Showing posts with label ConventionAgainstTorture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ConventionAgainstTorture. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2016

Texas: Drink arsenic or die of heat stroke

Despite the fact that America reaffirmed its adherence to the United Nations Convention Against Torture in 2015, Texas correctional facilities force inmates to choose between drinking water with arsenic in it or dying of heat stroke. WFAA journalists investigated the story and reports, "A federal judge is ordering Texas prison officials to stop forcing inmates to drink water laced with dangerous levels of arsenic. The cancer-causing chemical has been found in the water at one Texas prison for the past 10 years. Yet, according to the judge, state prison officials have done little or nothing to make the water safe." Read more at the link below and see the news broadcast.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/investigates/arsenic-or-heat-stroke-for-texas-inmates-a-tough-choice/260764682


Eugenicists over correctional facilities in the United States use a myriad of ways to kill inmates. Some are inmates are baked, boiled, starved, beaten and/or Tasered to death, suffocated, killed by proxy (guard use other inmates) and forced duels while guards take bets as to which inmate will win. Texas prefers executions and arsenic poisoning. Eugenicists in Washington wink at the crimes against humanity. Justice Department officials could be accepting payoffs in prison profits or other good and valuable consideration to let police departments and correctional institutions brutalize and kill inmates, as was alleged in Wallacy County, Texas in 2008 regarding former Vice President Dick Chaney and former Attorney General Antonio Gonzales. The charges led to indictments against these and other parties in the legal system, but the criminal cases never went to trial. They were dismissed by a judge whom the district attorney had asked to recuse himself.

It should not be surprising that Texas gives inmates a choice between drinking arsenic water or dying of dehydration or heat stroke. The state set an execution date of August 24, 2016, for a mentally disabled man who the state acknowledged killed NOBODY - Jeff Wood, who was convicted under the "law of parties." Sign petitions to Save Jeff Wood

http://SaveJeffWood.org

While America bombs other countries and executes presidents, reportedly because they killed their own citizens, it would behoove U.S. officials to stop killing so many Americans under the color of law, although it is apparently entertaining and financially lucrative for them. In blaring conflicts of interest, most U.S. officials over crime and punishment are also prison investors who benefit every time an American is sentenced to jail or prison - the longer the better. Condemned people and citizens with serious mental illness are most lucrative, because they are generally isolated in solitary confinement. 

Americans can combat human trafficking (also known as mass incarceration) three ways: 1) Pass congressional bill H.R.3543 "Justice Is Not for Sale Act," which would end government contracts with privatized jails and prisons within three years; 2) pass congressional bill H.R.2646 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act," which includes provisions for treatment before avoidable tragedies, such as murders, by untreated mental patients; and 3) insist that all judges, district attorneys and defense lawyers, forensic laboratory technicians and administrators, and lawmakers must Divest or Resign http://DivestorResign.blogspot.com . When given a choice between doing justice or making money, officers of the court and other government officials usually choose the money.

The description below of H.R.3543 is an excerpt from an article in "Justice Gagged" blog about Leonard Moreno, 18, called "Facebook Hides Teen in Solitary in Sheriff Joe's Jail 3 yrs"
https://justicegagged.blogspot.com/2016/07/facebook-hides-teen-in-solitary-in.html


The H.R.3543 - "Justice Is Not For Sale Act" was introduced in September 2015 by Senator Bernie Sanders and other representatives. "CommonDreams" reports at the link below that the bill would
~Bar federal, state, and local governments from contracting with private companies starting two years after the bill is passed;
~Reinstate the federal parole system to allow "individualized, risk-based determinations regarding each prisoner and restore fairness in the system;"
~Increase oversight to prevent companies from overcharging inmates and their families for services like banking and telephone calls;
~End the requirement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintain a level of 34,000 detention beds; and
~End immigrant family detention.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/09/17/justice-not-sale-sanders-leads-charge-against-profit-prisons

H.R.3543 should be amended to add two more provisions: 1) Make the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive; and 2) mandate that no defendant can be denied trial for years while under arrest even if they are influenced to waive their right to a speedy trial, particularly children and mentally ill defendants. There should be a mandated time limit set for prosecutors to present their evidence in court or release the defendants. In Mississippi, two mentally ill, black men were held without trials for 7 and 8 years, respectively. Meanwhile, taxpayers were forced to pay prison fees for the containment of these defendants who were innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.

