Friday, July 31, 2015

Rally Against Brutality and Deaths in Custody - Georgia Capitol


I. 
In-custody brutality and deaths threaten peace in the United States, yet they are becoming the modus operandi of murderous police officers. This is true presumably because they are easier to cover-up. Some media companies are attempting to fill the gap in reporting deaths by police, which the U.S. Justice Department deliberately leaves, but journalists should include deaths that occur soon after arrest in order to get a more accurate total. Increasingly, victims are hauled off to jail before killings, where police cannot be filmed by commuters. Some arrestees, like Freddie Gray and Kelly Thomas, are barely living shortly after their police encounters, and other doomed victims, like Larry Neal and Daniel Linsinbigler, live in custody for a couple of weeks. Many arrestees receive capital punishment in extrajudicial killings without any benefit of trial. In fact, numerous victims die before their first appearance in court. (The paragraphs in this article are labeled I through XXXV to discourage hackers. This article has absolutely NO empty lines. If any empty lines appear, they represent sabotage by hackers, and we will schedule more rallies.)
II.
In addition to jail deaths, America has an extremely high rate of deaths in prisons - 346 in Florida alone in 2014. The United Nations Committee Against Torture addressed the United States' high rate of in-custody deaths after its review last fall. Its findings and recommendations are below.
III.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY 
22) The Committee notes with concern that 958 inmates died while in the custody of local jails during 2012, an 8 percent increase from the 889 deaths in 2010. During the same year, State prison deaths remained stable with 3,351 reported deaths. The Committee is particularly concerned about reports of inmate deaths occurred as a result of extreme heat exposure while imprisoned in unbearably hot and poor ventilated prison facilities in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, Michigan and Texas (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
IV.
The Committee urges the State party to investigate promptly, thoroughly and impartially ALL deaths of detainees, assessing the health care received by inmates as well as any possible liability of prison personnel, and provide, where appropriate, adequate compensation to the families of the victims.
V.
RALLY AT THE GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL, Mondays Throughout August
On August 3, we will hold a rally at the Georgia Capitol from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. against brutality and deaths in custody and bring awareness about a congressional bill, H.R.2646. Notices about the rally were censored. Therefore, each Monday throughout August after August 3, rallies will be held from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Georgia Capitol Building (August 10, 17, 24, and 31). More than half of the victims of violence by police and corrections officers are mentally ill people. Over 60 percent of the prisoners enduring torturous solitary confinement are also mentally challenged. Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill planned the August rallies in commemoration of the "Wrongful Death of Larry Neal" and other victims. August 1 marks the 12th anniversary of Larry Neal's kidnapping and death in Memphis Shelby County Jail, which happened in 2003. We also plan to bring awareness to H.R.2646 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act," a federal bill introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Eddie Denise Johnson (D-TX), which has provisions that should help reduce mass incarceration of persons with serious mental illness.
VI.
There is little to no effort to "investigate promptly, thoroughly and impartially" any deaths of arrestees and U.S. prisoners, and unfortunately, in-custody deaths engender even less accountability by law officers and guards than public shooting and Tasing episodes. Without videos and witness statements by onlookers, the American public usually has only the word of law enforcement and prison officers as to what caused the deaths. Generally, families are told the victims killed themselves or were found in their cells unresponsive. Occasionally, the victims' fellow inmates provide witness statements regarding overuse of force, and some in-custody deaths are ruled homicides by medical examiners. Even then, there is seldom any prosecution.
VII.
Whenever police departments or correctional facilities are perceived by the public as having done inexcusable crimes against humanity, the U.S. Justice Department is pressured to investigate and prosecute. Unfortunately, the Justice Department is itself criminal and has a tendency to conspire with officials who, like any other criminals, are most interested in hiding their crimes and avoiding prosecution and financial liability. Therefore, correctional institutions in the U.S. share similarities to the War on Terror camps where detainees suffered excruciating torture and some died. It is important to note, however, that whereas Guantanamo Bay detainees are/were allegedly terror suspects, most persons in U.S. jails and prisons are American citizens, a great number of whom have never been to trial for the criminal charges associated with their arrests. Such persons have a right to be presumed innocent.
VIII.
Correctional facilities warehouse hundreds of thousands of defendants who are jailed awaiting trial, mostly due to a lack of bail money, as well as convicted persons who plea bargained. Maya Schrenwar, managing editor of "Truthout," advises that the nation should eliminate bails altogether. Being coerced to waive trial and plea bargain is customary for defendants who lack the money for bail and a proper defense. Coercing plea bargains is particularly offensive regarding juveniles and mentally ill defendants. More than half of the nation's prisoners are actually Americans with mental disabilities, roughly 1.25 million inmates, most of whom were denied mental health care or treatment for drug and alcohol addictions until they were accused of crimes.
IX.
The high rate of in-custody deaths, especially among persons who were recently arrested, should alarm all Americans. Law officers can detain anyone up to a few days on mere suspicion without the need to actually file criminal charges. In addition, persons who have actually broken no laws are regularly booked on "resisting arrest" even without any evidence that the persons were initially subject to arrest. It is particularly disturbing when young women like Sandra Bland die in custody after what began as a traffic stop, something that can happen to anyone.
X.
It is apparent that nobody in the indigent or working class has a right to life that is actually protected in the United States, especially not people who are African Americans or mentally ill. Overuse of force incidents that used to target African American men now increasingly demand the lives of African American women and children. Caucasians who were largely exempt from overuse of force incidents and in-custody deaths until recently now seem to have lost their "white skin privilege." Even middle class whites like former college student Cameron Redus are killed by police, and white homemakers like Eileen Dinino inexplicably die immediately after arrest. Police brutality and in-custody deaths threaten everyone and deserve the attention of human rights advocates.
XI. 
One media company that is involved in an effort to fill the gap in reporting the number of deaths by police is The Guardian. I received an email invitation to share information about deaths by police and responded in the nine (9) paragraphs copied below:

