Dear Mr. President:
My
husband, Gary White (age 63, with no prior criminal record, former elected
official), is one of the innocent victims of a selective, vindictive political
prosecution at the hands of corrupt Bush-administration officials; as a result,
he became an inmate at the federal prison camp in Edgefield, South Carolina on
Wednesday, September 29, 2010, twelve days ago. His innocence, however, is irrelevant to the matter about
which I am pleading for your help.
(And as an aside, both of us had been life-long active Republicans, but
after becoming enlightened to the politicization of the DOJ and their corrupt
actions, particularly in Alabama, I voted in the Democratic primary in 2008 for
the first time, and even put an "O" on my car where my "W" had been.)
I
am writing to you to implore your urgent intervention in hopes of saving Gary's
life, which, along with his health, is in grave jeopardy as the result of
prison officials withholding critical medical treatment. Gary was ordered to
self-surrender. When he was
contacted by a U.S. Marshal and told the location of the prison, the marshal
also told him to call the prison and find out what he was to bring with
him. Gary did so, on
speaker-phone; I witnessed the conversation. The prison official told Gary to bring all his prescription
medications with him, which he did.
(In fact, although Gary has been recognized and designated as indigent
by the Court, the day before he went to prison we refilled two of his
prescriptions to insure against any lapses in medication. Some of his medications carry warnings
of adverse consequences of missing doses and/or sudden cessation; some are in
demand as street drugs.) Upon
entering prison, Gary's medications were taken from him and he has been denied and
deprived of them since.
Specifically, the last time he was able to take the medications
prescribed for his serious health problems was on Wednesday morning, prior to
becoming a prisoner and the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Gary
has communicated with me about this situation (monitored by prison officials)
daily since Friday, October 1st, when he was first allowed telephone
privileges. Each day since
Wednesday, September 29th, Gary has requested his medications, and
has made attempts to receive them, to no avail. He has kept records of his efforts, which he has mailed to
me. We have discussed the desperate
situation by telephone (monitored by prison officials) every time we have been
able to speak, and I wrote a letter to the warden which I faxed and e-mailed
last Friday, the tenth day of the withholding of his medications. There was no response to my request to
the warden; Gary continues to be endangered by the withholding of the medications.
The prison's handbook, in relevant part, acknowledges prisoners' rights and the prison's responsibilities (excerpted from pages 44 and 45):
5. RIGHT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT, CONSIDERATION, AND DIGNITY.
10. RIGHT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE PRESCRIBED MEDICATION AND TREATMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER, CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESCRIBING HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. (Emphasis added.)
More compellingly, the USDOJ's Federal Bureau of Prisons "Program Statement", OPI: CPD/CSB, Number: P5580.07, Dated 12/28/2005, Subject: Personal Property, states in relevant part on Page 11:
"Medicines the inmate carries into the institution at the time of commitment (e.g., voluntary commitment) will be forwarded to the institution medical staff for disposition. If appropriate, this medicine will be returned to the inmate." (Emphasis added.)
The "Program Statement" goes on to state at
12.
"Voluntary Surrenders" that "When an inmate voluntarily surrenders to Bureau
custody he or she will be permitted to retain [m]edical or orthopedic devices."
Among
Gary's medical conditions about which I am most desperately concerned is his
high blood pressure, which was being carefully monitored and controlled by
medication. Being innocent, but
prosecuted and imprisoned certainly would exacerbate most medical problems,
with blood pressure being of paramount concern. Without proper treatment and medication, Gary could
imminently suffer a stroke, an aneurysm, or even death. Please understand that Gary has never
even been examined by any doctor since becoming a prisoner; he was given a TB test
and had the injection site examined, and his blood was drawn for DNA purposes
only. This is not a situation where
a doctor, employed by the prison, examined Gary, diagnosed him, and modified
his treatment or need for medication.
His prescription medications are simply being withheld, as depraved
indifference, reckless endangerment, and gross negligence.
I love my husband, and do not want him to suffer from medical neglect or abuse or even die; he was not given a death sentence by the judge. I hope and expect he will prevail on appeal and be freed from the destruction inflicted upon our family. In addition to being my husband, he is a loving and devoted father to our five children, an enamored grandfather to his only grandson, a loving and concerned son to his elderly and ill parents, as well as my parents, the only brother to his sisters, a caring and engaged uncle to numerous nieces and nephews, a wonderful brother-in-law, and the best friend anyone could ever hope to have. Please help all of us to save his life and health.
Sincerely,
Judy White
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