Where's
Cliff O'Hara
When You Need Him?

Turns out that the guy we wanted wasn't "at his desk."

Our President tried again . . . several times. Each time she was told that he wasn't at his desk. She realized that he was a state "worker," but, she figured he should be available at least now and then.

Eventually she got the guy's name from somebody else. Make a note of it:

When the guards abuse you or your loved ones, we suggest that you try Cliff O'Hara. Maybe you'll be able to find him, then again, maybe not.

Before we took the beatings at SCI-Greene to him for "investigation," we tried a slightly less volatile issue. After what's happened at Greene, we realized that the beating of prisoners isn't a keen interest of the Office Of Professional Responsibility. The guards who got scolded at Greene weren't the thugs who did the beatings. The guards who were criminally charged, got in trouble because they tampered with records. Papers are far more important to the DOC than people, especially more important than prisoners.

We knew that at another prison there was a systematic falsification about drug testing. Drug testing in Pennsylvania prisons is a big business. Not only is it < A HREF="drugman.html"> VERY expensive, it is also a weapon used to intimidate "troublesome" prisoners. Prisoners who file complaints or go to court or fight for their rights, are punished by being given urine tests. The idea is to cause the prisoners stress and to let them know that the authorities don't like what they're doing. Then, too, there is always the risk that there will be a false positive. If that happens, the troublesome prisoner can be tossed in the hole for a few months. In addition he'll be stripped of his visits with his treasured loved-ones.

In at least one state prison, punishment wasn't left open to chance. "Someone" (we believe we know who) simply falsified the test results. The "confirmation" was also falsified. The "troublesome" prisoner went straight to jail. He didn't pass go and he did not collect his $200.

One of our correspondents wrote to Cliff O'Hara about this little irregularity. It's the felony of "Tampering With Public Records" (18 PaCS 4911) and also the misdemeanor of "Unsworn Falsification To Authorities" (18 PaCS 4904). Well, so far, Cliff hasn't even fired the perjurer, let alone prosecuted him. But, we'll withhold judgement for a little longer.

As it turns out, all the urine tests at the prison were improper. The guards who play with the piss aren't properly certified. In addition, the samples appear to be handled improperly. A prisoner named Hill is prosecuting a suit on the matter.

If it should work out that Cliff actually does something about the falsification of urine test, we'll try him on the beatings at SCI-Greene. Frankly, we feel that the only solution to that horror is to close the joint. It's sinking into abandoned coal mines, anyhow. Your tax dollars at "work!"