XII. 
Response to The Guardian re “The Counted” - People Killed by USA Police
1. Increasingly, police arrest victims before killing them. That happened in 2003 in Memphis, Tennessee to my brother, Larry Neal. Larry was a schizophrenic heart patient who irritated police with his loud singing and panhandling in public places. In mid-July, he was secretly arrested, and police denied having him in custody when Larry's family and social worker made inquiries and completed the missing person report. However, police did nothing to help find the harmless middle aged mental patient, because they knew exactly where he was. After 18 days of secret arrest, Larry died. To this day, Larry's family is denied knowing the circumstances of his death: (a) sudden cessation of heart drugs, (b) restraint chair or table, (c) starvation, or (d) brutality. [Mentally ill inmates were killed by all of these methods in recent years.]
XIII.
2. The Memphis Shelby County Jail and the United States Department of Justice refuse to release the information about this American with mental and physical disabilities, because his "arrest" was actually a kidnapping, and his death was actually a planned euthanasia. In fact, Larry's brother had been told two weeks before Larry's kidnapping that police were "getting tired of fooling with Larry Neal." Larry had suffered numerous arrests in Shelby County Jail for disturbing the peace and other charges related to his severe mental illness, so it is impossible to believe he could not be matched with his fingerprints and the missing person report.
XIV.
3. Increasingly, killings of mentally ill Americans have become the nation's new eugenics program. From the 1930's to the 1970's, African Americans, very poor whites, and the mentally ill of all races underwent enforced sterilization to control their numbers. Today, these same groups are either killed under the color of law or mass incarcerated throughout their childbearing years, which also accomplished eugenicists' intention of population control among those groups.
XV
4. There continues to be a huge cover-up about Larry Neal's kidnapping and murder, because Shelby County Jail was operating under a Settlement Agreement with the USA after lawsuit for inmate abuse. Under the terms of the Agreement, the jail had an obligation to file an inmate fatality report with the feds for anyone who died in custody, but the USDOJ denies having received any information whatsoever related to Larry Neal's fatal arrest. Nevertheless, the USDOJ refused to investigate the cover-up. Years after being informed about Larry's murder, the Justice Department allowed Shelby County Jail to enter records in court hearings regarding its release from federal overview that again omitted Larry's death in custody.
XVI.
5. The hearings happened after the feds had communicated with me extensively about Larry Neal's in-custody death and after having received records of his demise. Therefore, the federal cover-up is definitely intentional. Three main parties are involved in the cover-up: Shelby County Government, the U.S. Justice Department, and The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm, which contracted with the Neals to act as Larry's wrongful death attorneys. The Cochran Firm's responsibility in the conspiracy was to keep Larry's murder out of the media and out of court, which the firm did through defrauding Larry's family as our wrongful death attorneys.
XVII.
6. The success of covering up police murders by first arresting victims has inspired increasing use of this method. Victims are arrested then eliminated after a short period in custody, i.e., Freddie Gray and perhaps Sandra Bland and Chavis Carter, and many others. Arresting people before killing them, as opposed to shooting or Tasing them to death before commuters with cameras, prevents public knowledge and outcry when videos are published, as happened after the killings of Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Kelly Thomas, and many others. Cover-ups regarding in-custody killings are not foolproof, however. Witnesses who were jailed with Daniel Linsinbigler exposed his murder when Clay County Jail officials had falsely told his mother that the teenager was "found unresponsive in his cell." Linsinbigler's death was later ruled a homicide. Darren Rainey's murder by hot shower was also exposed to the media by fellow inmates.
XVIII.
7. Larry Neal's murder cover-up is most pathetic in that the federal government joined the conspiracy to cover-up his kidnapping and death rather than demanding justice. Larry's family has experienced significant surveillance, censorship, and financial persecution for attempting to expose the murder, obtain records, and due process of law.
XIX.
8. Thank you for conducting this survey of police killings. I hope you recognize that your findings will not be complete unless you include persons who were arrested first and killed within hours or weeks after arrest. That is the new modus operandi. For many more killings of mentally challenged Americans, I invite you to our blog, "Dog Justice for Mentally Ill," athttp://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com - More information and evidence is under the “documents” tab at “Wrongful Death of Larry Neal” website athttp://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com/ - If you have questions about any of the deaths by police therein, I will be happy to try to put you in touch with the victims' families. You must be persistent if you call or email me. Both modes of communication are hacked, and police refuse to address the violations against my First Amendment rights. Email MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com
(The Guardian will not publish this news. The media helps the U.S. Government to cover-up certain wrongful deaths by police. Where did you think the missing trillions went?)
XX.
9. Link to my response to The Guardian:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JylrZrpoZ1enXcZpTp-xxBykvx8Wn3XyDA-uz7uyPzU/edit?usp=sharing

