tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post407905673109442289..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Symposium on Police, Jails and Vulnerable PeopleGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-76831713084097628082016-01-01T07:05:48.996-06:002016-01-01T07:05:48.996-06:00n be said about guards too.
https://www.facebook.c...n be said about guards too.<br />https://www.facebook.com/DavidCookBLK/videos/551244851718327/?theaterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-42786306584788582172015-12-30T16:23:40.302-06:002015-12-30T16:23:40.302-06:00Continuing the above discussion on diety/tryptopha...Continuing the above discussion on diety/tryptophan/serotonin/depression/anxiety/behavior link.<br /><br />A recent study of serotonin, the chemical responsible for your mood, suggests that the group of conditions currently identified as anxiety disorders may need to be recategorized (to include serotonin-based disorders).. ... <br />Anxiety disorders are a grouping of several mental conditions whose symptoms cluster around “excessive, irrational fear, and dread,”.... The grouping generally includes panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias (including social phobia), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)......<br /><br />How Does Serotonin Fit In?<br /><br />Serotonin is a chemical found in the body that acts as a neurotransmitter — it carries a signal from one neuron to another. It is derived from tryptophan, a necessary amino acid in our diet, and is found in various parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, blood platelets, and the central nervous system...... the majority of our body’s serotonin is actually located in the gastrointestinal tract (about 80 to 90 percent of the body’s supply), rather than the brain.<br /><br />In discussing serotonin’s relationship to anxiety and fear disorders, the serotonin in the brain will be the focus. ... serotonin is believed to have an influence on aspects of our brain functioning that include mood, social behavior, appetite, sexual desire and functioning, sleep, and memory......there’s a link between serotonin’s function in the brain and the development of mental disorders. .....<br /><br />Anxiety disorders in particular have been strongly associated with low levels of serotonin.....<br /><br />So What’s The New Information, And Why Is It Important?<br /><br />According to a team of international researchers, the functioning of the serotonergic system is not homogenous in the group of disorders called anxiety disorders. Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the research analyzed six studies that evaluated the effect of reducing tryptophan (the precursor to serotonin) in patients that had received treatment for an anxiety disorder. This paradigm often results in a severe reduction of serotonin levels in the body, allowing researchers to make observations about the importance of the neurotransmitter in disorders and psychological functioning.<br /><br />The researchers predicted that reductions in serotonin levels would cause a worsening of symptoms in those patients with a disorder more related to fear (a phobia, for example), but not in those with a disorder more related to anxiety (general anxiety disorder), even though they’re all currently grouped together and treated with SSRIs. Their reanalysis of studies directly confirmed this theory.<br /><br />"The idea of responses to threatening stimuli causing feelings and emotions related to fear and anxiety, as well as a myriad of subgroups within these responses, is not new,” said Felipe Corchs, ... “However, our study gives an important step toward sub clustering of disorders once it is based on one of the most important neurotransmitters involved in these reactions and in the fact that it was tested in actual psychiatric patients.”<br /><br />Source: Cochs F, Nutt D, Hince D, Davies S, Bernik M, Hood S. Evidence For Serotonin Function As A Neurochemical Difference Between Fear And Anxiety Disorders In Humans? Journal of Pharmacology. 2015.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-32972763064610418642015-12-30T16:10:58.012-06:002015-12-30T16:10:58.012-06:00Poor of even deadly food quality was discussed abo...Poor of even deadly food quality was discussed above on 12/22. The "food" served has another problem. It is low in triptophan, a micronutrient. It also causes gastrointestinal problems which disturb the triptophan process.<br /><br />This has behavioral consequences as it makes inmates more anxious and more prone to act out.<br />Please, read this: <br /><br />Serotonin is a chemical found in the body that acts as a neurotransmitter — it carries a signal from one neuron to another. It is derived from tryptophan, a necessary amino acid in our diet, and is found in various parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, blood platelets, and the central nervous system. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of our body’s serotonin is actually located in the gastrointestinal tract (about 80 to 90 percent of the body’s supply), rather than the brain.<br /><br />In discussing serotonin’s relationship to anxiety and fear disorders, the serotonin in the brain will be the focus. Serotonin is believed to have many effects on our psychological state. It has a very wide distribution in the brain, affecting many different areas that correlate to many different parts of our functioning. Being so ubiquitous, serotonin is believed to have an influence on aspects of our brain functioning that include mood, social behavior, appetite, sexual desire and functioning, sleep, and memory.