Posts Tagged With: Steve Bullock Attorney General

Montana’s DOC’s Solitary Confinement For Mental Illness Inmates – ACLU

MONTANA STATE PRISON

FYI – The ACLU will be hosting a free program – Solitary Confinement-Overused, Cruel, and Ineffective, at the University of Montana Law School evening of Thursday November 15, at 7pm, Room 201.

Currently our Montana prison and jail systems use solitary confinement when dealing with people who have a mental illness.  We have over 340 plus inmates with a mental illness at Montana State Prison, limited beds for people with mental illness –  25 total, 12 or 13 on the low side, 12 on the high side.

Low side receives mental health services from staff from the Montana State Hospital, but the majority of the inmates with mental illness are on the high side, and receive limited (maybe meds) or no services.  There is a disparity of services and treatment towards high side inmates with mental illnesses.

This will probably be one of the most contentious topics at the upcoming legislation.  Reason for it – cost – more to implement start up services and facilities, than what we have been doing.

Our State and correctional system has been reverting back to the 18th century on how we handle people with mental illnesses – perverse and cruel punishment by not giving the medical mental health services and treatment they need.

The teenage prisoner couldn’t take the isolation of solitary confinement. The 23 hours each day with no human contact exacerbated his mental illness. Suicide seemed the only way out. He bit through the veins in his wrists in a desperate attempt to end his suffering.

Thankfully the ACLU of Montana was able to get Raistlen Katka out of solitary confinement at Montana State Prison, and to win a settlement that means no other minors will have to endure the months on end of solitary confinement that Raistlen did.

But solitary confinement is still in use for adult prisoners in Montana and other states. On any given day, more than 80,000 American prisoners are locked in isolation.

On Thursday, November 15 attend a free program in Missoula on how solitary confinement harms prisoners, how that hurts us as a society and how we can reduce its use.

Participants will hear from prisoners, corrections officials and psychiatrists in the 50-minute National Geographic documentary “Solitary Confinement.”

They will then hear from Eldon Vail, former Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections, about how prisons can move more inmates out of solitary confinement and into the general population and about the special needs of mentally ill prisoners. Vail has 35 years of experience in corrections and has directly overseen three prisons. There will be the opportunity for questions.

Corrections officials argue that solitary confinement is necessary to maintain safety and order and that the practice modifies prisoner behavior. But experience shows solitary confinement modifies inmate behavior in unwanted and damaging ways. Deprived of any meaningful human contact, prisoners suffer from anxiety, depression, paranoia and sometimes even hallucinations. They often complete their prison sentences in solitary and are released directly into society with little or no ability to cope with other people. Many end up back in prison.

Even if you can’t attend, visit our website to learn more about solitary confinement and what the ACLU is doing to reduce its use.

Categories: MDOC/Abuse | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Montana Dept.Of Corrections Without Therapists For Their Programs?

Well, we have finally discovered another major reason for the Montana prison system being so clogged up.  It is not just the fact that those who have been revoked on probation have to re-take the CP&R program again and are put on the list of first priority.  Thus pushing the inmate population on a longer waiting period.  It has come to our attention that this program that was developed by Montana State Prison does not have the staff to implement the program.  Apparently one of their therapists was fired, from an outside source, for teaching the course without the appropriate credentials. We are at this time checking on that “outside source”.

How can it be mandated to take classes that they do not even have therapists for?  Why would a prison create a program that apparently is not working?  They do not have the resources available and they have a 94% recidivism rate with these inmates already having completed the program once.  How many times does the taxpayer have to pay for these programs to be taken?  If this doesn’t sound like a major money making racket, I don’t know what does.

At the same time there are those that have taken SOP1 which teaches the very same thing as the CP&R with a few more or a few less points.  Might be the reason that Montana Department Of Corrections is stating that they have changed the CP&R to be taught with SOP2.  It not only allows the Montana Board Of Pardons And Parole to add “enhancements” to an inmates sentence but they are getting extra money from the taxpayers by continuing to add these classes in a longer time frame.  So, you have Blair Hopkins teaching all of these classes?  With over 1400 inmates?

Here is their definition of the CP&R program:

Cognitive Behavioral Programming:
Cognitive Principles and Restructuring (CP&R) is a program that was developed by the Montana State Prison, and has achieved impressive outcome results.  CP&R is conducted five days per week for approximately 1.5 hours per session.  This component is delivered in both individual and group settings by trained staff.

  • see the behavior to change;
  • identify the thinking behind the behavior;
  • identify the patterns and cycles of that thinking;
  • detail the underlying attitudes and beliefs that drive the thinking;
  • develop interventions, controls and alternative ways of thinking;
  • prepare a plan to make and sustain change; and
  • apply and monitor the plan.


http://www.cccscorp.com/watch2.htm

Now why do they need inmates to take this program if they have already learned the same principles in SOP1?   This is a certain segment of the population that could reduce costs to the Montana taxpayers.

Here are the ads we found showing that there is a major need for therapists within the Department of Corrections. Actually we encourage anyone with the qualifications to please apply as we have a system that has become clogged up with inmates throughout Montana waiting to go through these programs and cannot be released until that happens.  Not even those that are being mandated to take duplicated programs.

Position Title: Clinical Therapist –Reposted *Applications must be received by Midnight Mountain Time on the closing date.Listing Number:8434-1210F
For more information contact:State Agency:
Corrections
600 Conley Lake Rd.
Deer Lodge, MT 59722
Phone:(406)846-1320 2202
Fax:(406)846-2950
TTY:Montana Relay Service at 711
E-mail:whislop@mt.gov- OR -

Local Montana Job Service Workforce

Position Number(s): 64122946
Openings: 1
Location(s): Deer Lodge
Job Status: Full-Time Permanent
Shift: Daytime
Date Posted: 9/27/2012
Closing Date:
Department: Corrections
Division: Montana State Prison
Bureau:
Union: MEA/MFT
Bargaining Unit: 6
Band/Grade: 6
State Application Required: Yes
Salary: $22.26 – $27.83
Salary Unit: Hourly


https://svc.mt.gov/statejobsearch/listingdetails.aspx?id=8434

Job Description   
Job Category: Counselor
Reference #: 64122620
Job Title: Sex Offender Therapist
Hiring Organization: Montana State Prison
Salary Range: $39,561 – $49.441
Closing Date: 2012-02-29
Job Location: Montana
Description: Duties include professional psychological testing, counseling groups, conducting sex offender programming therapy sessions, interviewing inmates for psychosexual evaluation and recommendation purposes, emergency evaluations and management, psycho diagnosis, case management, working with Case Managers and contracted professionals, psychological consultation to the institution.


http://www.corrections.com/jobs/6550

Clinical Therapist –Reposted

State of Montana

- Deer Lodge, MT

Montana at http://www.mt.govMontana‘s Official State Website; learn more about the … for prison employees is required. Montana State Prison is tobacco free. All employees…

from State of Montana - 24 days ago

Clinical Psychologist

State of Montana

- Deer Lodge, MT

for prison employees is required. Montana State Prison is tobacco free. All employees … organizing information on all inmates at the Montana State Prison. Maintains…

from State of Montana - 30+ days ago


http://publicdefender.mt.gov/training/Session4.pdf

Inmates move among the prisons for a number of reasons. An inmate could be moved from MSP to Crossroads or a regional prison because:
MSP has reached capacity and another prison has some empty beds.   An inmate does not have immediate needs for special services at MSP such as medical, dental,
mental health and sex offender treatment.
Separation needs; an inmate has problems getting along with other inmates at his custody level. An inmate at MSP should be at a lower custody level but no room at that level is available at MSP An inmate wants to enroll in a program offered elsewhere, such as the virtual welding course at Glendive or the dog-training program at Shelby.

(Remember in June of this year the instructor was caught having sex with inmates in her dog-training program and blackmailing the other inmates?)

To read: Montana’s Dirty Sex Secret 

Moving an inmate will improve his behavior in relation to staff or other inmates. An inmate might move to MSP because:

He needs specialized treatment as a sex offender or for chemical dependency.
He wishes to participate in an industries program.
He needs medical attention available only through the infirmary.
He requires placement in a higher custody level that is not available elsewhere.
He requires more intense mental health treatment.
The cost per day at the prisons varies due to the disparity in the services and programming provided and the custody levels of the inmates housed there. The cost per day at Crossroads is $63.98 for each inmate. The cost per day at Montana State Prison is $94.19. The higher rate is because MSP functions, to a great extent, as a special-needs facility in the Montana prison network.

MSP has specialized programs and services that are not available elsewhere. It has:

A full infirmary that is capable of providing inmates with extensive and chronic medical and dental needs
Intensive treatment units for chemical dependent and methamphetamine-addicted inmates
Sex offender treatment
Treatment for inmates with serious mental health issues
Capability of housing the highest-custody inmates, which requires higher staffer levels


http://www.cor.mt.gov/content/news/Newsletters/No2_2012.pdf

The Montana Department of Corrections is having you to believe that they are offering all of this with an enormous success rate.  But that is not the truth, they can’t and don’t offer it.  As you can see documented in all of the articles on this very website.

They move these inmates around the state without the personnel for these programs and the mental health and the extensive medical and dental needs is a joke.  Sounds like a good way to keep milking the system and the public.

Prison budget

A budget hearing in early 2011 brought up the idea of prisons earning their own money rather than relying on taxpayer funds. Members of the panel asked about privatizing some services at prisons and how could the state increase restitution payments from prisoners.

State prison officials told the joint subcommittee on Judicial Branch, Law Enforcement and Justice that the department would need $170 million in 2012 and $180 million in 2013 to operate. There are about 12,000 people who are wards of the state in Montana with 8,000 of those on paroled supervision, officials said.

“Montana is tough on crime,” Gov. Schweitzer’s Budget Director David Ewer said. “We’re very compassionate people but we’re tough.”

Rep. Kenneth Peterson asked if privatizing some services had been considered and Ewer did not offer him much hope.

“We believe it is appropriate for government employees to deliver something as important as public safety,” Peterson said.

Peterson pointed out that the administration of Gov. Schweitzer does not traditionally advocate for private prisons or for shipping prisoners out of Montana to other facilities.

Mike Ferriter, director of the Department of Corrections, said it cost the private-run prison in Shelby $67.86 a day to keep a prisoner whereas Montana state prisons have a cost of $87.91 a day.

However, Ferriter added, Montana State Prison was becoming a prison that dealt with people who were sex offenders or had medical issues.

Peterson said he’d be interested in privatizing some prison services, but would not push the issue.

“I thought it would be good for the agency (DOC) to pursue,” Peterson said, adding that the state could privatize the prison ranch in Deer Lodge and send low-level offenders there to work.

Rep. Michael More suggested the DOC look at ways to make prisoners pay restitution for their own incarceration.


http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/

Privatized prisons is not the way to go.  I don’t know where Rep. Kenneth Peterson has done his research but this is the least favorable avenue.  The nation is in an uproar over corporations owning prisons.  Their profits based on how many they have locked up.  Yet remember that these kind of organizations lobby and spend millions for this very thing.

And the comment from our own Governor Brian Schweitzer’s Budget Director…“Montana is tough on crime,” Gov. Schweitzer’s Budget Director David Ewer said. “We’re very compassionate people but we’re tough.”  This is a real laugh.  What has Governor Schweitzer done to even check up about these prison camps?  That is not compassion when you allow a judicial system to run rampant, declaring war on Montana citizens.  To allow the incarceration rate to skyrocket without even researching into it.  To allow inmates to commit suicide at an alarming rate, for officers to commit felonies in these prisons and there is no “real” investigations taking place.  Nor is there any “change” within the system.

We have found other out of state websites calling Montana  ”Montana House Of Shame”  even though Governor Brian Schweitzer keeps repeating how popular of a governor he is.  Not everyone in the nation thinks so.

Remember the two departments that say they work only in administrative purposes, yet we discovered by their own “meeting minutes”  how involved they are with each other,  The Montana Families. 

Montana taxpayers, it is time for change.  We cannot continue sticking our heads in the sand.  Wake up!

Categories: Montana DOC/BOPP, MT DPHHS/DOJ | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Montana Families – DOC/BOPP/DPHHS/DOJ

Movie The Godfather Corleone Rizzi Mafia Family Al Pacino Marine Hero

The Montana Families

Board of Pardons and Parole and Department of Corrections 

CCCS, Inc. 471 E. Mercury St.
Butte, Mt 59701
March 17, 2010
The meeting attendees expressed their thanks to Mike Thatcher and staff for
extending the invitation to use the corporate facilities for the meeting as well as
providing snacks and lunch for the group. Thank you so much.

Board members in attendance were: Chairman Mike McKee, Sam Lemaich, John
Ward, Margaret Hall-Bowman, and Teresa McCann-O’Connor
Board member absent were: John Rex and Darryl Dupuis
Board staff in attendance were: Executive Director Craig Thomas, Senior Parole Board
Analyst Julie Thomas, Parole Board Analyst Fern Osler, Parole Board Analyst Brain
Callarman, Parole Board Analyst John Cameron, and Parole Board Analyst Christine Slaughter

Department of Corrections staff in attendance were: Department of Corrections Director
Mike Ferriter, Montana Women’s Prison Warden Jo Acton, Montana Men’s Prison
Warden Mike Mahoney, Adult Community Corrections Division Administrator Pam
Bunke, Legal Counsel to Director Diana Koch, and Executive Assistant to the Director
Myrna Omholt-Mason

Guest: Governor’s Policy Advisor on Health and Families Eve Franklin

Review of old business – meeting summary of October 14, 2009
Correction made to male jail hold should have read “decrease” of 12%.

Population Projections:
Ms. Bunke said the population growth remains flat in her programs, Warden
Acton reported that her facility is currently below capacity, and Warden Mahoney said
the male jail hold numbers will increase due to ADA construction projects that are
currently join on in cell blocks.

