Corizon at ASPC-Tucson/Rincon ICU: patients, staff infested with parasites

I find the institutional neglect of the elderly, non-verbal, and dying especially heinous. It's no wonder that Corizon and the DOC decided to cut corners with the prisoners who are least likely to be able to fight back. My deepest gratitude to the health care professional who had the courage to report all this to the public that is paying for it - and to all the folks still  working for Corizon who are delivering the best care they can under the worst of conditions. At least the prisoners know who the good guys among you are.

I'll post Director Ryan's answer when it comes.

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Arizona Prisonwatch

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CORIZON's deliberate indifference: parasitic infestation of the elderly, sick and dying at Tucson/Rincon ICU.. 1 message

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Arizona Prisonwatch                Tue, Apr 29, 2014  7:43 PM
To: CHARLES RYAN   Cc: "chcampbell@azleg.gov" , atovar@azleg.gov, Governor Brewer , "abiggs@azleg.gov" , "dgowan@azleg.gov" , Daniel Pochoda , Caroline Isaacs , Peri Jude Radecic , Richard Pratt , Donna Leone Hamm
Charles Ryan, Director Arizona Department of Corrections 1601 W. Jefferson St Phoenix, AZ 85007 April 29, 2014 Director Ryan: I'm writing with grave concern about the welfare of both the patients and medical staff of ASPC-Tucson/Rincon's Intensive Care Unit. I've heard complaints from a former Corizon employee that there's a serious, ongoing outbreak of blood sucking parasites (scabies) among both the patients and employees there needing immediate intervention. The public health department wont take any action, but I do expect you to. Apparently the physician in charge is in deep denial about this infestation, and is thus refusing to properly treat the sick and dying people who have been infected with scabies. At least 7 Corizon employees have been infected by scabies as well, but have been denied time off to treat their own conditions because there are no other staff to cover their shifts. Thus, they risk spreading the parasites to other patients, many of whom are elderly or have compromised immune systems already - which is why this outbreak is an urgent matter to attend to, whether or not there are any prisoner grievances. Patients who are too far gone may not even know that they've been infested with these parasites to file a complaint - they just lie there and suffer. That's not all that's going in in that unit, though. The DOC is complicit in the neglect by ignoring staffing needs in the ICU - my source tells me she worries that some of the sick and dying may not even be getting fed regularly or having their soiled sheets changed enough because the place is so drastically understaffed. Many of those patients who need help eating and toileting don't have the voice to complain or the coherence to know they missed lunch or wet the bed. You have a special duty to look out for them when you hear that the people you hired to do so are not. The former employee I spoke to also alleges that at least one prisoner has died recently due to negligence on Corizon's part, a death which was reported as being from "natural causes". Thus, each one of those ICU patients should have a through medical evaluation done by someone not affiliated with Corizon to prevent another wrongful death. And really, all the health units with seriously disabled and non-verbal patients should have extra oversight from the DOC. The worst abuses always happen to those who can be expected to remain silent. On other yards I know that Corizon abruptly stopped pain medication regardless of how severe the patients condition was, and only transitioned those prisoners to alternative meds for relief if they fought for it, which few prisoners know how to even do. Unfortunately, the demented and brain-injured patients you imprison who will never be able to advocate for themselves effectively or "exhaust administrative remedies" so they can sue you all, making them easy prey for profiteers like Corizon. Those people just  look for the most vulnerable and ignored population to cut their corners with. That's where you need to be looking, too. From what my source has told me about the overall situation in Rincon's ICU, patient records and staff logs should be immediately seized and inspected so they can't be tampered with, while interviews are conducted with staff about evidence of criminal wrongdoing in regards to those patients by Corizon. I frankly think what Corizon is doing amounts to stealing resources from both the patients and the state, and defrauding us all by not delivering what they have been paid for and have promised.  The consequences of such a violation of that contract has no doubt been deadly to more than one of their imprisoned patients. Please assure me that you will send a health care team into Rincon ICU immediately to deal with this situation and evaluate those patients and their records, and make sure that all receive the necessary treatment for their ailments, be it scabies, Alzheimers, or cancer. If your DOC employee monitoring Corizon at Rincon was doing their job thus far, you wouldn't be getting this letter from me, so I wouldn't count on them to do the job right now - they would just have incentive to downplay everything so they don't look like a fool. Please evaluate whether your Corizon contract monitoring staff are just oblivious, deliberately indifferent, or actually complicit in hiding Corizon's crimes against the people of this state. I'll have public records requests pertinent to this email in to your legal department by the morning. I'll also pass your contact information on to the former Corizon employee I spoke to, who may be willing to speak to DOC investigators if you plan to take this seriously. Just let me know who she should contact. Sincerely, Margaret Plews -- Margaret J. Plews, Editor Arizona Prison Watch P.O. Box 20494 Phoenix, AZ 85036 480-580-6807 "Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness, and our ability to tell our own stories..."  - Arundhati Roy Arizona Prison Watch arizonaprisonwatch.org Survivors of Prison Violence - AZ azprisonsurvivors.blogspot.com Jailhouse Lawyers' Auxiliary Guild - AZ jailhouselawauxiliaryaz.blogspot.com

ASPC-Lewis/Bachman Homicide in Custody: Alexander Clark, 27.