<br /><br />Some researchers have demonstrated that there’s a link between serotonin’s function in the brain and the development of mental disorders. Possible contributors to mental disorder development include the brain producing lower-than-normal levels of serotonin, a lack of receptor sites able to receive the serotonin that has been produced, a problem in serotonin transport, or a lack of tryptophan, the chemical from which serotonin is derived.<br /><br />Basically, if the food doesn't kill an inmate, it will make him mentally unstable.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-50877592698783508422015-12-28T12:15:40.973-06:002015-12-28T12:15:40.973-06:00It's surprising that you don't have any ju...It's surprising that you don't have any judges or magistrates speaking at the conference.<br /><br />There's not any good reason that Sandra Bland wasn't released on a PR bond. <br /><br />And Texas law does not provide for the right to counsel when bail is set. Many other states and the federal system afford a suspect that right. That simple change would make a big difference in pretrial detention rates and level the playing field for the indigent that are caught up in the system.<br /><br />Robert Burns<br />Judge, The Criminal District Court,<br />Dallas County.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-80004885749396581532015-12-24T07:42:12.947-06:002015-12-24T07:42:12.947-06:00Ken Abrahams, a friend of mine, in Why It’s So Har...Ken Abrahams, a friend of mine, in Why It’s So Hard to Fire an Abusive Prison Guard Union rules: <br /><br />"Union rules, many of which are plainly absurd (even errors of law are “binding” and cannot be corrected! – who negotiated that on behalf of the public”!?) make it virtually impossible to fire criminals wearing law enforcement uniforms!<br /> <br />Policies like these mock justice, and cost taxpayers billions of dollars; because inmates see that the “grievance” procedure is a total farce, they see that the prison officials will not act, they litigate endlessly! YOU are paying the costs of that litigation, in more ways than one. Federal courts are overloaded, due to inmate lawsuits, and you are paying the financial costs – court staff, judges’ salaries, scores of attorneys who must defend thousands of such cases every year."<br /><br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-44468650614236355822015-12-23T11:32:06.371-06:002015-12-23T11:32:06.371-06:00@ 09:30:00 AM - I am reading all the posts and I d...@ 09:30:00 AM - I am reading all the posts and I don't see what you see. Nobody implied all officers use excessive force. It seems that most complaints are about some officers who abuse power. From the posts it looks like there is abuse going on. <br />It is understable that the majority of officers want to do their jobs in peace and quiet and go home at the end of their shift. <br /><br />What was expressed and not implied is the idea that if a single officer is abusive and those witnessing the abuse remain silent they are morally culpable. Or, if they work for a system which is abusive, they are also morally culpable. <br /><br />1. This idea probably comes from our legal history.<br />Under legal systems where guilt by association is allowed, a defendant could be charged with guilt by association merely for being in the same place with those who were guilty, for not taking affirmative action to stop them, or for not reporting the crime. However, in the US guilt by association is not allowed under our constitution. To be guilty without direct action, a person must either solicit (request), conspire with (agree with), or aid/assist someone else toward a criminal action. <br />Thus, it can be argued that correctional officers who witness abuse and get paid to assist a government agency in the violation of the civil rights of thers, they are guilty by association. It is more of a moral than legal argument, but its roots are in legal doctrine.<br /><br />2. Other countries have different laws. In great Britain: "Alex has been charged with a murder committed by a friend in a spontaneous fight; Wayne has been convicted of possessing a firearm he never touched; Joseph is serving a life sentence for a murder he didn't even see. All of them have been convicted using the law of Joint Enterprise under which a person in a group or gang can be held responsible for the criminal acts of others. Joint Enterprise is a 300-year-old law which has been increasingly used in recent years to combat the rise in gang violence.<br /><br />3. The idea that someone who commits crimes against humanity is legally and morally accountable, even if he was following orders, also comes from history. There have been legal prosecutions of those who participated as guards or who were in command during the holocaust and other genocides, even if Hitler ordered them to commit such atrocities. Texas officers are obviously not even close to witnessing or participating in such atrocities. The idea, though that following orders is no excuse to commit atrocities or aid government agencies in evil-doing, has historical underpinnings.<br /><br />4. There are also moral stories proposing that, if you see evil and you do nothing, you are morally guilty of sitting-by and watching passively. <br />For example: "Head football coach Joe Paterno was fired by his university for his failure to intervene upon learning about the alleged long-running sexual abuses by defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky. Questions also center on Mike McQueary, who is still employed by Penn State; he witnessed child rape firsthand in 2002, when he was a graduate assistant coach, but did not alert the police." Many feel that there are moral responsibilities to report crimes, even when "it is not our job to do so, or we would fired if we did."