Survivors Speak Prisoner Testimonies of Torture in United States Prisons and Jails A Shadow Report Submitted for the November 2014 Review of the United States by the Committee Against Torture 1. Reporting organization The American Friands Service Commitise (AFSC) is a Quaker faith based organization that promotes lasting peace wilh jusiice, as a practical expression of aithin action. 'AFSC's interest in prison reform is srongly nfluenced by Quaker (Religious Society of Friends) activism addressing prison conditions as informed by the imprisonment of Frionds for their beles and actions inho 17” and 16" centuries For over thrao decades AFSC has spoken out o benalf of prisoners, whose voices are all 100 frequently sienced. We have received thousands of calls and ltters oftestimony of an increasingly disturbing nalure from prisoners and ther families about conditons in prison that fal o honor the Light n 0ach of us. Drawing on continving spiitual insights and working wih people of many backgrounds, we nurture he seeds of change and respect for human e that transiorm sociel relations and systems. AFSC works 1o end mass incarceration, improve condiions (or people who are ‘o prison, stop prison privatization, and promole & reconcitation and heaing approach to criminal justice issues. Contact Person La Lindser, Esa 1822 A 51 NW. Washingion, DC 2000 USA Lindsey@alsc.org (202) 483:3341 oxt 108 Wabsio: ww afsc 019 Acknowledgements “Tris report woud not ave boen possibie bul o the courageous indviduals held n US. prisons and it who 150 85ove tha spacier ofreprisalfo Ging 1851imanias of tho abusas hey endure. The Support and assistance of American Frends Senice Commites pogaim stafl ware crucalin e dovelopment of i feport. We also thank Paul Wiight, Man Gaicia and Susan Schwartzkoph ol Prson Lagal News for imviting prisones o share ihoi experinces. Ganarous contibuions 2 assstance provedad by Bonie Kermess, Casey Diaz, Ashira Jones, Scile Wehalig. oo Bissohnotto Lawey. Laual Townhead and Emiy Conane-Mann aro doeply approcialed. s o s onoages 1. 2. 8421 oo v o o e e CopTGh AP Table of contents 3 1. Executive Summary..... . Questans from List o lssues..... . Health Care. V. Inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment. . Concens about confinement condons... . Degreding and crue acts commited by fal and prison staf . V. Sexual vioence.. 8. Abusas commitid by prison and el Sa...... . Abuses commitod b thd paries wiile i ihe cusiody of i U S. govemment... 13 V. Isolation and soiiary confinement . " & Condiions In salkary confinement b, Menial heattn and solaton ©.. Lite afier isolation. " 1 7 Vi Political prisoners and Control Management Unit. 18 Vil Psychological/ "No toueh” torture. 2 1X. Reprisals against prisoners fo airing grievances. X. Conclusion. XI. Questons Xi. Suggested concluding obsenvations. 1. Executive summary The popular narative of iving i the Uritod States is one of prosperly, equalty, and opportunity. America is seen as a nation where everyone has the right o e, bery, and Hroadom. While tat may be rue for some privileged segments of saciety many ‘Amoricans are preventod from full realizing these rights because they are in the custody of the U.S. govemment. At the close of 2012, the U.S. led the world in incarceration rates’ with over 2.2 millon aduits® heid in prisons and jas.” Why s tis the case? Deeply flawed policies focusing ‘on punishment - not healing of rehabiitation - have created a pipeine through which ‘economically disadvantaged populations are funneled into prisons and jais. Incarcerated individuals are frequently exposed to deplorable, oruel, and dangerous condilons of confinement that no human being should experience. The lst of abuses committed against U.S. prisoners s long and deeply distressing: sexual violance, humiliation, unsanitary conditions, extreme lemperaturos, insufficiertly Pulriious food, inadequate medical care, isolaton, psychological orure, racism. Ehemical abuse and disproportionate uses of orce. These are just a sample of ‘experiences you wil read about in theso frsthand accounts from individuals iving in Jails and prisons throughout the United States. Other civi society shadow reports addressing corrections conditions feature legal analysis, data flusirating the prevalence of i reatment committed against prisoners and asights rom experts. This shadow report supplements those crucial examinations by bringing the human experience o bear. Statistcs are helpful in understanding the ways. i which the U.S. prison system is undamentally broken. Yet aven the best charls are unable t llly Gonvey the feaity of what t s ke (0 ive through breaches of CAT ‘obligations. These are thei testimoniais - verbatim - of ishuman conditions under which hey