[We recently had to write to Joseph Mazurkiewicz, the Superintendent at the Pine Grove state prison for children in Indiana in West-Central Pennsylvania. The so-called "Ion Scanner" is used in most prisons. The complaint and our answer may prove valuable to some users.]
I am writing to share an unbearable stress that my family is currently experiencing due to the drug scanning equipment at SCI-Pine Grove in Indiana, PA.
My husband who is a diabetic and on an insulin pump takes no drugs other than what is prescribed by his doctors. He has now failed the drug screens 3 times and is now not allowed to see our 18 year-old son for 6 months.
He's been an emotional wreck!
I myself have now failed these stupid screenings for the past 3 visits but have been allowed to see my son because my number is over (sic) 25. I too am now scared to death that my visits will be stopped.
We own a business and we are told that we shouldn't handle money prior to going to visit. We stopped handling money, but to no avail. Then we were told that it must be something on his clothing. I bought him all new clothes only to still have a false positive.
Then we were told that it must be something in the car and we should clean the car inside. I have steamed cleaned the upholstery, bleached the entire inside, rinse with clean water and toweled dry to only still have a false positive.
We are at a loss as to what could be causing this false positive which we are told is coming up with LSD! Neither my husband nor I do drugs or have anything to do with drugs. I supplied the prison with a list of all my husband's medications to no avail.
We offered to allow the prison to take a urine sample, blood sample, have a K9 search our vehicle, my husband offered to be stripped searched only to be told that they don't do that and there is nothing they can do to help us.
We are at our wits end and if after the 6 months my husband tests positive again, he will lose visiting rights for 1 year! Then, after that, 1 year he will lose them forever after the 5th positive.
If anyone has any solutions or help in this matter, please ask them to contact me.
www.pnsoners.com
Box 5251
Harrisburg, PA 17110
24 March
Joseph Mazurkiewicz
Superintendent
SCI-Pine Grove
189 Fyock Road
Indiana, PA 15701
Dear Superintendent:
We've received complaints about the screening your staff performs on visitors. The "scans" are supposedly to detect if tiny trace amounts of drugs are on the visitors' clothing or person. It's a mystery what value or what use such information would legitimately have to the prison or Department of Imprisonment. Enclosed, please find Doctor Kay Lumas' doctoral dissertation about the so-called "ion scanner." As you, yourself know, it's junk science and is obviously being misused to intimidate and bully visitors while discouraging legitimate visiting.
This dissertation is available at the university and at other places. It's on our website at a blind file. Online it can be searched by keywords using control/F.
Families who already are greatly stressed by having a child in prison shouldn't be harassed about dope. That's especially true where, as here, you are fully aware that the gadget doesn't work to do what it pretends to do. You and your staff already realize that the gadget is completely unreliable.
We suggest that it be recalibrated, set at a higher level and cleaned at least once a day. We suggest that where a visitor asserts a false positive, the guard try the device on himself or on a commissioned officer.
Nobody should be a slave to a machine. The scanner is far less reliable than your desktop PC and you know what sort of problem it can be.
I am:
Sandra Feigley,
Publisher / Cofounder