<br /><br />5. There are religious cases: We all agree that Catholic Bishops, if they knew of the sexual abuse by priests, should have reported them and should have fired the priests. Although not found legally liable, their dioceses was required to pay millions of dollars to the victims. Juries felt they were morally obligated to do so. COs are not part of a religious group. The are, however, part of a government that - until we know differently - protects the civil rights of its citizens. The mandate is moral.<br /><br />I am neutral in my stance on this, although, I would hope that folks who see evil anywhere, will have the courage to stand against it or to separate themselves from it.<br /><br />If you are responding to 09:19:00 AM, I think he was being sarcastic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-17876403670839540172015-12-23T09:51:21.317-06:002015-12-23T09:51:21.317-06:00The people who don't vote have yielded their p...The people who don't vote have yielded their power to the fascist in this state. The fascist political establishment designed a system where privately held Wallstreet prisons could profit off a cheaply operated prison industrial complex. The private prison model called for warehousing people, paying guards minimum wage with no benefits, ignoring costly inmate medical needs, ignoring inmate mental health needs, and enhancing criminal penalties that target the poor. <br /><br />A revolt is needed against the fascist Republikkkan leadership in Texas. The fascist Republikkkan leadership in the Texas House and Senate need to be replaced in the upcoming November 2016 election. Mass voter registration needs to occur in our cities throughout the state. We can win against the Republikkkan leadership as we just won against the fascist in the Houston's mayor race. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-65935766994036864072015-12-23T09:38:28.502-06:002015-12-23T09:38:28.502-06:00@8:56, they're ordered to lock up thousands in...@8:56, they're ordered to lock up thousands in solitary for 23 hours per day without regards to international human rights conventions, for example. And the 5th Circuit, which isn't a bastion of liberalism, has said that excessively hot prisons <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2015/07/5th-circuit-hot-prisons-may-be-cruel.html" rel="nofollow">can constitute</a> cruel and unusual punishment.<br /><br />If you insist on calling guards "accomplices" for implementing those policies, that's your phrase, not mine. IMO it wouldn't be SO far-fetched except for the fact that, in the case of the heat, the union is backing the prisoners' stance. So, hurrah! If memory serves, ftm, they also criticized excessive use of solitary in the past because of understaffing, but I can't offhand recall when and where - if Lance Lowry reads this, perhaps he can remind me.<br /><br />So, whether "guards" or "correctional officers" (the phrase Lance also insists on), I don't think our bunch in Texas, based on the positions from their institutional spokespeople, necessarily justify the "why did you sit by and watch?" criticism. They're not an inmates' advocacy group, but neither do they uniformly shirk their responsibility to speak up about conditions. Compared to CO unions in most states, they're arguably the most forward thinking bunch I'm aware of in terms of going beyond pay and benefits to focus on shared conditions that affect both guards and inmates.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-53268462390934448872015-12-23T09:30:40.522-06:002015-12-23T09:30:40.522-06:00You seem to imply all "guards" are corru...You seem to imply all "guards" are corrupt and physically abusive, when in fact most "guards" in Texas prisons have never used any type of force against any inmates. Do you really think "guards" want to get physical with an inmate who most likely has AIDS, TB, or hepatitis? You really need to educate yourself about the officer culture and not just go by a few loud mouths on social media. <br /><br />Most TDCJ officers would love to have the level of funding and the staffing ratios that counties such as Denmark or Sweden have. <br /><br />You fail to realize like most inmates, most officers want a day without drama and to do their 8 and hit the gate. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-33955066971519635062015-12-23T09:19:08.792-06:002015-12-23T09:19:08.792-06:00"TDCJ is a political monster which you fail t..."TDCJ is a political monster which you fail to understand is controlled by the elected establishment in Austin and not some government bureaucrats in Huntsville."<br /><br />I agree TDCJ is a monster. We are all puppets. This is a fascist state.<br /><br />I'll vote for Bernie, move to Vermont, and desperately look for viable Texas candidates. There are none so far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88563568726400713202015-12-23T08:56:20.784-06:002015-12-23T08:56:20.784-06:00@ 07:20:00 AM
"The Russian Gulags existed be...@ 07:20:00 AM<br /><br />"The Russian Gulags existed because the political establishment wanted them to exist. The guards in the Russian Gulags only took their orders from the political establishment." <br /><br />So did the Nazis guards by the way: decades later many were prosecuted for murder.<br /><br />Are you implying that Texas guards are ordered to beat and maim and disregard human rights by the Governors and the wardens?<br /><br />If this is true, we do have a conspiracy.<br /><br />If this is true, guards are accomplices.<br /><br />If this is true, I am moving to Sweden or Denmark (but they don't give many visas to Texans there).<br /><br />This conversation is getting more and more bizzarre.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-42577340752455853962015-12-23T08:34:54.391-06:002015-12-23T08:34:54.391-06:00@ 07:20:00 AM
