PLEAS FOR RESCUE FROM
ICE
AN AGENCY APTLY NAMED
The following letters have all
been sent to me by men who are doing hard time in prison courtesy of
ICE. Unless asked to publish their name, I have removed it for their
protection, not from ICE as their stories will reveal their identity
to that agency, but from some US citizens who have taken the current
anti-immigration atmosphere as permission to freely entertain their
most sadistic and psychopathic desires to hurt vulnerable human beings.
These men all have families and their families are the reason I protect
their identity here.
I have also removed the names
of guards, ICE officials and police officers because these accounts
are not proven and the men and women named have a right to defend themselves
- something that has not been granted most immigration detainees in
their custody. I do not doubt these accounts. The accounts of actions
by ICE and prison guards match all too well accounts from other detainees
in other parts of the country. Hopefully at some point someone within
our government will decide to root out the rotten apples that make the
whole system stink of corruption. I will be happy to provide these names
to anyone who is in an actual position of authority. Many guards within
the prison system are decent people and most have treated me with courtesy
and professionalism. Comparing that to these statements I must wonder
if the most civilized guards are reserved for dealing with the public.
It is a shame that the actions of a sadistic few are placing a stain
on the many, but it is not my place to right that wrong. I am here to
give a voice to those prevented from speaking for themselves. If you
want to offer any of these men help or if you wish to tell their story,
please contact me. Their original letters are not kept at my home for
obvious reasons, but I have all contact information and I can send you
copies.
Scott Vitkovic
Hero Who Helped End the Cold
War Thrown in Prison by ICE
This is perhaps the most disgraceful
case of them all. A human rights activist who helped bring an end to
Soviet oppression in Eastern Europe is rewarded in our country with
imprisonment for over three years with no end in sight. Scott has sent
me an incredible amount of material - he has no lawyer, but he is valiantly
doing everything he can to obtain some notice of his and his fellow
inmates plight. These are the stories you don't
hear about when the media tells you ICE is detaining and deporting mostly
Mexican undocumented workers and felons. These are the people I hear
from all the time. I don't have to go in search of them - they find
me and there are so many! It is truly heart-wrenching. Last Christmas
I faced a holiday with a dear friend and his children in peril from
ICE. What a difference a year makes . . . this Christmas I face a holiday
knowing of thousands - no - counting citizens connected to these immigrants,
make that millions - of lives
needlessly ripped to shreds by ICE in the name of "Liberty and
Justice for all." It has been a year. I feel I have aged a decade.
I am preparing a full page of all Scott's documents and statements,
but for now, here is his basic situation:
November 13, 2009 marks exactly three years
since the U.S. Government - DHS/ICE abducted me from my massachustetts
home, under the pretext of an immigration inquiry and subjected me to
a continuing and ongoing extrajudicial indefinite detention and torture
because of my religious convictions and human rights pursuits. Yet it
has been the US government that has recruited me to fight and risk my
life on the front lines of the Cold War and then resettled me in the
United States more than 18 years ago, again, because of my religious
convictions and human rights pursuits! I am one of the student leaders
of the Velvet Revolution and founders of the civic forum, The Leadership
Centre of the Velvet Revolution in the former Communist Czecholsovakia,
of which 20th anniversary the world's leaders no commemorate.
The U.S. Government - DHS/ICE has been
not only extrajudicially indefinitely detaining and torturing me, but
also is attempting to kidnap and murder me outside of the United States.
Further more, the U.S. Government - DHS/ICE has been terrorizing my
mother, an elderly U.S. citizen, till the U.S. Congress had to intervene
on her behalf.
My health has been declining rapidly; I
am suffering from multiple life-threatening medical conditions. The
Plymouth County Correctional Facility medical department not only systematically
refuses to provide medical treatment, but supports the PCCF guards in
purposefullly inflicting intentional painful injuries. Consequently,
I have been losing functions of the lower half of my body and my breathing
stops frequently every day.