This comes from the Facebook page tonight of KPNX/CH12 Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran. This is really, really troubling to see. If there's anyone with direct information about Alexander Clark or what happened to him, please contact Peggy at arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com or 480-580-6807.

This occurred on a Protective Custody yard, which this prisoner had recently arrived at (1/14/14), almost one year after receiving an internal disciplinary ticket for "sexual contact"- which is probably what forced him into PC in the first place.  That's all I've really been able to discern about this incident that hasn't already been posted, in any case. 

Condolences to this young man's family; please also feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.
                         

 ------per Wendy Halloran (KPNX/CH12) as of 03/18/14 11pm---

re: 03/17/14 homicide at ASPC-LEWIS/Bachman Unit

Fight between 12 Mexican American inmates at ASPC-Lewis in Buckeye leads to homicide of inmate Alexander Clark. Here's some inside information. The Arizona Department of Corrections reports the following incident on 03/17/2014 – 2059 Hours  

In the report's summary it read: 

On 03/17/2014, staff initiated ICS (incident command system) when they observed approximately 12 Mexican American inmates fighting on the red recreation field. 

• Verbal directives and officer presence in the area stopped the fight. 

• TSU (tactical support unit) team members who were working at the Stiner unit responded to help control the incident. 

• Alexander Clark 208882 Mex. Amer., age 27, was transported via ambulance to West Valley Hospital in Goodyear for treatment of multiple puncture-type injuries. 

• Per the hospital doctor, Clark was pronounced deceased at 1940 hours. 

• Staff members from the CIU (criminal investigation unit) are on-site at the unit. 

• Clark's next-of-kin were notified. 

• Ibraham Badri 208275 Mex. Amer., age 25, and Victor Irvin 260996 Mex. Amer., age 26, were also transported to the hospital for precautionary evaluation of head trauma

Deceased was identified as: 

Alexander Clark 208882

Custody: Medium PC

Institutional Risk: 4
Earned Release Date: 03/07/2016
Sentence Begin Date: 12/01/2005

Offense: Armed Robbery / Kidnapping / Aggravated Assault

ASPC-Florence Deaths in Custody: Marcelo Gonzalez, 25.

While Florence was still reeling from the rape and stabbing of a teacher at ASPC-Eyman late last week, another tragedy went down on Sunday, when this happened. My condolences to the family of the Marcelo Gonzalez - this must be heartbreaking. And the family of Jonathan Williams must be distraught as well, albeit grateful that he's the one who survived.

I've received hundreds of letters from prisoners in the past year about the esclaating level of violence on the yards. Even being housed in a single cell in maximum security isn't safe: if you're a target for assault, the other guys will throw hot oil, feces-tipped darts, urine, and other things at you as you're being escorted past their cells on the way to the phone, or the shower, or rec - causing some guys to just stay in their cells 24/7. Guards have all sorts of protective gear to prevent injury, but prisoners in chains generally don't.

Staying holed up doesn't always assure one's safety, though, as the guards sometimes "accidentally" pop the cell doors to let people get assaulted. In fact, I've heard from prisoners across the system that it's also not uncommon for officers to turn the other way when they know a hit is about to go down - or just take a bit longer than necessary getting there to intervene. That seems to be especially the case if the prisoner has been charged with assaulting an officer at any time along the way (the guy who survived this fight was apparently just charged with assaulting staff in October). 

I dont know how someone had the time and ability - perhaps tools - to cut through that fence and be prepared with a weapon to attack the other party, who only the guards should have known would be placed there next to him, without there being officer complicity...I've seen some guys get hurt pretty seriously by the DOC staff getting their revenge.  Though I guess it's possible that this maximum security facility in the center of prison valley would be so lax that it wouldn't take that much for one prisoner to bust through the fence keeping him contained with his bare hands.

It's also interesting that Jonathan Williams (search 222798) is Black and the other guy (search 204980) was Mexican American - usually the races take care of their own, so to speak. There are serious implications if you attack someone of another race - especially if you kill them - without the gang's or yard leader's permission - you could start a race riot that way.  