I totally agree: Massive underfundi...@ 07:20:00 AM<br /><br />I totally agree: Massive underfunding, lack of vetting, lack of training, and lack of accountability are NOT the fault of the "guards". We have been saying all along that we need "systemic" changes from top to bottom. What does this have to do with the fact that "some" officers take it upon themselves to be sadistic bastards?<br /><br />What we don't seem to agree on here is that, although it is not the fault of the guards that they are not vetted, trained appropriately, not even properly select in the first place, and not rendered accountable, THEY ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE WHEN THEY PURPOSEFULLY INFLICT PAIN ON HELPLESS INMATES.<br /><br />They did not grow up in a vacuum. They know it's not right to sadistically write on chairs "sewer lives here" (just an example), or that hog tying an inmate and then slamming their head on the concrete when they are helpelssely barely breathing is wrong. That hiding an inhaler until the guy dies is homicide. Are they that dumb?<br /><br />Unless you truly believe that officers are real imbecilles (they are not) you must render them accountable for their egregious DELIBERATE misconduct when egregious disregards for human life happens.<br /><br />There are different issues here. Let me spell it out again.<br /><br />- Issue #1. That we need the reforms you advocate from the top is UNQUESTIONABLE. Thus the symposium (God bless them.) <br /><br />- Issue #2. That reforms must include some sort of better accountability, among many other changes, is UNQUESTIONABLE. <br /><br />- Issue #3. That officers need be rendered accountable when they sadistically beat, maim, taunt..... (we are not going through the list again are we?) is another issue which can stand all on its own.<br /><br />The fact that issue <br />#1 and #2 exist does not invalidate issue number 3. AGREED: they are all related, yet, the third issue can stand on its own as well. <br /><br />Guards are not imbecilles. They did not grow up in a vacuum. Even if they grew up among bullies and in a culture of violence, they know darn well what's right and what's wrong. Slamming an inmates' head on the concrete, after they hogtie him, FUCK!, IS WRONG. Writing "sewer lives her on chairs" IS WRONG. Laughing when a poor soul shits his pants in fear IS WRONG. I am not going to relist the horrible stuff some of them do. <br /><br />Are you telling me that their culture is so SAVAGE that they truly can't understand what civilized behavior is? God help us all.<br /><br />I am starting to believe that you are right. If you are, we are all in deep shit. What does this say about Texas? In Sweden they use the word "Texan" as a derogative adjective when they wish to call someone "an uncivilized brute". Is this who we are in this state? ----- I refuse to believe this.<br /><br />The only reasons that one should NOT be rendered accountable for their illegal actions are DEMENTIA, BEING COMATOSE, OR IMPAIRED to the point of not knowing right from wrong.<br /><br />I am starting to believe that you think officers all poor imbecilles. <br /><br />If their job is too much for them as their training is inadequate, they can quit. Actually, they must quit when their stress levels are so high that they are a danger to themselves and others. Many do. As to what would happen next, it is not their problem. At that point, the legislature will hopefully be motivated to change and to allocate appropriate funding and rules.<br /><br />As to voting for the right person: who on earth would that be? In Texas even Democrats are mild republicans. The symposium brings hope (Thank-you GFB and all involved.) Many are skeptical significant changes will be made. WHY? Because people like you will fight even the simple idea that guards too need to be rendered accountable. The UNIONS will fight tooth and nail to make sure accountability will not happen.<br /><br />Bottom line: different issues, different remedies. Some overlapping issues may require similar remedies. Resistance to change hinders progress. Trolls like me don't understand what's going on but they keep on insisting they do. <br /><br />We can agree to disagree. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27724819042220192062015-12-23T07:20:53.526-06:002015-12-23T07:20:53.526-06:00You still miss the point that the funding and laws...You still miss the point that the funding and laws are set by the Texas Legislature and Governor's Office. <br /><br />You elect the leaders who created this culture you speak of. Any revolution you speak of should occur through the ballot box. <br /><br />The Russian Gulags existed because the political establishment wanted them to exist. The guards in the Russian Gulags only took their orders from the political establishment. <br /><br />Massive underfunding, lack of vetting, lack of training, and lack of accountability are NOT the fault of the "guards", but your elected political leaders who want it his way. It would be better for you to troll about Greg Abbott and David Dewhurst than to waste your breath trolling about the "guards." TDCJ is a political monster which you fail to understand is controlled by the elected establishment in Austin and not some government bureaucrats in Huntsville. If you don't believe me, than just follow the money. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-58484533227652420702015-12-22T22:45:32.903-06:002015-12-22T22:45:32.903-06:00It's not a conspiracy. It's a culture.
