Prison Rebel Birthdays for December

  • December 3, 2019 12:21 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

Inspired by the spirit of the Political Prisoners Birthday crew, here’s a short listing of some rebel prisoners who have upcoming birthdays in September. For an an introduction on how to write to prisoners and some things to do and not to do, go here. If you have the time, please also check IWOC’s listing of prisoners facing retaliation for prison strike-related organizing.

Fred “Muhammad” Burton

Fred Burton is one of the Philly 5, a group of men accused of an alleged attack on a police station that left one officer killed. He was sentenced to a life term for murder. Burton has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

Birthday: December 15

Address:

Smart Communications/PA DOC
Fred Burton
AF3896
SCI Somerset
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida
33733
USA

Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Alejandro in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved out of state to Pennsylvania, where many Vaughn defendants are being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Birthday: December 17

Address:

Smart Communications / PA DOC
Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz – NW2883
SCI Camp Hill
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Jonathan Rodriguez

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Jonathan in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted R. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Birthday: December 31

Address:

Smart Communications / PA DOC
Jonathan Rodriguez – NU0434
SCI Houtzdale
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL, 33733

Healing & Justice – Honoring Dr. Mutulu Shakur – Philadelphia

  • November 30, 2019 9:03 pm

from Facebook

Book an appointment for acupuncture, massage or an herbal consultation for yourself or as a gift for someone who deserves it. Through his revolutionary work with Lincoln Detox, Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America and the Harlem Institute of Acupuncture, Dr. Shakur utilized acupuncture to not only heal but also empower. In honor of this legacy, licensed acupuncturists, massage therapists and herbalists will come together at Six Fishes Neighborhood Acupuncture to provide care for sliding scale donations of $25- $50.

Donations are tax-deductible & support Dr. Shakur’s legal defense, commissary essentials, and projects promoting justice for the Black community. In solidarity with long-term political prisoner from Philadelphia who is battling cancer, Russell Maroon Shoatz, a portion of proceeds from the event will go to his support fund. Cash is accepted or for a tax deduction, bring check or money order made out to CAD.

Since space is limited, use the form below to schedule an appointment: http://mutulushakur.com/site/2019/11/healing-justice-philadelphia-2019/

[December 7 from 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM at Six Fishes Acupuncture,  Chinese Herbs & Massage 2308 Grays Ferry Ave]

Tagging spree

  • November 30, 2019 5:14 pm

Submission

We went on a hella tagging spree tonight in preparation for Black Friday. Started at broad and walnut and got all the way up to broad and diamond with 2 cans of paint and a white paint marker. Hit the armed forces recruiting center, a Bank of America, some construction equipment, properties currently being developed, 24 indiego bike tires slashed, and a lot learned and there was much joy taken in simple acts of rebellion. Fuck this colonial holiday, super fuck Black Friday, fuck those who would have us feel shame around mental illness and lack of perceived productivity under this coercive capitalist structure, when the real people who deserve to feel shame are those bulldozing and developing land that used to be wild and beautiful, banks that collaborate with ICE, and fucking army recruiters!
Signed, with all the love in our hearts-

Prison abolitionist queers who will never stop disrupting. Stay sexy, Stay violent, Stay unpredictable

Stevie Wilson on Organizing Abolitionist Study Group in Pennsylvania Prison

  • November 23, 2019 6:25 pm

From AMW English

The following is a selection from a transcript of a podcast interview with Black and queer abolitionist writer Stevie Wilson. Stevie is being held captive by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and was recently released from solitary confinement. He speaks about the importance of abolitionist study, as a space of common encounter that undermines the hold that the carceral state has on our lives, both inside and outside prison walls.

So we know that you recently got released from, from solitary, I believe on October 17. Right?

Yeah, I got transferred from Smithfield and I’m now at SCI Fayette. Um, you know, sometimes when you’re an ally behind the walls… Sometimes means more than being an ally, being an accomplice actually. And, uh, it was a situation where a prisoner was attacked by two guards and, I kinda had an accident that we did online and the administrators found out about the accident. I was behind it and so they, uh, they moved to get me out of the way and kind of bury me in the hole. But thankfully because of the support that I had outside, it applied pressure on them and they got me out of the hole, but they transferred me to another prison. So now I’m — I was three and a half hours with my family. Now I’m six hours with my family, about 40 minutes South of Pittsburgh.