XXI.
ENCOURAGEMENT. 
We congratulate journalists and human rights advocates for their interest in making America more "true to what she said on paper" (MLK). Documenting deaths by police is a good place to start. Our principle goal should be to have a nation where everyone's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are honored and protected. Fortunately, many police officers recognize the importance of better police oversight, including Blacks in Law Enforcement of America (BLEA).
XXII.
We are pleased that the largest association of sheriffs, NSA, supports assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs for mentally ill Americans, which provide subsistence assistance and mandated psychiatric treatment. In 2014, the International Association of Chiefs of Police also endorsed AOT programs to promote treatment before tragedies. We congratulate Congress for recently appropriating $15 million to fund AOT programs. AOT is included in H.R.2646 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act." It is encouraging that the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recently issued a letter in support of H.R.2646 The congressional bill has bilateral support in the House but needs greater advocacy by the general public to make it law. Journalists are asked to please give H.R.2646 as much news coverage as other health care bills receive. Treatment can help reduce mass incarceration, and therefore deaths in custody, of mentally ill Americans.
XXIII. 
The U.S. Congress reduced the chances that anyone reading this article will have relatives "disappear" and die in jail without the in-custody deaths being reported, which happened to Larry Neal. The "Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013" became law on December 18, 2014. ("There was a Death in Custody law on the books, but it somehow was allowed to expire in 2006. Why? Who knows?" - NonprofitQuarterly.com)
XXIV
PARTICIPATION. 
Together, we can see that this nation follows the United Nations' recommendation that the government "investigates promptly, thoroughly and impartially ALL deaths of detainees, assessing the health care received by inmates as well as any possible liability of prison personnel, and provide, where appropriate, adequate compensation to the families of the victims." Moreover, we can reduce the number of victims by applying due diligence. If you are able, please join us at the Georgia Capitol rally August 3 during lunchtime to learn more about in-custody brutality and deaths such as my mentally, physically disabled brother experienced.
XXV.
Everyone is invited to enter the fight to eliminate racism, class consciousness, and health discrimination from the legal system. If you are unable to attend, you can still participate by sending photographs and brief information about victims of in-custody brutality and deaths to me by email, preferably on one page. A donation for printing, copying, and distributing the information at the Capitol is needed. See XXVII below, entitled "Your financial assistance "
XXVI.
Local and state governments are encouraged to participate in reducing police brutality before and after arrests by ensuring that respect for citizens' rights and ethics are taught in police academies and enforced through prosecution of offending officers. Cover-ups only encourage more in-custody brutality and deaths. Local governments should also offer crisis intervention team (CIT) training to police and corrections officers. More funds should be allocated for AOT programs for persons with serious mental illnesses, especially prisoners who are reentering society. AOT program participation reduces homelessness, arrests, hospitalization, and future incarceration by over 85 percent, which means a significant increase in community safety and a substantial reduction in the budget for fighting crime and incarcerating offenders.
XXVII.
Your financial assistance is also invited. My computer equipment is regularly attacked by persons who disagree with the concept that all persons deserve equal protection under the law. My operating system was destroyed on July 3, after I informed the public that United States District Court, Central District of California, determined that neither The Cochran Firm nor any of its district offices qualify to be called "a law firm." You can help promote justice by contributing to the MaryLovesJustice fundraiser for a new computer and phone service three ways:
XXVIII.
a) GoFundMe at at http://gofundme.com/ys9shks
XXIX.
b) PayPal donations to MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com 
XXX.
c) Purchase "Bloody Toombs," by Bob Darby. Darby is an excellent writer and a lifelong human rights advocate, peace activist, and founder of the Atlanta chapter of "Food Not Bombs." Read a free preview at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Toombs-Allegory-Bob-Darby/dp/1512301981 . The "Food Not Bombs" Atlanta chapter won an important federal court victory to feed homeless people in public places, including parks. Darby's memoir and allegory covers recent American history from the Jim Crow era to present. This brilliant man has bipolar disorder that has been in remission for over 20 years. He has always fought against racism, class consciousness, and avoidable wars. That caused many conflicts with his family and their affluent friends and guarantees interesting reading. The book is also available at CreateSpace https://www.createspace.com/5512374 - It will soon be released as a Kindle ebook.
XXXI.
Thanks in advance for your contributions to my communications fundraiser. Hackers often sabotage my individual articles, radio shows, and social media posts as revealed at channel jkempp703 at YouTube and "Justice Gagged" blog at http://JusticeGagged.blogspot.com - My computer's operating system was damaged beyond repair on July 3. Unfortunately, there is still a conspiracy to avoid disclosure and accountability for Larry Neal's 2003 kidnapping and arrest and to curtail my advocacy for similarly situated Americans.
XXXII.
Our rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are actually goals. The fact that the Justice Department is complicit in Larry Neal's wrongful death cover-up proves how important it is for U.S. citizens to endeavor to make America true to her ideals. During release hearings for Memphis Shelby County Jail to exit federal overview, I notified the judge over the release hearings, the U.S. Attorney's office, and the USDOJ in Washington about Larry Neal's kidnapping and murder in that facility, and the crime was ignored by all parties, who entered the conspiracy of cover-up instead. Officials conspired against the USA by allowing fraudulent records into federal release hearings that deliberately omitted the in-custody death of an American with disabilities, and I have been sorely persecuted ever since in order to keep their crimes contained.
XXXIII.
This writer cannot say whether federal officials are paid by abusive police departments and correctional facilities to disregard their oversight responsibilities, as was alleged in the criminal indictments against former U.S. Vice President Dick Chaney and former U.S. Attorney General Antonio Gonzales in 2008, but one thing is certain: Abusive police departments and correctional facilities actually have no reliable oversight except by the People. Even China chastises America for its human rights abuses. Your participation is needed.
XXXIV.
Note: I had to number these paragraphs because parts of this article were missing on my view when I completed it.
XXXV.
More references will be added.
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013
https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1447
Congress Passes New Death in Custody Reporting Act
http://nonprofitquarterly.org/2014/12/24/congress-passes-new-death-in-custody-reporting-act/

Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Kristopher Rodriguez Story


My son, Kristopher Rodriguez, is presently a mentally ill inmate at Lake Correctional Institution in Florida Inmate #C07499.

Kristopher was diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoia in April 2001. Kristopher became ill when his maternal grandmother died on September 8, 2000, just four months after being diagnosed with bone cancer. She lived with me to help raise my sons: Stephen, Kristopher, and William. Kristopher was overwhelmed with grief upon losing his grandmother at age 14. He began talking about religion a great deal and disconnected my water heater, stating he was being trapped and followed. I first committed my son to Citrus Health Hialeah Florida by using the Baker Act.

Kristopher was born at Jackson Memorial Hospital on June 3, 1986. It was a normal delivery. Kristopher was an exceptional child. He on the principal's list or honor roll every semester since pre-K. He joined the Sea Cadets. He wanted to be a Navy Seal and a pediatrician. Kris also studied Tae Kwon Do. He told us that he felt his country needed him and that he wanted to be well prepared for the Navy Seals.

Kristopher was very involved in school activities, including painting, summer camps and sports. Kristopher won first place in every basketball activity. He achieved Male Honor Cadet of the United States at MacDill Air Force Base with Commander Recommendations. By that time, Kristopher had already won his black belt Tae Kwon Do.

Kristopher loves children and is very family oriented. Kristopher always showed love and compassion for people. He was beloved by his teachers and friends as well as his family. He was the child every mother dreams of having.

Upon losing my mother, Kristopher went into deep grief. He lost interest in the Sea Cadets and later dropped out of school. Soon after her death, Kristopher was voluntarily and then involuntarily committed to mental institutions. Unfortunately, Kristopher fell into our broken prison system due to his mental illness. I am a Cardiovascular Technologist, and I have worked in the medical field for 37 years. I understand the need for long-term medical care for chronic physical conditions, and psychiatric treatment for persons with mental illness should be just as accessible. Instead, incarceration was seemingly used to punish Kristopher for being sick when he got older.

Since 2008 in Polk County, Kristopher was committed several times and was even Tasered while in water during one of his crises. He has a long history of mental issues but his psychiatric condition was not followed and treated properly due to his noncompliance regarding his psychiatric medications. That is a typical problem for mentally ill people who want to avoid being stigmatized by their illness as well as those who do not recognize their own need for treatment.

Like many people with mental illness, Kristopher began to self-medicate with street drugs. During one of his drug buys, the dealer tried to rob Kristopher at gunpoint. He and Kristopher wrestled over the gun, and the dealer was shot in his leg. Kristopher's actions were self-defense. Persons with mental illness and drug dependencies need treatment, not incarceration.

While in jail at Polk County, Kristopher had a crisis and corrections officers thought he was faking. Kristopher shivering on the floor for 18 days, we learned through another inmate who was released. He said to my son, Stephen, "Do something for your brother. Tell your Mom they are abusing your brother. He is naked on the floor, and they pepper-sprayed him."

Of course we could do nothing. My family were not allowed to visit Kristopher. Every week we were denied visitation and received no information from the prison. "NO HIPPA FORM, he is an adult," we were told.

After that, Kristopher experienced one crisis after another. He tried to commit suicide and even tried to rip his penis off with his bare hands. Kristopher was evaluated and found to be mentally ill while incarcerated. Nevertheless, my son was so abused that he was forced to eat his own feces. The abuse only made him sicker. Several times while jailed before his conviction, Kristopher was sent to stabilization units. The justice system considered stabilizing my son as a priority before his conviction in order for the court to sentence him after trial and have Kristopher join 1.25 million mentally ill prisoners warehoused in jails and prisons throughout America.