Length of Stay (LoS):
Ms. Acton reported that average LoS at MWP is 18 months and is increasing
from the statistics reported in October 2009. Female offenders suffering from mental
and serious medical issues are increasing the LoS. Warden Mahoney is seeing an

increase of adjudicated teens coming into the system as adults. Gang culture is
appealing to youth and causing security challenges for MSP.

DUI/Sex Offenders:
Ms. Bunke said the Law & Justice Interim committee will meet on April 5 and 6.
SJR 39 – DUI study as well as sex offender placement challenges will be discussed.
Dr. Tim Conley did a study titled Assessing Montana’s Multiple Offender Drunk Drivers
for Prevention Strategy Ideas. The study is posted on the DOC’s Intranet site for review.
One of the findings from Dr. Conley’s research showed that offenders want a longer
period of treatment after being charged with their first DUI.
Placement of sex offenders (SO’s) is still problematic. Only two prerelease
centers, Billings and Missoula, accept SO’s. A panel comprised of DOC staff and
community based program staff will present their views to the committee on April 6
regarding placement of SO’s into the community. The panel will stress that the SO’s
going to the prerelease centers are Level One’s. Butte and Bozeman prerelease center
will not take SO’s and Great Falls is taking the issue under advisement with no firm
decision made as yet. Mr. Ferriter recommended a representative of BOPP also attend
the meeting to give BOPP’s perspective.

Sex Offenders 46-18-207(4) MCA:
Ms. Koch read the statute and it says in part…“during an offender’s term of
commitment to the department of corrections or a state prison, the department may
place the person in a residential sexual offender treatment program approved by the
department under 53-1-203.” The Intensive Treatment Unit at MSP is not classified as
a residential treatment program. Offenders at MSP attend SO treatment as well as
participating in other programming/jobs as opposed to WATCh which is an eight hour
per day treatment module. The expanded Work and Re-entry Center (formally the Work
Dorm) could be utilized as a specialized residential treatment program therefore
lessening the offender population that is currently treatment complete but still housed
behind the double-wire.
Community Corrections Interventions for High-Risk Offenders in Rural Montana:
Ms. Bunke said that eight full time P&P officers have been hired. Five of the
officers will be specialized in working with Native American offenders and three will work
with offenders that have co-occurring issues (chemical dependency and mental health).
A federal Department of Justice field auditor will be in Helena in mid-March to review
the management of the grant. One of the goals is to meld Native American strategies
into treatment programming.
Craig Thomas said the grant will now give the Board the tools to specifically
parole offenders to one of the specialized officers.
2E-Rim Project:
Mr. Thomas reported little progress has been made with the project. Funding is

a problem as well as file storage. CITRIX and OMIS access for all Board members has
to be grated and the correct computer access program hasn’t been installed on the
laptop computers used by the Board. Electronic records are stored in a program called
FileNet through the Department of Administration. DofA charges large sums of money
for storage and those expenditures are not in the DOC budget. Mr. Thomas also said
that wireless connectivity in correctional facilities is also a problem due to how the
facilities were constructed (ex. concrete walls).

CDFS(Conditional Discharge from Supervision):
Mr. Thomas said that in the last ten years 20 parolees have been discharged from
supervision. The goal of CDFS was to reduce the P&P officer’s caseload by rewarding
offenders for completing the terms of his/her sentence. CDFS requires more effort on
behalf of the officer as the officer has to approach the Board and request a CDFS. The
conditions pertaining to offenders on probation or parole status have changed due to
updating the Administrative Rules relating to conditions of probation or parole. The
existing Administrative Rule 20.25.704 dealing with conditional discharge from
supervision has been re-worded when Mr. and Mrs. Thomas met with Ms Koch regarding
updating Chapter 25 – Board of Pardons and Parole – in the Administrative Rules of
Montana. Mr. Thomas said the Board’s goal is to be compliant with ACA Standard 2-
APA-1125 which states “if not discharged after one year of release on parole or the
statutory minimum period, the parolee may request a discharge review by the authority.”
Mr. Thomas stated the current ARM statute on conditional discharge from supervision
does not have any bearing on parole. The P&P officer can recommend CDFS but the
Board does not have to approve – offenders do not have the right to parole.

ADMINISTRATIVE RULES:
Mr. McKee stated that is has been 11 years since the administrative rules
governing the Board have been reviewed. The meeting summary of October 2009
reflected that the rules will be reviewed and amended to accurately reflect the Board’s function.

Craig and Julie Thomas and Diana Koch have met and new rules have been drafted.

The proposed changes have been sent to the Board members for their review. 

If changes to the working document need to be made, please submit the suggested
changes to Mr. Thomas by the first week in May. A video conference will be scheduled
in May to review the final document before submission to the Legislative Services rule
reviewer, Valencia Lane. Diana Koch talked about the protocol through the Secretary of
State’s office regarding the administrative rule process.

The Board does not have to
hold a public hearing to amend the rules but must send a notice to interested persons 

and take their comments into consideration before the rules are adopted.

Any changes to the statutes need to be sent to Ms. Koch by April 1 for her review.

INMATE CLASSIFICATION FOR OFFENDERS NOT INTERESTED IN PAROLE:
Mr. McKee stated that offenders have the right to refuse parole consideration and
he has observed some offenders have become acclimatized to the prison lifestyle. He
questioned Mr. Mahoney about the current MSP’s classification system. Mr. Mahoney
stated that offender’s with lengthy discharge dates are reviewed every six months and
are moved to different secure facilities if all they want to do is serve their time. Ms.
Acton stated that MWP does not have the opportunity to move female offenders that
refuse to appear before the Board.

BUDGET/EPP OVERVIEW:
Mr. Thomas said he will only present two EPP requests to DOC – funding for
ACA and per diem for Board members.
Mr. Ferriter said DOC has undergone 6.8 million in budget reductions. DOC is
still going to move forward with the NW prerelease center and the eight new specialized
P&P officer positions that are currently funded through a federal grant could be
eliminated. He stated that to maintain the existing budget it will require 174 million.

Mr. Mahoney and Ms. Acton will be submitted their EPP requests for DOC
management team review and prioritization. Ms. Acton said MWP is in critical need for
a new control system of operation of all doors in her facility.

Mr. McKee asked that the Board be kept apprised and included in any
discussions if the department is contemplating the possibility of early release of
offenders due to budget cuts.

MOU-JURISDICTION:
Ms. Koch gave the attendees a copy of the MOU that reflects the current practice
between the Board and DOC. The changes to the document are: 1) to take out the word
“treat” and replace it with “manage”. The corrected sentence will read: “The purpose of
this MOU is to reflect the agreement of the parties as to how they will manage offenders
who are committed to the Department of Corrections (DOC Commits) and whom the
COC places in prison. 2) delete in its entirety item #3 which reads: “DOC Commits and
prison commits that have been screened and accepted by prerelease through the
screening process as outlined in DOC Policy 5.8.1. 3) add Pam Bunke’s name to the
signatory page as well as correcting Mr. McKee’s name to Michael E. McKee.
The effective date of the MOU will be upon signing of all parties

PARDONS/OFFENDER REMOVAL FROM OMIS:
Mr. Thomas said the consensus of the Board members is to remove all felony
offenders names from the DOC’s Correctional Offender Network (CON) site when an
he/she is granted a pardon from the Governor. 46-23-301(b) states “Pardon” means a
declaration of record that an individual is to be relieved of all legal consequences of a
prior conviction. The Board will take the responsibility to notify DOC when a pardon is
granted so ensure the offender’s name is removed from the site. When an offender’s
deferred sentence ends the offender has to work through the courts to get the record
expunged. Once that is accomplished the Board is requesting their names be removed
from the site.

COMMENTS REGARDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA:
The members had an open discussion regarding the supervisory issues created
when offenders have a medical marijuana card. One incident was cited about a mental
health clinic that kicked an offender out of the treatment program because he came to
his treatment session under the influence. The general agreement was that the medical community has to develop protocols in prescribing the cards and Ms. McCannO’Connor said that offenders will have to get a specific recommendation from the Board to give the ok for a card-not just an ok from a doctor.

The marijuana registry is causing
problems for DPHHS because there is no case law to draw on. Ms. Koch said that
according to the medical marijuana statute the persons who possess a registry
identification cards may not be arrested, prosecute or penalized in any manner.
Mr. McKee said the Board will join any law enforcement grass roots organization
that may evolve before the 2011 legislative session to change the statute.

NEXT MEETING:
October 8 in Billings at Passages.


http://www.cor.mt.gov/content/Resources/MeetingSummaries/DOCBOPP03172010.pdf

Board of Pardons and Parole and Department of Corrections Joint Meeting
Meeting Summary
Helena Holiday Inn
October 14, 2009

Board members in attendance were: John Rex, Margaret Bowman, Chairman
Mike McKee, John Ward, Darryl Dupuis and Sam Lemaich
Board member absent: Teresa McCann O’Connor

Board staff in attendance were: Executive Director Craig Thomas, Senior Parole
Board Analyst Julie Thomas, Parole Board Analyst Fern Osler, Parole Board
Analyst Brian Callarman, Parole Board Analyst John Cameron, and Parole Board
Analyst Christine Slaughter

Department of Corrections staff in attendance were: Department of Corrections
Director Mike Ferriter, Montana Women’s Prison Deputy Warden Bob Paul,
Montana State Prison Warden Mike Mahoney, Adult Community Corrections
Division Administrator Pam Bunke, and Executive Assistant to Director Ferriter
Myrna Omholt-Mason

Guest: Eve Franklin

Mr. Ferriter told the members that he recognized the good working
relationship between the Board and the department. In years past this was not
the case and he appreciates the change.

To Read Full Minutes: 
http://www.cor.mt.gov/content/Resources/MeetingSummaries/DOCBOPP10142009.pdf

Board of Pardons and Parole and Department of Corrections
1002 Hollenbeck Road
Deer Lodge, MT 59722
May 18, 2012

Board members in attendance: Margaret Bowman, John Ward, Teresa O’Connor, Darryl
Dupuis, Sam Lemaich, and John Rex

Board staff in attendance: Fern Osler, Mike Webster, Julie Thomas, Tim Allred, Michael
Webster, and Meaghan Shone

Department of Corrections staff in attendance: Ron Alsbury, Leroy Kirkegard, Gayle
Lambert, Sam Casey, and Myrna Omholt-Mason.
The meeting was jointly chaired by Fern Osler and Ron Alsbury

Review of Old Business:
The Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the board not being involved
with criminally convicted youth has not been revised at the time of this meeting. Ms.
Olser announced the December 2012 retirement of Diana Koch, Chief General Counsel
for the Department of Corrections. The members expressed their appreciation of Ms.
Koch’s legal work she has done for the board.

REENTRY UPDATE – Sam Casey and Gayle Lambert
Mr. Casey stated there is a monthly reentry meeting in Helena. The group is split
into subcommittees that deal with housing, employment, family. The Helena group is
similar to the Billings Area Reentry Task Force and is building groundwork relative to
community partnerships. Mr. Alsbury added that the department’s target is to have
specialized reentry P&P officers.
Various reentry grants have been applied for: a grant for a small number of
female offenders in Butte and Great Falls to participate in the NewPath/New Life
program as well a peer mentoring grant that will be used in Billings.
Ms. Lambert reported a reentry saving plan will be implemented on July 1st for
offenders working for Montana Correctional Enterprises. For each year of MCE
employment, the offenders’ account will be credited $100.00 with a cap of $300.00
maximum. MCE is researching the possibility of using debit cards in lieu of checks to
distribute the savings money to offenders upon their release.
Mr. Casey talked about the assessment tool being developed that is based on
Ohio’s validated tool. The tool will be an individualized case management plan specific
to the offender. The tool will measure the offenders’ risk to re-offend, his positive or
negative progress as his progress through the system, as well as types of support he
will need for successful reentry into the community.
Jim Pagels is the newly-hired reentry case manager based at MCE. He has
extensive experience working with sex offenders and has developed good relationship 2
building skills relative to placing sex offenders back into the community. He is very
involved with case managers and IPPO’s relative to reentry planning.
Ms. Lambert said Director Ferriter gave an assignment to Adult Community
Corrections, Montana Correctional Enterprises, Montana State Prison, and Montana
Women’s Prison to develop a coordinated reentry/recidivism reduction plan which
comports with the needs and expectations of each of the four divisions. The plans are
due to the director by May 18th.
Ms. Lambert stated the release assistance policy will be finalized by July 1st.

STANDARD CONDITIONS-INTOXICANTS
Ms.Osler said the board’s Administrative Rules have been amended and are
under final review. Rule 20.25.702 outline conditions of supervision. The existing
language has the words “illegal drugs”. The new language will say “all intoxicants and
mind altering chemicals”.

MASC/START
Information from MASC and START is being sent to Ms. Osler in a timely manner
including the rational for the transfer back into MASC or START from parole. Mr. Allred
asked the rational for the transfer back to MASC or START be included in the
chronological notes in OMIS. Discussion followed as to who will be responsible for
making the data entry notation in the chronological notes in OMIS. Mr. Alsbury will
follow-up with the various IPPO’s as to entering the transfer information into OMIS.

NEW STEPS/ NEW DIRECTIONS
Ms. Lambert reported Crossroads Correctional Center will implement the New
Steps/New Directorns programs beginning July 1st
. The Work and Reentry Center
(WRC) will re-implement the New Directions program. She said there is a marked
difference in the attitude of offenders that are involved in the programs. Additional
training for staff relative to implementing the programs at MSP, WRC, and Shelby will
be scheduled in the near future.
Ms Osler asked about training through The Pacific Institute for interested board
members. Ms. Lambert stated the founder of The Pacific Institute, Lou Tice, recently
passed away. Interested board members that would like to take The Pacific Institute
training can do so through DOC trainers through the department’s Professional
Development Bureau.

