AIMI vs. USA - B. Anderson, Claimant

Brenda Anderson, a former female inmate wrote:

MY FEELINGS WERE DEEP AND PERSONAL. FOR I AM MENTALLY ILL. AND I WAS IN TDC ALL MY YOUNG LIFE. BEEN OUT EIGHT YEARS NOW. THEY WILL LIE TO COVER UP THEIR OWN DIRT. BUT I PRAYED FOR THIS DAY TO COME THAT WOULD PUT THEM UNDER INVESTIGATION. I CAN'T WAIT FOR 2015. I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO SEEK JUSTICE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL.

WHILE SERVING TIME, THEY TORTURED ME BY PLACING ME IN A CELL FOR YEARS WITH NO WINDOWS AND NO TOILET. I USED THE REST ROOM IN A BIG BUCKET (WITH NO TOILET PAPER). NO BED, A SINK AND MATTRESS ON THE FLOOR. SLEPT ON A BLANKET WITH HOLES IN IT.

I WAS LOCKED BEHIND TWO DOORS, A STEEL DOOR AND BAR CELL DOORS. THEY WOULD USE SHOWING TO PUNISH ME, MEANING THEY WOULD COME GET ME TO SHOWER EVERY THREE DAYS. SOMETIMES FOR WEEKS I ATE OFF THE FLOOR LIKE AN ANIMAL WHENEVER A OFFICER CAME TO WORK IN A BAD MOOD.

IF IT WAS WINTER, I FROZE. IF IT WAS SUMMER, MY CELL FELT LIKE A OVEN. I WOULD HAVE SEIZURES, AND NO ONE CAME TO SEE ABOUT ME. NO TOOTHBRUSH, SOAP, COMB, NOTHING. SURE I COULD HAVE MY BIBLE AND WRITING BOOKS, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THERE WAS NO LIGHT. THEY SAID IT WAS BROKE.

THEY LET MY MAIL GO OUT BUT NONE CAME IN TO ME. WHENEVER MY FATHER AND FAMILY WOULD COME TO SEE ME, THEY WERE TOLD I HAD GOTTEN INTO SOME TROUBLE AND COULD NOT HAVE VISITORS. THEY WOULD COME AND JUMP ON ME. ONCE, THEY PUT A HOLE IN MY HEAD. IN FACT THEY KNOCKED ME OUT WITH A STEEL SHIELD, AND WHEN I CAME TO, I HAD BLOOD EVERYWHERE ON ME.

I WAS TORTURED PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY UNTIL I FELT LIKE I NO LONGER WANTED TO LIVE SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO ENDURE THE SUFFERING. BUT SOMETHING INSIDE OF ME WOULDN'T LET ME DIE. THE FEDS CAME AND TOOK ME OUT OF THAT DARK CELL AND DEMANDED THAT THEY PUT ME UP FRONT WITH THE OTHER INMATES.

I WILL STOP NOW 'CAUSE IT OPENS UP WOUNDS OF PAIN IN MY MIND AND SOUL. I STILL WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT SWEATING AND GRASPING; FOR THE DREAMS FEEL SO REAL. I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

I PRAY THEY BE STOPPED AT ALL COST -- EVEN THEIR LIVES. I LOVE YOU, MARY NEAL. MY ONLY WISH IS I WISH THERE HAD BEEN A MARY NEAL WHEN I WAS IN PRISON. THERE'S A LOT MORE, BUT I WILL GET A CHANCE TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY ONE DAY. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND OTHERS LIKE YOU.

IN FAITH,
Brenda Anderson

RESPONSE:

My dear friend, I am so sorry you endured such hardships. We look forward to presenting your pain and suffering to the International Court, where we will apply for restorative justice for you. We will also ask the United Nations to issue directives for the USA to stop torturing and killing its mentally ill citizens. Thank you so much for having the courage to LIVE and make it to this day when we will seek justice for you and everyone who is similarly situated. So many others never made it out of the hole, Brenda. We must continue to fight for their sake and for every mentally challenged American who lies naked in dark, cold cells tonight, including some who are dying right now in restraint or by Taser -- or by their own hand. We will continue to victory, Brenda, because we must. 

According to Solitary Watch, the U.S. State Department plans to deny systemic use of solitary confinement in its report to the United Nations and claim that American citizens are protected by the U.S. Constitution from such cruel and unusual punishment. The report says in part:

"The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) forbids any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for the purposes of intimidation, coercion, forced confession, or punishment, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. The United States asserts that it is in all cases in alignment with CAT."

Without reports like ours, Brenda, there will be no Change, because the USA will not willingly acknowledge that there are violations of CAT happening. That is why AIMI is gathering testimony from up to 100 victims and families about torture and wrongful deaths of mentally challenged people to present to the U.N. See our website at http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com . Thank you for being the courageous advocate for human rights that you are and for sharing your story with us. See the full report about the U.S. response to the U.N. at the link below. Many blessings to you and all our claimants in "AIMI vs. USA".

U.S. Government Tells UN Committee on Torture: “There Is No Systematic Use of Solitary Confinement in the United States”
http://solitarywatch.com/2014/10/14/u-s-government-tells-un-committee-on-torture-there-is-no-systematic-use-of-solitary-confinement-in-the-united-states/

***********

Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Please advocate for your congresspersons to pass H.R.3717 - The "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act." Try to elect people who support human rights and justice for all.