Message from Inside: Death Trap
Here are two reports from an inside member of Matir Asurim shared with permission.
"A DEATH TRAP"
By Ronald W. Clark Jr.
According to the U.S. surgeon general, social isolation can have the same effect on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. They went on to say that Loneliness can have a number of health consequences, such as higher risk of developing depression, dementia or heart disease, and it can cause the body to age faster. This was taken from the October 8, 2024 USA Today Newspaper.
When you combine those findings, with that of the scientific consensus on solitary confinement in Williams v. Secretary PDOC, 846 F.3d 549 (3rd Dist. Court of Appeal 2017) -- Where the Courts confirm that the scientific research on the effects of solitary confinement, which was combined with the U.S. Supreme Court's analysis in Wilkinson, and the Court's findings in Shoats, that all individuals dealing with solitary confinement, will suffer with difficulties in thinking, concentration, obsessional thinking, agitation, irritability, anxiety, panic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia, claustrophobia, and suicidal ideations. Those unequivocal scientific findings show that our Government is acknowledging that these cages are a death trap! For it destroys the mind and body!
It's the only conclusion that can be reached : "Solitary Confinement and the isolation that comes with it, is nothing more than a death trap!" And yet our attorneys who are patting themselves on the back for this settlement agreement in Davis v Dixon Case No.3:17-cv-820MMH-PDB, where the relief was bare minimum, with 15 hours a week of day room and a maximum of 20 hours. So we get this 3 hour break a day, and then have to sit here and struggle with this cage for the next 21 hours.
These attorneys never came and spoke with the majority of us back here. And I spoke with over half of the original 8 plaintiffs, who told me that they didn't want to sign off on this settlement agreement. Counsel manipulated these men into a settlement that they weren't comfortable with. But when you're suffering mental side effects such as those listed above, you can't be held responsible for making a bad decision. It's proven that your mentally messed up! And you've got counsel whispering in their ear, "if we go to trial you may lose!"
Had I been counsel,
I would have spoken to all 200 plus plaintiffs back here.
I would have had in this suit, the true threats such as the contaminated water, the mold, the heat, the unconstitutional strip cells, not getting drug treatment for those men who are suffering from addiction and dying of overdoses for starter's. and
I would have had the State Attorneys and Judge Marcia Morales Howard come in on a Saturday and Sunday and walk through speaking with the plaintiffs as their visiting their families and friends.
That in and of itself would have killed this exaggerated hype of a death row inmate being extremely dangerous. In fact, that would have resulted in the state settling this suit showing no penological justification for full restrains and 24 hour a day lock down. The Judge would have closed this building due to the "MOLD" alone. We then could have argued for the population that death row in Pennsylvania got, in Williams Supra.
The State could have easily transformed Florida State Prison back into population, that would have given us access to an inside gymnasium, chapel for religious services, and jobs within the building. It would have been less expensive transforming FSP into population, than sinking hundreds of thousands of dollar's into this mold infested building that's on the path to being condemned. Our attorneys failed us! They sold us out! And they took the easy way out.
They wont even do an onsite compliance inspection which is addressed on pages 9 -11 in paragraph 51-56 of this bogus settlement agreement that they negotiated. It allows them 4 onsite compliance inspections a year. We've had day room two years. Not once have they come back here to see how this is working. And there's been breach after breach after breach! Unequivocal evidence that these attorneys who are praising themselves, Sold us out!!
They as an officer of the Court wont even correct the unequivocal perjured Declaration of the Deputy Director of Institutional Operations for the FDOC Mr. Carl Wesley Kirkland Jr. who's stating Under Oath that all plaintiffs are being offered at least three hours of day room each business day. We have FDOC documents, camera's, and Florida National Guardsmen who support's that that declaration is a lie! And our attorneys have known this for over a year!
Just more evidence supporting the fact that they've sold us out! So we sit here in this death trap of a cage while these attorneys pour praise upon themselves for a job, that I just showed was anything but praise worthy! We need some help! Help that we are not getting from assigned counsel. I don't want to be doing this, and shouldn't have to do this! But no thanks to these attorneys who have us still suffering mental anguish in this death trap, I have no other choice.
This suit should be rescinded based on these breaches, and the fact that the original 8 plaintiffs signed an agreement under mental duress and was manipulated by counsel who is clearly working in the best interest of the state. Which is seen in their failure to address the perjured declaration, and not doing onsite compliance inspections allowing the breaches to go unchecked. It is what it is! Actions, or the in actions in this case of counsel, speaks louder than word's!
Regretfully Submitted Ronald W. Clark Jr. 10/10/24
"THE HORRIFIC CONDITIONS OF FLORIDA'S DEATH ROW "
The conditions of Florida's Death Row housing unit called P- dorm, is unhealthy, unconstitutional and down right dangerous to not only the 200 plus men housed there, but to the attorney's, visitor's, officer's, medical staff, vendor's and Florida National Guardsmen who are working 12 to 16 hour's in this mold infested cesspool.
