, I remember the first lessons in authority I witnessed were there.  My mother was a no nonesense woman, my grandfather was the same as was my grandmother.  What brings me to this subject now is the fact that so many, too many households are over-ruled by the children.  Sure when I grew up Dad wasn’t around, but that didn’t mean a damn thing because Mom made up the difference.  She took on dual roles in our household and for the most part it worked.  Granted though there’s nothing like having your dad there to guide you through the tough times and to teach you the way to go.  That is what brings me to this point.

     To those of whom this applies, you have to stop being the thorough-ass parents, and or grandparents.  There’s no time to be friends to our babies before we teach them that we’re most importantly the authority of the household; the person that is in control.  They need to know that above all else.  We are first and foremost the parents who love and protect them endlessly.  This way they aren’t growing up believing that we’re these so-called laid back careless people.  Our daughters are the most precious because it’s through them that the future will exist.  Our boys are just as significantly valuable because they will have to protect our girls, and the babies that come after.  You can’t continue to allow the influence of the outside to take hold of our babies people!!!  Can’t you see that these law makers and court systems are desisgned to tear families apart with incarceration just the way the “Slave Masters” did our ancestors back in the days?!  They would have their “Auctions” and sell our great-grandfathers off to slave owners way across the map so that they could have their way with our women.  There’s an old quote that says “If you sever the head the body will fall flat.”  This is the case with us people, we need to open our eyes and realize that these people are building these new prisons for the future warehousing of our babies, and their babies; especially here in Pennsylvania where there are a huge number of prisoners throughout the state. 

Some of today young parents may not know the right ways to reach the babies because they’re considered too far gone.  It’s not rocket science people!!  These are the same precious babies that come from us.  We can’t allow them too much room to do as they please because this gives them too much room to quote, unquote “Do Them”.  This is a recipe for diaster, nothing more, nothing less.  There’s no way our children should be afraid of expressing themselves for fear of being lashed with a belt, or cursed out as if they are grown.  Our young boys should be involved in sports and recreational programs to exert most of this energy they are filled with.  They shouldn’t be exposed to the vulgar language that is so commonly used in our homes.  It’s sad to say but most of us take better care of the things that we acquire materialistically than we do our own precious babies.  Think about it!!  I’m not telling any lies.  We value our shoes, clothes, jewels, cars, etc. more than the seeds that exist through our DNA!  How real is that?  People…if we don’t get our priorities in order then we might as well get our affairs right with the insurance company.  Put some lawyer and commisary money up because the inevitable will be knocking on your door and smacking you in the face as you sleep.  If you treat a twelve year old as you would a twenty year old, then you’re establishing a friendship and not a parental foundation.  Please people, let’s get ourselves in order and take back our responsibility in the household so that we can keep our children safe and out of these modern day plantations.  Instead let’s invest our greatest energy into our babies because they are our future.  It is through them that we will live on!

A. Try talking with them and not at them.

B. You have to listem to them with your heart.

C. Don’t instill fear in them, they will hate you for it.

D.  Most importantly show them that they can trust you and that you love them unconditionally.

     Remember communication is essential.  They’re our babies but they’ll grow up to have an opinion a lot sooner than you might think, and you have to respect that.

     Come on people…let’s keep our children safe!!!

                                    Raheem “Pete” Shackelford, father, son, brother, uncle, leader!!!

The above was written by an inmate from the Smithfield SCI, P. O. Box 999, 1120 Pike Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652.  Inmate number EC-1500.

     Look in the mirror, look at who you are and think of how you’ve come to be this person.  Think of the things that transpired, the people whom you’ve encountered, and the experiences that have helped to mold and change you into who you see in that mirror.  Has there never been a time when you were in need of some one’s forgiveness??  Or placed in a position where despite the feeling you were asked to forgive someone else??  Maybe you experienced an event, or several events which changed the way you now look at people and perceive your own life??  Look into the mirror again.  This time look deep into your eyes and think of the most traumatic thing you had to endure in your life…Now thank God for His mercy in allowing you to make it through.  At the same time truly humble yourself in realizing that everyone did not make it through their traumatic experience.  For those who survived, the mental and emotional anguish may be slowly killing their souls.  Think about that for a moment as you look into the mirror.