New Business:

TIER III OFFENDERS
Ms. Osler told the group the Billings Mission will no longer house Tier III
offenders. In the past the board paroled offenders to the mission and the offenders

were required to enroll in the team mentoring program. Ms. Osler is hopeful John

Williams, P&P Regional Administrator in Billings, will meet with members of the
mission’s management to discuss this issue and ask for their reconsideration.

VICTIM DISCUSSION
Ms. Osler said two board staff, Julie Thomas and Cathy Leaver, will work directly
with victim(s) prior to parole hearings. A checklist has been implemented relative to
notifying the victim(s) regarding the possibility of media attending the hearing as well as
hearing protocol. The victim(s) can ask for privacy if they choose not to be in the same
room as the offender and private testimony can be given. Victim(s) will be advised the
hearings are open to the public hence the proceedings do come under public scrutiny.

ELECTRONIC PAROLE REPORTS
Ms. Osler said this is still a work in progress and Deputy Warden Ross Swanson
has been working on getting this project completed in the next couple of months.

COMMUNITY PLACEMENT SEQUENCE
Ms. Osler said the sequence of offender placement was Connections then Boot
Camp then to a prerelease center. The sequence has now changed to Boot Camp then
Connections then prerelease. Mr. Alsbury asked that Ms. Osler meet with Kelly Speer,
acting superintendent at the boot camp and with Cathy Gordon, acting facilities program
bureau chief, as to the correct sequence for placement. The requirement regarding
approval for an offender to be at a prerelease center when the offender is already
housed at the center will also be clarified.

DRUG COURTS
There are four specialized treatment courts: family court, drug court, impaired
driving court, and a veteran’s court. A Billings judge has requested the board become
involved in sending offenders to the specialized courts, with the assurance the board
will still have authority over the offender. Offenders would apply through the court
screening committee before receiving the courts assistance.
Tim Allred talked about the Great Falls specialized drug court. Currently
offenders on conditional release or on parole are not accepted to receive assistance.
Great Falls Judge Jensen and her team work with offenders and develop a task list that
is specific to the offender. Compliance with the stipulations on the task list is
mandatory. The team approach through the court is different from offenders being on
straight parole. The court team meets weekly with offenders and offers incentives when
they comply with court specified conditions. The courts have had success with offenders
on probation and those that have received deferred sentences. Sanctions are through
the district court judge if probation/deferred offenders are found non-compliant with
court conditions.
The board members agreed the court is a good tool but clear lines relative to
court/board supervision would have to be established. There was agreement that the
specialized courts would grant the P&P officers more options for successful
management of offenders as opposed to sending non-compliant offenders either to
START or prison. The members also agreed it would be beneficial to attend court to
obtain a better understanding of the workings of the court.

CLOSING COMMENTS
 No public comment
 Warden Kirkegard announced that Deputy Warden Ross Swanson will retire on July 27, 2012.
 Next meeting date is targeted for October prior to Director Ferriter’s retirement the end of December, 2012.


http://cor.mt.gov/content/Resources/MeetingSummaries/DOCBOPP05182012.pdf

Department of Corrections
Agency Overview June 2011
For the Law and Justice Interim Committee
Prepared by Sheri Scurr, Research Analyst Montana Legislative Services Division
sscurr@mt.net http://leg.mt.gov (406) 444-3064
Page 2 of 2

Administratively Attached Entities:
• Board of Pardons and Parole (section 2-15-2302, MCA)
• State council for interstate adult offender supervision (section 46-23-1115, MCA, Art. IV)

Legislative Audits:
Financial compliance, Sept. 2010
Contract management, Feb. 2010
Chemical dependency and sex offender treatment programs, Nov. 2007
Use of electronic supervision technologies, Dec. 2006
Juvenile delinquency intervention, Dec. 2005

Agency Bills Passed During 2011 Session:
Revise make up, operation, procedures of the Board of Pardons and Parole – HB 141 (Peterson)
Revise contracting authority for community corrections programs – SB 72 (Gillan)

Non-Agency Bills During 2011 Session:
Revise parole for those in custody of DPHHS and in state facility – SB 76 (Jent) – PASSED
Increase sexual assault penalty for second and subsequent offenses – SB 152 (Brown) – PASSED

Law and Justice Interim Committee Areas of Interest:
DUI laws, 2009-2010 interim
Correctional mental health services for adults and juveniles, 2007-2008 interim
Drug offender prison population, 2007-2008 interim

Hot Topics of 2011 Session:

 DUI laws

 Death penalty

 Prison population growth and incarceration rates

Sex offenders


http://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2011-2012/Law-and-Justice/Meeting-Documents/June-21-2011/Dept.%20of%20Corrections%20Overview.pdf

This information was found on a prison forum about the Montana Parole Board among various users of that site for 2011: 

I just found out that Craig Thomas keeps 2 parole books. One that is sent to the inmate to find out what was said about his possibility for parole. The 2nd book has the letters of support and the letters of condemnation that are never revealed to the inmate. They tell them what they have to do to earn parole then they deny them and never tell them why. When you push them for an answer they just don’t answer and the inmate has to wait another year.

Why is Julie Thomas even working under him? Why is he and his wife running that office? Why is Gayle Lambert running the prison industries? Then you have county attorney Marty Lambert. Who are all the Slaughter family members? Bill Slaughter, at one time was director of the Department of Corrections, then there is his daughter who is a probation officer and you have Christine Slaughter who is a parole board analyst. What is the relationship between Director of DOC Mike Ferriter and Warden Mahoney? What kind of person issues humanitarian parole 2 weeks after the inmate is dead? What kind of a person grants permission for people with little means from Florida to attend a parole hearing 2 weeks after the hearing has been held? Why do you have to hire lawyer and spend $5,000.00 to get the audio CD of a parole hearing?  (That is suppose to be a public hearing.)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Craig Thomas) Was the former Executive Director (Husband) – Now Craig Thomas is working with the Pre-Release
 Directs the daily operation of the Board of Pardons and Parole
 Represents the Board in matters of policy, interdepartmental cooperation, and communications with
political and judicial bodies
 Oversees all matters of personnel, budget, and distribution of work
SENIOR PAROLE BOARD ANALYST (Julie Thomas) (Wife)
 Assumes duties of Executive Director in his absence
 Gathers and analyzes information and makes recommendations to the Board on inmate release risk
 Victim Services Coordinator
 Prepares parole reports and makes release recommendations

PAROLE BOARD ANALYST (Fern Osler – Billings Office) The New Executive Director
 Responsible for Montana Women’s Prison, Billings Pre-Release Centers and Dawson County
Correctional Center
 A member of pre-release and initial classification committees
 Prepares parole reports and makes release recommendations
 Responsible for the Pre-Parole Program
 Serves legal notice to all Parole Violators
 Schedules victims and witnesses to provide testimony at Parole hearings
PAROLE BOARD ANALYST (Christine Slaughter)
 A member of pre-release and initial classification committees
 Responsible for BOPP Information System
 Prepares parole reports and makes release recommendations
 Responsible for the Pre-Parole Program
Approximately 72% of the correctional population is eligible for parole ….72%!!
Inmates serve 25 months to parole eligibility and 46 months to parole release decision on average 

93% of parole violators are returned to custody for technical violations 


http://bopp.mt.gov/content/about/Biennial_Report_2011

The Montana State Board of Pardons and Parole is composed of seven members. Each member is
appointed by the Governor for staggered four year terms subject to confirmation by the State Senate. The
Governor appoints the Chair in accordance with State law. The Vice-Chair is elected in an executive
session by the members.
The Board was created by legislative action in 1955. There has been some form of parole within Montana
since 1889. In 1979, 1995, and 2003, the addition of auxiliary members was provided by the legislature.
The Board is part of the Executive Branch of State government and is attached to the Department of
Corrections for administrative purposes only. The Board performs quasi-judicial and policy-making
functions independently of that Department.

Photo on page 16 of Parole Board-Thomas family and Slaughter. 
http://cor.mt.gov/content/news/Newsletters/No5_2010.pdf

  • Montana, let’s break this down.   The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole keep insisting that they are not affiliated or connected with Montana Department of Corrections.   Over and over we all have been hearing this.   Even the one board member stated this when he issued his threat to one of the wives of an inmate that will go before him.    Okaaaaaay, so they are not in any way working with each other……but…but…but….you see right in that first document from one of the meetings that included Montana Department of Corrections and the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole.  And lookey at the discussions they were having! Inmate population, budget cuts, treatment classes, parole hearings, working with the law enforcement, etc., etc., etc.,  the list goes on.   Then you see in 2011 how they brought many of these “hot topics” to the Law and Justice Committee along with Montana Department of Justice.  ”The Board is part of the Executive Branch of State government and is attached to the Department of  Corrections for administrative purposes only. The Board performs quasi-judicial and policy-making functions independently of that Department.”   That is all they need to be is for administrative purposes.  It only takes a meeting, a phone call and a stroke of the pen to decide what their game plans are going to be. 
  • THEN ON TOP OF ALL THAT…..everyone within these departments seem to be related to one another!  What in the world is going on?   You have husband and wife working together on the parole board.  Uncle and niece in the Department of Corrections. Father in Department of Corrections and daughter working on the parole board.   Another father on the parole board while daughter works for Department of Corrections.  A DOC Director (father) where his daughter works as a probation officer.  One family member running Montana Correctional Enterprise, another family member a County Attorney, while another working in DPHHS.  Husbands and wives signing time cards for each other. One department passing off to the other department.  One family member watching out for the back of their other family member.  What kind of racket does Montana have running here?  There is no way that these Departments are not working together. Absolutely no way.  If they try to sell you that and you buy it, well the Brooklyn Bridge is still up for sale if you want to buy it too.    

Is this all a coincidence?  Hundreds do not think so.  Where does all this family dealing within all the state departments of Montana lead too?  Who is the Godfather of this treeline?  Submit your answers. 

Remember these:   


http://montanacorruption.org/2012/06/11/montana-citizens-do-you-believe-in-words-or-in-actions/


http://montanacorruption.org/2012/07/06/montanas-incarceration-rates-by-counties-and-the-salaries-they-generate/
 (If you take a look at this one you will see the timeline that adds up to the increase that goes along with the timelines of these meetings.  Just a FYI.)


http://montanacorruption.org/2012/05/25/sheriffs-and-politicians-have-financial-incentives-to-keep-people-locked-up/


http://montanacorruption.org/montana-fireman/2172-2/allen-whetstone-incarcerated-fireman-montana-state-prison-set-up-part-3/allen-whetstone-the-incarcerated-mt-fireman-threatened-part-4/allen-whetstone-more-to-the-story-to-question-part-5/allen-whetstone-mdoc-and-mbopp-part-6/


http://montanacorruption.org/2012/09/20/montanas-board-of-pardons-and-parole-their-gang/

Categories: Montana BOPP, Montana DOC/BOPP, MT DPHHS/DOJ | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Welfare Recipients: Do You Voluntarily Want to Go to Prison?

 

 

As a non-partisan citizen of this country, it is extremely frustrating to watch and hear the current news cycle that has become enamored with some of the most outlandish ideas and concepts from both political parties.    One of these extreme concepts was presented by a Republican candidate for the New York governorship, Carl Paladino. (2010)

Mr. Paladino stated that he wanted to “transform some New York prisons into dormitories for welfare recipients, where they could work in state-sponsored jobs, get employment training and take lessons in ‘personal hygiene’.”   When questioned about his idea that is gaining some steam in the Tea Party, Mr. Paladino stated that “he doesn’t want to send welfare recipients to prison dormitories- it would be voluntary.”  Wow!  So, there you have it- a voluntary program to that will create more financial strain on the state of New York, train welfare recipients without a defined scope and purpose and teach the respective individuals how to clean themselves.

Too many single mothers, individuals who have lost their jobs in this stagnant economy and the self-responsible poor who have tried to pick themselves up, what a derogatory, condescending and indifferent proposal that has been presented by Mr. Paladino.  Most non-partisan historians would agree that the welfare system that dates back to the 1930s during the Great Depression has helped countless families and individuals overcome difficult and destitute times.  In 1996, under President Clinton, the bipartisan Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 changed the nation’s welfare system into one requiring work in exchange for time-limited cash assistance and created the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

Many critics continue to question this legislation.  But, with over 40 million people in the United States currently living at or below poverty thresholds, the reformed welfare system is still sorely needed.  To be sure, continual accountability and oversight of the TANF program is needed, as there will always be those who will try to do the opposite of what is right.  But, to isolate millions of people in neo-housing projects (i.e., prison dorms) to implement actions that are already required by law is simply not a wise mechanism to solve any problems associated with the TANF program in New York or anywhere else.  And, as a candidate for governor, Mr. Paladino should know that his proposal is not sound from at least three perspectives.

To Continue Reading: 
http://prisonreformmovement.com/2010/09/06/welfare-recipients-do-you-voluntarily-want-to-go-to-prison/

Prison Break: Budget Crises Drive Reform, But Private Jails Press On

CCA—the largest company in the nation’s private prison industry—had made the first-ever outright purchase of a state penitentiary. Now it wanted more, striking while the leg-iron was hot. Until that sale, for more than three decades various for-profit incarceration businesses had only contracted to run state and local lockups or built new private ones themselves. The CCA poured $72.7 million into Ohio’s cash-starved coffers to buy the Lake Erie Correctional Institution.

