The Abolition Movement received two letters that we were asked to post on
the Internet about conditions on death row in Texas. One is from Bruce
Williams and the other is from Nanon Williams, no relation. (BTW, You
can order Nanon's latest book, Still Surviving from www.leftbooks.com.)
Nanon said that as many as 20 people were put on food loaf in the last
week for petty things like having cereal or an empty water bottle in
their cell. James Allridge, who has a date, is on food loaf for having a
spoon. Troy Kunkle was given a case for not having his name on his
stamps an HOUR after be bought them. He also has a date. He says that a
lot of the men seem to accept what they are doing because they are so
tired and worn down. He says that he has never seen things this out of
control. I hope others will go to the meeting of the prison board, the
Texas Board of Criminal Justice, on Friday, July 23, at the Prison Museum
in Huntsville. The provocations and day-after-day degrading treatment has
got to be exposed and stopped. We can actually speak at this meeting
without speaking to one of their agenda items but you must contact the
board in advance to speak. Here are the letters.
(from Gloria Rubac)
May 31, 2004
Dear Abolitionists,
My name is Bruce Williams. I have been punished today and placed on "Food
Loaf" for no violent reason. From a late night shift, around 3:00 AM
breakfast was being passed out. I was given a tray, but took only cereal
and milk, being tired and sleepy. I went back to sleep, saying I'll eat
it in the morning when I wake up. 6:00 AM shift changed. Around 6:50 AM,
I was sittin up eating milk and cereal when 3 officers came to my cell
saying shake down. I didn't refused. I came out for a shake down. Milk
and cereal I have been eating was thrown out! Later, I was given a
disciplinary case and placed on "Food Loaf" for 7 days, for eating a bowl
of cereal. Food Loaf is what ever is left over from the kitchen, mix all
up together in one big rock and serviced to you. Believing in my high
power, I'm not go eat no Food Loaf. I'm not an animal. I don't have no
commissary to eat. For those days I will starve from breakfast to dinner.
Sincerely,
Bruce Williams 999338
Polunsky Unit
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, TX 77351
***************************************************
From: Nanon Williams
ID: 999163
Cell: 12 Bldg - A Pod - 24 Cell
Sent: May 31, 2004
To: Warden Jones & Major Nelson
Subject: Harassment
Dear Warden Jones & Major Nelson:
I am writing to address concerns in regard to the recent problems and
misuse of TDCJ policy. I have filed a grievance in regard to my cell
being searched 2 to 3 times daily when most prisoners go weeks without a
cell search. I have written grievances in regard to incoming / outgoing
mail being delayed. I have written grievances on prisoners being denied
adequate postage to fulfill legal obligations, as we are no longer
allowed to weekly postage like the rest of TDCJ. I have filed several
grievances and as of yet not a single one has been returned. So, I am
taking the conventional route to address you directly in hopes of
requesting an audience with you to address not one, but several problems.
The last two weeks prisoners have been given a slew of disciplinary cases
for: having a state spoon or tray in their cell; having a plastic bowl of
cereal in their cell that was passed out as little as two hours before a
cell search, having a carton of milk (with milk in it); having a
container (i.e. a water bottle purchased from commissary with water
refilled in it or to put juice, tea, or coffee guards pass out at meal
time), and also for having a drinking container in any recreation area
when water outlets do not work (B-dayroom is broken as well as A-side
outside recreation yard / cage).
Despite medical reasons, many are given disciplinary cases for not being
clean shaven; for having clean clothes that we washed hanging anywhere in
these cells; for having a cracked pair of earphones; for not having a
name on every writing tablet or a name on every individual envelope;
having something on the shelf in cells other than hygiene items; not
having the bed made up when exiting the cells, and more!
Moments ago my neighbor AB - 23 cell received a disciplinary case and was
placed on "food loaf" (all the food on a daily tray baked together in a
brick) for EATING cereal and milk that was passed out to him! He just so
happened not to eat it at 3:10 AM when it was passed out but at 6:50 AM.