Wow. So this is basically in direct retaliation against organizing on the inside, right?

Definitely. It’s something that’s to be expected though. When you do this type of work behind the walls, it’s not about being an ally. You will become an accomplice and so whatever that person is doing they’re going to try do to you also. So I knew at one point they were trying to bury the young man in the hole because when they attack us, they try to flip it and say, you know, we attacked them. So they’ll bury them from six to nine months in the hole. And because we were successful in getting them out of the hole until a safer prison, you know, I became a target after that he was gone. And so, uh, I was able to go bother them and I did once again because of the people like Critical Resistance. I was able to come out of the hole, I did about two months battling with these people. We were able to come out of the hole and um, and, and be placed at Fayette now. So… but the work doesn’t stop. The work doesn’t stop you know?

Yeah. Do you have a sense that this is also an indirect attack on the sort of self organized abolitionist study groups inside as well?

Yeah. I think, I think…well, I’m gonna tell you something: That prison was a little different where many of the groups that we were doing were actually taking the place of programs that they had actually discontinued, right? So there was a lack of programming there. So we were putting together the transformative justice group and it was something that they liked, they gave us space for it. They gave us space for it you know, um, and what’s happening in Pennsylvania is because of the, the rehabilitation programs have been gutted. The educational programs have been gutted. There has been a space opened up for prisoners to initiate groups, right? Um, and so we did it at Smithfield, you know, and I’m here at Fayette, it’s kind of the same thing now, you know, where people don’t have anything to do when the prison wants them to do something, you know. So once again, there is an opening for us here.

So tell us a little bit more about the abolitionist study group inside that you helped run. Can you tell us more about what y’all do?

Well, the first one we called 9-9-71, obviously in reference to Attica and it was a general abolitionist study group. We started with something like “Are Prisons Obsolete?” By Angela Davis and what we do is we do a chapter reading and then we would come back and we have discussion questions. We focus a lot on definitions because this is the first time many people were hearing about abolition. You know, when you think of a world without prisons, they thought we were crazy. You know, the first thing out of their mouths, “what are we going to do with the murderers and rapists and things like that?” And so we had to really talk about basic definitions and things like safety and community and things like that. So that was the largest group because it was more generalized. We also had a group called Circle Up, which is a transformative justice group, most of those men there were under the age of 25, about 23 young men. And they were doing a program called Circle Up and it was talking about transformative justice. How we apply, inside the prison in and our families and our communities. SAS was a Queer Aboltiionist group… That group we started because it was sometimes difficult to talk about those types of issues in 9-9-71. So we had a group that went through “Captive Genders” and queer injustice and works like this from an abolitionist perspective. And then we also had book clubs… that has been taken over by Haymarket books now. So here at Fayette we are going to be doing it and Haymarket books will be providing the books for us. So we’re happy to have that program still continue.

Philadelphia, PA: Anti-ICE Protesters Disrupt Devereux Gala Against Detention of Migrant Children

  • November 20, 2019 8:54 pm

from It’s Going Down

Report from recent action in Philadelphia against Devereux which has accepted a contract  to open several migrant youth detention facilities.

On Saturday night, over 100 Jews, immigrants, and allies marched in the streets as others from the group infiltrated the annual fundraising gala of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. The demonstration was part of a larger campaign highlighting the $14 million contract Devereux accepted from the federal government to open several migrant youth detention centers. This action is the latest escalation from the national Jewish movement Never Again working in collaboration with local immigrant justice organization Juntos to demand that Devereux stop detaining migrant children.

On the streets outside of the event, protesters marched from 8th and Cherry to the National Constitution Center where the gala was held. Protestors chanted slogans like “It’s Not a Shelter, It’s a Jail” and blocked the Constitution Center parking garage where Devereux was offering free parking to its guests.

On October 17th, several dozen protestors from this campaign blocked the main exit to Devereux National Headquarters while protesting the nonprofit’s plans to hold migrant children in a detention center in Devon, PA. Devereux plans to use its $14 million contract from the Office of Refugee Resettlement to operate multiple youth detention centers nationwide, including one in Devon, PA, where they plan to house 42 migrant children who crossed the border without an adult.

Although Devereux calls them “shelters,” their facilities for migrant children are in fact detention centers since the children held there will be forbidden from leaving. “These young people need to be immediately reunited with their families or sponsors, not detained,” said Juntos Executive Director Erika Almirón, adding that agencies like Devereux “aren’t trying to help these children, they’re trying to make money.”