All Americans should join the Human Rights for Prisoners March. According to Justice Scalia, deceased, the notion of incarcerating masses of Americans in concentration camps without cause and minus any opportunity for defense is foreseeable. 

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. ~Proverbs 29:2
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Thanks for participating in the "Human Rights for Prisoners March" across the Internet to demand respect for all people. All lives matter.
"Human Rights for Prisoners March" blog
Visit the Human Rights Demand and NNIA1 Blogtalkradio channels
Mary Neal, a/k/a MaryLovesJustice, director 
(678)531-0262
Comments are invited in the comments field below. Sharing all or sections of articles in this blog with a link to the source is encouraged. Your donations are solicited and appreciated http://www.paypal.com/marylovesjustice or to my email box from Chase, etc.

Monday, January 12, 2015

"Getting Away With Murder": George Mallinckrodt, Former DOC Psychoanalyst


GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER - "Human Rights Demand" channel presents two interviews of the author, George Mallinckrodt. Call-in number (347)857-3293. Mallinckrodt was a licensed mental health counselor in the Florida prison system who helped reveal the murder by scalding of Darren Rainey and a pattern of abuse and cover-ups by the Florida Department of Corrections against mentally ill inmates. Part 1 aired live on January 11, 2015 at 3pm EST. Part 2 of our interview will air live Thursday, January 15, at 9pm EST. Both links are below:
January 15, 9pm EST

You are invited to call "Human Rights Demand" radio broadcast and make comments or ask questions, which will be aired live on the show. The broadcasts will also be available via computer and archived at Blogtalkradio for future listening and sharing 24/7.

"The Florida Department of Corrections is riddled with amoral, sadistic sociopaths and the people who support, enable, and cover-up their crimes." ~ @GeoMallinckrodt . . . (Twitter address)

"If what is done to mentally ill Florida inmates was done in the military, these would be considered war crimes." ~George Mallinckrodt

Mallinckrodt advocates on behalf of the mentally ill. He recently met with with Senator Greg Evers, the Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, and staffers Amanda and Tracy. 

Author's Website

Author's Blog

Order the book: "Getting Away with Murder". 

Learning of Darren Rainey's death over two years ago, late June 2012, George Mallinckrodt authored Getting Away With Murder in frustration over the many dead-ends he encountered while trying to bring Rainey's killers to justice. The narrative follows George's progression from an idealistic psychotherapist to a prison hardened case manager in the Transitional Care Unit where Darren Rainey would be housed.

Refusing to let go of the notion he could make a difference, George encountered inmates with deep rooted pathologies he had only read about in psychology journals. Undaunted, he steadily set about helping those capable of benefitting from his nearly 20 years of counseling experience.

Behind the scenes, rumors began to circulate regarding inmate abuse. Guards cleverly masked their behavior by choosing the weak and mentally ill. They abused inmates at night when mental health staffers were not around.

Overly confident that their misdeeds would go unpunished, guards made the mistake of beating an inmate during the day as an eye-witness looked on. That was the day that changed everything.

A book review by Amy M. August 17, 2014:

A shocking and darkly humorous account of working with mentally ill inmates in Florida's Dade Correctional Institution

George Mallinckrodt writes a gritty, mesmerizing account of his three years as psychotherapist in the "Transitional Care Unit" of the Dade Correctional Institution in south Florida, where inmates with mental health problems, including the most severe mental illnesses, are housed.

It's hard to put this book down. Although the subject is depressing, he weaves ribald prison humor and lively dialogue into his story. Mallinckrodt tells of his struggle with "being in prison" at a difficult and frustrating job. It is also a story about the inhumane and dangerous conditions for inmates in a run-down, poorly managed prison. Retribution keeps the inmates and the staff from reporting abuse. His journey from stressed out employee to prison rights advocate takes on greater urgency when a mentally ill inmate is brutally tortured and murdered by corrections officers in the prison and incident is completely covered up by authorities. (The investigation of the murder of the mentally ill inmate has still not been completed two years later.)

This book leaves you with the uncomfortable knowledge that terrible abuse is probably happening to inmates on a daily basis in badly managed prisons throughout the U.S., especially to inmates suffering from mental illness. If it were not for a few brave souls who are willing to report it, like Mallinckrodt and the inmates themselves, no one would ever know.
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PETITIONS FOR JUSTICE FOR DARREN RAINEY
A Change.org petition with roughly 205,000 signatures demands a federal investigation 

A ForceChange.com petition demands justice for Darren Rainey
"Demand Justice for a Tortured Prisoner"

PETITION TO SAVE HAROLD HEMPSTEAD
Harold Hempstead is the Florida inmate who heard Darren Rainey screaming for help and begging for mercy as he died in the scalding hot shower where he was dragged and locked in by murderous corrections officers. Harold is serving a long prison sentence and is concerned about his safety in the Florida prison system. Retaliation against whistleblowers is common. His brave sister, Windy Hempstead, launched a Change.org petition to improve security for Harold Hemptstead by relocating him to federal custody. 

