THE PRISON CONDITION, ANAL CAVITY SEARCHES and TERRORISM

The following is an interesting statement, written by a Prisoner.  It deals with the Prison Condition.  It deals with the cavalier nature Prison officials approach the antagonistic intrusion of Anal Cavity Searches and it shows conflicting presumptions when contrasted with security concerns of the general public and Terrorism.

"Lieutenant T. I spoke to you about the Prison's Anal Cavity Search Policy and you stated certain things as facts.  You described a scenario where a Prisoner being escorted to the showers quickly pulls a regular sized lotion bottle filled with feces out of their rectum and douses the escort guards with feces and that is the primary reason for the Anal Cavity Search Policy.  The reality is Prison officials have long since explained away the antagonistic intrusion of a Prisoner's body as it concerns Anal Cavity Searches, that Prisoners as a group place objects inside their rectums.  I wonder how much of this is excessive supposition.  I find it more plausible for a guard to blame his or hers inattentiveness during a search on a Prisoner sticking something in their rectum after something happens.  Because this begs this question are Prisoners anatomy any different than any other Human?  Does the mere fact of a conviction and subsequent imprisonment instantly transform a Prisoners anatomy to the point that a prisoners body now begins to defy all natural laws?  This is a valid point.  I wonder who and how many Prison officials have inserted bottles and objects inside their rectums and anal cavities to then become authorities, speaking with certainty on the ease and opportunity of objects going in and out the rectums.  Because anything less than empirical knowledge of this, particularly, when the question is dealing with the antagonistic intrusion of a prisoners body is assumption.  And assumptions alone are not enough to base such violations so casually.

I raise another point.  I understand governments interest in maintaining a safe and secure Prison environment, just as government has an interest in maintaining a safe and secure society.  Since the terrorist acts of 9/11.  The Federal Govt. has enacted a number of laws, policies and practices to dissuade Mass Destructive acts. One of the primary targets has been Airports.  Policies and practices that mandate and warrant airline passengers to remove shoes, submit to a hand frisk, pat down, walk through metal detectors, hand held wands have been enacted.  But and I find this peculiar, no security personnel or legislator is proposing and advocating the practice of Anal Cavity Searches of all Airline passengers.  The U.S. Govt. has all the reasons to pursue all security measures that will ensure the safety of the Homeland, yet Anal Cavity Searches isn't one.  The mass general public and people out there in society have an infinite array of objects that can be concealed in their anal cavities and rectums which can be relative Weapons of Mass Destruction.  If it is to be accepted that Prisoners so casually secrete bottles in their anal cavities."

 The above was written by a Prisoner who has asked vapac to secure his identity.

RED ONION STATE PRISON AND IT''S FOOD SERVICE SCHEME: IMPROPRIETIES AND VIOLATIONS BY P. SCARBERRY FOOD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

The improprieties being done and violations by Red Onion State Prison [ROSP] food service under the supervision of P. Scaeberry, Food Operations Director [FOD] doesn't end with denials and deprivations of adequate and well-balanced meals, for Prisoners confined in Solitary confinement, [Administrative Segregation]. ROSP food service utilizes a meal serving procedure that relies primarily on ROSP guards or security to serve meals to prisoners confined in ROSP Solitary Confinement. This meal serving procedure is done without supervision by any certified food service personnel who have the legal responsibility for all food issues. Instead, P. Scarberry the ROSP Food Operations Director has given meal serving responsibility to unsupervised prison guards who are unwilling to ensure that meals are served at correct temperature. Subsequently, P. Scarberry ROSP'S FOD is a party to a ROSP food scheme operational scheme that isn't accountable to Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Department of Corrections [VADOC] food service guidelines and policy directives. Nor has there been any meaningful and transparent-external and accountable oversight.

The scheme is simple: it denies accountability from all supervisory positions at ROSP concerning meal issues.  ROSP Prisoners are told that when ROSP guards serve meals it is the Prisoners responsibility to then tell the prison guard whatever issues there are with the meal and the prison guard is supposed to contact food service if, for example, items are missing on meal trays, if meal portions are wrong. this scheme makes a mockery of the fact that it is P. Scarberry responsibility and legal obligation to ensure that a Prisoner's meal is in compliance with Virginia and United States law and VADOC food policy.