Devereux claims to be “apolitical” and “neutral” on immigration policy, but its participation in the terrifying status quo is cowardly. The number of kids in cages is higher than it’s ever been, and only growing under this administration. In 2019 alone, 70,000 migrant children were detained, including infants and toddlers — more than ever before in the US and more than any other country in the world.

The detention center in Devon recently had its zoning permit revoked and organizers demand that Devereux accept this decision. They further demand an end to corporations profiting off of immigrant detention, the complete defunding of ICE and CBP as overall agencies, and permanent protection for all undocumented immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Monday, 11/25: Letter-writing for Black Liberation Prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz

  • November 18, 2019 11:59 pm

from Philly ABC

Join us once again for monthly letter-writing to either strike up correspondence with someone new or keep up your correspondence with an existing penpal in prison.

When: Monday, November 25th, 6:30-8:30pm

Where: A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave.

Bring only yourself or friends and comrades. All letter-writing supplies and snacks are provided.

This month we will be sending letters to Russell Maroon Shoatz. Maroon is serving life in prison after being charged with four other known Black Panther Party members for an attack on a police station, committed by unknown persons presumably in retaliation for Frank Rizzo’s persecution of the BPP and tensions arising from police brutality and police killings of Black youth.  Maroon has not wavered in his commitment to Black liberation and community involvement despite almost 22 years in solitary confinement before he was transferred into general population in 2014 after a lawsuit filed on his behalf.

Earlier this year, Maroon experienced some health issues resulting in a lengthy stay in the infirmary and an operation that revealed Stage 4 colorectal cancer. He has since been transferred to the medical facility at SCI Fayette for chemotherapy. This facility is further from family and loved ones, so we’ll send him some extra mail and also will be co-hosting the upcoming December 7th Healing and Justice fundraiser to support him as well as Dr. Mutulu Shakur, the inspiration for the annual H&J events held all over North America.

We will also send birthday cards to political prisoners with birthdays in December: Muhammad Burton (the 15th), Chelsea Manning (the 17th), and Casey Brezik (the 29th).

Campaign Targeting Devereux’s Youth Detention Centers Escalates as Protestors Plan to March

  • November 15, 2019 5:38 pm

from It’s Going Down

Call for mass march on November 16th in Philadelphia against an immigrant youth detention center.

Philadelphia – On Saturday night, Jews, immigrants, and allies will march through downtown Philadelphia to protest the creation of privately-held immigrant youth detention centers by Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. Devereux recently received a $14 million contract from the federal government to detain migrant children in facilities across the country, including in Devon, PA.

This action is the latest escalation from the national Jewish movement Never Again working in collaboration with local immigrant justice organization Juntos to demand that Devereux stop detaining migrant children. On October 17th, several dozen protestors from this campaign blocked the main exit to Devereux National Headquarters.

We demand that Devereux cancel its plans to hold 42 migrant children in a detention center in Devon, PA. We further demand an end to corporations profiting off of immigrant detention, the complete defunding of ICE and CBP as overall agencies, and permanent protection for all undocumented immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Devereux claims to be apolitical while it is catering to the political ends of the U.S. government. This was made clear when Devereux’s Leah Yaw told the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), “Should ORR needs dictate, Devereux is ready to grow capacity well beyond the 182 beds [initially opened] during this project’s three-year award cycle.” Devereux cannot remain apolitical when it makes covert promises to the Trump government that it will supply more and more child detention centers should the white nationalists in charge of our immigration policy deem it necessary.

There is no reason that unaccompanied children should be detained. In applying for asylum, they have committed no crime, and for decades, the US did not incarcerate them. Yet in 2019, nearly 70,000 migrant children have been detained so far, including infants and toddlers. While Devereux claims to be offering vital services to traumatized children with “specialized needs,” they are merely perpetuating trauma through a system of violence that has taken these children from their families and holds them indefinitely.

While the guests at Devereux’s 20th-anniversary gala enjoy appetizers and wine, the money they donate enriches an organization that seeks not only to prop up, but expand the current detention-and-deportation regime.  As Jews, we know that people are isolated in secure facilities so the rest of the population can look the other way. Never Again stands with Juntos against private detention and the entire immigration deportation machine. We know that when a government targets one group of people, it is only a matter of time before everyone’s freedom is under attack.

