Kevin Johnson, No. 185492

Red Onion State Prison

P.O. Box 1900

Pound, VA. 24279

 

To: Various Concerned Parties.

Re: Follow-up on October 31, 2004 Exposé on Racism and Abuses of Non-White Segregation Prisoners by White Red Onion State Prison (ROSP) Guards.

 

            This is written as a follow-up and supplement to an article that I circulated on October 31, 2004 and was further circulated and is in process of being published by various people and publishers entitled “Red Onion State Prison an Exposé - Racism and Brutality Equals Kind and Usual Punishment in Virginia”.  

            That article elaborated various perpetual racist abuses of non-white segregation prisoners here at ROSP and the absolute refusal of government authorities to genuinely address and correct the situation.  As proof of the latter, shortly after that article was circulated the chief wardens here at ROSP and Wallens Ridge State Prison were replaced (mere reshuffling of personnel), yet nothing has changed in relation to the abusive conditions raised in that article.  In fact, since I sent that article out the routine attacks on restrained non-white prisoners has continued unabated by the same groups of guards identified in that article.  Several of such attacks are described below, with the complicity of medical staff described.

            On November 11, 2004 while kneeling in handcuffs and shackles (awaiting the shackles’ removal) Roberto Mejias #306726 was slammed face first to the concrete floor by prison guards Wright and Harr.  Mejias landed on his left shoulder and suffered a dislocation and/or fracture at the joint (clavicle-spatula joint), leaving a ping-pong ball sized knot and discoloration at the joint.  He was unable to raise his left arm for several weeks afterward; he was also refused medical attention.  He was only seen by the institution’s doctor and a nurse on November 12, 2004 following my refusal to come off the exercise yard except by force, unless he be given medical attention.

            The white doctor who examined Mejias (Dr. Williams) initially expressed concern that Mejias had a serious injury, until Mejias explained to the doctor that guards were responsible for his injuries. Mejias asked the doctor for X-rays to which the doctor replied “I want a million dollars but we can’t all have what we want.”  X-rays were denied and he was prescribed only some over-the-counter pain medication, i.e. Aspirin or Motrin.

            On November 22, 2004 M. Claibourne #307397 was beaten by an ‘extraction team’ while in the shower.  The ‘extraction team’ consisting of known abusive guards including S. Long, J. Ely, J. Stanley and others, under supervision of Sgt. D. Tate, Lt. S. Harrison and others. While performing the ‘extraction’ on Claibourne the guards wrapped a cord around his neck and choked him with it.  He was beaten in the face and had fingers dug into his eyes. Among resulting injuries was a laceration to his mouth requiring several sutures to close and extreme facial swelling.

            On December 29, 2004 William Benbow #304841 was subjected to a premeditated beating while handcuffed and shackled.  The incident occurred while a hand-portable audio/video camera – operated by Sgt. R. Austin – was present, and a unit surveillance camera was trained directly onto the cell in which the attack occurred.  Guards who were involved in the beating were Lt. S. Harrison, and prison guards R. Boyd, Wright and Evans.  (Wright and Boyd being frequently involved in attacks).  When the attack began Sgt. R. Austin had the portable camera trained down on the floor, and, as Benbow began screaming in pain and asking why he was being attacked while restrained, Austin turned the camera off and began fumbling with it as though it was malfunctioning.  Other guards in the area, R. McConnell, R. Fleming, C. Hill, B. Mullins, Sgt. Mahan and others turned their backs to the cell when the beating continued in an exaggerated act of pretending nothing was amiss.

            During the attack Benbow was kicked, stomped, beaten with fists, had fingers dug into his eyes, and his own fingers bent backward, also he was punched in the face by R. Boyd, using handcuffs as brass knuckles.  Benbow suffered extensive facial swelling and bruising, a bloodied nose, lacerated lip and a laceration above his left eye which needs stitches.

            A licensed practical nurse G. Meade was brought in to ‘check’ him after he’d been placed into ambulatory restraints, and stated he was fine, offering him no care except a band-aid.  About 30 minutes after the attack Security Chief Richard Fleming, Capitan K. Chris, and Sgt. R. Austin (the same Austin that failed to film the attack), came to Benbow’s cell to speak with him, assuring him that photographs would be taken of his face.  None were taken.  A further scheme followed where guards then claimed that Benbow had climbed onto the sink in the cell and jumped or fell off injuring himself.  Two mental health workers came to speak to Benbow and when they left guards returned to strap Benbow down to his bunk.

            While strapped to his bunk, Benbow was denied all his meals by Lt. S. Harrison, Sgt. Mahan and Sgt. Tate, who would set the meal trays into the cell out of Benbow’s reach and leave the cell with him still strapped to the bunk.  Sgt. Tate is both the ROSP investigator [!]  and a supervisor in the superseg unit – he has himself been involved in various prior abuses of prisoners, myself included, see previous article.

            A copy of my previous article with a cover letter was directed to the office of the Virginia governor by me on October 31, 2004 and exactly as anticipated in that article, the article and cover letter was routed back to this prison and responded to by one of the same abusive officials here, namely Sgt. D. Tate.  Tate was one of the involved in the October 5, 2003 attack on myself and five other prisoners.  I enclose copy of my cover letter to the governor and Tate’s so-called investigative response.  Tate also confronted me after having sent me his reply to the letter and article stating to me, “You didn’t really expect much of an investigation did you?”  I asked him how he was able to investigate situations in which he was involved as a participant.  He replied “I guess I’m special.”

            Furthermore, the prison’s grievance department staff have for several months refused to process or respond to any but two of my attempts to formally grieve abuses here via the grievance procedure.  This is also being systematically done to other prisoners who’ve tried to grieve abuses of themselves, by guards here.  The object being obviously to prevent records being made of abuses here, and to impair our ability to exhaust the grievance procedure as prisoners are required to do by law before pursuing any litigation, except that prison officials obstruct such channels.

            This state’s government is using a poor, economically depressed and exploited segregated white community to brutally oppress a vastly nonwhite prisoner body, exactly as impoverished whites were deliberately used to savagely brutalize Blacks with license and impunity during chattel slavery process of the same rural American south.  There is clearly no interest and no intent by government officials to reign in such abuses which is in fact a situation created by such ‘authorities’.

 

 

Kevin (Rashid) Johnson         No. 185492                Jan. 1, ‘05