Then the CCA dangled $250 million in front of officials in other states agonizing over how to squeeze dollars from dirt in a down economy. In return for sacks of cash, the company wants 20- to 30-year contracts for housing criminals. And the already controversial full privatization also requires states to grind out convictions and sentences for two or three decades at today’s pace and severity, maintaining a guaranteed 90 percent occupancy rate—calibrating the wheels of justice to fit a profit-margin spreadsheet.

Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Owen says the company has never promoted criminal legislation, including within ALEC: “It was always, in my recollection, a passive membership that permitted our representative to observe dialogue by decision-makers.”

But once ALEC had firmly embraced initiatives to lower incarceration rates, the CCA soon quit the organization, in 2010. The company would have severed ties earlier but had prepaid for the year, Owen says, noting that with digital, online information it is now easy to “track and monitor trends” without being involved in ALEC.

In addition to the rub of ALEC’s redirected criminal justice priorities, other longtime private prison advocates now question the CCA’s call for a 90 percent occupancy rate in prison purchases. They include libertarians and free-market apostles who embraced the Reagan administration’s revolutionary drives for both privatization of government products and services as well as increasingly harsh laws. “Clearly it would be a very bad public policy and tie the hands of public officials,” says Marc Levin, who runs the justice initiatives at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a libertarian think tank that added incarceration to its agenda in 2005. “I’m sure Marriott hotels would like a government guarantee for a 90 percent occupancy rate.”

To Continue Reading:


http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/prison

_break_budget_crises_drive_reform_but_private_jails_press_on/

  • It is just amazing some of these outlandish ideas.  Except that CCA is not an idea, it is real and it wants to make profits from prisons being full across America.  What business wouldn’t want 20 year contracts with each state with a 90 percent occupancy rate?   That welfare recipients might want to go to prison may not end up being so outlandish after all if they have to fill these prisons up.   Prisons for profit already look at citizens with a dollar sign over their head.  That means any way they can find an excuse to lock you up. 

 

Categories: Common Sense | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Montana “Finally” Realizing The Danger In Their Own Legal System? (A Must Read)

America’s Corrupt Legal System – A Danger to All

October 7, 2012 by  · 1 Comment   From:  PolyMontana

by Dr. Les Sachs

  PolyMontana:  The tragic reality of the world’s biggest corrupt legal system -America’s rigged courts, bribed judges, fake and phony trials, extortion by lawyers, and over 2 million prisoners in the USA gulag.

Why USA “justice” is not like in Hollywood movies, and why YOU could be the next victim on USA territory – innocent and sent to prison, or strapped to a table and put to death; or robbed of your life savings by American lawyers.

Why YOU can be tortured, have your freedom and rights taken away, and why people in America are afraid to help you, or even tell what happened to you.

The recent pattern of American violations of international law are ultimately based in the corruption of the USA domestic legal system. Phony USA courts are very dangerous even for travelers and visitors to America, who can easily wind up among the USA’s more than 2 million prisoners, or lose all their family’s possessions to corrupt American lawyers.

All world citizens should know how the corrupt USA legal system, is a danger to every traveler, visitor, and guest worker from overseas, and to every individual who takes the risky step of entering upon American territory. Just ask the overseas families of prisoners who were put to death inside the USA, with their embassies never even being informed that they were arrested – or the many foreign people serving hugely long prison terms in America, after they were jailed on flimsy tainted “evidence” from criminal snitches.

The reality is that the United States of America, which proclaims itself the “land of freedom”, has the most dishonest, dangerous and crooked legal system of any developed nation.

Legal corruption is covering America like a blanket. The corruption of the USA legal system is well-known, but also well-hidden, by the news services of America’s corporate-owned media. The US media companies are afraid both of reprisal, and of the social revolution that would come from exposing the truth. Here is what the US media companies know, but are afraid to tell you about American “justice”.

Concentration camps with concrete walls.

America has the largest prison gulag in the entire world – yes, right there in the USA, the self-proclaimed “land of freedom”. The starting point for understanding anything about the USA, is to digest the fact that just this one country, the United States of America, has twenty-five percent of ALL of the prisoners in the entire world.

More than 2 million prisoners – more than 1 out of every 150 people in America – are behind bars in the American gulag. This is now the world’s biggest system of what are effectively concentration camps, though most of these prisoners are behind masonry walls and inside prison buildings.

For minorities, the statistics are even more brutal. For example, the USA is now imprisoning about 1 out of every 36 people in its black population. American “justice” is especially focused on jailing young black males.

Quite amazingly, Americans and the American government, continually criticize the legal systems and so-called “political” legal proceedings in other countries such as China, Russia, and even Belgium among many other places. Yet, for example, the proportion of prisoners is 30 times higher in the USA than in China, even though China is a country regularly criticized and denounced by the USA government.

No one imprisons people as readily, or casually, as does America.

As you learn more about America’s horrifying legal system, you find out how easily and carelessly America arrests people, and tosses innocent people into prison. It is estimated that America has at least 100,000 completely innocent people in jail, but the statistics of innocence may well run far higher. The number of people known to be innocent, and yet who were actually sentenced to death in recent years in America, is already running into the hundreds.

The USA jailing of more than 2 million people is also, quite literally, a revival of slavery and slave labor, on a scale not seen since the days of the Nazis. USA business corporations are using these prisoners as a giant slave labor pool. Prisoners are forced to produce goods and products while earning mere pennies per hour, which they sometimes have to pay back to the prison for their own upkeep. The expanding system of USA prison slave labor is not only a major source of business profit, but also a wedge to drive down the wages of workers outside the prison walls.

This USA policy, of using mass casual imprisonment as a way to revive slavery, is targeted particularly at minorities, but ends up affecting all working people. Supervised by malicious judges and corrupt lawyers, this culture of mass prisons and slave labor is sold to the citizens by creating a psychology of fear among USA residents. This climate of fear is nourished in the USA by both the media and the government, who work together with the judges and lawyers to maintain the whole crooked game.

Of America’s more than 2 million prisoners, about 50,000 are known to be foreign citizens.

This proportion might seem small, but remember that 50,000 prisoners is more than the entire prison population of many other countries. It only appears as a small percentage, because of America’s obsession with jailing its own people, who have had more time to get caught in America’s web of legal horror.

The USA is extremely casual about the jailing of foreigners, and not honouring their rights under international law or treaties and agreements. Often, foreign citizens have been sentenced to death, while the USA didn’t even bother to notify the foreign government that their citizens were arrested.

Several other governments are working hard just to try and obtain even the most primitive judicial rights for their own nationals, who have been seized and held in abusive conditions by the USA empire. And yet, the United States of America somehow still brags about its own legal system, while criticizing other countries.

Understanding that America has such a huge percentage of even its own people in prison, is to start to understand the subconscious fear behind much of American life. Before you set foot in America, you should have a clear picture of the terror of America’s legal system – the judges and lawyers and money and bribery, that have made this system of fear so pervasive.

There is not yet enough public media information about America’s domestic legal horrors, horrors which have been rapidly increasing. And the American public, even the victims of its legal system, have a hard time realizing why it is so hard to fight legal corruption there. The situation is so bad, that a social explosion is beginning inside America.

You can read some news stories – about people murdering judges, or attacking the families of judges, or people setting fire to courthouses in the USA – and see the pattern that is emerging, even though the news media are afraid to connect the dots and suggest what might be behind all these events. America is trying to maintain its myths about its legal system, even while the desperate reality of life inside the USA is starting to blow back into escalating social upheaval.

USA torture and illegal jailing overseas, starts with USA domestic torture and illegal jailing at home.

The world press has documented clear violations of human and legal rights by America in its overseas jails, such as the infamous situations in Guantanamo and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, and the even more secret network of prisons in places like Diego Garcia or on board American ships.

But the problem is much bigger, than America’s legal abuses under its military invasions and “war on terrorism”. These USA violations of international law, are consistent with the corruption in America’s home legal system within its own borders, and have partly evolved from America’s legal abuses against its own citizens and residents.

American prisons are often horrible, with lots of torment of prisoners, like you would expect in some petty dictatorship. Conditions are brutal in USA jails; rape and beatings are common, and there is little help for abused inmates. In addition to the many official USA executions, numerous people are also illegally killed in jail cells, “mysteriously” said to have hanged themselves or “found stabbed to death”.

Scandals of overseas prison abuse, as in the USA-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, have arisen from sources much deeper than America’s foreign policy. These scandals are in part replications of inmate abuse inside of America’s domestic prison gulag. Without diminishing the brutality of the crimes committed by Americans in Iraqi prisons, it is also true that such crimes are consistent with the brutality of prisons inside America.

In the regular functioning of the USA courts, America’s domestic lawyers and judges, threaten people with illegal jailing, and rape, torture and murder in jail, just like the threats used by Americans against Iraqi subjects of the American occupation. America will play the song about “just a few bad apples in the barrel” whenever an abuse scandal gets exposed, either domestically or abroad, but the cover-up of such abuse is more the routine response.

Theoretically, torture and abuse is totally outlawed by America’s Constitution, but some of the nice words in America’s Constitution hold little power anymore, despite how often people quote them. The Americans who still believe the Constitution protects them, are mostly those people who haven’t yet dealt with the judges and lawyers of America’s corrupt legal system.

America’s Constitution and Bill of Rights are nearly dead, not just because the judges will no longer enforce them, but even more because America’s lawyers will not even fight for them. The two American “political parties” are not fighting for them, either, and America’s news media are also very passive. If you look at America in depth, you can see there has been a widespread moral collapse in America’s legal and political structures. This means that America’s legal system has become largely a tool of government terror, and of bribery for the rich and the powerful. The average person is just fodder for the meat-grinder of America’s courts.

America’s lies and sleazy arguments to make excuses for torture, or to deny people the rights of the Geneva convention, or holding people for many years without charges, are also just an extension of the deviousness in America’s domestic legal system. Inside America, neither its laws nor its Constitution nor the facts nor evidence nor anything else, no longer have real authority inside the American courts.

All that’s left is what American lawyers and judges call “the game”.

As part of playing this game, USA lawyers and judges just twist words around, in order to produce any excuse, however flimsy, to achieve their objective, whether that be to jail an innocent person, or give the verdict that was sought by the big company that paid the big bribe through its law firm.

It is an endlessly devious manipulation of words and phrases to get the desired result, just devious falsehood and lies backed by the naked power of the judges. The only “real” part is the power that the judges and lawyers hold in America, to jail you and take away your property. The words of the law don’t protect you in the USA, because American judges and lawyers have no scruples about bending them to mean the opposite of what they say.

America’s lawyers are controlled by the judges, and don’t really work for you – that’s why they sell you out to the government, or to the big companies that pay bribes

There’s some very special aspects about the way American lawyers are controlled by American judges, which is central to why America’s legal corruption is so much worse than any other advanced nation. Even if you are paying an American lawyer huge amounts of money, he or she doesn’t really work for you, and in fact may sell you down the river to the jailhouse.

American lawyers are directly under the thumb of the judges and the government, and must submit to the culture of bribery and perversion of justice, or else face terrifying revenge. Lawyers, just like you, can be instantly jailed by an American judge on flimsy pretexts, and American lawyers can be quickly stripped of their right to practice law, and personally and financially destroyed, if they dare to criticize legal corruption. Lawyers who try to fight the system can find themselves not only dis-barred, but also criminally charged and jailed, and no other lawyer will help them.

It is a horribly crooked system in America.

This is different from other advanced countries, where lawyers are usually a professional guild, whose status and right to practice law, is under the control of only their fellow lawyers. This means that, in other countries, the judges and the government cannot easily ruin or attack the lawyers for purely political reasons. This is also part of why, in other developed countries, outside of America, you really do see brave lawyers fighting for un-popular clients, or challenging the government, and asking for justice.

But in America, it’s different. Over the past century, the American lawyers lost the right to regulate themselves, and instead fell under the power of the judges. So American lawyers are afraid to do things in court, that the judges don’t want them to do. America’s army of nearly 1 million lawyers, is almost totally under the control of a few thousand judges, with their entrenched culture of bribery and fraud and miscarriage of justice.

Some USA lawyers don’t like this, but they are helpless and can’t fight it. Most lawyers in America have, to one degree or another, signed up with the devil, to do things the way the devil wants them done.

That means that any time you hire an American lawyer, he already is in a conflict of interest. He has to make the judge happy first. And if the judge wants to make the government happy, or make somebody else happy who is paying a big bribe, then guess what? You are destroyed.

It doesn’t matter what you paid the lawyer. He works for the judge, first and foremost. So a totally unique factor in USA legal corruption is the amazingly dishonest profession of American lawyers, these lawyers who “play the game” with America’s judges and politicians and police. It is a savage culture of legal fraud, where lawyers work with judges to rob and terrify people, especially minorities, but also foreigners, and above all those who dare to question the system.

People accused of serious crimes have the “right” to a lawyer, but this may mean only a crooked lawyer who is stage-managing the victim to help the government and prosecutors. If the lawyer does not help the government, he can be put out of work and not “assigned” to any more cases, or treated badly the next time he is in a courtroom.

This legal fraud is the core of the danger to those who visit America.

A lawyer who is “representing” you in the USA, whether the government is paying him, or even if you are paying him yourself, may just be a stooge who is helping the prosecutors to put you in jail, even though you are innocent. The judges of America gave every accused criminal the “right” to a lawyer, not because they cared about the rights of the accused, but because it helps stage-manage the victim, with a lawyer who has to do things the judge’s way.

In America, such government-appointed lawyers are the means by which hundreds of thousands of poor people are railroaded into prison. Some of these people were just foreign tourists, in the wrong place at the wrong time, and wound up rotting in an American prison.

Some lawyers are fairly subtle about it, and their victims never realize the lawyer has sold them out to the judge and the government. Most American court cases never go to trial, never see a jury; it is the job of the victim’s lawyer to “sell the deal” that the judge has decided will happen, or else.

