Torture Ignored in California's Prisons

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Dr. B. Cayenne Bird (about the author) Page 2 of 4 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

I am waiting for enough of the families whose loved ones are being poisoned with arsenic to get active in the UNION before I will find a lawyer for that one, because lawsuits are the only language that bureaucrats understand. Someone will have to die of cancer, then a lawsuit may be filed after the fact. There is a prison television channel that keeps telling the inmates "the water is safe to drink, the water is safe to drink." It's a lie, a damned lie and no one should believe it or hold back pursuing demands that bottled water be brought in right away. The lack of a public outcry is what empowers this mass poisoning to continue. You are that person who should be posting comments at the news sites and helping the UNION file a lawsuit over this.

This confirmation is evidence that the legislature will continue in gridlock, unable to pass serious reforms because they are more worried about politics than the hundreds of thousands of people that a dysfunctional criminal justice system has destroyed. After eleven years of trying to get people who have taken money and votes from law enforcement labor unions to do the right thing, I have no hope that they will ever comply with orders from the three judge panel.

We, the people, have the option to organize in order to elect or recall those who will administer "justice." When we don't organize large enough, funded enough, and take a strong approach which includes lawsuits, initiative campaigns, putting out dollars and votes for people who represent us, then we must settle for such appointments as Matthew Cate, a Republican and former prosecutor who holds no one accountable for breaking California's own laws.

I would be completely depressed over this signal from the legislature that the reign of death and injustice will continue unabated until our voting lobby is strong enough to force changes in the law via initiative campaigns except there is some great news.

One of our UNION families' civil lawsuits was awarded $6 million for the wrongful beating death of James Moore in the "Witch Hunt" town of Bakersfield, which is completely under seige by Fascists calling themselves Republicans. I still have the emails from when Alicia Moore, the mother of James Moore's son, contacted me in 2005 because she had no place else to go for help.

She had read about our success in getting Danny Provencio, a brain dead man on life support paroled just before he died. I recommended a lawyer that I grew up with, David Cohn, in Bakersfield and contacted reporter Stephanie Tavares who quickly responded and passed on the information to the criminal reporters at the Bakersfield Californian. The coverage of this story which has dragged on for four years has been excellent.

This victory is solid evidence that the family members of those who are incarcerated are not too stupid to organize and fight back as those in power assume. It delivers a strong message that torture and murder in California's prisons and jails will cost far more money than it would take to do things right in the first place.

While this is but one of about one hundred lawsuits that our UNION people have helped to facilitate by recommending the best lawyers, notifying the news media of deaths, and attending trials when possible, it is not our first legal victory nor will it be the last. It is the largest payout which goes to the children of James Moore when they become of age.

I will be doing a feature story on this case shortly. The criminal prosecution of three of the jail guards is underway now that the civil trial has ended. When a civil trial is underway, it cannot be openly discussed in public, but now this horrible death in custody can be told.

While this incident had nothing to do with Matthew Cate's performance, the ruling on the James Moore lawsuit has everything to do with families proving that they are able to organize, hire the best lawyers, and hold those who feed off the human bondage industry accountable for torture and murder.

Going forward, the Moore family members are committed to building the UNION large enough to where we are going to have the 6500 workers so we can have a voice. They will never forget and they will never get over the fact that 14 cops kicked, punched and humiliated a 30 yr old father for hours until he was a bloody pulp. I will release the photograph with my article that one of the cops took and then texted it to all the rest, apparently bragging about what happened.

I am interested in knowing the military background, experience, training and political party affiliation of all fourteen cops who felt so confident that the system would back them up, even if they tortured a shackled man for hours. The photo of James Moore, what is left of his face, bears amazing similarity to my son. James Moore was a person murdered by the sheriffs in my home town, and for no good reason. The situation is absolutely sickening.

In the past, it was very unlikely that such a lawsuit could be won in Bakersfield. We have yet to see the outcome of the trial over the criminal charges. I wish that I could be there every day and that UNION members could pack the courtroom. If any UNION members in or around Bakersfield can go to show the family support, this would be the right thing to do.

I have no idea how many lawsuits it will take because the bureaucrats just don't seem to care that CDCr employees aren't following their own laws. But each of us as citizens and taxpayers should care that the corruption in the criminal justice system has bankrupted our state and that nothing short of lawsuits and initiatives get any recognition or mention whatsoever.

We could end 80% of all the prisons tomorrow if the 3 million potential voters related to a state prisoner would stop the loose organization and come together into one group that is really going to stand up to all this nonsense, instead of brown-nosing limp-wristed lawmakers and lobbying in the men's restroom at the Capitol.

The size of the voting group, the NUMBERS who will do organizing work, this is the voting machine that only you can build if you want to end the reign of death and suffering.

Do you really think that these lawmakers who can't even agree on a budget and refuse to intervene or hold anyone accountable, even when penal codes are clearly being broken and irreparable harm is taking place, are going to change the laws and clean up the judiciary?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

http://www.1union1.com

Dr. B. Cayenne Bird is a 37-year veteran op-ed journalist and publisher. She volunteers her time as founder and director of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect UNION since 1998. The UNION is active in prison reform and criminal justice (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "California Families Prison"

Family guide to visiting California prison
by Laura D. Frisbee

$13.00

Number of pages:
Publisher: Cali Love Publishing

Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of the Prison
by Megan Comfort

$22.00
Lowest New Price $19.77
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press

Treatment in prison: How the family can help
by Norman Fenton

Number of pages: 98
Publisher: Family Counseling Project, Department of Corrections

Eyewitness on Alcatraz, Life on The Rock as told by the Guards, Families
by Jolene Babyak

$12.95
Lowest New Price $8.95
Number of pages: 127
Publisher: Ariel Vamp Press

View All Book Recommendations

Share this page: (what's this?) Tell a Friend:

(More...)