CITIZEN-PRISONER NETWORK
European View of U.S. Justice
What we in the Netherlands hear of the U.S. justice system evokes
in us a deep-seated fear, recalling the old Germany, which was unable to
stop the Nazis from tormenting and attempting to eradicate their so-called
undesirables. Similarly, the United States appears unable to let go of the
concept of slavery. From the states of Alabama and Arizona come images of
chained human beings-declared by a court as undesirable or enemies of the
state-being herded along their roadways under the muzzles of guns. We hear
that the Texas Correctional Industries aspires to be the third largest corporation
in the United States with their own license plate, license plate sticker,
engraving, records, and conversion plants, plus factories producing furniture
and other commodities, utilizing unpaid prison labor. Is this an alternative
to the pre-Civil War cotton field? Here in the Netherlands we perceive the
United States' justice system the same as the slavery system, only slightly
evolved from a time when Blacks were killed, raped, and had their children
sold. The difference is that today the victims include Hispanics, Native
Americans, poor whites, and all who lack the ability to avoid the revenge
hidden under the cloak of justice.
Do these industries give prisoners any skills that will allow them to move
away from a life of crime, or is their purpose simply to provide the cheap
labor that will allow Texas to move up to its corporate dream? If prisoners
are not allowed to prepare themselves financially for release, they are
hopelessly trapped in a cycle, creating a social dilemma that hurts everyone.
We have asked ourselves why the United States was not allowing China to
sell things in America made by political prisoners there. The distinction
between what the United States considers acceptable for its own prisoners
and that which intrudes upon a Chinese prisoner's rights, is one that eludes
us. Could the U.S. meet the standards it applies to China's prisoners if
these were applied in an unbiased manner to its own prisons?
In Texas, visitors are proudly shown the museum that demonstrates the process
used to kill that state's prisoners. At Huntsville is Texas' largest prisoner
detention center. How truly morbid to find a civilized nation in this day
callously boasting of a newer version of Dachau, the difference being that
here they execute human beings one at a time. And how ironic to watch the
U.S. seek the freedom of Nelson Mandela, when the U.S. created the situation
that forced Amnesty International to examine evidence of racial discrimination
in the application of the death penalty in the U.S. Although the freedom
and eventual election of Nelson Mandela was a beautiful thing to see, I
couldn't believe my eyes when President Clinton and Hillary were in South
Africa celebrating Mandela's election, knowing full well that President
Clinton had previously approved the execution of a Black man who had undergone
a lobotomy and had the mentality of a five-year-old child.
All crimes have some reason, and if no one attempts to address the reasons,
solutions can never be found. Abuse of prisoners does not address reasons
or causes; it only works to diminish self-respect and create hostility.
This is a fundamental flaw in your justice system which desperately needs
to be addressed. Otherwise, the United States will embark upon a journey
from which it may never be able to return. Perhaps it is time to look to
the progressive nations that have justice systems that work. The legacy
of today's American justice system is not one you would want to leave the
children of the next millenium.
--Marion Wollersheim, The Netherlands
CORCORAN PRISON PRACTICES OUT OF CONTROL
Prisoners at Corcoran State Prison, south of Fresno, CA, have been beaten,
tortured and kept in prison because of the California Department of Correction
(CDoC) actions and the Corcoran staff. Set-up fights called "gladiator
fights" have resulted in 7 deaths and untold suffering. Beatings of
arriving prisoners called "greet the bus" have been routine for
years. In July of 1995, 36 prisoners arriving from Calipatria State Prison
were beaten and tortured. The guards broke the ribs of 6 prisoners. The
abuse was completely unprovoked. On April 2, 1994, Preston Tate was shot
in the head and killed to stop a fight in one of the gladiator arenas in
the SHU that was set up by Corcoran guards under CDoC rules.
California Prison Focus demands:
·RECONSIDERATION-Restore lost good time, remove gang labels & release
prisoners from long-term solitary confinement in the Security Housing Units.
·RESTITUTION-Financial payments for injuries and deaths, State support
of community services for all affected, prisoners and staff alike.
·Rehabilitation-Service centers for parolees that offer therapy for
the effects of State torture and job and educational opportunities.
·REPLACEMENT-Removal of all staff and administrators in the direct
chain of command over the human rights violations.
·REVIEW-U.S. State Department investigation under U.S. treaties: Convention
Against Torture and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
For more information, contact the Corcoran Committee of California Prison
Focus (formerly Pelican Bay Information Project), 2489 Mission St., #28,
San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 821-6545, Message (415) 452-3359.
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