A ...It's not a conspiracy. It's a culture. <br />A culture marked by immoral/amoral abuses, silence, and cover ups. <br />Americans are basically morally decent people. <br />In the long run Americans rejected racism, in the long run we may also be able to collectively reject police brutality, gulag-like prison and their immoral cultural characteristics. <br />If this is utopia, we are doomed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-52691780069001014672015-12-22T22:27:00.883-06:002015-12-22T22:27:00.883-06:00@ 06:45:00 PM
You rhetorically ask: "Tomorrow...@ 06:45:00 PM<br />You rhetorically ask: "Tomorrow if all correctional officers in Texas didn't show up for work at the 109 prison units what type of utopia do you seriously think would exist?"<br /><br />Here's my answer: no utopia - we may get a revolution. (This is not a wish, nor it is a threat.) - or may be not: we may get real changes. I don't know. <br /><br />Doing what is morally correct is what I know. If I were a guard, I'd quit if I witnessed and could not report abuses. I quit the most lucrative job of my life when I saw other people getting screwed over.<br /><br />If we got a revolution, it'd get nasty. Revolutions are unpredictable. Heads may be chopped. Blood will be spilled. Storefronts will burn. However, after the guillotine, Liberte' - Egalite' - Fraternite' arose from the graves; after the Boston tea party and several bloody civil wars, we got the Constitution. After civil disobedience and many lynchings, we got (almost) rid of American apartheid. <br /><br />Today we have Ferguson and Baltimore. In Texas, we had Ruiz vs Estelle and the feds supervising. <br /><br />Let's all pray it does not get that far. <br /><br />So, my questions to you are: <br /><br />Do you want a revolution in Texas? Do you want the feds here? Do you want millions of dollars spent on paying for lawsuits? Obviously not. AND NEITHER DO WE. Yet, we need to advocate for morally, legally, and constitutionally based behavior. The alternative is worse than a revolution.<br /><br />You and I seem to have similar objectives. We differ in the way we need to achieve them.<br /><br />Calling me a troll shows you are not getting my point or you are not willing to listen. You wish that I go away. You can't hear me as you are filtering your eyes and ears with your own agenda, which seems to be to protect the guards at all cost. <br />I don't hear you either as I think you believe that guards' accountability will be counter-productive, or that exercising their moral right to quit will cause a disaster. I don't believe that. <br /><br />COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Another thing we have in common.<br /><br />We are talking in circles. Thanks for the exchange, though.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-31147636251133887372015-12-22T21:44:33.768-06:002015-12-22T21:44:33.768-06:0006:45:00 PM
If:
- The statement: "Many corr...06:45:00 PM<br /><br />If: <br />- The statement: "Many correctional officers come from the same neighborhoods and schools most convicts come from." is true, and we know it is. <br /><br />And If:<br /><br />- "Inmates' culture often finds practices such as rape, murder, aggravated assault, and robbery as a socially acceptable." and I believe this to be true also.<br /><br />THEN<br /><br />There are little cultural differences between the inmates and the officers. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT TO BE TRUE, AS THEIR BEHAVIORS ARE SIMILARS. This has been demonstrated by the facts reported by the posts. When someone pointed out that both inmates and some guards are culturally illiterate, somebody protested. When we point out that many guards are plagued by a certain sociopathic attitudes, we are told we are wrong. When we make the point you made we are labeled racist. We finally agree though on one main point: inmates and guards are culturally similar and often they behave in a similar manner.<br /><br />So, let's continue with another syllogism that naturally and logically follows from the one above:<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />IF:<br /><br />we render citizens accountable for breaking the law and we fire them or send them to prison when they do [regardless of the cultural influences you recognize exist]<br /> <br />AND IF:<br /><br />Guards are made of the same stock, but have a duty as custodians and keepers of the penitentiary to ensure the "safe" operation, care, custody, and control of an extremely hostile culture [your words]. <br /><br />THEN<br /><br />When guards don't assure safety, but are guilty of the atrocities listed above, they need to be rendered accountable just as the pals they grew up with are rendered accountable. If that includes being fired or going to prison, that be it, [regardless of the cultural influences you recognize exist].