I am a gradualte of the New Mexico Military
Institute, MN, and Muhlenberg College, PA. Till 2006 I have been a Harvard
University scholar. I have absolutely no criminal history, and no past
or presently pending criminal charges. The following individuals are
directly responsible for the ongoing extrajudicial indefinite detention,
torture and persecution:
(A number of officials with addresses follows
- I will provide those names upon request from parties interested in
investigating this matter - DdeS)
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PROMISED
REFORM VERSES DETENTION REALITY
I have included Scott's name as
he is a public figure, having been one of the student heroes who brought
about the Velvet Revolution which threw the Soviets out of Czechoslovakia,
thereby helping to bring about and end to the Cold War. Scott has letters
of praise for his dedication to the cause of human rights from the likes
of Nelson Mandela and Desmund Tutu. He lived in this country legally,
but three years ago was suddenly detained by ICE. He remains in prison
to this day. He committed no crime so the reason for his being held
in prison indefinitely is a mystery. Could it be the simple fact that
he converted to Islam? Is it possible that we have granted rights to
potential terrorists who showed through their actions that they would
likely pose a threat while keeping a gentle Muslim man in prison simply
for his thoughts and words?
"Dear Deb,
This afternoon, appx. between 1400 - 1500,
a lieutenant and a guard on the orders of the unit manager, Ms ----
-----, came to my cell # 321 at the E-3 unit, PCCF, and showed me (a
copy of) an address of the Mass Meciacl Practice Board that I posted
next to phone numbers of legal organizations and consulates at the E-3
unit. They asked me if I wrote it (and posted it there). I said, 'yes.'
The lieutenant said that it is being interpreted as a group demonstration.
I told him that it has nothing to do with any group or demonstrations,
but it has to do with public safety and access to public institutions.
He said Ms ----- ------, the unit manager, will talk to me shortly.
Instead, in about 5 minutes, several guards came, handcuffed me, and
the lieutenant and another guard took me to the G-unit, the PCCF isolation
and segregation unit - 'The Hole.' When we entered the hole the guards
asked him why he brought me here. He answered 'group demonstration.'
The guards inquired where is the rest (of the group)? He said that this
(I am) is the group, pointing to me alone. Then I was stripped totally
naked in front of about 6-10 guards, given orange prison clothes and
put into an empty cell. While walking to 'the hole' the lieutenant asked
me if 'it's too bad here' and continued saying that the PCCF passed
inspections and other requirements. Again, I told him I was surprised
the PCCF does not provide such addresses itsef, next to the phone #s
to the AM Bar Association, PAIR, DHS, etc. and if everything is in order,
he surely has nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, I remain in the
PCCF hole for posting an address of the Mass Medical Practice Board.
Very Best Regards,
Scott Vitkovic"
The following letter came soon
after. Please understand that Scott is being held under indefinite detention.
He has committed no crime and is suspected of no crime. While headlines
blare our concern for the rights of those being held at Guantanamo,
people like Scott are forgotten and left to rot away in prison with
no recourse to any sort of justice. He converted to Islam. His is an
intellectual and a pacifist, that is all.
"Dear Deb,
May this New Year be a happy and peaceful
one for you and your family, and for all those who struggle and suffer
for righteiousness and freedom, and may we all be able to celebrate
the next year's holidays together, in our homes in
joy and tranquility.
It's my hope you received my urgent letter
of Dec 30. Enclosed please find official documents of the PCCF disciplinary
hearing in which I was charged with: 1. Violations of the PCCF regulations;
2. Conduct that desrupts the security of the facility; and 3. Group
demonstration . . . for posting an address of The Mass Medical
Practice Board on the wall of the E3 unit next to a list of
other legal organizations. The PCCF imposed 15 days in "the hole",
the PCCF solitary confinement G-Unit, plus 30 days no canteen food,
no phone calls and no visits, suspended sentence. As of today I
remain in the hole, a solitary cell with a blasting A/C! while
it's freezing and snowing outside. The joints and back pain is unbearable.
Please, email (ACLU lawyer's name follows)
the enclosed documents, and call (same lawyer). Please tell her about
my situation; ask her if she received my letter mailed to her office
on Dec 30 and if she could please intervene on my behalf and get in
touch with me. I don't know how long I can bear this torture - both
physically and mentally. Please also contact any other organizations
and individuals you may think of and of course, put everything on the
web.
I was very happy to receive your kind letter
of Dec 26. It's very encouraging to have some news. As I wrote you in
the last letter, I am very humbled by your remembrance and fasting.
But please, be sure you stay healthy and well. There is so much that
has to be done, and your family needs you even more! If anything happens
to you, who will speak on behalf of those oppressed, persecuted, extra-judicially
imprisoned and murdered by a government that professes to be the leader
of human rights in the world?! I can assure you that even the Communist
Secret Police didn't torture me in such a manner that I am currently
experiencing in the land of the free!