Join us, 6 PM, Saturday 11/16/19, N 8th and Cherry St Philadelphia, PA.

A Discussion on the Growth of Black & Anti-Colonial Anarchist Formations

  • November 6, 2019 12:17 am

from It’s Going Down

[Listen here]

In this episode we were lucky enough to speak with two people on the growth of Black, New Afrikan, and anti-colonial anarchist formations. One of the people joining us in the discussion is a part of the Philadelphia chapter of the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement and the other person is from the Afrofuturist Abolitionists of the Americas.

Our discussion covers a lot of ground, but we speak heavily on a workshop that the comrades are presenting across the so-called US on black anarchism, the recent theoretical Anarkata statement, as well as everything from anti-police and prison abolition organizing, to the impact of the Ferguson rebellion, survival programs, and much more.

One of the themes that came up several times, is finding “little a” anarchism or simply anarchy, in the day to day self-organization and revolt of everyday people in the face of the American plantation and finding ways to build solidarity and action with these organic forms. Our guests also stress the need for the anarchist movement to stop looking just to European groups, history, and movements for inspiration, and instead draw from the rich history of resistance to settler colonialism, slavery, and industrial capitalism in the so-called Americans, in order to better inform our organizing.

Music: Sima Lee and Black Star

For Info: Set up a workshop by getting in touch with Philly RAM here or via email (ramphilly@protonmail.com), read Anarkata statement, Black Rose reader on Black Anarchism here, and Burning Down the American Plantation from the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement here.

Reading Recommendations: 

As Black As Resistance by William C. Anderson and Zoé Samudzi

The Progressive Plantation by Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin

Anarchism and the Black Revolution by Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin

A Soldier’s Story: Revolutionary Writings by a New Afrikan Anarchist by Kuwasi Balagoon

Burn Down the American Plantation by the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement

Black Fighting Formations by Russell Maroon Shoatz

The Dragon and the Hydra by Russell Maroon Shoatz

No Bail for Unite the Right 2 Organizer Fred Arena

  • November 6, 2019 12:14 am

from It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]

Fred C. Arena, of Salem, New Jersey, was charged last week with falsifying a security clearance application in January 2019.

Arena is a member of Vanguard America, the neo-Nazi organization that James Fields marched with in August 2017, shortly before he drove a car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, murdering Heather Heyer at the Unite the Right rally.

Nonetheless, Arena helped plan the Unite the Right 2 in 2018, under the pseudonym “McCormick Foley.” He was exposed in June 2018 by Unicorn Riot, after antifascists infiltrated the planning group and leaked the chat logs.

In August 2018, Arena was questioned by the FBI about his involvement in Vanguard America, which he denied during the interview. In January 2019, he applied for a security clearance to work at a Navy yard not named in court documents, and again failed to mention his ties to the neo-Nazi group.

If convicted, Arena faces up to 25 years in prison. He is currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Monday, October 28th: Open Letter-writing

  • October 27, 2019 3:38 am

from Philly ABC

When: Monday, October 28th; 6:30-8:30 pm

Where: A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Avenue

Join us as we mail our 2019 Running Down the Walls reportback to US held political prisoners. Mailing prisoners news about events a few times a year keeps them in the loop with outside organizing. If you have been wanting to become a penpal of a political prisoner and would like a suggestion of who to write or want to chat about other ideas to free political prisoners we welcome you to do some at this event!

As always, we encourage anyone who already has a correspondence with a prisoner to attend our monthly events as an opportunity to share snacks with other prison abolitionists while you keep up with your regular correspondence. This month, we will be sending birthday cards to the US-held political prisoner with a birthday in November: Josh Williams (the 25th).

Running Down The Walls 2019 Reportback

  • October 5, 2019 7:02 am

from Philly ABC

Philly ABC is happy to report the success of our second annual Running Down The Walls in support of political prisoners, held on September 7th, roughly 2 years from the date that our group formed. We again chose a late summer date for the event, but we hope to align our 2020 RDTW with other ABC chapters. We also joined the ABCF earlier this year to more closely work with our long-term comrades in the LA and former Philly ABC chapters.

