New Digs

Written by Katfish

Monday, 23 November 2009 20:38

NEW DIGS

I'm inside the Federal Prison at Yazoo City, Mississippi. The convict population herein call this place “The Zoo”. Appropriate really.

The BOP has a “Standing Count” policy. We must assume it's because some convict somewhere croaked, and the guards counted his carcass a couple of times before discovering the convict was dead. Thus the policy- Stand up, show signs of life while being counted.

On the Columbus Day weekend, a particular guard, C.O. Craig, managed to sneak up on siz separate convicts during “Standing Count”. She was able to accomplish this by deliberately pressing her keys to her side so that they would not jangle as she walked. Premeditated stealth.

In an alarmingly accurate impersonation of Flip Wilson's “Geraldine” character, C.O. Craig suddenly appeared in the doorway of our 3-man cubicle. She screeched, “UNH-UNH! OH-NO-YOU-DID-NOT! Why are you NOT standing?”

We sprung to our feet as she came creeping up of course, but I guess not fast enough.

“Umm-because I didn't hear you coming”, I answered honestly.

“You're not SUPPOSED to hear me!”, she screamed manically.

So I'm thinking to myself, 'whoa, dude- if it's count time and we're supposed to be standing, aren't we supposed to know you're coming?”

C.O. Craig collected all of our convict I.D. Badges so she'd have our names and numbers when she wrote us shots (in the BOP system, a disciplinary report has been termed “a shot”. I don't know why, it just is). C.O. Craig caught six convicts listening for her keys to come down the run; six convicts she intentionally snuck up on; six I.D.s she stockpiled.

Of those six, two received “extra duty” in lieu of getting a shot. The four remaining convicts received shots. Let me define this for thee: The two who received “extra duty” simply had to push dust mops around for 10 minutes or something like that. The four who received shots had to stand before a Unit Disciplinary Committee (UDC-Two Other BOP Employees), where their phone privileges were taken for 60 days. Additionally, the convicts must also now remain in The Zoo for 18 more months BEFORE they can be considered for either lesser security or closer to home transfers.

PS.3420.90; page eight from the Bureau of Prison's Guards Code of Conduct Booklet. Quote:
“An employee may not show favoritism or give preferential treatment to one inmate, or a group of inmates over another.” UNQ.

The facts are incontrovertible, C.O. Craig's motives unmistakable. The two convicts who received extra duty are black.
C.O. Craig is black.

The four convicts who received shots and sanctions are NOT black.

Can you say “Reverse Discrimination?”

We filed for the always ineffectual A.R. (Administrative Remedy) on the very same day the UDC sanctioned us (10-13-09). As was 100% anticipated, the Warden denied us A.R., stating that our sanctions were appropriate. This, in reality, means that Warden Pearson is giving his personal stamp of approval RE guards violating BOP rules of employee conduct.

This simply will not do. Therefore I publicly encourage Nsombi Lambright of the Jackson Mississippi offices of the ACLU, and/or the D.O.J. In Washington, D.C. (I KNOW you guys review my blogs; the sitemeter-the internets equivalent of caller ID- says you do), to investigate C.O. Craigs prejudicial favoritism in this matter and to fully examine her motives because this is NOT an isolated incident.

It it had been a white guard giving two white convicts preferential treatment while in the same instant busting four black convicts' balls, there'd already be hell to pay. What's up with that?