This is how people accept a “plea bargain” so they accept going to jail for 3 years even though they are innocent, instead of going to trial before a jury. Because of the corruption of lawyers under the thumb of the judges, there’s a very fake and phony aspect of court proceedings in America. They are really fake “show trials” in many cases, sometimes very obviously so, where both purported “sides” of lawyers are actually working together for the government, or for the big corporation or rich person that is bribing the judge.

You will also find, in the American legal system, that you essentially have no recourse whatsoever against wrongdoing by your own lawyer.

A lawyer can sell you out, betray you, steal your money, engage in malpractice, help out the other side, hide the evidence that proved you were right, or commit felony crime against you, and there is nothing you can do about it, so long as the lawyer made the judge happy, and the judge got his cut of any money the lawyer stole from you.

Innocent and being arrested – they don’t like to admit a mistake in America.

Yes, lots of people live their whole lives in America and never get arrested. And yet, some poor foreign visitor comes to America for a short holiday, gets arrested by mistake, and gets sentenced to death by lethal injection even though he is totally innocent. Well, that’s the lottery of life for those who visit or live in America.

The police and prosecutors in America have no concern at all whether they have arrested someone who is innocent. They just don’t care. When a crime is committed, they try to arrest somebody, anybody, just to say they got the bad guy. And they never like to admit they made a mistake.

Once they arrest you, they will try to make up and plant false evidence, to help try and convict you. A common trick is to take other criminals they know, who are facing jail on other charges, and get those criminals to be false witnesses against you. The cops justify this kind of thing by saying to themselves,

Well, if you didn’t commit this crime, you probably committed some other crime we don’t know about.”

If they do arrest you in America, they like to pile on all sorts of criminal charges. The idea is to charge you with 10 crimes, because it makes you sound bad, and maybe convict you on 3 of them or you will accept a plea bargain on 1 or 2 of them. Any kind of guilty plea, and they call it a success, even though you were totally innocent.

For the police and prosecutors, it’s all a kind of sporting game, so they can bring about their “high conviction rate“. Perhaps part of the reason America has so much crime, even with more than 2 million people in prison, is because the people who actually committed the crimes were never arrested. Also, some poor people may feel that the odds are high they will be arrested someday anyway, so they may as well be criminals and enjoy life in the meantime.

The system is extremely racist, of course, and white people are arrested less than many minorities. But no one is safe. Any innocent person can get railroaded to death in America.

Multi-millionaires and big corporations, vs. everybody else.

The only people who really can get expect some fairness in American courts are multi-millionaires and big corporations. Nobody else really matters to American judges and lawyers.

There is a huge amount of bribery in America, perhaps even more than in the courts of any other country in the world. Even some American ex-judges have admitted the near-universality of bribery there. Nearly all bribes are given to the judges by lawyers; this is considered the safe way to bribe a judge. Bribery is rarely spoken about, just understood.

Rich people pay huge amounts of money to law firms with connections, the lawyers walk around with a certain amount of cash in their jacket, and they pass it to the judges in their quiet moments together. It is mostly all cash of course. Sometimes the bribery is blatantly obvious, because of the other crimes that lawyers and judges commit in broad daylight together. In the courtrooms you can see the judges being extremely friendly to their rich lawyer friends who pay big bribes.

As an average person, there’s no real way to out-bribe a big corporation, regardless of what your lawyer promised you. That’s why the big companies win so often.

American judges are very devious, and use all sorts of techniques to prevent a victim from getting justice. Lots of judges issue gag orders, and bans on freedom of speech, to help prevent other people from finding out what is going on. Judges set up a trial in all sorts of ways, giving orders that all sorts of evidence be hidden from a jury, for example. The judge may declare, for example, that the evidence that proves you are innocent or right, will not be allowed at the trial.

Jury trials are actually very rare in America, unlike what you see in the movies. Most cases are settled through some deal or extortion or intimidation, before there is an actual trial. If there is a jury trial, they tend to stack the jury with un-educated idiots who will tend to believe whatever lies they are told by the judge and the government.

If you are trying to fight a rich person in court, the judge might let the fancy lawyers for the rich person say anything they want, while he tells you to shut up as soon as you start talking. The judges have a thousand ways to rig a legal proceeding, to benefit rich people or the government.

It’s no wonder so many innocent people go to prison. With the fundamental brutality and harshness of life in America, American citizens are confused and fearful, and gullible to propaganda. So, a jury in a courtroom, these people who tend to be poorly educated, will tend to go along with any lies presented by government prosecutors. In this environment of fear, the feeling of safety for the jury, comes from following the “strong” government in sending various “suspected criminals” to jail.

Yes, there are appeals courts, but these are just more judges, who are often friends with the lower court judge who originally sold you out. The appeals judges tend to go along with the lower court judge, unless you have suddenly acquired some politically powerful backing on your side.

Americans love to talk about “taking it all the way to the Supreme Court!”, but this is a nearly empty hope. The U.S. Supreme Court simply refuses to consider most cases that are presented to it.

If you are a little helpless nobody, the appeals judges often barely reply to you, and sometimes don’t reply at all. Sometimes people have been strapped to a table and given the lethal poison and put to death in America, with the victim’s appeal never even answered by the judges.

What about when people win millions of dollars in a lawsuit against the big company?

Every now and then, there is worldwide news of how some average person in America has won a lawsuit for $25 million or some other huge sum of money, from some company or other. What’s going on here – if the American legal system is so crooked, how can people be winning such big money?

Such cases are indeed real, but they are actually somewhat rare, numerically – rather like winning the lottery – and it’s important to see why they take place, and how they fit into the big pattern. Such cases are typically after someone has been seriously injured or died due to some defective product or prescription drug or hospital treatment or accident.

These cases have a certain “place” in the American legal framework, accepted by the judges. They are also very important for maintaining the bribery culture. A lot of the money won in such cases goes into the lawyer’s pockets, and is a major source of bribery money for the judges. As regards big companies and the judges, such cases are viewed as a kind of “tax” on the big corporations, part of the cost of doing business in America, part of the price of being able to otherwise make huge profits.

Such cases, as well, have the same function as in a gambling casino, when the casino proudly announces that one customer has just won a huge jackpot. The hype about the one jackpot winner, hides the fact that most everyone else is losing money. The person whose husband died from the defective prescription drug, and won millions of dollars (one-third of that to the lawyer, of course), is the person who is shoved forward to prove that “the legal system works – it’s the greatest legal system in the world!”

The small handful of such personal-injury cases, are intended to distract the public from all the innocent people sentenced to prison, from all the families destroyed by bribed judges in divorce cases, and from all the people whose lives are destroyed by big companies, companies who cheerfully pay bribes to win their routine cases in court.

Big companies know that some big “injury” cases will be lost, in order to supply money for the lawyers and judges who otherwise take good care of the big company’s interests. When you are making hundreds of millions of dollars, the loss of a few million here and there is just another expense of business. In the end, the companies just raise their prices to cover the costs of lawyers and lawsuits. The whole world pays for the millions earned by American lawyers, they are the ultimate parasites.

There are other casualties here, too. America’s health care system has been destroyed from the inside by the legal culture of constant lawsuits against doctors and hospitals, with huge amounts of money being given to the lawyers in these cases, driving up the cost of medical care and putting it out of reach of many people.

America is the only economically advanced nation without a national health plan, with tens of millions of Americans having no health coverage. USA lawyers joke openly about how, when the courts make big money awards to pay a lawyer, the lawyer often gives the judge a bribe by way of gratitude. Some lawyers grow rich, and doctors are afraid to continue  practicing medicine in the US, and many Americans die from lack of health care.

But while America’s lawyers will very casually file legal charges against doctors, hospitals, or ordinary people, for any flimsy reason, to try and squeeze some money from the situation, they are extremely afraid to take any legal action against another lawyer or judge engaged in misconduct. That’s where fear takes over, and lawyers are suddenly too timid to file any lawsuits.

The Hollywood image, versus the grim reality.

Once you have digested the fact that America has the world’s largest prison gulag, another major thing to digest is the USA government, and much of America, is primarily a sales organization, whose chief tool is hype and propaganda and outright lies. America is a culture built on sales and advertising; it focuses on portraying an image, not the reality beneath it.

This is why America was so casual about inventing and selling the lies about “weapons of mass destruction” to help start the Iraq invasion. It was just a question of whatever lies needed to be told, in order to sell the product; there was no concern about afterwards, when the lies were exposed. America just figures it can later send out more salespeople with more lies, in an endless cycle. Tomorrow is just another day, when America will try to sell another product, the “war on terror“, the “spread of freedom“, or whatever.

The selling never stops, in Washington or Hollywood. America sells political lies like Hollywood sells movies. When the USA President talks about “advancing the cause of freedom“, he basically means freedom for big corporations to do business. He’s not really talking about actual personal freedom for real people.

But he grins when he talks about “freedom” because it’s a good word of salesmanship, people hear him and some of them can be duped into believing that America cares about personal or political freedom.

Hollywood movies and American television are a major element of political myth-making. Around the world, people derive an image of America, and its legal system, from these fictional creations on film. America’s propaganda about having “the greatest legal system in the world” is one of those phony stories that Hollywood is helping to sell.

It is also a myth sustained by the few trials about which there is a lot of publicity, like with the celebrity trials of Martha Stewart or Michael Jackson. Judges behave very differently when the cameras are rolling, or the media is reporting everything that goes on, and millions of dollars are being spent on lawyers. But in the 98 percent of court activity that does not have big media coverage, the judges of America provide a bizarre sideshow of horror.

In the Hollywood version, the judges in American courts are like kind uncles, smiling and being wise and calmly dispensing justice. But in reality, American judges sometimes scream at people like disturbed perverts, and show off their bribed corruption right there in the courtroom.

Sometimes judges engage in flagrant extortion, where you have to agree to pay money to the judge’s lawyer friends as the price to stay out of jail. It is really that bad. You can find no end of documented horror about American judges behaving like criminal lunatics, and it is getting worse all the time.

In the Hollywood version, there are brave lawyers who will fight for your rights, to win justice for you in the American courts. In reality, you can’t find an American lawyer brave enough to fight judicial corruption, even if you are innocent and the judge’s friends have threatened to murder you, or to send you to jail for the rest of your life.

The lawyers who used to be brave, were destroyed or intimidated, and nearly all American lawyers now submit themselves to the culture of corruption and bribery, and betraying and abandoning the people who need legal help.

In the sad reality, American lawyers line up by the dozen to help the government or the big corporations, and regularly betray the average person, even if they are supposedly representing you. Even the lawyers who don’t want to be wicked themselves, are too timid to really fight the system.

At a certain point, nearly all American lawyers will hold back and abandon their clients, because they are trying to survive themselves and avoid revenge by the judges. In the Hollywood version, the average person is also helped by the “brave investigative reporter” at some newspaper or television station, who shows great courage in exposing the truth, and bringing powerful wrongdoing to face justice.

However, the brave “investigative reporter” in America is now as fictional and non-existent as the “brave lawyer” who will fight for your rights. This is especially true on any topic pertaining to corruption by judges and lawyers.

In America today, reporters are little timid people who are afraid of getting fired, and who almost never write a story on government corruption, unless some other part of the government is officially investigating or prosecuting. That goes triple when judges or lawyers are involved.

The owners of the newspapers and television stations are afraid of revenge by the judges if they have to go to court, and the nervous little reporters who work for them understand the rules of the game. If you look closely at a modern newspaper or news magazine in the USA, you will see how almost all stories originate with the government itself.

When the media “investigates”, they are usually just adding more details on a situation already being targeted by the government. Every news media and television station in America is swamped with people begging them to report on stories, that they totally refuse to cover. The reporters are too scared, and they know the stories wouldn’t get printed or broadcast even if they were written.

America is the land of fear, as regards the legal system and the culture of corruption. Everyone involved with the USA legal system is afraid, very afraid, of stepping on the wrong toes. Even American judges themselves get driven out of office, if they don’t participate in the bribery culture.

No recourse against crime and fraud by judges and lawyers in America.

In reality, there is almost nothing you can do against misconduct, and even open felony crime, committed against you by American judges and lawyers. All of the official complaint procedures you find on the internet, or at the courthouse or in the law books, turn out to be a joke, a farce and a fraud.

Complaints about lawyers in America, usually go to the “Bar”, which is itself run by the judges who are involved in bribery with the lawyers. And complaints about judges go to other judges, their friends. Nearly all the complaints about lawyers and judges – tens of thousands of them – are kept secret. Nearly all are dismissed or ignored.

They are generally only used if the judges or politicians want to specially destroy someone – some radical minority lawyer, someone who is not playing the bribery game, somebody who has dared to expose wrongdoing. Otherwise, even criminal acts by lawyers and judges get a smiling cover-up.

You will almost certainly not find any lawyers to help you sue another lawyer for wrongdoing. They are too scared of revenge by the judges. Even the lawyers who are broke and unemployed and desperate for work, are too scared to sue another lawyer. (Special caution: Lawyers may make false promises to you about suing another lawyer, cash your checks and steal your money, and then refuse to help you. And then you will have another lawyer who wronged you.)

The police and FBI almost certainly will not help you, either. They all know the bribery game, and they rely on the same crooked judges to help send innocent people to prison after they have been arrested. The more crooked the judge, the more eager the judge will be, to help the police or FBI do a dirty deal and convict an innocent person.

And, of course, the newspapers and television and media won’t help you. They hear stories like yours all the time. If they publish or broadcast your story, then they will have problems the next time they get sued in court. Or they might find themselves arrested on false charges, and end up in an even worse situation than you.

The newspapers are so tied into the establishment of judges and lawyers, that the newspapers sometimes help the judges and lawyers to commit their crimes, and to unfairly smear and attack their victims. The big media newspapers have even helped to plant false “evidence” in court cases, and help the legal establishment to destroy innocent people.