Kristopher was eventually transferred to Dade Correctional Institute, where he has been tortured and abused. He was even tortured in the HOT SHOWER, which is how mentally ill inmate Darren Rainey was murdered in 2012. I was not allowed to visit with Kristopher for a lengthy period of time. By the time I was finally allowed to visit Kristopher, he could not recognized me, his own mother. Kristopher smelled bad, and I said to him, "Kris you don't smell good, son." Kristopher started looking around like he was paranoid and checking his environment for threats. "You are not my mom!" he screamed. "You are going to tell me about a Hot Shower, lady!" With tears in my eyes, I contacted Dr. Bermudez and Dr. Perez upon learning that my son had been Hot Showered. I also sent letters to the Inspector General's office, to Corizon, and to Deanna Tate, the director at Dade Correctional Institution. Nobody answered my correspondence. It seems that officials are always more interested in covering up abuse than in protecting inmates.

I wrote to Julie Brown at the Miami Herald. She came to take my report and do an interview. During our interview, I disclosed all of Kristopher's history with mental illness. I also showed the reporter Kristopher's family pictures and diplomas. She saw how his life was before mental illness.

Unfortunately, Kristopher's father died on April 18, 2013. Although Kristopher was pretty much stable at the time, he was not allowed to attend his father's funeral. Losing his father sent Kristopher back into another grieving period. Since then, his life has deteriorated daily. Kristopher was transferred from Dade Correctional Institution to Union on December 20 2014. Again, he was denied visitors.

My son has been in solitary confinement since 2013 because he refuses to accept medications, according to the prison. Corrections officers know that Kristopher is sick. Perhaps because of his illness, he experienced abuse.

Kristopher is sometimes catatonic and sometimes paranoid. Attorneys from Legal Disabilities visited Kristopher because his rights have been violated, and he refuses to consent to being legally represented. On March 4, I was contacted by Dr. Binskey at Union Correctional and advised that Kristopher was going to be transferred to Lake Correctional Institution due to his mental illness and catatonic state. He refused medications and food, also. Mr. Steven Crosby was Kristopher's intake Specialist. I demanded information on Kristopher, but his HIPPA form had expired.

I was advised by Mr. Crosby that the judge assigned me to be Kristopher's Healthcare Surrogate and that a copy of that assignment would be sent to me. However, on March 23, my son was transferred to Lake Correctional Institution. I check on a daily basis and saw it, I contacted a classification officer for my son. As of today, Ms. Jackson from Mental Unit refuses to give me information about Kristopher. She states there is no Healthcare Advocate form in his transfer.

I contacted Mr. Crosby and he said, "Yes, Madam, I requested Mr. Crosby to send it again." I explained the denial of information about my son from Ms. Jackson again last week, and she stated NO FORM was received via email, and she is very certain that it was not sent with his transfer.

I only trust GOD with my son's life. His status is unknown. I hold the State of Florida and the U.N. responsible for my son Kristopher Rodriguez's life. I will speak the truth to the world and will not keep my mouth shut. My son lives in solitary confinement, but he has a VOICE, and I AM HIS VOICE.

Some people at this time may not believe the torture that is inflicted on the mentally ill in this country, but Kristopher's circumstances are indicative of this problem. Thank you for your help. My cell phone number is (813)527-5148.

IN GOD I TRUST!

Gemma Pena, Kristopher's mom

Kristopher Rodriguez's Petition

Post Note: Gemma Pena was allowed to visit Kristopher on July 24, 2015. When the legal system reaches into a family and takes the most vulnerable member, entire families often suffer from Legal Abuse Syndrome. Parents sometimes experience stress that causes physical problems: strokes, heart attacks, and complications of their existing diseases. Younger siblings sometimes experience separation anxiety in their fear that one day they might also be forcibly removed from their parents and incarcerated. Fathers feel an impotent rage that they cannot protect their mentally disabled children from the system that too often uses mentally disturbed people for target practice or prison profiteering.

We hope that Gemma's visit with Kristopher was a good experience for them both, but they need regular visits - something for Kristopher to look forward to while alone in solitary confinement all week. It would give his mother the opportunity to help bring him out of his current crisis. She would encourage Kristopher to eat and accept his medication. That would be good for both of them and ultimately for all of us. Kristopher is due for release in a few years. He can either be ready to become a productive community member or not, depending on how Florida treats this young man whose crime was caused by mental illness.

Kristopher should be released from prison to the care of a mental hospital. Once he is stabilized, Kristopher should be ordered into an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) program, where his subsistence needs would be met and he would be under a mandate to continue his psychiatric treatment. AOT program participants have a better than 85 percent chance of avoiding homelessness, future arrests, hospitalizations, and imprisonment. That means AOT programs also improve community safety and are less expensive than incarceration. 


Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill. 
Mary Neal's Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+MaryLovesJustice/posts - Follow me at Twitter @koffietime - http://twitter.com/koffietime - Current, urgent justice issues from a laywoman's viewpoint at my primary blog http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com Full list of MaryLovesJustice blogs and radio broadcasts: http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2014/03/marylovesjustice-blogs-and-radio-shows.html email address: MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com (I'm censored, but some emails reach my box). Try to phone me at (678)531.0262 or (571)335-1741. If you receive no response within 48 hours, please email or call again.

Friday, July 24, 2015

MaryLovesJustice Advocacy Fundraiser for AIMI

WHO are you helping when you give to MaryLovesJustice? Advocacy matters.

