America has adopted an immoral culture of torture and abuse. Not only is it Republican national policy, but it is also a usual practice in Pennsylvania jails. A young man, 19 year-old Dustin L. Zimmerman, was briefly a prisoner in the Mifflin County jail at Lewistown in the very center of Pennsylvania. His charge was trivial, but some times he was a little noisy. Lots of 19 year-old's are. The guards tortured, humiliated, assaulted and abused him. It was so bad that he sued. One of the assailants, Brian E. Taylor was charged criminally. The county allowed him to work out a sweetheart plea deal for a slap on the wrist. He pleaded guilty only to "official oppression." You would have been prosecuted for at least aggravated and sexual assault. The victim reports that Mifflin County jail guards Ronald Bilger and Craig Shaffer held him while guard Brian Taylor stunned him with an electronic shock gun (shades of Iraq). The trio are reported to then have bound their young victim in a torture chair. The device is in common use in Pennsylvania jails. It's euphemisticly called a "restraint chair." The young man was left bound in the "chair" for many hours. He doesn't confirm that he-was stripped on kept naked. He does report that the guards put him in a diaper. They humiliated him by making him use the diaper to relieve himself. Dauphin County in Southcentral Pennsylvania is, perhaps the worst place for this kind of torture. At Harrisburg, the Unfriendly City and capital of Pennsylvania, the "CHAIR" (as the prisoners call it) is in daily use. Afro-Americans are the primary victims. Many persons have been seriously harmed by the practice. One man reportedly died. America is the only place in the civilized world where torture is acceptable, or even discussed. What has become of us? If you were tortured in this way, would you become a better citizen, or would you become resentful and angry at the system? Rebecca's Bargain Antiques Collectible Vintage Photos Fine Prints - Old Maps Sheet Music - Old Books Elegant Antiques and Collectibles "The torture of the bell. It never stops!" Boris Karloff in The Mask of Fu Manchu, 1932 You are welcome to use or republish any of our material. Please give www.prisoners.com credit as the source. Return to the Public Enemies Menu. Return to the Main Menu. Go to our site's Search Engine. Send us Your Comments, Questions or Input.