But even if not harming you, the USA media is afraid to help you, afraid of revenge if they expose judicial corruption. These fears are just as big, if not bigger, with America’s radical and alternative media, and bloggers and internet sites. Such people will criticize American foreign policy and so on, but everybody is scared of talking about specific cases of corruption by lawyers and judges. The independent media has even more reason to be afraid, because they are even more vulnerable if the lawyers start to file false charges against them in the courts.

Of course, America’s politicians will not help you, either. Many politicians are themselves lawyers, very used to the whole game of bribery with judges and other lawyers. The politicians accept the crooked courts as the way that America is run, and as helping the two big parties to monopolize the political scene and prevent alternative political movements.

America’s two big political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, can be seen as another phony game like America’s courts. The two parties actually get their hundreds of millions of dollars in money from the same people at the same big corporations who own the rest of America. These two American parties pretend to argue with each other over emotional issues like gun control and abortion rights, but in the end both of these parties serve the big corporations.

Half of Americans are still fooled into thinking that these parties represent them, the other half sense it is phony but feel helpless and don’t know what to do. This is why people don’t vote very much in America; they feel it is hopeless and useless.

You can also forget about America’s human rights and civil liberties groups, even though it looks, at first, like there are many such groups on the internet. Many such groups are just money-raising groups which don’t help victims, or are tied to the two main political parties or some narrow agenda. They are all scared of the legal system, too, and there is no one with any significant funding or money, who is out there helping the victims of legal corruption.

They can’t find lawyers to help them, either. There are some overwhelmed and struggling projects here and there, doing worthy work for a few of the innocent people in prison, but they function in an environment of timidity and fear, and without the resources or clout or media access to expose or change what is happening. It’s getting worse and worse in America all the time.

As the judges and lawyers can get away with committing crimes, they are getting more open and blatant, committing felony crimes in broad daylight, because they know no one will stop them or bring them to account. It is also important to know, that once you have started complaining about, or exposing, judicial and legal corruption in America, you become a kind of outlaw there.

You are in a very dangerous situation, and you are considered fair game to be either arrested and jailed on false charges, or to be totally robbed and betrayed by America’s lawyers. Once you have spoken out about legal corruption, you may find that no other lawyer will then help you for any reason, even if it is un-related to your complaint about judicial wrongdoing. You may be trapped in a nightmare from which there is no escape unless you can leave America altogether.

Dealing with American lawyers, if you have no other choice.

Perhaps the statistical chance of getting arrested in America as an innocent person, and then being sent to prison or put to death, is relatively small. But think of how you will feel if you end up as one of those 2 million American prisoners, including 50,000 foreign citizens. Or perhaps even one of those several thousand people on Death Row, waiting for the lethal poison to be injected into your arm.

Visiting America now, is probably similar to visiting or doing business in 1936 with Hitler’s Reich, or Mussolini’s fascist empire. If you did such a thing in 1936, you might have visited and had a wonderful time, maybe even have done some business with companies in those countries. You might have seen some beautiful sights, and met some very friendly individual people, perhaps drunk a beer or two, or a nice glass of wine, maybe attended the 1936 Olympics. Very likely, you wouldn’t have seen any concentration camps, in the places where you traveled. You might have had a very pleasant trip.

But nonetheless, you were in a dangerous place, where horrible things were going on. That’s true of the United States of America today, the land of 2 million prisoners in a giant gulag. With America’s corrupt legal system, it’s certainly not the wisest place to keep money or assets, which can be easily grabbed by American lawyers in legal proceedings. Many smart Americans have opened overseas bank accounts, and it is wise to not keep too much money where American lawyers can seize it.

There is no bigger group of thieves in the world, than American lawyers.

If you are in a lawsuit situation in America, get all your money out of the country, fast, before the USA lawyers can put any kind of hold or freeze on it. But you shouldn’t keep substantial assets in the USA in the first place. Sell any USA real estate and rent instead, get that money out where it is safe.

Certainly, don’t ever expect any justice from American courts. Expect the judges and both sides of lawyers to tilt toward the government, or toward the big company that can pay bribes on a regular basis. All that most people get out of American courts, is grief, and lawyers stealing their money. Best not to approach American courts unless absolutely necessary.

Despite the commonplace fraud and dishonesty of American lawyers, it’s still important to have one if you must be in an American court. The reason is that American judges absolutely hate people who come to court without lawyers, especially if they have any money at all. The judge takes it as a personal insult if you are not giving some money to one of his lawyer friends, and will tend to take revenge on you unless you hire a lawyer, even a very stupid one, to stand by your side.

What American lawyers love to do, is to steal all your money, tell you a bunch of false promises and lies, and then do nothing for you, while they sell you out to the other side. That is a perfect scenario for an American lawyer.

A lawyer’s goal is to squeeze as much money from you, while at the same time doing as little as possible to rock the judge’s political boat. Some lawyers even make money by the “research and review” scam, where they don’t even agree to represent you, but just steal your money to “research” your case.

Accept in advance that an American lawyer will rob you and betray you, and everything will go more smoothly if you quietly understand this. Never actually trust an American lawyer, but don’t let on that you know he’s a crook.

Don’t tell the lawyer how much money you really have, he will try to get all of it. Try to pay a lawyer very slowly, in small chunks, that will keep him more interested, and prevent some of the bigger robberies and betrayals, and will leave you some money to try another lawyer if things get too awful.

Remember, once you give a USA lawyer any money, it’s almost impossible to get it back. Lawyers will almost never sue another lawyer, and if you go to court, the judge will almost certainly protect the lawyer who defrauded you (and get a share of the money, of course).

Lawyers and judges in America like people to appear to be submissive and stupid and easily manipulated. They like to feel superior to you. By letting them think that you are weak and falling for their lies, you may give yourself some breathing room. This tactic has even enabled some people to stay alive and not get murdered, and to escape from America back to safety.

The growing American nightmare.

It is just getting worse and worse in America’s legal system. For some years now, the USA judges and lawyers have gotten used to denying people justice, to the great flow of bribery money, and even to committing felony crimes in broad daylight and getting away with it. It just keeps on escalating. Though a social explosion is lurking beneath the surface – with judges starting to get murdered, and people lighting courthouses ablaze – the people who run America are letting the current system chug along as it is, justice be damned, and to hell with the people who seem to have no way to fight back.

It can’t go on like this forever, but it may get a lot worse first, despite the fair internet visibility on documented American legal corruption. One should note a brave and promising grass-roots attempt at judicial reform in the USA called (Jail 4 Judges – www.jail4judges.org), which attempts to place onto American ballots, a referendum for a new procedure to give citizens a real right of redress against corrupt judges.

It is a wonderful and beautiful idea that deserves success, and will help transform America if it moves forward. Regrettably, though, for all the usual reasons of fear, there is no one with any big money or media clout, yet making a foray against the real-life nightmare of America’s courts and prisons. It remains a taboo subject for the American media, and the media silence feeds and encourages the whole machine of bribery and repression.

Perhaps, though, it will not be until after America has had a major economic or social cataclysm, that the big American machine of legal corruption finally comes to be reformed. Sociologically speaking, it’s astonishing how disgraceful American lawyers have become – they are now both the mafia and the gestapo of American life.

America’s lawyers, as a whole, have had little to say about America’s recent international crimes of prisoner abuse, and violation of international human rights agreements. American lawyers, as always nowadays, are “playing the game” with America’s government and its judges.

America, indeed, does not have the rule of law at all. Instead, it is just the rule of lawyers, lawyers who crave money and power. And, in America, it can be jail or worse for anyone who tries to fight these lawyers.

The reality of the United States of America is that Americans, despite their overall wealth as a nation, are now a people living in a society of great fear. Their fears are complicated, and many Americans cannot even put their fears into words. They are afraid of lawyers and the prison system, afraid of losing their jobs in a brutal society with no social safety net, afraid of needing health care in a disastrous system with no health plan.

And Americans are afraid of what will happen if they try to question the system and the way things work. They often feel helpless and powerless against the great forces dominating their country. American citizens are confused and fearful, and gullible to propaganda.

Because Americans have difficulty in sorting out their many fears, they have become ripe candidates for racial and religious hatreds, and for following their government into war. The issues of “terrorism” and war distract the emotions of Americans from the terrible problems in their own society at home. The foreign “enemy” gives Americans a face on which to project their fear and their anger.

The result is the horrifying misconduct of some Americans in these wars; while back inside the USA, there is increasing corruption and repression in the legal system. Americans desperately would like to believe that they still live in a “free” country, as it is so horrifying to them to face the ugly truth, that their freedom is already largely lost.

Americans can imagine they are “free” because they can still choose among different products to buy, or quit their job, or buy a gun at the store. And the Americans most likely to imagine they are still “free” are the ones who have not yet been trapped in the halls of America’s legal system. They have not yet seen the lawyers and judges who smirk and laugh as they deny victims the most basic human rights.

The truth is that, inside America, a nightmare has begun.

The lawyers and judges and courts, “playing the game”, regularly trample upon the freedoms that Americans thought they had. It is people like myself, escaped from the USA, living in kinder and gentler places, who are now the lucky ones.

No one should ever again be fooled by USA propaganda about being the “land of freedom”. Those who are thinking of travelling to, visiting, or working in America, should think again. It might not be worth the risk of being in a country that has one of the most crooked legal systems in the world.

Injustice Exposed

To View Source And To Read More: 
http://polymontana.com/americas-corrupt-legal-system-a-danger-to-all/

  • Excellent Article..someone that is finally speaking the truth.  Well done, well done. Thank you polymontana.com for bringing this great article to our attention.  
Categories: Montana DOJ, Wake Up America | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

3 Stabbings Go Down At Montana State Prison Last Night On 10/7/2012 Leaving 1 Dead

Last night at Montana State Prison two inmates got into an altercation in the bathroom on the low side. One inmate stabbed the other with a pen. Friends of the inmate who was stabbed rushed in to break it up leading to another inmate being stabbed.  Both inmates that were injured are in the infirmary.

On the high side an inmate slit another inmates throat leaving this inmate dead.  Apparently the rumor that is flying around is that the inmate was killed because he was a sex offender.    Did one incident have anything to do with the other?  That remains unknown for now.

Montana‘s prisons are rife with suicides, deaths, threats from officers, etc.  The corruption level is over the top.  Officers pushing inmates too the level of suicide and even instigating murder.   Remember how Montana State Prison segmented a major portion, well over 30% of the prison by not allowing them visits.  Even on the low side calling the inmates to the cage one by one telling them the new rules.   Inmates all over the compound started knowing what was happening.  At the same time Montana Department of Corrections has a large portion of so called sex offenders because they are changing the definition in Montana of a cowboy into  a sex offender. Even labeling the Incarcerated Montana Fireman a “sex offender” when the law did not even mandate it. We were told that even the Florida Department of Corrections did a double question on that one.  That Montana would go so far to label someone when the law does not even call for it.

Montana  check your statistics.    Educate yourself on how much money funnels through MDOJ/DPHHS/MDOC and whoever else is involved.  Connect the dots.  Be a Montana citizen who becomes aware.

Update:  This was stated by Montana’s State Prison Public Information Officer, Linda Moodry

The unit where Hartford was killed is monitored by prison staff and security cameras. However, Moodry said they don’t have cameras in all the cells at the prison.

“They (the prisoners) are monitored and watched, but, unfortunately things like this can happen,” Moodry said.


http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-state-prison-inmate-found-murdered/article_610bdd82-1175-11e2-8ea6-001a4bcf887a.html

I suppose that all of these suicides, deaths, and threats are all treated the same way.  ” ….unfortunately things like this can happen.”   What a shame, they never release all the information because there is too much too hide. Why weren’t the officers doing their jobs?  How many officers knew this was going to go down?  The cellmate of the inmate that was murdered has been made to stay in the cell where the murder had taken place.  What happened to proper protocol in this state?  How can a true investigation take place?  Again, things smell really, really rotten!

Categories: MDOC/Abuse, MT DPHHS/DOJ | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Montana’s Spotlight On Pam Bucy And Steve Bullock – Candidates For Attorney General And Governor

She Did What?

Pam Bucy Campaigns On Your Dime        

Records show Democrat attorney general candidate Bucy has conducted campaign work while on the clock and while using sick leave.

HELENA – Records obtained through a Right to Know request and a review of Democrat Attorney General candidate Pam Bucy’s event activities have revealed several instances of her conducting political campaign work on state time.

  • On May 24, 2012, Pam Bucy announced on Facebook that she gave an interview with National Public Radio at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse.  (The interview aired on May 25, 
    http://www.mtpr.org/podcast_feed/4
    .) The same day, Pam announced on Facebook that she “Had a great time talking with local Democratic leaders and activists over our party’s statewide weekly conference call.”  She recorded her time that day as 8 sick hours.
  • On April 19, 2012, Pam Bucy attended a Planned Parenthood lunch event. She recorded her time that day as 6.5 regular hours, 1.5 sick hours.
  • On March 22, 2012, Pam Bucy attended a Missoula Wine, Women and Politics event, which ran from 5:30-7:30pm. She recorded her time that day as 4 regular hours, 1 vacation hour, and 3 sick hours.

The event and timecard references can be viewed here.

The state’s official sick leave policy lists specific instances when an employee’s use of sick time is warranted. Those include illness, parental leave, quarantine resulting from exposure to contagious disease, a medical appointment, care for a sick relative, or attending a funeral.

According to the Montana Operations Manual: “Sick leave abuse occurs when an employee uses sick leave for unauthorized purposes or misrepresents the actual reason for charging an absence to sick leave. Sick leave abuse is cause for dismissal.”