are held, abuses that irrevocably chenge thei ives. The detais are dificull o read; Some of the langusge is crude and graphic. Al are compelling narraives. oo Prect, Tunds n Comecions Fa oo i e st poass epercs 010, e 1, ey nics St uteas e Gtcionbewre a1 s b e S 45 e e gy st st s il e o b0 S0 S ST 08 o v ey AR i e (e o 7 Sl B e e g by o o ad e i aiancen h ors b | e, Do oy vy by s Fx Tt o s v 10 e s TS Il. Questions from List Of Issues Articles 1and 4 Q2: Please clarify the State party's positon with regard 1 ts understanding of acts of paychological toture, prohibited by the Convention. Does the State party recognize a wider catagory of acts which cause severe mental suffering, irespective of their prolongation or its duration, as acts of psychological torture prohibited by the Convention? Aticle 16 Q32: Please provide information on steps aken o: (2) Prevent and punish violence and abuse of women, in particuiar women belonging o racial, ethnc and national minoribes. Do these measures include providing specific lraining for those working within he criminal justice system ‘and raising awarenass about the mecharisms and procedures provided forin natonal legistation on racism and discrimination? (¢) Ensure that reports of violence against women are independently. promptly ‘and thoroughly investigated, and that perpelrators are prosecuted and ‘appropriately punished. Q33 In ight of the Committee’s previous concluding observations, piease elaborate on the measures adopted by the Stato party 1o ansuro that women in detention are eated i conformity with interationa standards, a5 well s on the implementation of these measures (para. 33). Furthermore, please provide information on the impact and effectiveness of hese measures in reducing casss of ii-reatment of detained women. Q37 Please descibe steps taken 10 improve the extremsly harsh regime imposed on detainees in “super-maximum securlty prisons”, in partcular the practice of prolonged isolation.* Ui o Comrane Aparat Teure, Ut ses P11 1 e Suisin o h o P Fapon o s St of Amerca. U o CATIEUSAR G001 Il Health care ho U.S. govemmant obfigation to prohiit orture encompasges third party actors, such 25 doctors and medical personnel in centers of confinement.” Prisoners commonly report Irecioquate heatth care conditions thatinclude significant delays in accessing medical reatmen, medical personnel engaging n treatments for which ihey have not received ‘adequato training, deniaisof prescription medications, and humilating reatment by ‘hoaiih care staft. Fegretiably, prisoners have no recourse when medical reatmontis requested but wilhheld. In the most serous cases, fafing to secure timely medical attention can result in irreversible harm, and at imes, deain. 1 suffer from a are form of benign turmors called Aggressive Fibromalosis... Al my Semtencing my primary care physician Timothy MCBride testfied that without proper Tadical care my health would deteriorate and could eventually lead to death | was forced t0 do a lengthy Sentence... | was sent to USP Big Sand In Inez, KY. While there | ‘continuously complained of & tmor in my chest and the Avascular Necrosis i the left haad of the humorus... 100k 14 month from the time | first reporied thes tumors unél Iney were fnally removed... | had a ciic wth prison physician Or. Foger Jones. On this Gate ! reported anothr knot in my chest. | suffered through 27 morihs of misery before s tumor was removed. The tumor was 5o big looked fike a softball in my chesL... If m forced 10 stay here and not sent 1o @ proper federal medical center | may not survive {hose B years." —M.6., USP Terre Haute, Terre Haute, IN, 2014* ~On Sepiember 2, 2013, | winessed two inmales being sprayed wih chormical agents, ooth mentally i, in soltary confinement,after their water supples were shut o, for Tequesting to speak with medical-one did try o commit suicide the next day by cuting s wist . Guards shut off the eniire pod's waler supply and when | questionad tis | was sprayed with chemical weapons and lef in that state for 40-50 mins with only tollet ater it n the bowl {0 help wash my face and body with. AS | remained in pain and Pleaded for halp guards threatened to shoot me with a 37 mim fot control gun. | was, Socurely locked inside a single man cell he whale time 100 as | was sprayed, etc. | did ‘Sustain frst degree chemical bums from the amount of spray and the lengh of time it Zovered my body." —F.D., Mount Oiive Correctonal Complox, Mt Olive, WY, 2014” ~Over the years that | have boen here many people have died here that had gone over a. ‘month without their heart medications. I s a shame that | and many olhers i here ‘Cannol get any medical treatment for our medical problems. The infimary nurses are fond of saying 'you are