<br /><br />Basically, the world of poverty, illiteracy, abuse, racial strives, gender and race discrimination these folks grew up with, made them similar in their sociopathy, functional illiteracy, and their being prone to violence [this is what I get from your post]. <br />Yet, society makes no excuses when these folks break the law. They are sent to prison (perhaps they should not be, but this is the way it is.) - <br />Guards, police officers, etc. need bo be held accountable BY THE SAME STANDARDS. <br /><br />This is what the whole country is up in arms about. Baltimore, New York, Ferguson<br /><br />I truly do not wish for officers to actually go to prison. I wish for the risk to be there, and then for everybody to make sure that they don't.<br /><br />Disclaimer: ACTUALLY I WISH ALL PRISON WALLS WOULD COME DOWN TO BE REPLACED BY A MORE HUMANE SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTABILITY. This is a notion so far away from any consideration, that is not worthy of discussion as the refrain would be: "We don't live in Norway!" - God help me, don't I know it!<br /><br />Accountability and asking for consequences is not utopia. IT IS THE FOUNDATION UPON OUR LEGAL SYSTEM, IS FOUNDED. This is necessary to maintain order and prevent abuse of citizens, INCLUDING INMATES AND FELLOW OFFICERS.<br /><br />When Texas was under Federal supervision, reforms, then deemed impossible, were made. When there are successful lawsuits, everybody tries harder to get in line. So, this is a possible task. <br />It is only impossible if we make excuses or deflect the subject.<br /><br />---The culture and mentality of guards may not change, but the fear of losing their jobs or being prosecuted, will help them think twice before they decide to hurt inmates.<br /><br />While the guards are not solely responsible for the mess we are in, they must be rendered accountable for what they are indeed responsible. Deflecting the argument by pointing out that other government agencies are also involved, is shifting blame and trying to deny one's responsibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-53856142050730876402015-12-22T18:45:59.874-06:002015-12-22T18:45:59.874-06:00Please take the blinders off and examine the entir...Please take the blinders off and examine the entire picture. Cultures are created by leadership. TDCJ culture has evolved from what the Texas Legislature and the Texas Governor's Office fund. Officers didn't create this system or choose the level of its funding. Many correctional officers come from the same neighborhoods and schools most convicts come from. Many officers eat the same crappy food the inmates eat. Many correctional officers have family members locked up in TDCJ.<br /><br />TDCJ is one of the few criminal justice agencies in Texas where the majority of the officers are minorities and almost 40% of the officers are women. The real question you need to be asking is why does the WHITE MALE DOMINATED DPS get all the criminal justice resources, training, pay, and equipment funding. Does DPS have un air-conditioned patrol cruisers they transport inmates in?<br /><br />Before trolling about TDCJ officers you need to be factual and realize who is really in charge of the prison system. No one disputes bad things have occurred with over 38,000 employees working to keep Texans safe, but when you attempt to make this out to be a mass conspiracy between everyone employed in the system, you will not find much sympathy. Good officers have lost their life while making sure inmates get what they are constitutionally required to have. Society has little respect for the custodians and keepers of the penitentiary who are there to ensure the safe operation, care, custody, and control of an extremely hostile culture. <br /><br />You need to remember inmate cultures often finds practices such as rape, murder, aggravated assault, and robbery as a socially acceptable. This doesn't mean every inmate in prison supports this type of behavior. <br /><br />Tomorrow if all correctional officers in Texas didn't show up for work at the 109 prison units what type of utopia do you seriously think would exist? Most inmates and their families would be begging for officers to come back once they saw the fallout from the hellish culture. Lets not push to open up the gates of hell to find out how bad prison life could really get without officers. If you really care to make prisons better the key is to properly fund the institution, increase hiring standards, and increase resources for staff development. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-84435466063800167752015-12-22T16:43:54.234-06:002015-12-22T16:43:54.234-06:00I like this from anon a while back.