“Montana’s taxpayers are paying Pam Bucy nearly $90,000 per year to work at the Department of Labor and Industry, not to campaign for office,” said Bowen Greenwood, Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party. “These revelations of corruption raise serious concerns about Bucy’s ethics as well as her ability to serve as the state’s top law enforcement officer and effectively manage a department of nearly 900 employees,” Greenwood added. “It’s time for a change in Helena. It’s time for an Attorney General who will put responsibilities before politics.”

Pam Bucy’s timesheets were obtained through the Right to Know request from January 2 to July 3 of this year. The May 24, April 19, and March 22 instances raise the question of whether or not improper use of sick leave and state work time continued past July 3 and throughout the campaign.

Source: 
http://www.mtgop.org/index.php/news-center/press-releases/162-pam-bucy-campaigns-on-taxpayers-dime.html

View: 
http://files.smartcommunicator.net/customers/27/Attachments/Bucy%20collage.pdf

Makes a person wonder if she is spending time doing these sort of things maybe that is why she does not know the rate of incarceration rates in her own state.

 She has worked with the Attorney General’s Office.  She drafted the Montana sexual and violent offender act to hold those criminals accountable. Knowing that stiffer penalties would generate more trials, Bucy worked to ensure that local law enforcement had resources for successful prosecutions. She helped lawmakers of both parties assemble resources needed to launch local forensic interview teams that would be trained to talk with child victims in a manner that reduced the stress on the child while gathering evidence needed for convictions.

Read more: 
http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/gazette-opinion-bucy-offers-best-experience-for-attorney-general/article_7fb6606a-ba4a-5819-958d-7c22615035f5.html#ixzz28gHDiv8O

That all sounds fantastic!  But whoa….hold on there…it’s not all okay at the corral. Take a look at these articles concerning these issues. 


  1. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/08/08/can-false-allegations-of-abuse-make-money-how-about-in-montana/

  2. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/02/17/bullock-announces-new-approach-to-protecting-children/

  3. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/02/29/new-definition-of-montana-cowboysex-offenders/

  4. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/01/30/the-montan-exception/

Most Recent Newspaper Articles:


  1. http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-county-sees-increase-in-child-abuse-cases/article_0d7c99ef-f661-5c37-9f6b-ab088d12a987.html

Officials in Montana’s Lewis and Clark County say the number of child abuse and neglect cases is increasing, and with it, the demand for foster homes.

The Independent Record ( 
http://bit.ly/Qs6h0n
) reports that last year the Lewis and Clark County Attorney’s office dealt with 62 cases of children being removed from their homes _ a 30 percent increase over 2010. County Attorney Leo Gallagher says the trend continues, with 66 cases tallied so far this year.

“It just exploded,” Gallagher said.

The increase is putting strain on advocates, prosecutors and others who work with neglected and abused children, along with foster care families. Nearly 2,000 children statewide are in foster homes, including more than 125 in Lewis and Clark County.


  1. http://www.ktvq.com/news/alleged-montana-child-abuse-under-investigation/

MISSOULA- Two Missoula children are in the custody of Child and Family Services (CFS) after one of them told a school counselor his mother slapped him.  (But the police have added on too that complaint.)


  1. http://www.kaj18.com/news/major-grant-to-combat-child-abuse-on-reservations/

MISSOULA- Children on at least three Montana reservations will soon benefit from a major federal grant.

The National Native Children’s Trauma Center at The University of Montana received a $3.2 million award from the federal Administration for Children and Families to combat child abuse in Indian Country.

“These are not problems that are unique to native groups,” University of Montana National Native Children’s Trauma Center research associate Richard Manning said. “These are problems that’re especially pronounced of high poverty and our reservations in Montana have unemployment rates around 75 or 80 percent. That level of poverty is very hard on children.”


  1. http://www.kxlh.com/news/mt-loophole-allows-child-abuse-to-go-unreported/

Criminal child abuse has been in the national headlines with cases like the Jerry Sandusky allegations in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, in Montana, the Department of Health and Human Services reports an increase in child abuse. However, what might surprise many parents is that not all criminal child abuse cases are reported to law enforcement.

“This is a gaping hole in the communication of a very large important state agency and law enforcement across the state,” said Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito about the state law that does not require the state health department to report information to law enforcement.

They took 1 case from Yellowstone County and are using this as their basis to have access to all “alleged” cases.  Remember…”alleged” and I find it very hard to believe with the very high incarceration rates in Montana that the authorities were not notified.  They were banking on the Jerry Sandusky case at the time of them asking for this new bill at the Law and Justice Committee in February.  Look at the date of the news.  Of course what Jerry Sandusky did was horrendous and he should be in prison.  But they are using him for a calling card. 


  1. http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/Increase-in-Child-Abuse-Cases-Increases-Demand-for-Foster-Homes-172034031.html

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Sep 30, 2012 at 10:57 PM MDT Story Updated: Sep 30, 2012 at 10:57 PM MDT

Lewis and Clark County officials say the number of child abuse and neglect cases is increasing, causing the demand for foster homes to see an uptick as well.

  1. http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/cfsd/adoption/adoptioninmontana.shtml

Children who are available for adoption through the Child and Family Services Division of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services have been removed from their own families because of abuse, neglect or other family problems that make it unsafe for them to remain at home.  The rights of their parents have been terminated making the children available for adoption.  For more information on Montana’s Waiting Children Photo Listings go to
http://www.adoptuskids.org
.


  1. http://library.adoption.com/articles/definitions-of-child-abuse-and-neglect-montana.html

Montana statutes regarding child abuse and neglect; to include definitions and procedures. … Have you seen the NEW AND IMPROVED Adoption Registry?

I would say that Candidate Pam Bucy for AG did not know the high incarceration rate for Montana in this radio interview or she selectively skimmed over this very hot topic. 


  1. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/08/16/our-guest-politics-montana-with-democratic-candidate-for-ag-pam-bucy/

For Pam Bucy and Steve Bullock decreeing all of these wonderful sounding laws that will generate more trials and stiffer penalties,  let us get down to the nitty gritty of it.  By God’s mercy how many sex offenders and violent Montanan’s do you have?   In a population of a million there will be a certain quota of criminal activity.  But for crying out loud, you can see the handwriting on the wall.  This state is generating revenue by prisons and jails for profit.

We have already shown you documentation and articles of unfair trials for all these extra trials they are generating.  We have shown you where police have even called out the corruption in the law enforcement.  We have shown you how now in office, Attorney General Steve Bullock did not and does not press charges or arrest anyone under his wing or in a state employment affiliation, unless it is a nobody that they need to make an example of that will generate more money, not give them bad press that takes away money.   We have organizations contacting us about the children that are taken out of their homes and even adopted but no charges are ever pressed on “alleged abuse”.   They are making money off of these children by selling them out for adoptions. For the Native Americans we once took their land, now we take their children too? The Native Americans tell us “the white men here in Montana do not listen too us.”  For those that are in prison it is a no win situation. How many children are going to be found in neglect with the unemployment level and poverty level so high?  We have shown you how the mental facilities operate and the money they generate. If you can’t see through all of this by now, I don’t know what it will take until they come after you.  You can only run so long on this with the small population in Montana.

Montana states that the high unemployment rate and poverty causes all of this crime.  Yet, Montana is one of the highest states that receives federal funding for all of these grants for each of these programs, facilities, institutions, welfare.  They don’t want to create jobs where Montanans can come up out of poverty.  They are creating revenue by keeping these state systems in place.   The state employees make higher salaries than the private sector.  Why not?  They don’t want the private sector making more money, that means they can’t as easily push everyone around.  Citizens can start hiring attorney’s that will come back on this corrupted practice.  Don’t believe it? Take a look at who is funding these two candidates.  These attorneys want it all to stay within the house.  

(Funny thing though, these two made up all of these stiffer laws, penalties, trials, convictions, higher incarceration rates, opened the door for major corruption to take place, Board of Pardons and Parole, high return on probationers….yet they did not keep their own sex offender registry up to par….they had offenders that had put their living addresses at Walmart.)


  1. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/07/14/candidates-for-montana-governor-and-for-attorney-general-follow-the-campaign-money/

  2. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/07/03/it-is-official-montana-capitol-is-housing-santa-clause/

These officers made a stand to break the code and expose corruption.


  1. http://montanacorruption.org/2012/07/30/another-montana-corruption-risk-report-card-overall-grade-d/

So, you may not think much about the two recent incidents during this election such as Pam Bucy campaigning on our tax dollars or Steve Bullock rebelliously breaking the debate rules and hiding his notes in the podium at the debate in Helena. But, these two seemingly minor wrongdoings can show an open door to a deeper more sinister level of wrongdoing.  She is the protegé of Steve Bullock.  With a team like this and their history and with no real plan but their plan of continuing  job growth in the Department of Justice field.  Montana citizens that do not work for their team or in the government should be very scared.

This is not a matter of party affiliation, it matters about their history, their records, their beliefs, their prison mentality. Those that are Republican, those that are Democrat with corrupt practices, we call them out.   You cannot put all of Montanans in prison……or you should just build a wall around Montana.   Those in office now say they are only helping to protect the children of Montana, ….but the proof says otherwise.  Do you know how many Montana children are going through Juvenile Prisons? You now have seen the number of increasing children going into the state system…where it has just “exploded” with an increasing need for foster homes while they adopt these children out. Montana…..please listen….you have fellow Montanans already dealing with this nightmare.  This is something that you need to be concerned about.  Yes, we do have a great need for all of these type programs but not on this scale and magnitude.  It is time for change and only you Montana have the power to do that! 

Categories: Montana Politics, MT DPHHS/DOJ | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Many Montana Inmates Try To Commit Suicide?

 

 

 

County inmate attempts suicide

Issue Date: 10/3/2012
Last Updated: 10/3/2012 1:18:42 PM | By Daniel Martynowicz

POLSON — Lake County Jail inmate Richard Davis attempted to hang himself in the Lake County Jail Sept. 25.

According to Undersheriff Daniel Yonkin, Davis was being held on a probation violation charge stemming from an original charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. On Sept. 12 at 9:45 a.m., Davis tried to escape after a bond hearing in District Court by running down the courthouse stairs. He was stopped by detention officers before reaching the landing, and was subsequently charged with attempted escape, a felony.

Davis was on a supervisory watch when the suicide attempt took place. Yonkin explained that a supervisory watch is not a medical or suicide watch, but is instead used in cases of destructive inmates.

“It’s used in cases of problem inmates who vandalize the cell, cover the camera with toilet paper, things like that,” Yonkin said.

Davis was checked on every 15 minutes. In between two of these checks, he was able to get an article of clothing around his neck and strangle himself. He was unconscious when law enforcement officers entered the cell and was immediately transported to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Polson where he was treated and released.

Davis continues to be held in Lake County Jail and is now on suicide watch.

Source: 
http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/2852/County-inmate-attempts-suicide

I received notification of this with this message attached.

Interestingly, the jails and prisons in Montana do not have to report attempts, only the ones that end in the death, so my point is that there is a lot of this going on that the public is not aware of.   And the jails operate in a way that only serves at the convenience of the jailers with total disregard for those it incarcerates.  It was stated a few weeks ago that Missoula County was holding a severely mentally ill inmate and refused to give him the necessary medications that would stabilize him.  I suspect this suicidal inmate was mentally ill too that is why they had him in isolation and checking on him every 15 minutes.   Because my son Colton has had horrible experience in this Lake County Jail,  I can tell you with certainty that both jail doctors, Steve Erwin and Vincent River will not provide or prescribe necessary medications including pain management.

While Colton was in this jail after he was thrown out of Boot Camp, he was decompensated mentally because of the lack of his psych-meds but then on September 18th 2009 began to pass a kidney stone and was thrown into isolation, told to shut up and given Tylenol for the pain.  No one would tell him what was wrong.  He was so scared and was acting up pretty bad yelling and screaming.  I learned about this from the jailers and another inmate there who knew my older son.   Anyway because I am familiar with kidney stones, (family history)  I told him that kidney stones was the problem and if it happened again to not be so scared.   He explained that it felt like a knife was sticking him in his back and no one would listen.     
http://montanacorruption.org/testimonies-of-the-incarcerated/colton-wilson/

This is true, jails do not notify the family of an inmate that the inmate is on suicide watch only until the inmate attempts suicide or has committed suicide.  A jailer specifically told us this from the Boulder Jail.    With all of the suicides that are successful and for all of the attempted suicides just how many are put on suicide watch and yet we hear nothing of it until it is too late?  And even then there have been many where nothing has been said about it at all.  Shame.

Categories: MDOC/Abuse | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It Takes How Many County Attorneys To Prosecute? 5? Are You Serious?

 

Montana Grizzlies Logo

Montana Grizzlies Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To Read Article: 
http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/missoula-county-assigns-prosecutors-to-jordan-johnson-rape-case/article_6e0a15be-0ca5-11e2-8447-0019bb2963f4.html

By GWEN FLORIO Missoulian   (excerpt below)

MISSOULA — Five prosecutors, including an assistant attorney general and an attorney in private practice, are pursuing the rape case against former University of Montana Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson.

Adam Duerk, an attorney with Milodragovich, Dale and Steinbrenner, is assisting the Missoula County Attorney’s Office in prosecuting the case, as is Assistant Attorney General Joel Thompson, Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg said Monday.

“Suzy indicated she wanted some help,” Van Valkenburg said of Assistant Chief Deputy County Attorney Suzy Boylan who, with Van Valkenburg, has filed much of the paperwork in the case. Assistant Chief Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Clark also is assisting, Van Valkenburg said.

Johnson is charged with a single count of sexual intercourse without consent in connection with a Feb. 4 incident at a fellow student’s home, where the two were watching a movie.

Johnson was suspended from the UM football team after being charged. He and the woman continue to take classes, but remain under a civil no-contact order.