Perhaps he was too tired to eat it at the given time but saved it for
later. It was a non-aggressive act (unless eating can be one) but he has
now been punished as though he assaulted someone.
Here's another example: some prisoners went back to sleep after receiving
a cold breakfast tray in the wee hours of the morning at 3:00 AM or so.
Guards pick up the trays around 4:00 AM to 5:15 AM. When their trays were
found on the following shift, they received disciplinary cases, were
placed on food loaf, given commissary restriction, etc. THEY WERE
PUNISHED! Yet, they never refused to turn in the tray / spoon / cereal /
milk carton. They fell asleep.
It isn't possible they could have violated policy and I'll tell you why.
Policy says guards are supposed to know who they gave tray / spoon /
cereal / milk to and write it down on a log sheet. Guards are also
supposed to log who refuses these things for EVERY meal distributed. When
they collect them, they must individually collect them AND log it. They
are not supposed to leave their shift unless it's all collected,
otherwise it becomes a security matter. THAT SHIFT must resolve the
problem or they have violated policy by not doing their job. If a
prisoner verbally refuses to return these items, he is given a "direct
order" to do so. If he again refuses, he is asked to exit the cell and
other steps are taken.
My point is: how can a prisoner be punished because he was asleep and
still has these things on the next shift? Are guards not doing their job
or are they selectively punishing someone because they don't like them,
they're black, white, gay, ugly, what? Because they write grievances does
"guards discretion" mean that they can pick and choose which policy to
enforce or interpret it the way they like? My grievances have not been
addressed to find out.
I understand you have rules and policies to enforce, yet what we are now
being punished for are petty things. We are already deprived of sleep by
having porters scrub doors at one and two in the morning, having
flashlights projected in our face every 15 to 30 minutes. We are focusing
on appeals, family and trying not to violate policy yet we are now being
provoked.
We are being punished for things most people would not understand. I
don't. Isn't being confined to a cell for 23 hours a day enough without
guards basically being told to provoke incidents? Your own records show
that disciplinary cases issued have doubled or tripled.
Being placed on food loaf for eating cereal? Now people will be
physically punished by means of withholding decent food? We won't eat the
food loaf. You know this, and yes, it is physical because we'll go hungry
because of it. We have visits restricted. Commissary restricted. Such
petty measures affect those who care about us. We are fighting our
appeals and are not to be routinely punished.
I am asking that these things be addressed. I can only ask. This is about
policy and it is being violated to unduly punish us and to provoke
further incidents that justify your "Use of Force" policy. It's wrong.
Concerned,
Nanon M. Williams
*****************************************
Waiting For The Bus
A friend recently told me that any of us could easily step off a curb and
be hit by a bus, meaning that any of us can die at any time. This is
true, I have heard many variations of that statement, but I would like to
explain something, as I did to my friend.
Yes, you may acidentally step in front of a bus and be killed. I
sincerely hope you do not, but for us it is different: we are dragged
from "the curb" and strapped down in the street so that we can see the bus
coming. While the bus would take you life quickly, we watch this but not
for split seconds, but for years and some of us, for decades.
On the right side of the street are our family, friends and loved ones.
All of them begging for someone to help stop the bus, or free us from our
bonds. For years we watch as they beg and plead for our lives, as wee too
seek our freedom.
On the left side of the stree are strangers, people we don't even know,
cheering for our death as they would for their favorite football team.
Next to us we see friends who have become brothers to us die, killed by
other buses. One by one they are hauled bodily from the curb and strapped
to their deathbed. For years we look upon the misery of our bothers and
sisters dying in the street, we look and see the cheering crowd grow
bigger and bigger. We then look to our loved ones, aged by pain and
heartache.
Another day passes and another person dies, another year passes and more
than thirty people die, another decade passes and hundreds of friends die.
Until we finally look up and begin to hope that the bus will speed up.
Not to end our misery, but to end the misery of our loved ones: to shut
out the cheers of the strangers.
Yes, we may all die tomorrow, but how long do some of us have to wait,
even when we don't want to die, to stop the pain?
(source: Name withheld)