MOLD
Not only are the 200 plus men and staff breathing in mold spores, that are breeding throughout this building, but there also forced to breathe in some type of gases that coming into the living quarters through the drainage system in the hallway. This has been an ongoing problem for several years now. Its not a daily occurrence, it happens randomly. And mostly in the late PM and early AM hours. The odor is so strong that it'll wake the men up, that's living back there, and they'll suffer from a headache.
BLACK OILY SUBSTANCE
On top of this, you have a black oily substance that's coming out in the water. This has been happening for over 25 years. This black oily, greasy substance can be seen in your drinking cup after weeks of use, or sometimes even days. Some guys like myself form a homemade filter that will catch the dark substance.
CANCER
Now understand this, there's a high cancer rate among the men on death row. Is this water the culprit? That's the real concern over the black oily substance that's in our drinking water.
RAW SEWAGE: CURRENT AND HISTORY
And if you don't think those three issues top it all, we've got to worry about raw sewage spilling out of our toilet's, sometimes exploding out of the toilet, all over the floor. The 168 cells located on the first floor, doesn't have back up valves. So the man in the cell above you, may flush his toilet, if there's any obstruction in the pipes, whatever is flushed, urine, feces, semen, blood will come through the pipe, up through your toilet spilling out into your cell, and getting into your locker, that sits directly on the floor.
This has been an ongoing issue since this building was constructed back in the early 90's, and the men were moved in, in 1992 which temporarily halted the move due to the overflowing toilets.
On Thursday December 20, 2018 at approx 4:00 am I was laying on my bunk writing an email, when raw sewage gushed up out of my toilet all over the floor. Each time the man above me, as well as next to me, flushed more urine and turds spilled into my floor. This was "highly documented," not only in my email, but the email' of my girlfriend at the time, who sent emails to the Warden, and other administrators while this was taking place, they would show up four hours later to witness some of it.
The flooding had taken place for hours! And that's no exaggeration. I had notified the floor Sgt immediately. At approx 5:30 they attempted to serve me breakfast, now there's human feces that stinks worse than a sewage plant!! All over my floor, and going out into the hall. There's part of a turd laying on the toilet seat. I refused the breakfast tray.
At around 7 am I finally got a mop and mop bucket put in my cell, and was cleaning this up, while the mop bucket was being dumped the second or third time, I was standing there talking to a co and the Sgt, when the toilet began gushing again.
Within an hour the Col Major and Warden was there, they gave the order, for me to be moved to another cell. In 2019 my current wife contacted the Senators about several toilets that were flooding on 6 wing. There was sewage all up and down the hall. Feces out on the catwalk with toilet paper that remained there for weeks.
On top of this, the construction of this building was done cutting corner's, where there's gaps between the back wall and floor on every first floor cell, the sewage over the years, has spilled into those gaps, some of which have been filled in with some type of grout, but the mold from that spilled sewage, remains growing due to the dampness under the building. And that mold has gotten into area's around the bottom of the rear wall, that was then painted over. That mold is continuing to grow under the paint, just as it is doing in the shower's.
RECENT GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Our Colonel just made a round Friday Sept 27,2024 at 9:00 am and was asking why the black stuff on the shower walls hasn't been scrubbed off? The officer came down and asked me. I told him, its not on the wall, its in the wall under the paint. We have mold under layer upon layer of paint, because instead of doing the right thing from the very beginning, and cleaning the mold off, the administration elected to paint over the top of the mold, to hide it from the American Correctional Association Auditors. Now the only way to remove it, would be sandblasting the 24 shower's located throughout this building. But even that is not going to do anything about the mold in the vents, back walls of the cells, and other locations in the building. This building is doomed!
Just as R-dorm which has been sitting vacant here at UCI for the past 8 years awaiting legislative funding for demolition as a result of mold, P-dorm is on the same path.
OSHA and other government agencies should be looking at the detrimental working and living conditions here in this building. The FDOC has ignored these problems, and just as of last week they began a project of sinking another $100,000 into this building that hopefully will be sitting empty in 2025.
For one thing is certain we are about to file a conditions suit on these issues and other's dealing with the unconstitutionality of these and other horrific conditions. Issues that should have been raised in the 2017 suit, that turned out to be anything but a success! For had it been a success, these and other issue's would have been dealt with instead of swept a side by our counsel, who should have amended this complaint in 2020 rather than settling it. But they were looking for an easy way out, rather than fixing the problem. Welcome to my world!
Regretfully Submitted Ronald W. Clark Jr. #812974 September 29, 2024
Moldy wall, not specific to FL DOC. photo: MabelAmber via Pixabay.