Related Article: 
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/five-prosecutors-on-ex-quarterback-s-case/article_07820761-9f77-5717-8a36-042a74ab59e1.html

  • Okay, I get this.  The young man definitely needs to go on trial.  They definitely need to see if he is innocent or guilty.  If he is guilty then of course he needs to be held accountable.   What I don’t get is why in the world does it take 5 prosecuting attorneys?   (I’m sorry but a joke comes to mind first thing…like how many attorneys does it take to screw in a lightbulb?)   Seriously!  Does the taxpayers need to pay 5?  Does it take 5 to prove 1 count?  Is this because it is a high profile case?  Is it because US DOJ is looking over their shoulders?  Are they trying to make a name for themselves?   We’ve seen many an attorney, just 1 attorney, prosecute in this state with the greatest of ease.  It was interesting to read a few of the comments on these articles.
  • Sigh, but of course everyone will be chanting “Go Grizzlies” as we condemn the special treatment that he received or receives as a high profile football player, but we are the ones that put him on that pedestal.  We need to think about that. 

 

Categories: Montana DOJ, MT Speaks Up | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Montana State Prison Kills Justin Wing A Native American By Neglect

Photo Credit:  
http://cor.mt.gov/Reentry/Resources/native_americans.mcpx
  Ironic..huh?

We had a comment on the article “Another Man Dies At Montana State Prison.”  Acts of Hope   Sep 29, 3:54 pm     
http://montanacorruption.org/2012/06/25/another-man-dies-at-montana-state-prison/

Why don’t you ask Cathy Redfern about her participation in Justin Wing’s death? She was the nurse charged with changing his bandages, but didn’t. He developed an infection and died. And like everyone else got promoted!

So we did just that.  Here is what we came up with.  

Photo Credit: Smithsonian

Montana State Prison Kills Justin Wing by Neglect
    by JUSTICE NETWORK

Do you know who Justin Wing was? Even if you do not, after you have read this, you should remember his name all your life.

Justin Wing was a Lakota/Sioux Warrior. He may not physically be with us now but his spirit of helping his People will live on forever.

He was only 50 years old, yet he died on July 8, 2004 at 2:45 P.M. He would have been eligible for parole in a few years. But it seems that at Montana State Prison were he was incarcerated, the administration did not consider him to be a human being.

Apparently they did not think he was worth the trouble or the expenses even when his life-threatening condition warranted urgent hospitalization.

It is with great sadness that we must accept that no one was able to save Justin Wing from the unjust Death Sentence that was imposed on him by Montana State Prison.

Isn’t denying a human being adequate medical treatment in a timely manner the same as a death sentence?

For 3 long years Justin did not receive adequate medical treatment for his condition, although its symptoms appeared early on.


http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=59&contentid=1431

URGENT medical issue: Call for Action – Justin Wing
From Justicenetwork@…   - URGENT CALL FOR ACTION -May 26th 2004

Greetings,

We need your active support to put an end to another appalling case of medical neglect, against the Chairman

of the Prayer Warriors (the Native American circle at Montana State Prison).
Please take a few minutes of your time to save a life.

Justin Wing, AO # 12082 is in need of immediate medical attention

He has had a hernia growth for over three years in the stomach area.
It is infected causing the skin to break open.  From this open wound there is drainage, puss. 

He also has Hepatitis very bad. This additional health condition prevents him from eating. 

His normally yellow skin tone is now very pale.  He is also an elder which adds to his risks.

The prison refuses to assist him medically.  His stomach is swollen to the size of a football right in front. 
Dr. Goldstein, a physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back,
was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. 

Justin’s condition has been at this stage for 2 days now and it seems to now be a life threatening stage. 

He needs immediate and proper medical attention. 
To allow anyone to endure a condition like this without treatment is inhumane,
and as anyone can easily see…life threatening.

———————————————————-
Points to include when writing to the officials listed below:
- Mr. Justin Wing, incarcerated at Montana State Prison, has had concerning health problems
but is not getting adequate medical care.  This elder is in need of immediate medical attention.
- He has had a hernia growth for over three years in the stomach area.  It is infected causing the skin to break open.
  From this open wound there is drainage, puss.  His stomach is swollen to the size of a football right in front. 
He has Hepatitis and his current problem is preventing him from eating.

- Because of the medical neglect, his condition has worsened. Dr. Goldstein,
a physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back, was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. 
- Mr. Wing needs immediate and appropriate medical care. It is an emergency, a life threatening situation.
- Please request that Mr. Wing be seen by a specialist and receives proper treatment without further delay.
Please contact the prison officials as soon as possible.
==> Important: Please do NOT forward the entire message to the officials,
OR use our email address when emailing them. 
Please copy and paste your personal letter into new emails.  <==
If you wish, you can send us a copy separately at justicenetwork@… . Thank you. 
 
Contact Information: Please write to:
 Bill Slaughter, Director of Corrections
tward@…
Warden Mike Mahoney
mmahoney@…
Associate Warden Myron Beeson
mbeeson@…You can also send a copy of your email to the following MT senators/legislators:
Jerry O’Neil, Arlene Becker, James Corson, Sue Dickenson,
Tim Dowel, Carol Juneau, Tim Callahan, Joey Jayne, Tim Dowell,

oneil@…arlene_becker@…james_corson@… , SUEDICKENSON@…CSJUNEAU@…intic@… ,

 jayne57@… , timjdowell@… ,  ENEWHOUS@… (MT Reporter Eric Newhouse)THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT -
PLEASE CONTACT US  IF YOU RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICIALS
===================================================================


http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/PrisonNewsNetwork/message/18086

Update on Justin Wing, July 03, 2004

While most of the country is celebrating the 4th of July with firecrackers, parades, barbecues and a myriad of other enjoyable activities, we have been told that Justin Wing lies in a hospital room in a Montana hospital with his liver shutting down its life sustaining functions. Due to pure medical neglect from the prison, Justin Wing’s condition, as described to some by the Native American Liaison, Mike Wetzel, is not good; he is not doing well at all. Justin’s sentence for crime he was convicted of, was confinement to Montana State Prison, not death. Yet it seems the sentence of the court and judge have been ignored by the prison, and by denying him proper medical care for too long, the prison decided on a death sentence…

Justin Wing has also had to endure cruel and unusual punishment due to the severity and length of suffering and pain that he has had to endure, due to the severe long-term medical neglect. Implementation of cruel and unusual punishment is in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States. If his medical condition had been treated properly when the hernia had first started long ago, it is quite possible that Mr. Wing would not have been in this life threatening situation now. Instead, he has been denied the proper medical care for approximately three very long years. So, while everyone is celebrating the birth of our country, and all that it is supposed to stand for, Justin Wing lies in a hospital bed as a result of his constitutional rights, as guaranteed to all Americans, being violated.

To make matters worse, the Native American Liaison is stating that Justin’s life threatening situation is due to the poor condition of his liver and that Justin would be the first to admit that he has abused his liver. This looks like an attempt to minimize the fact that Mr. Wing’s infected hernia has not been properly treated, and reflect as insignificant the fact that the infection was allowed to continue for over a month without adequate medication to get the infection under control. Yet, anyone with any degree of intelligence knows that an infection left untreated affects the entire body. Mr. Wing’s other medical condition with his liver was of course exacerbated by the deliberate medical negligence of the prison. Since it is widely accepted that an untreated, or improperly cared for infection can have detrimental effects on anyone, with or without other medical conditions, how can it possibly be implied that this negligence is not a factor?

To the awesome people who have stood beside Justin for over a month writing letters and making phone calls, our appreciation goes beyond measure. For those who might say “this does not concern me” , we say violation of the right to adequate medical treatment affects everyone: through the spread of communicable disease; through the unforeseeable future when there could be a time when you or someone you know, through a fallible Justice & Penal system, is wearing Mr. Wing’s shoes; or because of the tragic reality: we have lost the soul of our country by not caring about those less fortunate.

Please keep Justin Wing in your thoughts and prayers.

Respectfully,

Justicenetwork & Honor Your Spirit

from Justicenetwork: Please forward to all of your contacts and lists. Thank you.

UPDATE ON JUSTIN WING JULY 08, 2004

We are saddened to learn from reliable sources that Mr. Justin Wing is not expected to live thru this day. We are asking that your prayers and thoughts are with him at this time.
To all of his supporters some who may not know Mr. Wing personally but all are aware that he is fighting with his last efforts for each breath of life.

We would like to extend a heartfelt personal “Thank You” to all who have prayed, written letters, made phone calls, sent faxes and offered your moral support to Justin in his struggle to receive timely Medical Care from Montana State Prison. It is because of all of your efforts that he received ANY care at all in the last few weeks of his life.

We clearly still have a duty to bring Justin Wings fight and struggle against indifference and medical neglect from MSP to light. However at this time of his passing would like this day to be spent in peaceful tribute to a Sioux Warrior as he passes from this earth. May his passing be with calm and with dignity. May he find Peace.

Justicenetwork and Honor Your Spirit

From Justicenetwork [Please forward to all of your contacts and lists. Thank you.]

THE LAST UPDATE ON JUSTIN WING July 08, 2004 2:45 P.M. (MST)

Sioux Warrior of the Lakota Nation, Justin Wing died today, July 08, 2004 at 2:45 P.M. Although he will not physically be with us, his spirit of helping his People will always remain with us. He will live on in our memories, forever.

It is with great sadness that we must accept that no one was able to save Justin Wing from the unjust Death Sentence that was imposed on him by Montana State Prison. Not giving a human being adequate medical treatment in a timely manner is the same as a death sentence.

As you know for 3 long years Justin was deliberately denied adequate medical treatment for his condition as its symptoms appeared early on and as it deteriorated through out the years and resulted in his untimely death.

How could they let this deliberately happen?

This continues the tragic, documented cycle of discrimination and medical neglect towards Native Americans. This is another tragic episode in the long standing Genocide of the First Nations People. We must take this tragedy and work towards the goal of never having another Native American die from the wrongful Death Sentences handed down by Prison Authorities.

We must not allow Justin’s sacrifices be in vain, we must continue his struggle in his spirit, and in the spirit of his Ancestors.

No more discrimination, no more medical neglect towards Native Americans ! In the name of Justin Wing and of his People, please remember him in your beliefs and actions. Keep the fires of truth, justice, compassion and hope burning in each and every heart until those goals are met.

Respectfully,

Justicenetwork & Honor Your Spirit

 Memorial Service in Montana for Justin Wing

“Justin Wing Memorial Gathering” – Annoucement and Invitation to Dancers and Singers
The High Side Prayer Warriors would like to invite dancers and singers to their Spiritual Gathering. The High Side Prayer Warriors are trying to continue to offer a positive outlook as well as instill true honor, respect and pride in the Native Americans incarcerated at Montana State Prison and we are hoping that you will assist us in doing this. Our gathering is September 11th, 2004.
A Sweat Lodge Ceremony will be held that morning. There will be food, singing and lectures offered.
If you would like to participate or will be in this area, then please contact Sue Buck, at suemontana@mcn.net , for applications that the visitors must fill out ahead of time. No children under 12 unless they are dancers or singers.
If you can not attend, you can still support the Prayer Warriors by sending donations of funds in postal money order form to:
Ken Ingles, Religious Activity Coordinator, for High Side Prayer Warriors Account #22. It must say High Side Prayer Warriors.
Please mail any postal money order support for the High Side Prayer Warriors directly to:
Ken Ingles, Religious Activity Coordinator
Montana State Prison
600 Conley Lake Rd
Deer Lodge, MT 59722
[For those who would like to donate but do not have funds available, perhaps you would have on hand traditional CD's, books, videos, etc. that you would like to donate. Due to Montana State Prison policy, you CAN NOT send in items directly to the prison: they must be sent to a central collection point and then from that point, all items are sent in with a special form. Anything that could be used as a cultural learning or educational tool should be useful. Please do not send anything before checking with us to avoid postage wasted on items that can not be sent in. It is also requested that you let us know *before* you send any items to the collection point, that way we can confirm receipt of the item for you. Please email suemontana@mcn.net with any questions. Thank You.]
The Native American population in Montana State Prison has struggled long and hard to make positive changes for the Native American inmates at Montana State Prison. The struggle for them to be seen as humans and to be given the same rights as other religious groups are given, has forced them to endure retaliation for speaking up, for filing complaints in the Bureau of Human Rights, and in the courts. Even after council members were continually locked up, they still pushed forward knowing that only a positive change would reinforce their abilities once they are returned to their communities; and, with the high rate of Native American incarceration in Montana, they know this to be the only answer.
The High Side Prayer Warriors would like to thank you for all of your support throughout the years.
Respectfully,
The High Side Prayer Warriors Cultural Coordinator,
Manuel Redwoman

  

It has become more than disgusting with the behavior of these officials in this state of Montana.  The deaths that happen all the time in Montana prisons, not by other inmates but by the staff themselves.  Inmates that die from neglect, that die from being yanked off of medications, inmates that are driven to commit suicide.   Officers that have blatant sex with inmates, bring in contraband, bribe inmates, etc. A parole board that threatens inmates families, belittles inmates and families. What is the STATE OF MONTANA going to do about this behavior that has gone on for years and years?  We are sick of it!!  It is not just in this one department, it is a state epidemic!  Why do you think us citizens that are outraged are spreading like wildfire?  Enough is enough!   The Native Americans have told us that the white men do not listen to them.  Well, we are listening and we are being a voice! One thing that makes us brothers and sisters despite our ethnic backgrounds is we are all in this together.  The State of Montana does not care what color your skin is when it comes to prisons for profit and neglect.  We are all just dollar signs.  $$$

Categories: MDOC/Abuse, MT Speaks Up | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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