We gathered at 10 am in FDR park for a yoga warm-up led by Sheena Sood. It was a beautiful morning, warm and sunny with a nice breeze coming off the lake. Two laps around the park loop is conveniently almost exactly 5K. Like last year, we split into 3 groups: walkers, joggers and runners. Walkers left the starting line around 11 am, followed by the joggers at 11:10 and the runners at 11:20. Afterward, we gathered for a group photo, speeches by Mike Africa Jr. (son of Debbie and Mike Africa who were also participating in the event), Janet and Janine Africa, and refreshments provided by Food Not Bombs Solidarity.

[video]

[video]

Together we raised a total of $1940 to split between the ABCF Warchest, and the Never Give Up! project started by Mike Africa Jr. to provide long-term support for released members of the MOVE 9. We chose royal blue as the color for this year’s shirt to support and raise awareness for Chuck Africa’s fight against colon cancer from within prison. Chuck Africa is up for parole later this year, and along with Delbert Africa is one of the remaining members of the MOVE 9 not yet paroled. Another long-term comrade behind bars in PA, Russell Maroon Shoatz, is also battling colo-rectal cancer so we ran in royal blue in solidarity with him as well. Maroon’s support team is collecting funds to help secure him holistic health options.

At the time of last year’s RDTW, in commemoration of 40 years since the arrest of the MOVE 9, only Debbie had been paroled. This year we were grateful for not only the release of Mike and his reunification with Debbie and family, but the release of Janet, Janine and Eddie as well, all of whom participated for the first time outside of prison walls! We look forward to more successes in the next year!

Until all are free!
Philly ABC

Wilmington, DE: #BurnDay Banner Drop Against Biden’s Crime Bill

  • September 17, 2019 2:42 pm

from It’s Going Down

We heard the call to action by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak!

From the birth state of the Crime Bill written by 1994 Senator Joe Biden, we wholeheartedly say burn the crime bill and reject the racist institution of the criminal justice system. Today as the #Vaughn17 hero’s Jarreau Ayers and Dwayne Staats faced their oppressors and “Starred into the eyes of the system and didn’t flinch,” ( quote from Jarreau Ayers on 9/13/2019), we stand in solidarity with all those who have suffered under mass incarceration due to this crime bill.

All power to the people!
Coalition of Supporters to Free the #Vaughn17

Monday, Sept 23rd: Letter-writing for anarchist hacker Jeremy Hammond

  • September 16, 2019 12:24 am

from Philly ABC

We are at it once again sending some love to punitively locked up for their political beliefs and facing additional repression while inside for the same reason.

When: Monday, September 23rd, 6:30-8:30pm
Where: A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave.

Bring only yourself or friends and comrades. All letter-writing supplies and snacks are provided.

Jeremy Hammond is an anarchist computer hacker serving 10 years for leaking the personal information of 860,000 customers of private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) through the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. This information revealed that Stratfor spies on activists, among others, at the behest of corporations and the U.S. government.

Almost to the end of his sentence at a federal prison, in August 2019, Jeremy was summoned to appear before a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and transferred to a Virginia jail where he now faces up to an additional 18 months for contempt by refusing to testify. It is believed to be the same grand jury that is currently imprisoning Chelsea Manning for bravely refusing to testify. Like grand jury resisters before him, Jeremy firmly believes that grand juries are repressive tools of the government, used to investigate and intimidate activist communities and are abused by prosecutors to gain access to intelligence to which they are not entitled. The U.S. government’s blatant abuse of the grand jury process in this case continues to be a clear pattern of targeting, isolating and punishing outspoken truth-tellers and activists.

Jeremy has no intention of cooperating with this, or any other, grand jury he may be called in front of. Simply by calling him in front of this grand jury, the government has already added a minimum of nine months to his sentence by removing him from a program he was participating in at the federal prison he was serving his sentence at. His prison release date was projected to come around mid-December 2019, but because of his removal from the program and the summons to the grand jury his time incarcerated could be extended by over two years.

See bit.ly/5easyactions for all the information you need about writing to Jeremy including rules of what is acceptable to send through the mail.

We will also send birthday cards to political prisoners with birthdays in October: Skelly Stafford (the 2nd), Jamil Al-Amin (the 3rd), David Gilbert (the 5th), Malik Bey (the 8th), Jalil Muntaqim (the 17th), and Ed Poindexter (the 31st).

Uprising at George W. Hill Correctional Center, Pennsylvania

  • September 14, 2019 11:50 pm

from Perilous Chronicle

George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Thornton, Pennsylvania
September 2, 2019

According to the Daily Times, a guard at George W. Hill Correctional Facility reported a “full-blown riot” at the facility on Monday.