Recently I have read a book, 'Three Cups
of Tea.' If you didn't read it yet, I recommend it to you. It's a great
inspiration. It's about how one single guy was able to change lives
of entire regions in Pakistan. It's a testimony to human powers of determination
and conviction. You will enjoy it."
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Death of
a Much Loved Father and Husband In ICE Custody
This man died while in ICE custody.
He was 49 years old, much younger than I am and was greatly loved and
respected by the inmates whose lives he touched. They sent me a letter
regarding this man's death. It is followed with three pages of signatures.
I am left to wonder . . . if he did so much while in prison, living
under great oppression, what would he have done with the next few decades
of life had he survived ICE?
Dear Highly Esteemed Brothers and Sisters:
On October 19, 2009, yet another innocent
man died, after coughing up blood and being denied any help or medical
care in the extrajudicial indefinite detention arbitrarily imposed by:
B----- C--------, (name and address available on request).
Pedro Tavarez, 49 years old, native of
the Dominican Republic, was a father and husband living with his family
in Providence, RI. He is remembered as a gentle Christian man who founded
Spanish Christian prayers at this very unit of the Plymouth County Correctional
Facility - PCCF, a contractor of the US Government DHS-ICE
Our prayers are with his mourning family
and all other innocent brothers and sisters extrajudicially indefinitely
detained, tortured and murdered by the US Government.
From God we come and to God we return.
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Cold Refuge
These are letters I received from
the young man whose YouTube video can be viewed on our home page. I
am entering it just as he wrote it - no editing. I know this young man,
I know his family. They are decent, wonderful people - refugees - here
legally since he was 2 years old. He is a very brave young man. Speaking
out could have terrible consequences for him. I am at a loss for words.
So . . . any bets as to whether the tapes of the incidents he describes
in his third letter will go missing? Here's Amine's story and plea for
help:
Update: After 18 months in prison for absolutely
no crime Amine agreed to voluntary departure. He was given three days
of freedom to say goodby to his family and fiancee and has left America,
the land where he grew up and lived legally for all but the first 2
years of his life.
"To whom it may concern,
I am 22 years old and have resided int
he United States since the age of 2. I have graduated high school in
the state of Massachusetts, was attending a college, and aspired to
pursue law school. I also had full time employment as a sales manager
with teh Comcast cable company.
I have been extrajudicially detained by
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since July 10, 2008. I am
not charged with any criminal offense nor am I serving or have served
any criminal sentence. My family, both of my parents, my sisters and
my fiancee whom I was to marry this summer are dependent on my support
physically, emotionally and financially. Due to my prolonged unlawful
detention this has caused a major strain on my family. To remain in
contact wtih them, my family has had to pay over $5,000 in outrageously
priced prison phone bills. Since no free legal counsel is available,
my family had to hire two private lawyers to represent me, for the cost
of $10,000 plus. The food provided here by the Plymouth County Correctional
Facility (PCCF) is extrememly insufficient, both in quality and quantity,
causing upset stomach, nausea and malnutrition. Therefore, I had to
purchase food from the prison canteen system that is grossly overpriced
and consists only of junk food. Due to extreme hunger, I have been forced
to purchase this food and have spent over $3,000 in the past year, putting
even further financial strain on my family. My family and I are now
on the brink of bankruptcy. Furthermore, the PCCF refuses to allow my
own mother and my own sister to visit me. No clean drinking water is
available; light brown tinted water comes from the rusted pipes and
causes various skin rashes and infections. The shower is infested wtih
mold and other growing organisms of various shades and colors. I am
forced to sleep on a steel platform in a bathroom, next to a toilet,
with another man, with poor ventalation, locked in behind steel doors.
The counsel for the DHS, _ _ _ _ _, has
been subjecting me to an indefinite detention and abuse. I was arrested
and detained for a presumed altercation in the late night celebrations
of the Boston Celtics Championships parade. The DHS adopted this as
a basis for my indefinite detention, even though this case was dismissed.
_ _ _ _ _ has been repeatedly requesting and receiving and extension
after extension after extension because there is no legal basis for
my continued detention. Ohterwise, the Board of Immigration Appeals
(BIA) would have ordered me released a long time ago. _ _ _ _ _ has
also threatend my family with an imprisonment and deportation. On numerous
occasions she has been lying in the immigration court and provided perjurious
testimonies on behalf of the DHS.
The PCCF has been refusing to provide any
medical care or medications to me. I have been suffering from an injured
knee for the past 6 months and the PCCF medical department has, after
I put in many medical requests, yet to see me.
I have been violated mentally and physically.
