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We've gotten a number of letters and emails about the vicious beatings of prisoners by the guards at the State Correctional Institution at Greene. The following slightly edited letter is from Vincent Napper, an activist who has tried to help his fellow prisoners. Of course, he seeks outside and government help for himself and his friends. We encourage you to seek the prosecution of the members of the Greene guards-Mafia who have repeatedly violated state and federal laws.
You may want to correspond with the letter's author, but remember that he's in the lion's den and subject to the cruel reprisals of the vindictive guards. 1030 East Roy Furman Highway Waynesburg, PA 15370 "A lot has happened over recent months to [pretend to] clean up [conditions at SCI-Greene] and to hide the truth. "I was chairman to lead worship services. [They were] not approved of [by the institution], but granted by the court. [Within the prison administration,] there was a commission to target individuals who they could make an example of and upon whom they could execute their racial prejudice. [The institution] overlooked a lot of the abuse, [even] threats of abuse [by guards] aimed at staff members who saw what they shouldn't have seen or who talked when they shouldn't have talked. "I was threatened by staff and given a trumped-up misconduct report in October 1997. On the way to the hole I was assaulted by a number of guards and two lieutenants who have since been fired. "Because of this assault, I suffered other abuses, injury and loss of parole. I reported the assault to the Office of Professional Responsibility 2 of the Department of Corrections. I was told that nothing could be done. I was told to just do the hole time and try to make parole. "Robert DeBord, the counselor, 3 made a complaint about my assault as well as the assaults on a number of other inmates. DeBord came to see me in December. He told me that he planned to quit because he couldn't take the nonsense anymore. "On January 19, 1998, inmate Tyrone Betrand had words with officer Frank Bell. The guard said, 'Punk, I'll kick your ass' and headed up the steps toward Betrand's cell. Another officer (Peer) [tried to call Bell] back, 'Frank, No! Frank, come one, Frank.' But Officer Bell kept walking toward Betrand's cell. He ordered the officer in the control booth to 'open 24 cell.' The [control booth] officer didn't open it as first, but after a second order, he opened the cell [door] for Bell. "Officer Bell ran into the cell, punching and kicking Tyrone Betrand. Officer Peer ran into the cell afterwards. After some minutes of punching and kicking [Betrand], Officer Bell and out of the cell. Officer Peer [came out] and slammed the cell door shut. "Once they were gone, Tyrone called me and said that [one of the guards had lost his watch during the beating.] Using a long string, I quickly fished the watch [evidence of the assault] over to my cell. "Betrand was refused medical attention [for his injuries] and was not allowed to see a higher officer for 2 days. Then, on January 21, he was assaulted again by Officer Bell. This time Officer Deangelo [participated]. They both assaulted Betrand again, punching and kicking. They came out of the cell one at a time wearing latex gloves. Tyrone said that one of them had lost his tie clip. "I wrote a number of letters about the assaults. One was to the Prison Society who called the prison at once. "A few days later, on January 27, 1998, we were moved [out of Greene] to SCI-Camp Hill 4. Once there, we were given all kinds of [bogus] misconduct reports and [we were] harassed during an eight week period. I was assaulted again [while at Camp Hill] in an effort to discredit me as a witness. I was given more than 300 days hole time before Betrand and I were shipped back to SCI-Greene and hidden in the 'RHU' [or hole]. "After being kept in the hole with lies from the staff that we would be transferred back out of Greene, the Department fired and moved a number of officers, but refused to release a written report into the assaults of Tyrone Betrand and me. After two weeks of a hunger strike, the Deputy Warden [White] met with me. He said, 'Vincent, please eat! I'm in the process of conducting my own, separate investigation. I'm questioning the pattern of abuse and false misconduct reports against you.' "He then promised that our hole time would be cut and that he would work hand in hand with the Prison Society to get to the bottom of everything. That was on May 22, after a number of firings and officer removals [had already taken place]. On June 12th, only a few weeks later, Deputy Warden White was suddenly removed by the Department. [His independent investigation never bore fruit.] "The Unit Manager, Linda Welling, was fired for questioning the assaults. It appears that any and every one who questions the DOC or its selective investigations, is fired, transferred or locked away in the hole. This is clearly an effort to hide this matter and to protect itself from exposure and suit. "We would like to receive letters of support and ask people to contact: US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Box 66018 Washington, DC 20035-6018" 1The Pennsylvania Prison Society is a private group which supposedly is concerned for prisoner welfare. In reality, with the exception of a few "visitors," the Society is an emasculated, useless committee obsessed with the restoration of the ancient Eastern State Penitentiary as a tourist trap. |
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