not worth the cosL™ —R.K. Cummins Unit, Grady, AR, 2014" o Spesa e n Torure and O G o Dy Tiiment Puihmer U, 0o oo, I January 2014, wihout baing seen by any medical person, APN Griswold discontinued my Propranolol 20 mg. Notefuly, [sc al that ime, the Unit 6id not have an ‘actual doctor assigned 1o . According to a Physician's Dosk Reforenco, bota blocker, such as Propranolol, must not be siopped suddenly as | was because there can be sevore medical compications (e.g. @ hear attack. In February! March of 2014 an inmate laid n the infitmary complaining of severe pains on Ns ight sde. They did not send him out 0 a hospitalbut et him lay in the infirmary. There he died of appendicits. In Apr of 2014 inmate Eugene Lily wen {0 the infimary complaining of chest pains. They gave him aspirin and sant him to his baracks. He wnt to s barracks, aid down or a nap and died. Two nurses were fied for falsiication of records. in May of 2014 inmate Riding fel out n the exercise yard. Infimay stef finaly responded, however, it was inmates who biought him back Irom his heart attack. He was taken to the infirmary and there ho died.” —J.G. Cumming Unil, Grady. AR, 2014 “One guy was in the infirmary here at LCF ot ong ago and as he fell 0 the floor in his cell, cutching s chest in severe pain of a heart atack —nurse Suzy told him 0 shut up, Quil whining, and getoff ofthe floor and up on his burk. The poor chap died on the spot, tight than and there—due directy 1o nurse Suzy's negiect” —7.T., Lansing Correctional Facilty, Lansing, KS, 2014'" “Ive had serious montal lnass sinco chidhood, bipolar disorder’ and bohavioral problems intermittnt explosive disorder” and fve got intelectual functoning disord As wellas chvonic. seizures, grand mal seizures...my mental liness went 100% unireated for my first couple yoars in prison! ‘Which caused me to be put into confinement...'ve been in strip cell’ with nofhing but a steel bunk in the middle of winter and no heal in the cell house and had the offcers spray waler inmy cell and on mysell, and | would stay ke tha fo up 10 10-12 days at times! With the whols call having a thn layer of frost! —B8.8., Tamims Corectional Center, Tamms, IL. 2010 oo 5. a Amacan FrantsSaice Conten 2914 = Lo o 7110 AmvcanFrands S Gomtes (014 IV. Inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment Despite ihe U.S. Constitutional prohitition on cruel and unusual punishment” and obiigations under CAT 10 ban cruel inhuman and degrading treaiment* abuses agains! prisoners in the custody ol the U.S. government are al 0o Irequent. The myriad of ‘abusas fallng with the scope of CAT Ariclo 16 are diverse in nature, yel all all within he scope of State obigation to prevent orture, as “conditions thal give rise 1o - reatment Irequently faciltato orture. ** Many o the testimonies AFSC receives document cruel acts commitied by prison and staft. A culture of impunity and an ‘us versus them* mentalty of pison/ail staff croate ‘an environment rpe for prisoner abuse. Prisoners Irequently raport denials of fo0d and waler, forced nudily, unsanitary confinement conditions, inadequate nulriion, and use of racil and sthic skus by guards. Regardiess of the origins and classification of the prohibited acts, the ‘Consequences (o victims are the same: dehumanization and iraura. A. Concerns about confinement conditions 1 ave to bog for water and food. W ao being kiled sowy. you were 10 coma here You woukd i us in tis "y Cai naked, cold and hungry. We are being cut of rom il avenues of recoursa. | was femove from specialnaocs and placed here, lease can Jou gt somebody. anybocy 10 ge s out ofthese torture chambers? We are Gong otning wiong and have no nenton of doing o. m having seius probiem i the Safl and administration hero. T goting hresianad 1o be physicaly assauted by saf 2s wel as iher inmaes, | don eal much efther, isstarted aftr | fled mylawsu. | don el sal, | o ot o sloep, noiing. Tha sall wants me 1 withcraw my Gomplain. They won' oven gve me paper 1o it on any moro. s o ofhar peaple on i Uit scaredfor ther ives dve t safl misconduct and misiniormatin. They wil i us* —W.T., New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, NJ, 2014" *Staph infecton, scabies, spider bites, T8, hepallis (A, 8, C)is present among the brothers... Ive wilnessed COs" beating other incarcerated ciizens unjusty.” —K.S., Waliam €. Donaldson Facilty, Bessemer, AL, 2014 It 5 of us back here and our call has feces, bugfnsectinfested, lollet bowl ithy, feces. ‘on door and wals, showers are extremely hot, showers are bug infested and] unclean, [ry—— = Conveio s o and e Cre, o Doy Trmanc P (Oocamr 10, 1380, Gora asar Poion 046 STazs o bW T 1 Ameran Fonds S Cammnes (2014 7 coldfoad, locked n cal 24 hours 7 days a wesk, o yard-