I have been stripped naked and ordered to bend over and assume embarrassing
positions several times a month. I have witnessed extreme brutality
and violence, perpetrated both by the PCCF correctional officers and
criminals. One immigration detainee was beaten so severely and left
laying unconscious in his own pool o fblood after being stomped and
kicked in his head. He now remains partially blind in one eye. Another
man was repeatedly cut with a razor blade on his face and neck. He is
now scarred for life.
I fear for my life and safety everyday.
I am urgently requesting your kind intervention and assistance as there
is nobody able or willing to help. Please feel free to share this with
any other legal or human rights organizations or media worldwide."
This is how Amine came to be held
by ICE. The recent revelations of how an undercover Boston police officer
was brutally beaten by other officers who were not aware that he was
an undercover officer, as well as their subsequent attempts at a cover-up,
has laid bare the mentality of abuse that exists within the Boston police
department, so I believe Amine's story. However, I am still leaving
out the officer's names as what Amine describes indicates more a problem
with supervision of officers rather than individual officers I would
like to point out, however, that I have spoken with Amine. He has been
in this country since the age of 2 and speaking with him on the phone
he sounds like any American college student. It is not possible to mistake
him for someone who was not raised in this country. Here's his story:
"To whom it may concern,
On June 17, 2008, I attended the Boston
Celtics Championship parade and continued celebrating into the early
morning hours of June 18, 2008. I stopped at 7-11. As I exited the store,
a police cruiser skidded right beside me, next to the sidewalk. Two
policemen jumped out of the car and said, "Yeah, look at him, he
matches the desription." Then they began yelling, "Put your
hands behind your back!" I didn't understand what was happening
to me, but put my hands behind my back. Police officer _ _ _ _ _ ran
toward me, kicked my feet out from under me, brutally slammed me to
the ground and handcuffed me. I asked him, "Why did you slam me
to the ground," at which point police officer _ _ _ _ _ grabbed
me and threw me into the back of his police cruiser. I landed on my
face. He took my wallet from the back pocket of my pants. Then police
officer _ _ _ _ _ said, "We got him. We got Muhammed Atta."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. As more police officers gathered,
police officer _ _ _ _ continued, "Yeah, we got an operative."
The back windo of the car was slightly open and I said, "Why are
you saying this about me? Why are you doing this to me?" Police
officer _ _ _ _ _ looked at me with a blank stare, walked around his
cruiser, opened the driver's side door and shut the car windows. Shourtly
thereafter, another cruiser pulled up across the street and I faintly
heard them say, "Yeah, I think that's him." It was dark outside
and I couldn't even see the policeman in the other cruiser, therefore,
I don't know how they saw me. Two different officers jumped into the
cruiser and took me to the police station somewhere in downtown Boston.
I felt very confused and hurt and began to weep.
At the police station, I asked the police
officers why they were doing this to me, and if they ever heard of the
United States Constitution. I also told them what police officer _ _
_ _ _ said about me. One of the police officers screamed at me to, "Shut
the fuck up," then he put his hands around my throat and began
choking me violently. I quickly started losing consciousness, my body
was giving away and I felt myself falling. The police officer finally
let go of me and stormed off. As I was trying to catch my breath again,
I asked the other police officers who witnessed this why they allowed
him to do that to me. I also asked them if they heard about racism and
the American Civil Rights Movement. Instead of replying, the threw me
into a cell.
The police officers stated in their police
booking report that I am Iraqi, even though they were holding my U.S.
government issued work permit stating I am a native of Algeria. Therefore,
it was reported to the department of Homeland Security - ICE (DHS-ICE)
that I was an illegal Iraqi immigrant and the DHS-ICE issued an arrest
warrant, took me into its custody and prceeded with my deportation to
Iraq, even though I repeatedly told the ICE officers that I was born
in Algeria, arrived in the United States with my parents at the age
of two, grew up and lived in the United States ever since and that I
am not an illegal immigrant. In the DHS-ICE offices in Burlington, MA,
ICE officer _ _ _ _ _ pulled me aside and said to me, "Look kid,
it's ok, if you are an Iraqi, just tell me, I promise not to tell anyone."
The state of Massachusetts dismissed their
case against me on Jan 22, 2009. The suspect's description did not match
mine. The police were looking for a male wearing dark jeans and a tank
top. On the early morning hours of June 18, 2009 I was wearing light
colored jeans with a black shirt. The DHS counsel, _ _ _ _ _ _ has used
this case as teh basis of my extrajudicial indefinite detention. I ahve
already lost over one year of my life, while being abused and violated
in a criminal facility for violent and dangerous offenders, the Plymouth
County Correctional Facility, Plymouth, MA.
