Chief Deputy Agrees: Deplorable Conditions ~ Prison Grievances

Monday, September 10, 2012

Chief Deputy Agrees: Deplorable Conditions

Posted by Terri LeClercq on 1:49 PM

Inmate families protest conditions at Jefferson County Jail

Published: Monday, September 10, 2012, 1:23 PM Updated: Monday, September 10, 2012, 1:23 PM

By Carol Robinson -- The Birmingham News

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Family members of several Jefferson County Jail inmates protested outside the downtown facility today, saying the food and conditions are atrocious.

Five people held signs outside the Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center and talked to news reporters and photographers, who outnumbered the protesters. Bridget Gober of Gardendale said her 18-year-old daughter has been jailed on drug charges since July 27, and has been in the same jail uniform since she was incarcerated. A judge has denied her bond and drug court, according to her mother.

Gober said her daughter suffered withdrawals because she wasn't given her prescription Xanax, and no jail staff helped her. The food, Gober said, isn't fit to eat. The protesters said a typical breakfast might include a piece of toast, a hard-boiled egg and a spoonful of grits.

"It's not supposed to be a country club, but give them adequate food," she said. "I expect for them to be treated like a human."

Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the jail has averaged 500 inmates over capacity since the county jail in the Bessemer Cutoff closed in 2009.

"The deplorable conditions at the Birmingham jail are well-documented," Christian said. "A jail shouldn't be a cake walk, but there are standards that must be met or you end up in federal court with a judge issuing compliance orders. The conditions for our deputies and civilian personnel is very concerning."

"We have been protesting this for a couple of years ourselves," Christian said. "It's about time someone else joined in."

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FROM THE NOVEL

Prison Grievances: when to write, how to write, offers both entertainment and education. In this section of the blog, I'll offer you pieces of the book so you can understand what all the tooting and rooting are about. It's a good book.
10/4/12. You can't write a grievance without understanding the Prison Litigation Reform Act. It requires, for instance, that you must first talk over your problem with a prison officer BEFORE you write the grievance (except in cases of injury or fear of death). That way, the officer has an opportunity to correct the problem before you take it to the Grievance Committee.
10/9/12. If the talk doesn't take care of your problem,then you MUST write a grievance. In Texas, that's a Step 1. In the federal prisons, the counselor will give you a BP 9. Answer all the questions. Be as specific as you can. Do NOT include legal jargon.
11/1/12. Make only one claim per grievance.
11/5/12. Do not repeat the grievance before the listed time is up. If it is an emergency, then go ahead! Otherwise, give the system time to respond.
11/14/12. If your problem is not resolved, and you see a flaw in the answer, then you can file a second grievance--but only about the problem in the answer: the reader got the facts wrong, the answer did not match your problem, etc. Do not write a second grievance that repeats your initial complaint--it won't get you anywhere.
1/20/13. If you get no response at all to a grievance, even after the allowed extension, then file the Step 2 with an explanation about the missing response. No, really, the main office is not under the control of the unit bosses (or Martians), and they will actually read your grievance.
2/14/13. Yes, a form-response is frustrating. It is difficult to balance the requirement to 'be specific' with the requirement 'keep it short with no attachments.' So your game plan: always include who-did what-to whom-when. Then mention the number of witnesses, for instance, but offer to discuss those details.

Reviews

INFORMATION
Behind the Walls. Jorge Antonio Renaud (University of North Texas Press, 2002). Should be required reading for families who need information on the practical aspects of prison life. With 24 chapters on elements of prison life (living quarters, craft shop, discipline), the book provides a comprehensive overview with marvelous concrete detail. I found the Apendices especially useful (custody level, medical/dental, libraray, commissary, recreation, good time, parole, officials, and resources). Do you know the difference between GP and PC? You will when you buy and read this book. Special mention: many formerly incarcerated have written about prisons; most can't write. Mr. Renaud was a journalist before his missteps, and the book is a delightful, easy read.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
sentences: the life of M.F. Grimm. author Percy Carey, artist Ronald Wimberly (DC Comics, 2007). 5 Star, champagne flight best ever. The decline and fall of a former Sesame Street star is just as compelling as the edgy, unusual art. Although this book chronicles the life, the second life, the fall, and the eventual redemption of a rapper, prison conditions are always front and center. Would-be, wanna-bees need to read this graphic novel. If it doesn't spell out the consequences of fast money and bad decisions, then nothing will.

MEMOIRS
Prisoner of Conscience: a memoir. Kenneth Kennon (XLibris, 2001). Could there be a more inlikely inmate than a Christian minister who was arrested for silently marching against the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia? Rev. Kennon intended to protest; he did not intend to go to federal prison for 6 months. This almost-daily log of impressions, insight, and poetry can help families understand the long, long days, the daily insults, the joy of receiving mail. Unexpected humor both in the prison and in Rev. Kennon's writing is especially endearing: a transportation guard asked him what a prisoner of "con-science" is; he had seen posters the Reverend's friends held up as he walked through the gates. Perhaps any word that begins "con" catches the eye?

This box will have reviews of some of my favorite books, movies and whatever else I might discover. Please send me your favorites, and I'll review them!

Monday, September 10, 2012