(1) You help families who need someone who really cares about their imprisoned relatives. You also assist sick people who are not in jail yet but have one foot on the proverbial banana peel.

(2) You help death row victims avoid execution, especially those who had extenuating circumstances that were not considered and those who were mentally ill when they did the crime. You assist those whose crimes were not irrefutably proved.

(3) You help juveniles who were prosecuted and sentenced as adults.

(4) You help Blacks who are targeted in America's War on African Americans.

(5) You help fight against private prisons and jails - 21st century slavers.

(6) You help expose devious lawyers and corruption in our government.

(7) You help spread the true gospel of Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, Jesus Christ was/is the world's foremost a Human Rights Advocate. Nobody can say they follow Him unless they care about human suffering.

(8) You help people of all races to realize that elitists care nothing about any working class Americans, regardless of our race. They only want to rape the land and use people, especially poor and working class people.

(9) You help to expose Legal Victories. Yes, we have a few victories occasionally. Attorneys, judges, and government officials deserve acclaim when they challenge unjust laws and win. See our "Legal Victories" blog at Blogger.

(10) You help the wrongfully convicted. We give them a voice through radio broadcasts, articles, and social network posts.

(11) You help the homeless, for whom we advocate continually.

(12) You help encourage our young people to recognize that no matter how bleak the outlook for justice in America may appear, there are people like you and me working together to improve life for us all.

The easiest way to give is to send a contribution via PayPal to my email box at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com. Please access a full list of our MayLovesJustice blogs by choosing to "view my complete profile," which is available in the margins of my blogs beneath the picture of my murdered brother. Everyone who needs our assistance should please use that same email box or call (678)531-0262. IF hackers allow me to receive your emails and phone calls, I will be there for you. Sometimes exposing your circumstances online brings improvement, and it might help attract an ethical, qualified attorney, if you do not have adequate representation. I love helping you because I love you, and I need you to love me back. Be fair and please share.

Did you read "Think and Grow Rich"? The author suggested that one has only to find a need that nobody is fulfilling, then fulfill it. Well, he was mistaken. When I began advocating for prisoners, especially the mentally ill inmates, almost nobody was doing that. I found only Lee Wood​ when I looked online to see who was fighting against private prisons and jails in 2008 (I did not know until then that privatized jails and prisons existed). When I researched for organizations that advocated for subsistence assistance and mandated treatment for mentally ill people, I found only Treatment Advocacy Center​ and D J Jaffe. I did not know until I learned about them that my proposal had already been tried and that it had a name: Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs, which are wildly successful but underfunded and under-used. That is because prison investors make America's decisions about prison reform.

Because of prison investors and corrupt lawyers, I did not grow rich from advocating to decriminalize mental illness, which nobody else was undertaking at the time and few people address now. I did not "think and grow rich." In fact, I was financially persecuted. The mentally ill comprise over half of America's prisoners, and the prison companies and investors were NOT willing to sacrifice their big bucks because they were victimizing sick people. They do not value human life above their stock portfolios. They continually destroy my computers, block my job prospects by stealing my emails, and actually sent people to follow me wherever I went. Police refused to help. I was so shocked by the intimidation that I allowed myself to be laid off from a legal assistant position that paid well, because from one to six cars would follow me home from work every single night in 2008, and harassment continues. I did not know in my advocacy's infancy that judges would prevent my "Wrongful Death of Larry Neal" lawsuit from going before a jury or that hackers would block my communication with other potential employers. Such blatant crimes were unexpected, especially under a so-called black administration.

Because of criminals' interference and intimidation, I have spent the past seven years doing advocacy work full-time from my home, which I enjoy immensely. My pay is the thanks I get from families, the friends I meet, and the lessons I learn. That would be enough for me, but effective advocacy requires more. We need new computers, printers, a land line that is less accessible to hackers than my cellphone, money for computer techs when our computers are attacked, and more. When you contribute to MaryLovesJustice and "Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill," you actually contribute to all of twelve(12) causes named in the first paragraph. Moreover, you contribute to making society more humane and safe for all of us. Almost every prisoner -- mentally ill or not -- has a release date set. As Dorothea Dix said, nobody is made better because he/she is tortured. Incarceration is sometimes necessary, but never over-sentencing, brutality or execution. We advocate for treatment, not prison for the mentally ill and also human rights for all inmates. Treating people decently and offering education and rehabilitation will prepare them to become good neighbors after prison release. Focusing on punishment instead has caused the the U.S. to have a recidivism rate that is currently over 67.5 percent.

MaryLovesJustice supporters were few voices against mass incarceration in the USA in 2007. However, many organizations were fighting zealously against the death penalty. The MaryLovesJustice anti-dp organization is called the Davis-MacPhail Truth Committee. Most anti-dp organizations try to appeal to hardhearted people's sense of compassion. Newsflash: Elite white supremacists have no compassion; their god is money. It costs up to $90,000 more per year to warehouse each inmate on death row than to house him/her in the general prison population, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Our Davis-MacPhail Truth Committee usually addresses the financial burden that executioners make taxpayers bear because they are money-hungry and bloodthirsty. If executioners were not so mercenary, death row inmates would be executed long before they are, 10 years to 30 years after sentencing. But prison investors keep condemned people alive on death row for decades, not out of compassion but to make more money. That is good news, because most people who were finally exonerated were imprisoned for a very long time. If condemned people were executed sooner, America would execute many more innocent people.