The United States of America is my home
and the only country I have known my whole life. I came here when I
was two years old and am twenty two years old. My family, my friends,
my fiancee, my job, my memories, my life and future are here. I am requesting
that you honorably upholk the U.S. Constitution that remains the same
233 years ago and today."
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How to Win
Friends and Influence People - ICE Style
"To whom it may concern
On 8/18/09 at approximately 8:00am Plymouth
County Correctional Facility (PCCF) guard, _ _ _ _ _ burst into my cell,
began throwing apple juices and milk from breakfast out of the door,
and behaving in a very violent and threatening manner. He then began
to throw out my books, such as "How to Approach and Understand
the Quran", "The World of Jinns and Devils", along with
other religious texts and books. I told him, I paid for these with my
own money, I've had them now for over a year, it's my private property,
and in my 14 months here it's never been an issue. He replied, "Well,
it doesn't matter, and you're lucky I don't throw out your faggot ass
Quran too." I requested to see the lieutenant and was ignored.
This whole scene has been recorded by the PCCF camera system.
At approximately 9:45 am I spoke with ICE
agent _ _ _ _ _ , badge # _ _ _ _ , and he told me to file a PCCF grievance.
He also told me that the PCCF has to come to a conclusion about the
matter and then provide him with the report; not until that time can
he do something. I wrote the grievance and gave it to caseworker _ _
_ _ as _ _ _ _ _ was watching. I asked him if there was anything else
he could do. He replied, he will include it in his weekly report.
When _ _ _ _ _ behaved in such a threatening
and violent manner, I thought maybe he is having a bad day. So I wanted
to see, if he may have perhaps some excuse for himself or explanation.
So I walked up to the front desk 2 hours after the incident and asked
why he has said "my faggot ass Quran" and insulted my religion.
He then became very angry again, and told me, "That's what I think
about your Quran and your religion." I thereafter concluded that
this was not a case of waking up on the wrong side of the bed. This
is a premeditated act of religious hatred and being singled out because
of one's religion. Right after guard _ _ _ _ _'s statement I asked ICE
agent _ _ _ _ _ if he heard what PCCF guard _ _ _ _ _ had just said.
Guard _ _ _ _ _ quickly stepped toward us and snapped, "Hey you
shut up, do not talk to him, you are talking to me." Agent _ _
_ _ _ then told me that he would talk to me later, at the end of his
PCCF visit.
Captain _ _ _ _ _ walked into the unit
at about 10:05 am and began checking the cells. I walked up to him and
told him about the whole situation. He said, it happened because the
Quran had a hard cover and that's why _ _ _ _ _ made the insults and
took it. I informed him that that's not the case because the Quran is
still in the cell and it has a soft cover. I asked him to come and look
at it. He then got angry, raised his voice at me yelling, "If you
know what's good for you, shut up and lock yourself in your cell."
I was stunned and started walking to the cell. He then said, "What's
the matter, can't find your cell?" (I was walking straight to it).
_ _ _ _ _ continued yelling, "Walk faster!" This is all on
the camera tapes also, with many heads directed toward him because he
was yelling at me and making a scene. Therefore, there are many witnesses
to this event.
At about 11:40, the unit manager along
with another lieutenant ordered me out of the unit to meet with them.
They asked waht had happened. Again, I repeated everything to them.
They asked me if I said something first to _ _ _ _ _ and if deserved
or provoked it. If I was being provocative they would have sent me to
the hold (isolation unit). I told them this is clearly all on the tape,
and to look at it, and see _ _ _ _ _ bursting into the cell, grabbing
my juices and milk, and throwing them out of the cell, and coming back
in, and throwing out my religious texts and other books, and then taking
my bed sheet (that we use as a prayer rug because the PCCF does not
provide us with prayer rugs, or as a matter of fact halal meals, Qurans
, or Muslim services. They tried to suggest it was my fault saying I
was lying and being "coy". I told them I have witnesses for
the whole first event and multiple witnesses for the rest, and again,
urged them to see the tapes. They then interviewed another inmate; and
when they saw that our stories matched, they tried to suggest and coerce
him into stating our story was rehearsed.
