26.12.10

prisoners in seg now needing encouragement and support

It is winter 2011-12 and FFUP and some prisoner litigators have put together the outline of a committee that will work to bring an end to the overuse and abuse of segregation. We are looking for interested persons as help is need on all levels.It started as a WI effort but we can see this will need to be national. Please contact FFUP at swansol@mwt.net of you are interested or have questions. GO to www.prisonforum.org for more information also.
As always, FFUP and many prisoners in segregation are making a concerted effort to get informal projects going that can help them stay healthy and find a way out of segregation and finally prison. One of the easiest ways to help is to write a nurturing note to one of the men below. Please contact FFUP if you would like to get involved at swansol@mwt.net.

Here is a list of some of the prisoners who need encouragement and we need help badly in helping them.
Timothy Crowley 243754 CCI; PO box 900; Portage ,Wi 53901

Ali Mursal 541673 GBCI PO Box 19033; Green Bay, Wi 54307

Marcus Greer 469316 CCI PO box 900; Portage ,Wi 53901

Al-Amin Akbar 211383 CCI PO box 900; Portage ,Wi 53901

Nathan Gillis 273445 CCI PO box 900; Portage ,Wi 53901

Travis D Coleman 103600 CCI PO box 900; Portage ,Wi 53901

Lorenzo Balli #238265;GBCI ;PO Box 19033;Green Bay. WI 54307

Terrance Grissom, Luiz Ramirez, Nathan Gillis, Samuel upthegrove, Have Photos and profiles on this blog.

To view report on Segregation at Columbia Correctional Institution (CCI), click here. It gives a good idea of what is going on in most prisons.

Can You Hear Me Now?


Please send these very lonely people a caring note.



We will keep a listing here of prisoners in trouble in seg. Just a brief note would mean so much , However, feel free to establish a long term relationship as you may find yourself being a tremendous vehicle for healing. The need is so great that often just a small amount of commitment is all it takes for these prisoners to turn their lives around.

We will start with these 6 people in Wisconsin segregation units. They are not allowed books from the outside, canteen, t.v. or much of anything in possessions. We are trying to get these rules changed it is slow. In at least two Wisconsin prisons, especially for the mentally ill , There is no fixed date for release from seg because they are on what is called "non Punitive segregation"which allows them top remain in isolation for years.
At present we are cooking up a newsletter with segregation prisoners to compliment our regular newsletter and are looking for people to help us type offerings. I have asked segregation prisoners who are writing us asking for help , to write for this blog- a way to help them keep focused and healthy . Two of the prisoners listed here regularly cut themselves . Many prisoners in long term seg end up spreading in feces and doing harm to themselves.









Shawn Matz #264654 WCI; PO Box 351; Waupun, Wi 53963



Shawn Matz is another prisoner who has begun writing us from WCI. I have tried to send in books and been denied. Here is what he says: “Ms Swan, I have cut my throat with razors, glass and metal and wasn’t suppose to live through any of those incidents. My arms are so scarred I don’t even look human any more. And yes, I do get teased and laughed at quite a bit by staff and other inmates. However, they don’t understand that the only way I feel alive or human is when I can see the evidence of my mortality flowing from my veins and the only way these people here respond is by stripping me naked and putting me in a cold cell but then a few days later putting me back on the tier declaring me “OK”. But I’m not okay, Ms Swan and I don’t know how much more of this I can take. The doctor cut off my anti-psychotic meds and everyday I want to cut myself but because these people will use it against me to keep me locked in here I try and resist the urge. I don’t know what to do any more.”



He has more to offer for this blog, Coming soon.




Brian Locke#96897 Green Bay Correctional Institution( GBCI); PO Box 19033; Green Bay, Wi 54307





Brian Locke is fighting for his life and for the betterment of all solitary confinement prisoners. He is manic depressive and writes me several times a week from his cell in Green Bay, pleading for placement in Columbia, where A/C prisoners are allowed property . This is the man who has looked into the changing for the administrative confinement rule and given us all , perhaps , a way to make a very big and positive change in the whole system.
Note: addendum on Brian Locke not included- will discuss on phone call if appropriate. Here is link to article on Locke.
here is the link to an Isthmus newspaper story on him :http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=22710


and his blog post::http://mentallyillinprison.blogspot.com/2008/08/brian-lockes-story-diagnosis-illegally.html. In it is the story of the court testimony of Brian's former psychiatrist, who tesitifies he was fired for refusing to illegally change Brian's diagnosis. We have long suspected that convenient changes of diagnosis' were gojng on but here we see proof. Brinsa remains in the most draconian isolation and is manic depressive- a very volitile combination.He also, At minimum,asks to be transfered to a prison where he can have books and magazines tv and property.