“I’ve been there almost 20 years and it was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in my life working at Delaware County prison,” said another guard. “It was horrible. It was unsafe.”

“Two entire blocks refused to lock in,” the guard stated.

In response to prisoners refusing to lock down, guards entered the block in an effort to show willingness to use force.

Prisoners responded by covering their faces with ripped bed sheets and wielding shoes against the guards. When it became clear the prisoners were not going to comply, the guards retreated and a CERT team was called in to respond to the uprising.

The CERT team was armed with pepper ball guns and reportedly shot over 25 prisoners. Prisoners were also hit with batons.

In total the standoff lasted about an hour.

The uprising reportedly started on a day when the air-conditioning units were not functioning properly in the prison.

A statement from a spokesperson for GEO Group, the private company that operates the facility, stated, “Staff responded to a small group of disruptive inmates that were repeatedly non-compliant,” the spokesperson said. “All policies and procedures were implemented to maintain the safety for the staff and inmates until the issue was resolved.”

An interior report of the incident indicated that a call came in at 3 p.m. Monday saying that two pods had refused to lock in. About 20 officers responded and successfully got one of the pods to lock down. The other pod of approximately 44 inmates refused orders to lock down.

The report indicates the last staff member out of the block dispersed MK-9 pepper spray into the area before exiting. Further attempts to communicate with the inmates in the block were unsuccessful.

There were still 26 inmates refusing to comply when the CERT team entered and used pepper balls in an effort to regain control of the pod. Guards ordered prisoners to lie down on the ground but only half complied, according to the report.

“It just turned into an all-out war,” said one guard who accompanied the CERT team, “They were not going down without a fight. It was unbelievably scary … It was like something you see out of TV.”

The remaining 13 inmates were eventually subdued and handcuffed. A search of the pod’s dayroom later uncovered a makeshift knife, according to the report.

One guard said in a statement,“This was just the beginning. Now they’re prepared. They tested us and now they’re going to do it again, because they know we’re short staffed. I’ve been there long enough and I’ve seen enough to know that will happen. A CO is going to die.”

Citations:

“Guard says staff put down ‘full-blown riot’ at Delco prison Monday“, Daily Times, September 4, 2016.

Article published: 9/12/19

Guard says staff put down ‘full-blown riot’ at Delco prison Monday

  • September 7, 2019 9:58 pm

from Mainstream Media

Issues of inmate misbehavior have escalated at George W. Hill Prison, with a “full-blown riot” taking place Monday afternoon during an air conditioner malfunction, according to one guard speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I’ve been there almost 20 years and it was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in my life working at Delaware County prison,” said another guard. “It was horrible. It was unsafe.”

“Two entire blocks refused to lock in,” said one guard. “One was able to lock in with verbal commands, the other refused with verbal commands.”

A guard said multiple staff members entered Block 7 – where at least two other violent incidents have occurred in the last month between inmates and guards – in an effort to show a willingness to use force if prisoners did not comply.

Inmates instead donned shoes and tore up bed sheets, wrapping them around their heads to protect themselves from pepper spray, according to the guard. When it became clear the inmates were prepared for a fight, the guard said staff was removed from the block and a Correctional Emergency Response Team – or CERT – was mobilized with pepper ball guns – essentially paintball guns in which the balls are filled with mace.

“We had to shoot multiple inmates,” he said. “A minimum of 26 inmates were shot with pepper balls.”

The guard said batons were also used to quell the inmates. Use of force lasted approximately 15 minutes before the block was brought under control, he said. All told, the standoff lasted about an hour.

A spokesperson for the Geo Group, the private, for-profit company managing the prison for the county, said the claims of the incident were exaggerated and “made by individuals with the intention of disrupting the safe operational flow of the facility.”

“Staff responded to a small group of disruptive inmates that were repeatedly non-compliant,” the spokesperson said. “All policies and procedures were implemented to maintain the safety for the staff and inmates until the issue was resolved.”

An interior report of the incident indicates the call came in at 3 p.m. Monday that two pods were refusing to lock in. Approximately 20 officers and sergeants responded. Guards explained there was some maintenance work ongoing on the roof and one of the pods was locked in without issue, according to the report.

The report says the second pod, consisting of 44 inmates, did not move when ordered and began displaying aggressive behavior, including “over talking the Sergeant and making comments of threats of fighting.”