Myself and most of the immigration detainees
feel very violated and brutalised by _ _ _ _ _'s assault on a religion,
and we fear for our own safety. This is not an isolated incident and
there are others including Christians who suffer similar ordeals. I
am not charged with a crime, nor have I served or am serving a criminal
sentence. Many of us are being detained unlawfully under the disguise
of a civil detention. Yet we are being treated worse than criminals.
These abuses take place because many detainees cannot properly defend
themselves, and do not have a family or a lawyer that can help them.
I am requesting your assistance, feel free to forward this to legal
and human rights organizations, government officials or media outlets.
Please help us."
The following letter contained
signatures of witnesses:
"To whom it may concern,
I hope you have received my letter dated
8/18/09 about the religious abuse and discrimination that I have been
subjected to at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (PCCF). As
a consequence of filing a PCCF institutional grievance, the PCCF began
retaliating against those of the Muslim faith.
On 8/19/09 as the Mulsims were praying
in the corner of the unit (because no prayer area or Mulim services
are provided) PCCF guard _ _ _ _ _ began stepping on their prayer blanket,
disrupting their prayers, pushing himself between the one leading the
prayers and the wall, and at the same time pushed _ _ _ _ _ . as he
lead the prayers, and then screamed in his face, "Do not fucking
touch me," repeating this, shouting in a threatening and violent
manner, as everyone continued praying.
When PCCF guard _ _ _ _ _ saw that a grievance
was being filed, he took revenge against brother _ _ _ _ _ approximately
2 hours later in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping,
he put him in solitary confinement.
As you already know, only one day before
on 8/18/09 guard _ _ _ _ _ burst into my cell and took my books and
religious texts and desecrated them while saying, "You are lucky
I don't take your faggot ass Quran too." For fear of further retaliation
we did not submit the grievance form. This incident was recorded by
the PCCF camera system."
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Putting
a New Meaning to Negligence
I recieved this
letter from one of the inmates regarding a man I'd seen while visiting
the prison. His fiancee and I had talked on the way up to the visitation
room, so I knew some of his story. That little bit was horrific, so
I asked if someone could get me more information about him. He did eventually
get a lawyer to force ICE to fix his jaw, but was deported soon after
before that could be done. In this man's case he was convicted of a
crime and was serving a sentence for that. He was not in disagreement
with being deported. The details of what he did and did not do to get
in trouble could vary depending upon who you talked to. However, a broken
jaw left untreated is not something open to interpretation. This story
from an inmate demonstrates the other side of life behind bars, the
one we are not shown by the media.
I spoke to that guy you were asking about.
It took some time, though. See, he can't speak very well. Not because
he doesn't know English, because of his jaw. His name is S---------
----------. He was sentenced for armed robbery. Two guys that he knew
got into a fight over a girl. One whacked the other over the head with
a beer bottle S---------- broke that fight up, because he felt it was
not the best way to resolve respect issues.Some time later the guy who
was hit brought the police over the S--------'s house and stated that
guy who hit him also took $550 and two rings. When asked about that,
S------told the police that it was not true. and that he didn't know
where the man who was hit was. For that he was charged as an accomplice.
He was offered a deal of 10 months, but he refused. He took it to trial,
certain that he would win, but wound up sentenced to 8 to 10 years.
People told him if he appealed he could get even more time and this
time he believed them.
He was sent to SBCC in population known
as Shirly Max. He didn't want any part of the gangsta' games that were
going on in there, so he enrolled in as many programs as he could. After
a while he got a job working in the kitchen. Theproblem with him was,
he didn't see himself as a criminal and that tends to piss off everybody,
trust me, I know first hand. People tend to mistake it for a challenge
to authority. So one of these days in year of our Lord, 2003, one of
the C.O.s wasn't having much fun anymore. To fix that dangerous situation,
he waved over S---------- and asked him ofr ID. When S----- complied,
C.O. asked him, "You don't care if I put you into the hole, do
you?" You see, when asked for teh I.D. inmate is supposed to be
afraid, start pleading, try to figure out which one of hie numerous
transgressions he is going to be punished for. Because C.O. is always
finding something that the inmate did wrong, and it doesn't have to
be real. But our boy, S-------- would not comply, and started mocking
the C.O. by doing exactly what he was told to do. He produced the I.D.
when hewas told to, he went to his cell when he was told to, he wouldn't
fight when he was handcuffed and shackled, pushed and punched, and at
that point C.O.s felt that they had no other option but to drop big,
bad S-------- - all of about five feet of him - on the floor and one
of them pressed his knee into S-------'s back while the other stepped
on this dangerous criminal's face and ground it into the floor like
one does when one stomps on a cockroach. After all, nothing reminds
a lowlife criminal his place better than hearing his jaw bones snap
under C.O.s boot. And it's not like he was dealing with an American.
