Like the Department Of Corrections (DOC), Labor And Industry is now run by a loyal appointee of the Ridge Reich, Johnny J. Butler, (7th and Forster Streets, Harrisburg, 17120, 717-787-3756). In 1992, however, a different regime was in power. In 1992, a prisoner complained about the numerous violations of the safety laws in several prisons. He prevailed on L&I to actually inspect prisons and to report their findings.
In one prison alone L&I uncovered 219 violations of the Fire And Panic Act! It ordered the prison to correct the dangerous violations of the laws. All 6 of the unsafe cellblocks were being occupied illegally without Occupancy Permits. Every cell was of the old open-bar type. There was no sort of protection from the rapid spread of fire or smoke except for fire-retardant drapes hung behind the bars. In addition, there were dozens and dozens of other violations of the law.
The prison administration didn't care much about the many violations. It didn't seem to trouble them in the slightest that 2000 prisoners and 430 guards were in deadly danger every day. Prison administrators are a callous and inhumane lot. What other type of person would make "corrections" his occupation? The guards who were in danger either didn't know (these are not rocket scientists, you know) or they didn't care. Guards have such little respect for human life and human dignity that event their own lives seem worthless.
The political climate changed. The conservative kooks of the Ridge Reich slithered into power. These folks don't care a jot about life. With them it's all about money. . .their own money and that part of your property that they can grab. The "minds" of the conservative politicians fell into sync with the obscene mentality of the prison administrators. Their joint attitude was/is "fuck human life" especially the lowly lives of prisoners and common guards!
Years passed and deadly violations persisted. They even got worse. After six years, some contractors started puttering around inside the prison playing at "correcting" the fire and panic violations. These contractors appear to be local cronies of the Department Of Corrections. There are a lot of under the table "contracts" let by the prison to friends, relatives and even employees themselves. Corruption is their way of life.
The persons supposedly doing the renovations were all white men. There wasn't one minority or one woman. Much of the work appears to have been done by uncertified or improperly certified persons. The renovation plans which had been approved by the former administration of the Department of Labor And Industry were "adjusted" and ignored to sacrifice human safety while maximizing "profits." Most of the essential corrections were never made. None of the renovated cellblocks earned an Occupancy Permit. They are all still illegal and unsafe.
What did the Ridge buddies in L&I do about the violations by their Ridge buddies in DOC? Not a thing! Terribly unsafe conditions still exist.
But this is the Department Of Corrections we're talking about! It's not their way to "improve" anything. Doing "good" is simply not in the character of a prison administrator. Evil does evil.
Remember the open-barred cells? The only bit of protections that the prisoners in the cells had from the spread of fire and smoke retardant drapes. Labor And Industry had ordered the prison to close in the fronts of the cells with structural members to prevent the spread of smoke and fire. Of course the prison officials ignored that order. What did they care about the lives of prisoners? What little renovation that was done in the prison was intended to assure that some of the guards could get to safety in the event of a fire. Even the fire doors were kept locked and the sprinkler was turned off.
The goofs in the prison administration decided that since the fire-retardant drapes were the only protection that the prisoners had, they would simply seize the drapes and leave the prisoners with no protection whatsoever!
Of course, the prison administrators had an excuse, a lie, and pretense to justify the wanton and reckless endangering of the prisoners' lives: security! What else?
Those nasty, fire-retardant drapes obstructed the view into the cells. A man might be naked, but his neighbor couldn't see him. The man might be using the toilet or masturbating, but the drapes obstructed his neighbor's (and the guard's) view. The prison administration wants to promote homosexuality and it also wants to degrade and humiliate prisoners.
The administration seized the fire-retardant drapes for no reason except to put the men on display. The fact that the men were also put into great danger from fire, smoke and even rape didn't matter a bit! Like I say: callous!
The "security" lie was so transparent that it's insulting. The law requires that the fronts of the cells be safely petitioned in except for a small window. The fire-retardant drapes covered much less of the fronts of the cells. Expanses were still uncovered. Guards (peeping toms at heart) habitually snooped at personal moments.
The nice thing about the "security" lie from the prison administrator's point of view is that they can use it to justify anything. Usually the courts and other agencies will buy the phony pretext. You know the ploy: male prisoners can't have long hair because of "security" reasons. Prisoners can't have hoagies because of "security" reasons. It's all bullshit!
Hundreds of serious fire and panic violations still exist in the prison, 32 sets of orders from number 226,040 through number 226,072 (one number was skipped for some reason). The prison administrators know that the cells are caked with dozens of coats of flammable, lead-based pints. They know that a fire in a cell on the ground tier will suffocate or roast the prisoners locked in the cells above. The administrators know of the danger and are deliberately indifferent.
The Republican run Department of Labor And Industry doesn't enforce the law for one reason and one reason only; the victims will only be lowly prisoners, mostly black, mostly poor and mostly without families. They'll make the ape-house at the Philadelphia zoo safe for the chimps, but not a prison for a few thousand disposable humans.
Return to the News Items Menu
Return to the Crime Stories Menu
Return to the Main Menu