LOMPOC FEDERAL PRISON NEWS BRIEF
by Ronald Del Raine On June 17, 1998, here in the "New Rock" (as the guards' jackets are emblazoned) a lockdown was ordered. Why? Officially, there was trouble brewing between the White Odonists and the Black Muslims. In reality, no tension existed between these groups. (Meanwhile, overtime and hazardous duty pay will be collected.)
As usual, the "ringleaders and trouble makers" were selected from the "hole." Curiously, of the nearly two dozen victims selected, only three were Muslims. But among the three was Mohammad Salameh, convicted for the World Trade Center bombing in New York. When the SORT (Special Operations Response Team) crew, clad in their ninja armor, helmets with face masks and the usual battlefield accouterments, took Mohamp;mad out of his cell backwards, as per custom, they clamped the handcuffs on his wrists tight, cutting off circulation and damaging nerves.
Then, enroute to the "hole," his arms were jerked up hard and high and his head was slammed into several sets of bars causing cuts, contusions, and eye damage. His toes were bleeding after a correctional officer stamped on his foot.
This sport evidently amused one of them as he jocularly remarked, "This is more fun than Desert Storm." One of the guards carried a video camera, but of course, it wasn't turned on.
With the help of jailhouse lawyers, Mohammad filed a lawsuit in federal court against two of the guilty parties. His Motion to Compel Discovery (to identify the other defendants), although mailed, never arrived at the court. However, a jury trial is forthcoming.
The court refused to appoint counsel, and prisoner assistance at trial is now forbidden, leaving Mohammad a Stranger In a Strange Land.
Little did Mohammad know -- not only was he sent to prison as punishment, but he was also sent for more punishment.