"Fwiw. W...I like this from anon a while back.<br /><br />"Fwiw. When your employer knowingly creates and supports policies and rules designed to inflict physical harm and mental anguish on those you are charged with guarding against harm and escape, you have the moral right to quit. When the criminal scheme has the same exact effects on the employees, you have the moral right to quit in mass. When your employer's egregious criminal actions cause a client, (or inmate) to fall ill and die (become paralyzed or brain dead, it's too damn late in the game to quit. Now, you and those which you conspired with are deemed criminals along with your employer."<br /><br />Thinking of the Nazis who blindly followed orders. <br />Many have already said it: there are no good guards. They are all accomplices of a criminal entreprise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19041182033042876512015-12-22T16:33:46.794-06:002015-12-22T16:33:46.794-06:00PS. Where do they learn this stuff? It takes a lot...PS. Where do they learn this stuff? It takes a lot of creative thinking to be this perverted. The Academy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-50256379815223569022015-12-22T16:29:07.164-06:002015-12-22T16:29:07.164-06:00Reposting: The guards who commit several other atr...Reposting: The guards who commit several other atrocieties are very likely guilty of also taking pleasure in depriving inmates of their sleep. I got two emails from folks who know who I am and saw my posts on GFB - These folks were on the inside and verified it happened to them. I believe them.<br /><br />Bad FOOD, NO SLEEP, NO MEDS, BEATINGS, HARASSMENT, RETALIATION, BOGUS CASES. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? This is beyond sick.<br /><br />This is still me: Dallas, using foul language. Well, it felt good. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-29467819977948388922015-12-22T16:20:31.539-06:002015-12-22T16:20:31.539-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1754175116678119342015-12-22T14:34:55.757-06:002015-12-22T14:34:55.757-06:00They may respond by "freezing": emotiona...They may respond by "freezing": emotionally numb, terrified even if they do not realize it or show it, in state of prolongued stress, they develop PTSD, anaedonia, psychosis, paranoia, anger issues; other mentally debilitating forces creep slowly in. When an inmate is released, s/he can't figure out why they can't sleep, they can't work, communicate, and never feel whole again. <br /><br />Some survive psychologically, most don't. They may resort or go back to alcohol and drugs to cope. Recidivism is high. Families and friends may become angry at the returning inmate who should be happy to be free.<br /><br />What also creeps in is "learned helplessness". You are so used to the idea that you can't control anything in your envirnment, not even your sleep, that you become covertly convinced that you are totally helpless. One becomes emotionally and physically paralized. Many are unable to perform basic skills like cooking, bathing, paying bills. They may strike out in anger, for nothing. Their families don't understand why the have become "so lazy" and neither do their probabion officers. Many mental health professionals are equally clueless.<br /><br />I am not sure TDCJ allows sleep-deprivation on purpose, although the way they operate clearly shows their disregard of this serious health issue and create an impossible to emotionally survive environment.<br /><br />If one considers that this is where we house the mentally ill, one cas clearly undestand the magnitude of this problems which is hardly ever addressed.<br /><br />Again, thank-you for bringing it up.<br /><br />BAD FOOD, DANGEROUS HEAT LEVELS, BAD WATER, SLEEP DEPRIVATION, LACK OF MEDICAL CARE. Too many civil rights violations that amount to cruel and unusual punishment in my book.<br /><br />If you want to read a good article describing how and why sleep deprivation is form of torture, go here:<br />https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dreaming-in-the-digital-age/201412/why-sleep-deprivation-is-torture<br /><br />Here's an excerpt:<br /><br />" ... In fact, prolonged sleep deprivation is an especially insidious form of torture because it attacks the deep biological functions at the core of a person’s mental and physical health. It is less overtly violent than cutting off someone’s finger, but it can be far more damaging and painful if pushed to extremes.