Steven Stewart , WSPF; PO Box 9900; Boscobel. Wi 53805
Again, for Steven, we have asked the DOC that he be allowed to have books and magazines from the outside to start and have not succedded in getting even this for him. He needs letters and cards.

Steven Stewart was a very sane man. Visits with him were much fun. He is now in trouble after years of segregation. There is a cycle here. The treatment is very degragding and most people do act out and are here in segregation in the first polace because they lack self control. The only reaction to misbehavior, no matter how minor , is punishment-i.e.: more degrading treatment. Once you get your coattails into one of these units, it is hard to get out. Some people within the system have tried to help Steven get to population but it has not worked. He has severe health problems and is a difficult case. He needs friendship most of all right now. His mental health has deteriorated dramatically in the years we have known him.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the heck is going on within our prison system!? (First a little about me) My name is Walt; I am a recent graduate from NWTC College with degrees in Law-Enforcement and Supervisory Management. I claim to be in no way a professional in the field of psychiatry, BUT...I have an IQ of 137 and have read numerous books on the subject. I myself suffer from major depression along with cronic pain disorder, all spelling from stomach surgery followed with a bad case of shingles. Throughout my studies and limited personal experiences, I’ve come to notice how "in Wisconsin" we tend to treat our inmates whom are dysfunctional mentally. I am disgusted with the profession I had chosen to be a part of. No more! No more! No more! It is time for people, such as me, to get involved and make changes happen. I am very-well connected, ex Sheriff, State Troopers, ex district attorneys etc. I need to know where to start. I’m also aware that I’ll need to be in steady contact with a trustworthy and honest inmate currently going through this type of in-humane treatment. I will be willing to use my contacts to the maximum efficiency that is before they find out what my motives are and start clamming up due to political pressure. Email me at wvb1123@hotmail.com with any help you can give. God bless

Anonymous said...

I've been there its real William

scoopywells said...

It's amazing how I came across this blog this evening. I was simply looking for information to help me understand my son's situation. He is currently incarcerated in Augusta Medical Prison, another prison for the mentally ill. I along with staff at the prison are baffled as to why he was sentenced there as a level 3 inmate. In any event, I appreciate ALL the information you are providing for us. I am planning on doing the same for the mentally ill in GA's system. It's very shameful how the system process and diagnose individuals for placement.

God bless you and I will write and stay in contact with as many as I can. Thank you

Anonymous said...

Shaun Thomas I Love You LiL Brother, DaD would be so proud.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations My Lil Brother.DAD would be as proud as I am. Be careful of false feelings.Keep what you have.

Rina Bell Bileski said...

lMy som ended up in Red Wing Juvenile Correction Center. After numerous attempts, one of which almost ended his life, I managed to have him transfer to a short term stay in Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis. The Minnesota DOC refused to pay for long term stay in Anoka State hospital so he had been admitted to a hell hole where he got no treatment for the second time, regardless his self harming history. All Dr Keul wanted to do is sending him back to prison. It was not to take place because the geniouses gave him shoes and laces and left him in the bath for 15 Minutes. He hanged himself on the side bar and died after 11 days. There is much more to the story before and after: Lack of hospitalisation, neglect, titles such as Manipulator, Anti Social, Narcicist, so it would be easier to direct him to the punitive path, and of course the cover up after his death that sickens me almost 9 years after.
The criteria of "he knew the difference between right and wrong is a legal mumabo jumbo that is suitables to dictatorship countries and not the U.S. that claims to be the best democracy in the world who care for human rights, freedom and the needs of the vulnerables.
Rina Bell Bileski

The Free Thinker said...

It is these types of stories that Make me want to become a social worker. it is completely unfair to treat these people like pieces of trash just because they have a mental illness. when a person with a physical illness goes to prison they get all the treatment they need. However, these people get treated like they are worthless. If i was older i would write to one of these men but because i am only a teenager, i will have to wait til i am in collage.

Anonymous said...

wuao..I cant believe what i just read..I was looking for information for my project about mentally ill people and I came across with this...It really makes me disgusted,mad about that situation in Wisconsi...How could be possible nobody support..where is the humanity these days??Is true that people get advantage of ill people, I know someone close to me that people have taken advantage of...I will like to help somehow...