Naturally, what happens is ROSP guards ignore Prisoner's claim. Without any supervision from food service during meal serving, Prison guards are left to their own attitudes and bias unresponsiveness and when complaints and grievances are filed concerning violations with the meals, prison guards lie and claim nothing was wrong with the meal or the Prisoner never complained about anything. This is done particularly with a wink and a nod tacit approval from P. Scarberry and ROSP officials who intrinsically use food as punishment contrary to Virginia law.

Furthermore, Prison Guards are quick to speak for Food Service, defending food service and P. Scarberry improprieties and violations. For example, when spoiled milk is served, prison guards are extremely reluctant to notify food service. When meals are served cold in violation of VADOC policy, prison guards will claim that's how the food service sent the meals over when in reality prison guards didn't plug up the food cart to keep the meals warm as VADOC policy and ROSP post orders requires of them.  When trays are served crusted dirty with earlier meals, meaning ROSP food service employees failed their supervisory duties to ensure that trays were actually washed and properly cleaned, not to mention the potential for meningitis and other diseases.  It becomes a major issue and issues with meals and surrounding meal serving, are the primary source of the majority of problems that escalate into confrontation and incidents at ROSP. Which could just as easily be eliminated were P. Scarberry and ROSP food service employees supervising meal servings.  When P. Scarberry fails to serve the correct food portion size, prison guards who are ill-suited and trained to assume food service obligations become combative and indifferent when challenged over the violations by a recipient prisoner and the prison guard typical refrain is "that's what the kitchen sent over" when a Prisoner protest and resists, ROSP officials are quick to punish the Prisoner by either tying the Prisoner to the bunk for days on end, placing the Prisoners on stripped cell, placing Prisoner in handcuffs, chains, and shackles in a doubled over the manner that renders the prisoner unable to stand erect for hours at times days.  Prisoners are gassed with OC Pepper Gas, in violation of prohibitions against its use in an 8x10 windowless cell.  All these examples are consequences of P. Scarberry's unwillingness to comply with the directives of VADOC food policy. P. Scarberry Director also violates VADOC food policy by rotating meals calibrated by VADOC Master Menu for lunch and dinner of separate and different days.  P. Scarberry violates VADOC food service manual requirement that the Food Operations Director keep track of and log of food items the Prisoner population isn't eating, because of her failure to supervise meal servings, she is unaware of what the Prison Population in ROSP Solitary Confinement are not eating.  P. Scarberry Director violates VADOC food service guidelines concerning meal portion size.  Because she consistently fails to comply with the meal portion size and provide Prisoners confined in Solitary Confinement with an adequate and nutritional balanced meal and this specific meal portion size violation is done deliberately.

Another aggravating factor is both Unit Manager A. Duncan and building Lieutenant C Gilbert, security supervisor of C/building, which is the primary Solitary Confinement building are apathetic and unconcerned in requiring and ensuring compliance from prison guards serving meals with VADOC food service policy.  Both Unit Manager Duncan and building Lieutenant Gilbert virtually enable the lying and malfeasance by prison guards because a simple review of the cell house's in pod surveillance camera will reveal and show that prison guards are lying.  But rarely is this done because prison guards keep on violating VADOC food service policy.

If the state of Virginia intended on pursuing Prison Food Policy as practiced by P. Scarberry, it would state so. However contrary to P.Scarberry's actions with her petty-tyrannical violations of VADOC Food Service guidelines, the state of Virginia hasn't.

By William Thorpe

William Thorpe is confined in Solitary Confinement at Red Onion State Prison since 1998  

ON DEATH ROW IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, LAST MEALS and BACKWARDS REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS

Seal of the Texas Death Row, photographed in the Polunsky Unit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Instead of being outraged over the practice of the condemned on Death Row in the state of Texas ordering last meals of their choosing. Those backwards Conservatives and Republican Politicians in the Texas Legislature should be outraged over the injustices and travesties of it's Justice and Legal System. Considering innocent citizens have been murdered under the farce and misnomer execution by the unconscionable Texas Justice System that has seen over forty of it's condemned prisoners released due to the revelatory exigence of DNA Science showing they were wrongly convicted and condemned.

By vapac