Two weeks later when the swelling on his
face wouldn't go away S--------- was taken to Sherley's hospital. When
they looked at the x rays they realized that there was nothing they
could do there. He was rushed to Mass General where doctors made decision
that it's necessary to perform surgery where pieces of bone would be
removed from S-------'s thigh and teh metal plate in his jaw would be
replaced with that bone. It never happened though. And medical bills,
way over $4,000 were sent to S-----------. In 2006 he was approached
by INS and was told that if he signed the deportation papers he would
be deported, so he did. Ungrateful SOB wanted to escape the hospitality
of the U.S. government. Can't say that I blame him. But more than three
years later, he still enjoys three square meals a day, compliments of
Uncle Sam.
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Torture by
Any Other Name . . . Nurse Ratched Lives!
This is a statement
from Jose Manuel Parra Molinar. It was sent to me by another inmate
with the request that be made public in the event of his death or deportation.
It is a miracle this man survived his treatment at the hands of ICE.
In my eyes this constitutes torture, but apparently it is not deemed
worthy of action or correction by ICE as similar situations are going
on to this day. Jose has since been deported:
Dec 2007
To Whom it May Concern,
1. On 11, 30, 2007 Ice
officers took me into a custody at Fort Devens, MA saying that they
had everything set up to get my medical treatment, which includes dialysis,
Type 1 diabetes and high blood pressure treatments.
2. ICE officers took me to Boston MA and put me in a cell. At about
8:00 or 9:00pm I asked 3 officers for my medication and they told me
to wait for a nurse, the nurse never arrived.
3. At that time, law enforcement deputy D----- and another officer from
Bristol County picked me up in Boston. I was already very sick. Deputy
D------ also told ICE officers that I was sick, but all they did was
feed me a sandwich and milk without any medication that I am supposed
to take every time I eat.
4. Two deputy officers transported me from Boston to Bristol County.
very sick and with chest pains, on the back of a van in a steel cage
without seat belts and all chained up. Again putting my life in danger.
5. When I finally got to Bristol County, Deputy D----- again told the
correctional officers that I was sick and that I needed immediate medical
assistance.
6. Correctional officer in charge put me in a cell and left me there
untreated, even though I told him several times that I was very ill.
Finally, about 45 minutes of calling him, he finally showed up and told
me to “stop faking it.”
7. When a nurse finally checked my vital signs, my blood pressure was
extremely high (215 over 145) and my blood sugar was 525. The nurse
told me that she couldn‘t do nothing until they get me into the
system. After another hour, two correctional officers took me to a hospital
and the doctor told me that I could have died for not getting immediate
medical assistance. I spent nine days in St Luke’s Hospital (New
Bedford, MA) until the social worker made INS to sign a contract to
make sure that I had a place to obtain dialysis. The S.W. also sent
a letter to Washington DC for me, recommending compassion Release for
me from immigration custody. After I was released from St Luke’s
Hospital, the Bristol County Correctional Department placed me in their
medical unit that consists of a 24/7 isolation lock down, took away
my glasses, put a mattress over a cement block floor and three sheets.
The minute they put me in that cell I fell because I can’t see
without my glasses and hurt my arm where I have my fistula from dialysis
and started bleeding, again they didn’t do anything about it,
only put a gauze with a tape. That same day my blood sugar suddenly
dropped twice and when I asked officer C---- that I was sick and may
need some medical attention he just answered “Why don’t
you just go back to your country?” and he never called for the
nurse and if he did, she never showed up. After I told him a couple
of times again that I was getting sick he just told the nurse that I
was “whining” and she completely ignored me too. I spent
two days laying on the mattress, on the cement floor, very sick again
and until this day I haven’t feel any better. Due to their unprofessionalism
I lost the little functioning that I had left in my kidneys. At this
time I fear for my life and well being, even if I manage to somehow
survive this abuse and torture inflicted on me, both by the Boston ICE
officers and the Bristol County Correctional Facility medical staff
and officers I don’t know how I will be able to recover as both
my physical and mental health has been damaged. I hope you may be able
to kindly assist me on this very urgent and serious matter.
Dec. 2008
To Whom it May Concern,
1. On 01, 02, 2008 I became
very ill due to the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office “food”
that I am forced to consume, sometimes twice a day almost every day.