     Again, hurt people hurt other people, so for some there will never be room in their heart for for forgiveness.  For those people I pray God’s love fully embraces their pain to free them from the prison’s of hatred and rage…That tomb is worse than the one in which I reside.  Those who look for justification to submit another to suffer for what is said to be right.  Is it really right??  We tell children that two wrongs won’t make a thing right, yet as adults we use those two wrongs to make what’s not right, feel better.  Really does it feel better and for how long??  The pain is never completely gone when dealing with the loss of a loved one.  A picture, a song on the radio, a place, a conversation, the time of year.  Almost anything can and will be a reminder.  Yet you live and love, you laugh and cry, you give and receive all the things needed to keep the pain in a dormant state.

Now , I implore you for just a moment to think about those of “US” who are too grieving but without the beauties of life to help suppress the pains. Grieving in a place where love is an after thought., that sometimes you forget exists. Where the affection is misplaced and often misconstrued by orgasm slaves who indulge in homosexual acts.  Where guards more often than not become intellectual bullies in attempts at emasculating men….their definition of respect. Where physical altercations are a right of passage, and where the weak are preyed upon with volatile acts of vengeance, because hurt people, hurt people. Where for one to grow beyond that, and having thoughts larger than the cave in which he lives is considered insanity. To humble ones self enough enough to exist amongst the masses of criminal chaos, should be commended. But the reality is that it’s not even a second or third thought in the minds of the communities some of “US” will return to. Just think about it!?!?

I’m not looking for sympathy. I am however, looking for that same forgiveness given, and The Second Chance said to be this country’s greatness. What I seek is mercy from those merciless hearts who hurt people for hurting people, and call it justice.

                                                                                      By: Aaron Major CJ-6184

                                                                                               PA. L.W.O.P.  1992-?

                                                                                                The Other Death Penalty

There are groups of people around the world who are against the death penalty, trying to abolish its very existence.  These people thought long and hard about the inhumanity in sentencing someone to death, considering it a merciless act.  They would rather have a person sentenced to the rest of his or her life incarcerated.  Which of course sounds better than being put to death.  However a life sentence is not a lesser evil in this scenario.  Actually it is almost exactly the same thing, give or take some fundamental differences.  Having been sentenced to L.W.O.P., which in most states is until death, I know first hand that a life sentence is merely a slow and agonizing wait to die.  Imagine being told that you have an option of being buried alive, and have to wait to die, or you could be killed now and then buried.  Which would you choose?

A life sentence is another death sentence, just worded in a fashion that sounds less horrific, but by no means is it any less stressful, tormenting, or psychologically trying.  I would never attempt to make light of being sentenced to death.  I can only imagine the spiritually depleting feeling of those faced with such an atrocity.  It is too serious a matter to ignore, yet in that same breath a life sentence is its close relative, sometimes just as inhumane, atrocious, mentally exhausting, and plain cruel.  Yet this harsh sentencing is an often ignored topic of conversation when speaking of unjust punishments.  Ultimately you are still waiting to die in a ready made tomb.  Decades pass while you’re watching life without really being a part of it.   What is worse is since there are not many activists speaking out about this  other death penalty, you can easily become lost and forgotten in the system.

Now imagine having nothing to eat and slowly starving to death, then imagine having nothing to eat and slowly starving to death while watching other people eat.  A life sentence means until death…no matter how much you’ve grown, matured, and changed for the better.  You still sit in agony waiting for death to release you from this soul crushing ordeal.  How much more inhumane is that?  Imagine what must go through one’s mind?  Counting calendars and seeing the world change around you but not being able to participate in it.  Being told indirectly that what you have to offer is not good for society, peers, friends, or family.  Imagine being put on punishment forever, watching life through a window yet never being allowed to live outside of that reality.

Again I am in no way making light of the cruelty in having a death sentence.  I could not fathom such a plight.  It is well beyond my thoughts, but close to my heart as I understand the hopeless feeling one often must fight against.  I know very personally the heart aching pain of never seeing certain loves ones again in life.  The attempts at rearing children with words of encouragment, without being present.  Being affectionately malnourished and emotionally distant from all you care about.  I also need to be reminded that my existence still matters to those who love me,  being seen as a man, a human being and not just another body to fill a bed for some financial gain.  In the midst of all that I wonder who cares for those of us serving the other death penalty????

By Mr. Aaron Major #CJ-6184, Pa. L.W.O.P.  1992-?, The Other Death Penalty