The report indicates the last staff member out of the block dispersed MK-9 pepper spray to saturate the area, but further attempts to communicate with the inmates in the block were unsuccessful.

The report says there were still 26 inmates refusing to comply when the CERT team entered and used pepper balls in an effort to regain control. Guards ordered everyone to lie down on the ground but only half complied, according to the report.

“It just turned into an all-out war,” said one guard who accompanied the CERT team, coughing and gagging as he fought with inmates. “They were not going down without a fight. It was unbelievably scary … It was like something you see out of TV.”

The remaining 13 inmates were eventually subdued and handcuffed, and all prisoners in the block were strategically taken to medical for examination. A sweep of the pod’s dayroom later uncovered a makeshift knife, or shiv, according to the report.

“I’ve been there so long and I said, ‘It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when,’ because we’re so short staffed,” said one guard. “People blow this off and we’ve been saying it for years: It’s an unsafe place to work and no one cares and it’s awful. It’s an awful, scary place.”

A sergeant had previously been beaten with handcuffs and required hospitalization during a routine morning inspection Aug. 5 on that same block, and several inmates reportedly used heavy plastic trays to beat another inmate there Aug. 26.

The trays were eventually flung at a nurse and guard, who were trapped on the block for several minutes while backup was called in, according to one guard.

Inmates on that block had been placed on altered recreation last week, allowing guards to stagger exercise releases by tier or parts of tiers so they are easier to control, according to the guard. The block was supposed to remain on altered recreation until Saturday, he said, but was taken off early.

“Then this happened,” he said. “It’s just getting worse and worse in this place. It’s just got everything to do with how short-staffed it is in this place and the inmates are taking over.”

Delaware County Council Chairman John McBlain said he had spoken to Superintendent John Reilly Monday and Tuesday, and it was his understanding that a problem with an air conditioning compressor led about 20 inmates to refuse to go into their cells during a count, but the temperatures did not climb above 75 degrees.

“Ultimately the CERT team did go down and ushered everyone back in,” he said. “As these things go, it went well. You never want to have a situation where the inmates are not compliant with the rules there, but it sounds like they did a very good job of moving everybody back in. Every one of the inmates was taken to medical to be fully examined afterwards and there were no issues.”

McBlain said it was his understanding that there had been issues with drugs on that block over the summer, but he said Warden David Byrne had met with everyone on the block last week.

“They said today that they were analyzing whatever the reports were, talking to CID about it,” said McBlain. “I know the superintendent indicated there was a block representative for the inmates and he met with him yesterday and today.”

One guard said the inmates on Block 7 are inmates that are heading upstate, and the majority of them have done state time before. Another said that means they can’t be mixed into other areas of the prison to relieve tension on the block and the prison is too overcrowded to accommodate transfers at any rate.

Representatives for the Geo Group met with local prison guards and members of the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America to discuss staffing and training issues approximately two weeks ago.

But one guard reports that corrections officers are still being forced to work 16-hour shifts every other day as staffing problems persist, leading to safety issues for both guards and inmates. An inmate was found unresponsive on the morning of July 31 in an apparent suicide and two other inmates in the work release unit suffered non-fatal overdoses over the weekend of Aug. 24. Geo has not released the name of the suicide victim.

“These kinds of incidents happen because there’s just not enough staff to control the prison,” said one guard. “There are guys who have hundreds of hours of overtime getting mandated (for double shifts) every other day. You’re basically a walking zombie.”

“And then if you’re a little bit late, they write you up,” said another guard.

McBlain said the county keeps in constant contact with the superintendent and warden, and he does not know that staffing has been a particular issue at the facility, though he added it is always a challenge in the field of corrections.

“In general, it seems it’s been questioned whether the entire atmosphere, regarding the anti-prison groups and whatnot, encouraging individuals to create problems because they know all these things will be printed,” he said. “That seems to be on the uptick.”

But two longtime guards said the reality on the ground is that staff are not being given the resources they require to do their job safely and they fear someone is going to die.

One guard said this incident “absolutely” could have turned into a hostage situation and he fears a repeat of the 2017 uprising at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Del., that resulted in the death of Officer Steven Floyd.

“This was just the beginning,” he said. “Now they’re prepared. They tested us and now they’re going to do it again, because they know we’re short staffed. I’ve been there long enough and I’ve seen enough to know that will happen. A CO is going to die.”