But that's really just on the lower security yards where prisoners are in dorms or share large common areas and times, like dining and recreation. It's harder to "run" a maximum security yard because everyone is in lockdown, communication and movement is restricted, staff have more control than on the lower custody yards, and so on. Florence Central is max lockdown - they subsist on no meaningful stimulation or programs and a "sedentary diet" that seems to consist mostly of sack lunches eaten alone in their cells. So a cross-racial hit like that to settle a personal grievance or one the assailant's gang or race had with the target isn't out of the question - it's just usually that the whites kill the whites and so on.

Anyway, its really hard to tell what happened here beyond what the DOC has to say (which is generally a whitewash, people). If anyone out there has first hand info on this incident, please contact me. Peggy Plews / 480-580-6807 / arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com.

If your loved one is trying to get protective custody because they are in particular danger, by the way, access these links, and contact me.

AZ DOC Protective Custody Battles: Surviving the fight. (August 29, 2013)

AZ DOC's Protective Custody fight: tend to both body and soul. (April 12, 2013)

If you are about to enter prison and are freaking out, hit this link, then contact me.

Incarceration is Violence: snapshots from ASPC-EYMAN/Meadows.

I recently took AZ DOC Director Chuck Ryan to task about sending the sex offenders to Red Rock to decrease the over-crowding on those units before the other medium security yards where race riots are breaking out, simply because I so seldom hear about violence coming out of places like ASPC-EYMAN/Meadows. I also accused him of making a big deal of "routine" staff assaults of late in order to justify continuing to build his totally unnecessary $50 million Supermax prison at Lewis complex. I stand corrected, now, sorry to say, in light of what has recently happened. Besides, no assault is "routine" to the person who is the victim of one. I know, having survived quite a bit of violence in my life myself.

I've been hearing from employees and former employees of the AZ DOC in the wake of the sexual assault of a teacher on the Meadows unit at ASPC-Eyman this week- they are livid. There's some contention over what "fully-staffed" means. Some officers seem to feel as if not only is Meadows under-staffed, this teacher never should have ended up alone in a room with these particular prisoners. Meadows is the unit designated for housing about 1100 medium security sex offenders, about 330 of whom appear to be in "temporary" beds. That means the yard is a bit full. 

The opening of Red Rock didn't help relieve pressure on staff and prisoners at Meadows much, unfortunately, though I don't know how directly that would have impacted this situation with the teacher's assault. It appears they moved prisoners from Cook to Red Rock first, as that was the most over-crowded yard. Meadows should be next, I would think.

In any case, my apoligies if I have seemed to minimize staff assaults. No one's safety in prison is more or less important than another's by virtue of whether they wear orange, brown, or civies. The assault rate on staff appears to have been decreasing at the same time it's actually increasing among prisoners, nevertheless the staff are still so upset about the way the DOC has failed to address their safety concerns that one of the officers' unions, the Arizona Corrections Association, has dragged Judicial Watch into it - they're demanding records for an investigation. 

What I hear most from the sex offender yards, actually, is not how vicious the other prisoners are or how violent the gangs are (they really don't seem to run the SO yards), but how cruel some of the officers are.  Here's an excerpt from a man who was homeless, mentally ill, and an easy target for police when arrested and prosecuted for the rape and murder of an 88-year old woman over a decade ago. Even the Arizona Justice Project tried to get the DNA evidence re-examined because they believe he was wrongfully-convicted, for some reason the judge wouldn't allow it. 

" i have been There hrassed and ThreaTed by STaff and inmaTes asaltied  by STaff and ThreaTing black and blue marks on my arm For 30 Days and  For whaT because I senT in a inmaTe LeTTer or a grievance on STaff or  a inmaTe. No Help with it. My Cell maTe Said noT to Say any Thing  abouT. Time I am mad and and write a inmaTe Letter or grievance about  it All it dose is geT STaff mad a you and Then Tell everyone To Harass you They mess up your mail or your indigent or HNRS inmate LeTTers They are LosT or ? you donT geT your RefiLL meds. your Food is mess with They spit in it or mess it up They put some Thing in you Food. mae Time I did NoT EAT because of it. you donT get yourr maiL They Throw it somewhere and maybe if some one funds it you met get it Back. your maiL, or your mail is being given To a inmaTe ? He dans whaT He want with it He reads your maiL and Throws it away. ? or when They Take you To The Shower. They go in your Cell and Take Things or brake Things of yours your T.V. your Radio.... 

