KHALFANI MALIK KHALDUN REFUSES TO SURRENDER
On the occasion of transfer to the notorious Indiana
SHU control unit at Carlisle, IN
In prison, commitment to revolution has a very special
meaning and a special price paid To be identified as a revolutionary by
prison authorities means an almost permanent denial of parole, separation
from the other prisoners, solitary confinment (usually in the maximum security
wings of the prison) transfers from one prison to another. beatings and
bad food. It brings down on you the entire punitive and represive force
of a completely totalitarian system.
George Jackson
TRANSFER TO WABASH VALLEY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
In light of the many contradictions at the Maximum Control
Facility in Westville,1ndiana, and in conjunction with the collective effort
on behalf of the prisoners challenging those violations of policy and procedure
which currently exist on the administrative segregation pod {A-pod A/S},
I believe I have been moved as part of the attempt to separate those of us
promoting these challenges.
On January 30, 2003, MCF staff approached my cell and
advised me to pack up my things, as I was being moved. This was about 6
a.m. I screamed out to advise the comrades of this move. and began packing
up my property, contemplating my destination. This transfer was coming on
the heels of my two years spent at MCF, having been sent there from Pendleton
Conectional Facility on January 16, 2001, under "temporary status," due to
renovations being made on the cell house. This latest transfer came as a
surprise, since two days earlier my sister had been advised by the commissioner's
office that I was appropriately placed. On second though, this is the usual
deceitful procedure followed by the prisoncrats contemplating a
change in status.
My Property was placed in the van and we began the joumey,
a long and exhausting one, close to 4 1/2 hours, and deep into the heart
of Klan territory. All I saw on the journey was endless stretches of land
and cornfields. As we approached the facility, a murky fog emerged from the
ground, and I felt I was on my way to and Angola styled prison straight out
of the Black Belt south, where racist white folks run theshow.
ENTERING THE SHU
The atmospbere within the units receiving area was very
disturbing. I was placed in a non-contact visitation booth, told to strip,
and given new clothing. Many of the white officers were coming to look at
me, like I was a prize catch who ran away from the slave plantation. Some
of these big corn-fed white male officers couldn't miss their chance to
say they'd been waiting to see this guy they all called the correctional
officer killer. This is my first time housed in the WVCF, and my first time
in the "horror house", the notorious SHU. So of course I was primed for
almost any form of disrespect to be directed toward me. Three red-faced
S HU officers escorted me from their receiving area to cell A-201, in what
is considered the SHU units administrative segregation long-term
section. There are three other prisoners housed in this area. Next door to
this section is A -I section, considered Adminjstrative segregation short-term.
Twelve prisoners are housed in this section.
After screening my cell, and cleaning up the sink and
the toilet, I noticed they had a camera on the wall trained on my cell.
Several prisoners confirmed to me that the camera had been recently installed.
Whenever I am in my cell, I am being watched to the advantage of those who
operate this unit. This is an ugly hell-hole, designed to strip ones of
their hope, sanity, determination and, ultimately, to steal one's life.
Solidarity is a must between like-minded revolutionary prisoners to combat
the obvious intentions they have to slowly break ones down.
BLATANT HARASSMENT AND RACISM DURING THE INVENTORY
OF MY PROPERTY
On January 31, the second day after my arrival. the SHU property room
officers brought me my property, or what I had hoped was everything that
came with me. After scanning the approved inventory list I noticed that
many things were missing. This was the point at which they handed me a second
list, a "confiscation list" describing what they deemed I could not possess.
The following are the items that were restricted :
(1) Fifty-four revolutionary political science
books
(2) Eight magazines
(3) Three toothbrushes
(4) Six toothJmstes
(5) Six deodorants
(6) Two fingernail clippers
(7) Two bottles of baby oil
(8) One bottle of mouth wash
(9) One skin cream
(10) One bottle of Drakken cologne
(11) Seven pencils and pens
(12) One jar of Vaseline
(13) One face trimmer
(14) One can shaving cream
(15) One radio
(16) One watch
(17) Four hundred and thirty one family pictures
(18) One address book
(19) Two headphones
I am convinced that the Department of Corruption are
working real hard to stagnate and arrest the political development occuring
in these prisons. The confiscation of our books to me is an indicator that
their aim is to breed a reliance on video pap (all the police shows on the
tube and cop propaganda like "Cops"), amd thereby interrupt the natural progression
to contiousness that comes from reading.
I have filed a complaint about the confiscation of all
my boots and revolutionary literature and the cosmetics. If we are going
to be sanctioned to long term segregation status we should be allowed to
have full access to all property. They gave me only five books and five magazines,
selecting those they deemed fit Blatant racism.
THE DISORGANIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION AND POLICY VIOLATIONS
There are a lot of contradictions and violations existing unchallenged
in the A/S sections. The first day I was herc I was privileged to read ad
seg policy 02-01-111.. This revealed to me many things we are supposed to
have by policy. There are sixteen A/S prisoners on this unit. Per policy we
should be provided group recreation, two prisoners at a time inside
or outside.