MaryLovesJustice believes that abolitionists must make executions more expensive. I advocate for LAWSUITS after each execution if any reason at all can be found to sue. Executions would get more media exposure by suing. Anti-DP organizations should sue after mentally ill people are executed. Sue after potentially innocent people are executed, especially if DNA tests were denied. Sue after guilty people are executed if the executions were torturous. Sue, sue, sue. Lawsuits mean significantly more to killers than candlelight vigils do. I believe the key to ending executions to to make them more expensive through lawsuits, just as speeders are deterred by traffic fines.

I was drafted for advocacy work by the secret arrest and murder of my mentally, physically disabled brother and after suffering fraud by devious lawyers (Google "Wrongful Death of Larry Neal" and "Cochran Firm Fraud"). Many human rights activists were similarly drafted after victimization in this unjust legal system. That seems to be how people are recruited to fight against the prison industrial complex, government and judicial corruption, and avoidable wars. Most of the best human rights advocates I know are people who can empathize with victims because they have been personally impacted.

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill​, the Human Rights for Prisoners March, and the Davis-MacPhail are YOUR advocacy organizations. "Human Rights Demand" and "NNIA1" are YOUR radio channels. It was already too late to help my brother when I started them. Everybody is hosted there. Our guests and hosts include African Americans, Caucasians, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asians are welcome. Professionals as well as uneducated people, so-called sane people as well as individuals labeled as being mentally ill are our guests. In July 2015, I began asking for financial support after hackers destroyed the operating system in my computer. I should have requested assistance sooner, because some people are happy to share. Advocacy to improve justice in America benefits ALL of us, and it is only right for you to help support it.

My brother died 12 years ago on August 1. In the first paragraph, I gave you 12 good reasons to support our advocacy work that began after his death. MaryLovesJustice has partnered with a 501c3 organization and can issue a statement of your gift for tax deductions, if you request one. Some online friends already supported our first fundraiser in ten years by sending funds to MaryLovesJustice advocacy organizations through PayPal or GoFundMe. I also accept donations through NetSpend and Western Union. Please call to access the information for transfer, or just use PayPal to send donations to MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com. You do not need a PayPal account to do that. Some people helped by purchasing a copy of "Bloody Toombs," by Bob Darby (through CreateSpace and Amazon), which is a thoroughly entertaining and important memoir and allegory. You have our appreciation for helping to finance this advocacy work​, and we rely on your continuing support.

Like everything else I write, our fundraisers are apparently censored at some sites. Many blogs have an easily accessible widget for accepting donations, but our blogs are disallowed use of that feature, which happens because we are doing exemplary work. Please assist us by sharing this link to our fundraiser, which is ongoing like our fight for human rights must be. The struggle continues.

MaryLovesJustice Neal
MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

Phone (678)531-0262
Website: "Wrongful Death of Larry Neal"
http://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com/main.html
Human Rights Demand at Blogtalkradio
http://www.blogspot.com/humanrightsdemand
Profile with links to all MaryLovesJustice blogs
https://www.blogger.com/profile/02911729765985760491

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

James Kilgore: Mental Illness and Jails

An article was published by James Kilgore, writing in Prisoner News, which laid out problems caused by criminalizing mental illness in the USA. The writer got my complete attention with his statement that "no Dorothea Dix figure has emerged in 2015." This implies that decision makers have begun to reconsider the wrongful denial of timely mental health treatment and incarceration of over a million sick Americans on their own, when nothing could be further from the truth. I wrote Kilgore and informed him of the tremendous effort by over 1,400 members of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) and other organizations, courageous families, and prisoner activists to decriminalize mental illness. Like any other chronic ailment, mental conditions must be treated and stop being considered criminal. Homelessness, prison, and death must cease being America's response to serious mental illness. See my response to Kilgore below:

Mr. Kilgore:

Thank you for your article regarding prisons replacing treatment for mental illness in the USA. You wrote, "Though no Dorothea Dix figure has emerged in 2015, at long last policy makers and researchers are waking up to the issue." The idea that prison investors and other decision makers would simply "wake up" to an issue is not true. Through much censorship and intimidation, my advocacy organization continues to fight to highlight the problems of mentally ill people and their families for the past ten years. See "Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill," a/k/a "The Dorothea Dix Group." We have been operating for ten years online and less in person. In 2003, my brother, Larry Neal, a lifelong mentally ill heart patient, was secretly arrested and murdered on the 18th day of secret incarceration in Memphis Shelby County Jail in Tennessee. The disregard for this black man from his government was so total that to this day - nearly 12 years later, his family is still denied the right to know under what circumstances he died and why he was arrested. In fact, because Larry died in custody in a jail that was already under federal overview after lawsuit by the USA, the USDOJ is actually involved in his murder cover-up rather than attempting to bring justice. See http://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com/main.html and visit our blog "Dog Justice for Mentally Ill" at the first of six (6) AIMI urls below.