<br /><br />Why is this? Start with the fact that sleep is a basic biological necessity for all humans, indeed for all creatures on the planet. There is some natural variability and flexibility in the sleep cycle, hence people can go 24 or more hours without sleep in the right circumstances, without any lasting harm other than additional “rebound” sleep the next time they are able to sleep normally. However, if a person is deprived of sleep for longer than that, several mental and physical problems begin to develop. <br /><br />The first signs of sleep deprivation are unpleasant feelings of fatigue, irritability, and difficulties concentrating. Then come problems with reading and speaking clearly, poor judgment, lower body temperature, and a considerable increase in appetite. If the deprivation continues, the worsening effects include disorientation, visual misperceptions, apathy, severe lethargy, and social withdrawal. <br /><br />For ethical reasons, professional researchers have never pushed the deprivation process beyond this point with human subjects. Researchers have used animals for more extreme experiments, and the inevitable result is that prolonged sleep deprivation will eventually kill a creature. Various behavioral impairments accumulate along the way as the deprivation continues, but if the experiment is pushed far enough the final result is always a widespread physiological failure leading to death. The cumulative effects of sleep deprivation go beyond the loss of this or that specific function to a precipitous, ultimately fatal decline in all functions."<br /><br />I hope to have adequately responded to your question.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-75921930666015410512015-12-22T14:28:09.524-06:002015-12-22T14:28:09.524-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-13485233238525265982015-12-22T14:23:50.124-06:002015-12-22T14:23:50.124-06:00@ 12:50:00 PM - Thank-you for bringing sleep depri...@ 12:50:00 PM - Thank-you for bringing sleep deprivation to our attention. It is a very important topic as it has anenormously dangerous effect on the mental and physical health of prisoners. It has not come to my attention that sleeep deprivation is purposely inflicted on inmates. If it is, please, speak up. Regardless, it is an enormous problem which I could discuss at length. <br /><br />To keep it simple, this is what I know. <br /><br />In most units:<br /><br />1. Breakfast is served at 3: 30 AM. To get to breakfats inmates must get up at 3:00 am as there is a line. Many don't go. The prison saves money on meals.<br /><br />2. Pill window times vary. Most are around 4:30 AM. Some are in the afternoon. If you are trying to take a nap, it's better if you don't because if you can't wake up, they'll take the medicines away. Chose: A. sleep and miss pill window, or B. go to pill w. and do not sleep.<br /><br />3. Lunch is served around 11:00 AM. If you went to breakfast, you may miss it if you sleep. Nobody wakes you up for chow or pill window.<br /><br />4. Dinner is around 4:00 PM. If you try to go to sleep, you will awaken again, and again (see below).<br /><br />5. Inmates are woken up to allow "count" at least 3x a day. If you are asleep, you must wake up to be counted.<br /><br />6. During the day and night noise-levels are extremely high: <br />- metal doors that slam every other minute <br />- inmates and gaurds talking loudly <br />- some inmates scream in physical or psychological pain<br />- you hear and will always remember the noise made by the metal keys carried by guards. If you have been abused by guards, the noise of an approaching guard can be terrifying.<br /><br />7. Drama (exctractions, use of force, disciplinary interventions, etc) is ongoing. You can't sleep when you are on high alert. When these episodes are over, you can't sleep because of the adrenal rush, the anger, the fear, the fantasizing about retaliation and the general psychological arousal keep you awake.<br /><br />8. If one is not awaken by the count downs, cell inspections where they put your cell and all your items in disarray, can wake you up at any time, day or night. After that you can't sleep.<br /><br />9. Lights on: during the day the lights are on. One can't sleep.<br /><br />10.You'd think inmates have all the time in the world to sleep, but they can't do so for a healthy, prolongued period of time because of what I have described above.<br /><br />If you do the math, you will see that, even under ideal conditions, most inmates will be sleep deprived. After a few days, weeks or months, many go psychotic, lethargic, or become angry and violent. When they do, they are severely punished. Continues in my next post.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18112572984675796833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-30402436053650147922015-12-22T13:04:24.585-06:002015-12-22T13:04:24.585-06:00Doses of Salt Peter and nightly sleep deprivation ...Doses of Salt Peter and nightly sleep deprivation is initiated and conducted in the city & county jails. They must share the same Vendor(s) and attend the same training classes in order to mirror one another. Cruel and Unusual punishment used to be illegal, how times have changed. Maybe Dallas knows what's what. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com