I wanT no more of This I wanT Peace. To be in Peace. I am Sorry. I want to go home. or. I want to go home soon I Pray I go home, I am innocent of this crime. Look at it. "


So here sits this possibly innocent man in prison, and yet most Americans would look at his crime, and say "good riddance" in response to his grievances - and the officers perpetrating this garbage on him know it. That kind of relentless abuse meted out to certain prisoners by guards who think they deserve torture on top of imprisonment isn't uncommon, nor is it limited to the sex offenders. 

Never mind that an estimated 8-15% of  convicted sex offenders, in one DNA-based exoneration study, may well be innocent. We too often presume that the "truth" comes out in the prosecution process and no one is in prison unless they're definitely guilty. Not that the possibility we are punishing "the innocent" in prison too harshly should be the only reason not to torture prisoners in America - torture should be banned regardless of the status of one's guilt or inocence.

Some officers I hear about over and over again are exacting their own kind of justice from prisoners, only it seems their abuse can never be "substantiated" when formal complaints are made, so they remain in positions of power - some even get promoted. I believe the heirarchy in those places encourages brutality by consistently failing to substantiate it. They know they can get away with hurting those guys, too, as there will be no public outcry in their defense.

As another example, last April the Meadows' Tactical Support Unit was called on to do a shakedown (thorough search for contraband) of the unit, during which several of the prisoners allege that that the TSU officers pushed them around aggressively and used racial epithets. Several prisoners from that yard also reported that a deaf prisoner was beaten by guards because he couldn't hear the orders being barked at him and respond fast enough. According to one witness, when the officers took him to medical to treat him for the injuries they inflicted on him, the nurse naturally asked what happened. "He fell," the TSU officers laughed.  Of course, in their own  incident reports - amended after the prisoners complained - the guards assert that they used the "least amount of force necessary to gain compliance" from the deaf guy, and mention nothing about him going to medical. The DOC asserts every one of their officers conducted themselves professionally. That kind of unjust treatment of prisoners can cause serious resentment and thus endangers all staff, ultimately.

Meadows was also recently the subject of concern about how the prisoners' mental health needs are being attended to - they were essentially rounded up, chained like animals, and taken to a mass video-psych eval this fall, which sounds like its a coomon practice, actually.  I often hear complaints from there about poor health care access as well.

In any case, my thoughts and healing wishes do go out to this teacher who was so brutally assaulted, and to the rest of the staff and prisoners at the DOC who have been victims of violence behind bars. If we counted the crimes perpetrated against people in prison with the community's statistics, the crime rates of those communities would be much higher and we might have to address them differently - like redistribute victim assistance resources, among other things. In fact, if crime against people in prison was reported as such, the USA would have the highest male-on-male rate of rape in the world. Think about that as you contemplate how necessary prisons are to contain and rehabilitate young drug offenders, check bouncers, or people who smuggled themselves into the country to find a decent job and support their family, for example. 

Bottom line is that prisons are heteropatriarchal, misogynistic institutions run entirely on violence and the threat of it. Prisons are designed to inflict harm on people's minds and lives without leaving a mark on their bodies, hidden in the shadows and margins of our social fabirc so the rest of us can sleep at night, certain that only the purest system of Justice is what lets Freedom ring in America for the rest of us. In truth, the US justice system works only for the privileged few, trials are contests between opposing attorneys, not effective methods of discovering truth, and prisons are essentially horribly dangerous places to both live and work. Those of you who clamor for a new prison in your town may want to reconsider how much these jobs are really the kind you want your children and grandchildren to grow into.  

In light of the above, our judiciary should really reconsider how many more drug addicts, sex workers, and homeless mentally ill people they want to throw into the lion's den. Many will simply be further victimized and traumatized, few will be able to afford to pay to get their GED or pursue other educational options in state prison, only 4% will ever get any kind of substance abuse treatment in there to rehabilitate themselves, and over 40% of prisoners are coming out infected with Hep C, a good many with new addictions to boot.
(See Corrections at a Glance for stats on substance abuse treatment, HEP C, and the reasons people are in prison)

Prison violence escalating: Teacher assaulted in Supermax.

This is really unfortunate and never should have happened. Despite his crime, time, and the recency of his arrival, this guy's score was lower than most of the non-violent gay/trans prisoners and potheads now locked down 23hrs/day in maximum security for Refusing to House on lower level GP yards due to fear of victimization. 

Anyway, if the yard was "fully staffed" that day, why was this teacher left alone with a bunch of sexual predators? Is that the standard policy at Meadows?

Here's what the former Deputy Warden of the Meadows Unit had to say about it (from KPNX/Channel 12News in Phoenix )