As Mallinckrodt said, "This is not an isolated case. Prisoner abuses are happening all the time." Read a series of articles about Darren Rainey and the torturous incarceration of other mentally ill inmates in Florida published by The Miami HeraldSee also an article in "Justice Gagged" blog about censorship applied to the George Mallinckrodt's interviews at "Human Rights Demand" channel on Blogtalkradio. Censorship that was applied at the 1 hour 20-minute mark to the interview on Sunday, January 11 cleared after Mary Neal left the show. It is a miracle if you are allowed to read this, because the screen goes blank before the article opens on my view.
http://justicegagged.blogspot.com/2015/01/getting-away-with-murder-radio-show.html

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Thank you for giving assistance to brutalized prisoners.

How can you help? Follow this blog, share this article, listen to the George Mallinckroth interviews on January 11 and January 15, and share the links with your social networks. George Mallinckroth experienced retaliation and is no longer a psychotherapist for Florida DOC. Please purchase a couple of his books - one for yourself and one for a friend or relative. We must support people with careers in law enforcement and corrections who blow the whistle on brutality and murders.

Thanks for participating in the "Human Rights for Prisoners March" across the Internet to demand respect for everyone, whether slave or free. All lives matter.
Human Rights for Prisoners March
Blogtalkradio - Monday nights at 9pm PST 
Mary Neal, director 

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Webcast: UN Torture Review of USA Nov. 12 and 13

By: UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR)

GENEVA, Nov. 6, 2014 - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review the USA on 12 and 13 November in sessions that will be webcast live.

The USA is one of the 156 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and is required to undergo regular examinations of its record before the Committee of 10 independent experts. The Committee will engage in a dialogue with the US government delegation and also hear from NGOs.

Public sessions: 10:00-12:00 (04:00-06:00 EST) on 12 November, 15:00-18:00 (09:00-12:00 EST) on 13 November
Venue: Room XVII, Palais des Nations, Geneva. Live webcast:
http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.

Among the possible issues to be discussed: extraterritorial application of the Convention; CIA’s secret detention, extraordinary rendition and interrogation programme; Guantanamo Bay detainees held indefinitely without charge or trial; investigation and prosecution of those responsible for torture or ill-treatment of detainees; immigration enforcement abuses; death penalty, alleged administration of untested lethal drugs; police brutality; prolonged solitary confinement; protection of prisoners against violence; sexual violence in US military.

Further information and the USA’s report are available at:
The Committee will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 28 November.

A news conference is scheduled for Friday 28 November at 14:00 at Palais des Nations in Geneva when the Committee will discuss its concluding observations on the USA and the other countries being reviewed – Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela, Australia, Burundi, Croatia, and Kazakhstan.

To learn more about the Committee against Torture, please visit: 
http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

"Human Rights for Prisoners March" supporters are interested in discussions regarding lethal injection and killing condemned people in America with untested lethal drugs (or by any other method), executions of people with mental illness or serious retardation (I.Q. scores at 70 or below), prisoner torture, including long-term solitary confinement, prison sexual assaults, abuse and imprisonment of immigrants, and police brutality.  

Members and friends of Human Rights for Prisoners March and Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI") are asked to watch the United Nations webcasts. You are invited to discuss them during broadcasts on "Human Rights Demand" channel on Nov. 12 and 13 (the time will be announced here). AIMI plans an action in International Court in 2015 involving up to 100 claimants of (i) persons with mental illness and/or drug/alcohol addictions, and (ii) people who were victimized by mentally ill people and/or drug/alcohol addicts who were denied timely, appropriate treatment. We seek restitution for and/or relief from police brutality, prison torture, long-term homelessness, and other discrimination against mentally disabled people in the USA. Visit the blog AIMI-HumanRights for more information at
http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com

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Thanks for participating in the "Human Rights for Prisoners March" across the Internet to demand respect for all people.
Human Rights for Prisoners March
Blogtalkradio - Monday nights at 9pm PST 
Mary Neal, director