This unit is not in compliance. We are being escorted
to and from recreation and the showers in handcuffs. They are extremely disorganized
in the operational functions of this newly opened unit. They are blatantly
denying us our guaranteed rights and privileges that this policy clearly
outlines. For instance, they fail to provide sufficient exercise outlets,
and do not provide jump ropes, board games, hand balls, exercise bikes,
etc. We are being sanctioned to do long term segregation; if they feel the
need to keep us in the unit, then they must provide all the necessary exercise
gear provided to other A/S units.
Policy says A/S prisoners will be provided an option
of indoor or outdoor rec. We are allowed only outdoor rec, subjecting our
immune systems to colds, germs, infection.
CELL SANITATION VIOLATION
In this unit there are porters who
are released to sweep and mop the floor outside the cells. They will allow
us to do our cells with their equipment. However, as is practice in
cells all over the state, whisk brooms and security-ready hand-held johnny
mops should be made available to prisoners to clean their cells thoroughly
as needed, especially during lockdowns.
Every prison housing unit where human beings are held
must follow all Indiana Health Code regulations. I have encouraged ones to
contact by mail the Indiana Board of Health concerning our denial of mops
and brooms. Unit mops (from porters) are often used to clean body
wastes and urine and mopping our cells with these mops would spread germs.
SENSORY DEPRIVATION AND LOW INTENSITY PSYCHOLOGICAL
WARFARE
This SHU unit does not have any windows and appears damn
near like a basement. It is void of any sunlight on a permanent basis. One
of the first things I became aware of after I arrived was how they use the
heating and cooling systems as behavior modification controls. As I write,
it feels like my hands are buried in a foot of snow. By manipulating the
temperature in the units, I assume they want us to resort to staying in as
much as possible, wrapped in wool blankets to keep warm.
I. have rarely been in an A/S unit without windows. If
one is not careful, one can slip away from or become detached from reality.
In addition, there are two flood lights in our cells that remain on even when
one is cut off by a motion hand switch.
We are all non-contact visitation, which helps to further
erode family ties, emotional relationships and support we have on the outside.
I have been fighting for two years to be returned to Pendleton C.P.as was
outlined to me, requesting my outside help to write the I.D.O.C. and support
this claim. To now be transferred to yet another facility will tend to burn
out people who see what appears to be arbitrary capriciousness in assigning
me to this, that and the other cage.
If this is their plan. then I will expose the contradictions
and attempt to fall off the radar long enough to make a push for general
population. This seems unlikely, but the possibility now is greater than
ever.
Another thing I see as low-intensity psychological warfare
is their limit of one twenty minute phone call per week. This is the only
unit I know of that limits like this. Other units allow a hour exercise period
during which one has unlimited access to the phone. The twenty minute
sanction has been used for rule violators on Disciplinary Segregation. A
punitive application. To extend this to all A/S prisoners seems just a further
attempt to dehumanize, isolate and break down the prisoners here on this
unit.
I have already mentioned this in a letter to the Superintendent.
and the others are joining. I refuse to accept this.
HIGH INTENSITY PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AND RETALIATIONS
FOR COMPLAINTS FILED
After only five days in this facility, I have been
given a crash course in the racist politics of this SHU unit by some of
the prisoners. I have been told of several outright murders by these racist
ones. They run in groups to dehumanize prisoner. A few big white cornfed
officers were forced to resign or were fired after their involvement in
these deaths were reported. In one case a rag was stuffed down ones throat
yet cause of death was stated as "blunt force trauma" to the head These
people seem to feel they are above law, and I am beginning to concur.
They have a crew of five male officers who have been
witnessed violating the content of prisoners' trays, spitting and putting
cigarette ashes, urine and cleaning fluids in their food. They remove chicken
and other items from the trays, stating that, "You don't deserve to eat
like this." This news is particularly disturbing to me because I have the
label of "murder of a DOC officer" in this facility. So it is no question
of the possibility of poisoning, and pushing my buttons to make me lose
control. These are a bunch of reactionary, emotionally-driven racists.
Thus far things have been cool, but today at 2:30 pm
the shift supervisor and several other officers came to see who I was. One
had the nerve to ask me if I was alright and situated. I'm eating only bread
and crackers, hoping to secure resources to purchase commissary, so I will
not have to eat off trays they are playing with. Having the camera on my
cell. I don't think they will try to get too silly. But they prepare the
food outside the range of the camera. Many complaints have been filed. but
rumor has it these ones have the green light to run the unit as they see fit.
I have read several of these complaints, and it is not
surprising to learn that there have been severe retaliations. Many are becoming
afraid to chalIenge the contradictions, fearing they will come under attack.
Recently, an eight-inch steel shank was planted in a prisoner's cell. One
who was filing grievances. He was found guilty of possession of the
weapon and sent to the disciplinary wing. I will reach out to him in an attempt
to get his story out to the public. It is imperative that we begin to build
solidarity, so that they will never feel comfortable isolating and violating
us on an individual basis.