It consists of an old smelly piece of a frozen hamburger patty with
flavorless dried rice. I let the correctional officer know that the
patty was bad and caused me to vomit in the past few days. He told me
he was going to call the food service. The food services told him that
there was nothing wrong with the meat and that that was all they had,
so I ate it.
2. At about 2:00am of 01, 02, 2008 I started vomiting again. When the
correctional officer tried to wake me up at 5:30amto go to dialysis
I was very weak and nauseated and started vomiting again. The C.O. called
the nurse, but she never showed up to assist me, instead she sent a
wheel chair with the C.O. to take me to her office. My blood pressure
was very high. She just offered me Pepto-Bismol tablets, but couldn’t
swallow any pills due to the nausea and vomiting. I was feeling very
dizzy and very weak and could not imagine being chained the whole day
during the transportation and dialysis treatment. All I really wished
for was to stay in the unit and rest.
3. The doctor came and said that my blood pressure was very high (about
180 over 120) and that all I needed was dialysis. He ordered me to Boston
MA to get the dialysis, which I refused because I was so sick and weak.
4. The deputies took me back to the prison and the Bristol County medical
staff put me in their “medical unit” as a punishment. The
“medical unit” consists of a very filthy and unheated cell
with a mattress on the cement block, two very thin sheets and no blankets.
They left me there without medical attention, even though I repeatedly
told the guards that I was very ill and developed severe chest pains.
The guard (C.O. R----) said he called the nurse. The nurse never arrived.
5. I fell on the floor and started vomiting and attempted to call out
for help after an hour or so, nurse M----- with correctional officers
R---- and F------- began making fun of me because I was still vomiting,
unable to get up from the floor, pleading for help. Also correctional
officer M---- went up to the cell door and started threatening me, saying
that if I keep banging on the door he was going to use something worse
against me than locking me up in the freezing and very filthy cell.
I felt helpless, completely humiliated, suffering an extreme physical
and emotional pain, while being verbally abused and laughed on by Nurse
M---- and correctional officers R---- and F--------.
6. Finally nurse M---- checked my blood pressure and said it was “to
the tops.” She said it was due to my banging on the door and she
left. Again I received no medical attention. Two hours later, nurse
M---- decided to give me my regular daily medication, and checked my
blood pressure while covering the machine. Never-the-less, I saw half
of the top number, which was 18? Over 2, but nurse M---- wrote on the
medical record 14? over ?. I asked her what was my blood pressure. She
replied that it was “none of my business!” I asked her why
she wouldn’t let me see the number on the machine. She started
screaming at me that it was “her machine!” also I asked
her for my renagel pills. She gave me only two. I told her that I was
allowed to have 15 pills every 24 hours by doctor’s order, so
she gave me two more pills and said she “was the doctor now!”
7. Further more, the nurse and the C.O’s refused to tell me their
names, even though I asked them several times. Then nurse m---- saw
me that I read her name on the medical sheet and she immediately started
hiding everything and kept screaming at me that it was none of my business.
I began vomiting again. C.O. R----- was laughing and making fun of me.
8. The doctor came to see me on 12, 03, 2008 and told me only if I don’t
refuse to be chained and transported to Boston for the dialysis treatment
he would let me out of the “medical unit.” I explained that
I do not refuse dialysis, that I am nust very ill from the bad food
and weak from the constant vomiting and nausea. He told me again that
I would be locked up until I undergo dialysis.
9. That same day 01, 03, 2008 at about 4:30pm my blood sugar suddenly
dropped. I had a glucose tube to treat insulin reactions and immediately
started taking it. C. O. C------ entered the filthy cell and took the
glucose tube from me. I explained to him what it was for and he took
it anyway and said nurse M----- asked him to bring it to her. When M-----
after 1 hour checked my blood sugar it was very low and she still wanted
to give me the insulin. I told her that I couldn’t take it because
I was not eating due to the vomiting and she said I was refusing it.
10. I was transferred back to ICE building on 01, 04, 2008 and to this
day I’m still very sick and fear further punishments in their
“medical unit.” This is the 4th time in one month that Bristol
Count y Facility correctional officers and medical staff put my well
being at risk.
I am a person with disabilities,
severe kidney failure, type 1 diabetes and high blood pressure, all
of them chronic. I fear for my life in the custody of the US government
and immigration and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. If my condition
does not improve or becomes worse, I fear I may not be able to withstand
further torture and may die.
Jose Manuel Parra Molinar
ID # 148861
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