Through thousands of very graphic articles, emails, and radio broadcasts featuring psychologists, psychiatrists, and families of abused and murdered mentally ill inmates, AIMI continues to make torturous incarceration and wrongful deaths of mentally ill people impossible for any official to ignore. This causes great discomfort for both officials and myself, as my computer equipment is continually compromised or destroyed, my phone calls are often prevented, and messages are stolen from my voice mail service and my email boxes. We take these attacks as compliments to the work that we do at Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI). 

No effective human rights movement has ever experienced decision makers "waking up to the issue" and showing a willingness to change. That did not happen regarding slavery, women's suffrage, the labor movement, nor the civil rights era. Any change you applaud regarding attitudes about mentally ill people having a right of treatment rather than incarceration must be credited to Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill, Mental Health Policy Organization, Treatment Advocacy Center, and many other fine advocates and prisoner rights activists and tenacious family members who continually strive against forces who profit from the arrests of Americans with mental disabilities. Most do this advocacy work with little or no budgets. AIMI is the only one of those named that deals exclusively with incarcerated mentally ill people and reducing the risks of incarceration through timely treatment - either in mental hospitals or community care, depending on the patient's offenses and ability to survive outside of a controlled environment. That is why our group is also called "The Dorothea Dix Group."

AIMI recommends H.R. 2646, "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis," a mental health care bill introduced in Congress in 2015 by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Rep. Eddie Murphy (D-TX), and the bill enjoys bilateral support from numerous congresspersons. More exposure for this important bill is needed. Please mention it in your next article regarding mental health care. We applaud the fact that the U.S. Congress recently appropriated $15million for assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs, which were certified by the USDOJ a few years ago but not funded. We believe that America's response to its mental health care crisis should be AOT programs (subsistence assistance and mandated treatment) and crisis intervention team (CIT) training for police and corrections officers, so they will learn how to deal with mentally ill people, of whom 1.25 million are prisoners. Furthermore, HIPPA laws should be relaxed for close family members of mentally ill people confined behind bars or in hospitals so that families and advocates will know their conditions and treatment to better advocate for their appropriate care. 

Thank you for helping to call attention to the issues faced by the mentally ill behind bars. I hope you will relay information about the tremendous effort of advocates and families of the mentally ill in your future articles so the world will understand that "power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has, and it never will" (Frederick Douglass). In fact, AIMI plans to sue the USA in International Court in 2015 on behalf of up to 100 mentally ill people and families who suffered brutality and wrongful deaths of mental patients. We invite you to call-in and participate on our Wednesday night AIMI broadcasts at Blogtalkradio at 9pmPST. Dial (818)572.2947, if you can schedule the time. 

We feel that nothing helps officials "wake up" like lawsuits. Dorothea Dix was a plaintiff in numerous lawsuits on behalf of the incarcerated mentally ill during her advocacy. Whereas the indigent mentally ill were regularly warehoused in brutal jail environments before Ms. Dix began her work, fewer than one percent of America's inmates were mentally ill persons by the time she retired. One reason for her success was that there were no private prison owners and investors serving on the state legislatures in the 1800's when Dix petitioned officials to change. We work to make mental health care reform a campaign issue in 2016. Officials should declare their stance on the human rights abuse of imprisoning Americans with mental disabilities. Examination should be made of stock portfolios and political contributions to officials who do not support H.R.2646 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act" in order to learn which officials are prison investors and receive contributions from private prison companies. We believe that private prison investors should divest or resign.

Now you know the truth. There is "a Dorothea Dix figure" which has emerged in the 21st century, and we are many. Hear radio broadcasts and see blogs carrying hundreds of articles around these issues at the six urls below. Most of the articles carry graphic photographs, videos, and interviews about brutality and wrongful deaths:

Dog Justice for Mentally Ill
http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill 
(AIMI)~AIMI vs. USA in International Court 2015 
http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com
~Care2 (340+ members) 
http://www.care2.com/group/aimi
(AIMI's Mission Statement is in AIMI at Care2's "Welcome") 
~Google+ (100+members) 
https://plus.google.com/communities/108448922585036678747
~Facebook (1,030+ members) 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Assistance-to-the-Incarcerated-Mentally-Ill/295716950438625
~Blogtalkradio (Wednesdays, 9pm Pacific, (818)572-2947)  
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1

Read James Kilgore's article at this url:
http://www.truth-out.org/op-ed/item/31762-mental-illness-and-jails-race-is-left-out-of-the-equation
James Kilgore is a writer, activist and educator based in Urbana, Illinois. He writes widely on issues of mass incarceration and social justice. His latest book, Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time, will be released by The New Press in September. He can be contacted at waazn1@gmail.com@waazn1 or www.freedomneverrests.com. Questions and comments may be sent to claude@freedomarchives.org

Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill. 

Mary Neal's Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+MaryLovesJustice/posts - Follow me at Twitter @koffietime - http://twitter.com/koffietime - Current, urgent justice issues from a laywoman's viewpoint at my primary blog http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com Full list of MaryLovesJustice blogs and radio broadcasts: http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2014/03/marylovesjustice-blogs-and-radio-shows.html email address:  MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com (I'm censored, but some emails reach my box). Try to phone me at (678)531.0262 or (571)335-1741. If you receive no response within 48 hours, please email or call again.