This is why it is so imparative that outside activists
keep a close eye on this unit and its bloodthirsty nature. I am going
to come under attack, because I will be organizing around any violations
that I can prove by focusing on standard policjes and procedure.
There was another prisoner who wrote the I.D.O.C. His
complaints were legitimate and along the lines of requesting release from
A/S because of a clear conduct report. A copy of this request was returned
to the SHU unit officers, who immediately launched a barage of bogus conduct
reports on him to make it appear he was a problem prisoner. They seem to think
that we will be pacified with access to TV, radio and commissary and can
be defeated by threats and retaliations. Many here who have never been engaged
in constant internal struggle with the administration will not take a committed
stand when they fear being poisoned, set-up or written up with trumped up
conduct reports. There is a big job ahead of us.
THE WELCOME WAGON
On 2/05/03, I was told the SHU unit team wanted to see
me, and was escorted to their office. They went off into a conversation about
welcoming me to this facility, and to discuss my status. Since I had already
sent my complaint to the Superintendent, he asked them to address me personally
and answer my questions. They advised me that I was sent here on intra-departmental
transfer status per central office, to be placed on long-term administmtive
segregation, because the SHU offers proper security restrictions to control
my movements.
They had two officers in the room in plain clothes and
five other ranking officers standing outside around the door. One of them
asked how long I had been on A/S status, then said there is one more unit
(at Miami Correctional Facility) that I will no doubt see before my tour
of duty on A/S units is complete.
We discussed cleaning supplies, jump ropes, hand balls,
and the guaranteed privileges we are due on this unit. They assured me that
by summer they would be up to speed, including new basketballs. They also
claimed that the Superintendent has no authority to deal with me, unless word
is given to him, a blatant fabrication.
All of the so-called tough guys they use for goon squad
duty made their rounds to see who they were making all the fuss over. I have
been professional in my expressions and approach here. But I will not remain
calm in the event of DOC sanctioned repression. The struggle is real on
this front.
BREAKING ONES MIND AND SPIRIT
Much of what I mention next will be available in a widely-disseminated
and no doubt familiar pamphlet on the methods of bebavioral control developed
at the federal prison in Marion, Illinois. The purpose of SHU units is human
experimentation designed to control revolutionary attitudes in the prisoners
and as a result in society at large. It is used to silence prison
critics, religious leaders, economic and philosophical dissidents.
In 1962, at a Washington, DC a meeting of social scientists
and pisoncrats, one Dr. Edward Schein presented a monograph on brainwashing
techniques. He said, "In order to produce marked changes in behavior and
attitude, it is necessary to weaken, undermine or remove the supports of
patterns of behavior and attitudes." Because most of these supports
are the face to face confirmation of present behavior and attitudes provided
by those emotional ties which exist, it is often neccessary to break these
emotional ties. This can be done either by removing the individual physically
and preventing any communication with those whom he respects and destroying
this respect and convincing them they indeed should be actively mistrusted.
The techniques they use to accomplish these ends are
listed in the literature I mentioned above and are widely.available on line.
These are all techniques currently being used in prisons throughout the US.
We must be creative in resisting these attempts to break us down, destroy
our minds and rob us of our spiritual strengths. I'm going to keep fighting
and keep refusing to surrender in the face of this repression.
SMUGGLING ON TWO FRONTS
While I am confronted with many contradictions on this
new front, I am yet concerned about the men I left behind at M.C.F., who
are also engaged in a battle for the privileges others have access to around
this state. We sent out a press release on all these issues, and I believe
the central office moved me from M.C.F. in an attempt to disburse the solidarity
and shatter outside support. I am requesting that those of you who have helped
me on an individual basis and are in rotation with me to find time and energy
to assist the remaining men at M.C.F. One can do this by contacting Bro.
John C. Cole, Jr. (Balagoon), #14658, cell A4-204, at P.O. Box 557, Westville,
IN 46391-0557.
In conclusion, I hope that the present work will help
pave the way for the next generation of prisoners who sit in these A/S cells.
The following list is what I have encouraged long term and short term A/S
prisoners to stand with me and challenge :
1. The current restriction against group recreation.
2. The current restriction against inside recreation.
3. The current policy of only one twenty minute phone
call per week.
4. Lack of equipment: hand balls, jump ropes, board
games.
5. The denial of johnny mops soap balls and swish brooms
to clean cells on our own.
6. The ten-book limit from property room staff.
7. Classification status assignments to this unit
May we all find some level of struggle and fulfillment
in this new year. May you all walk in the balance.
In solidarity,
B R O. KHALFANI MALIK KHALDUN
(LEONARD McQUAY) #874304 A-20 I
WVCF/SHU A/S
P.O. BOX 1111
CARLISLE, IN 47838
(
www.prisonactivist.org/khalfani)
Epidemic of Control Units
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