"C/O ['corrections officer,' meaning prison guard] Munion and Coutts go around hurting the inmates," so writes one of our correspondents from inside the "hole" at the Somerset prison in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The writer details many serious abuses by the guards and staff including these: "Robert Berrian, #BY 5343, Lt. Delosh and other officers [meaning guards] beat my cousin up bad. He is still back here in the RHU ['Restrictive Housing Unit,' the Hole] with a lot of DC [disciplinary custody] time. Anthony Herrera, #HH 5928, he's my next door neighbor and they did not feed him for 3 days. Caspey Parks, #GV 7899, he's another neighbor, was next door from me. He witnessed 2 officers that opened my tray slot [the wicket through which food is passed to prisoners in the hole]. While I was talking to C/O Coutts, C/O Munion hit me with an icy snowball." The writer, Christopher Myers, goes on to describe many abuses. None of the guards' conduct is justified, humane or professional. It's the action of persons with serious personality and/or psychological problems. The guards are simply maladjusted. Even worse, prison administrators such as the Superintendent don't or can't manage their staff. The Superintendent is worse than the guards because he has the authority to require professional conduct. Retaliation by guards and staff is standard practice. "Since I've filed a civil suit in '07 staff [has] been out to get me," writes Myers. "I suffer seizures. Officer Dumem made me get off the bottom bunk. [While I was] on the top bunk that's when I tried to get down and fell on my left side [sustaining injuries]." One great mystery of Pennsylvania's prison system is where do they get these guys? Are they thugs when they're hired, or is it something they develop and cultivate over time? Does a little bit of power intoxicate them so much? Are there really that many men in Pennsylvania who enjoy torturing, tormenting, demeaning and abusing others? Prisoners are essentially helpless and defenseless. How can a man enhance his sense of power or "manhood" by abusing the helpless? Some guards do it every day. what do they do at home? The whole concept of prison is bad, but where the staff is a gang of villains, the situation is intolerable and illegal. Superintendent Gerald L. Rozum, what are you doing about this?

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