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LOVE4INMATES: HOW LOVE BEHIND BARS IS TRANSFORMING PRISONS

Daniel J. Simms

By Daniel J. Simms, Independent Journalist/Author/Activist/Podcast Host. www.DefundDOC.net.


In 2014, when Joshua Howard, a prisoner at the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Waupun Correctional Facility, began interacting with Peg Swan, a prison reform advocate, to blow the whistle on inmate abuse, neither expected the river of retaliation that soon followed. Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WCIJ), Bill Lueders, a journalist interested in publishing a series of articles on inmate abuse, interviewed Peg Swan as a source and advocate for the inmate victims. On July 20, 2014, WCIJ published the first of the article series exposing the torturous overuse of solitary confinement. Upon publication DOC Secretary, Eddie Wall, ordered the Director of DOC’s Office of Special Operations, Steven Weirenga, to implement a campaign of retaliation against Swan and the inmate assisting her efforts. The first act of harassment was to appoint Office of Special Operations investigator, Anthony Ashworth, to intercept, censor, and effectively ban of all Swan's letters, both from her and to inmates. It was through this illegal retaliatory censorship that Howard's name was discovered. On August 19, 2014, OSO had Howard's cell searched and Swan's letters were seized and copied. On September 8, 2014, the OSO had Howard placed in torturous solitary confinement. Using it as a diversion to take all Howard's legal materials (i.e. motions and briefs he wrote for other inmates, copies of case law he had purchased, briefs, and thousands of pages of police records related to murders he had planned on writing a book about). A week later his legal materials were returned but many documents were stolen. Howard was kept in solitary for several weeks. Ultimately Ashworth wrote a bogus infraction alleging Howard was engaging in enterprising related to Swan. Howard had a twelve-page witness statement from Swan submitted as rebuttal evidence. Unsurprisingly Howard was found guilty regardless. He received 120 days of solitary confinement. Howard promptly appealed the wrongful infraction and guilty finding. In the appeal, new documentary evidence was deceptively inserted into the appellate record to bolster the wrongful finding. And Swan's twelve twelve-page letter was missing from the record as well. Such corrupt practices are common and prolific across the country in DOC. [I]nmates fear of retaliation deters them from filing grievances. (See: One of the Dirty Secrets of American Corrections: Retaliation, Surplus Power, and Whistleblowing Inmates, 42 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 611, 614 (2009). James E. Robertson). When training and guard culture imbues incredible amounts of prejudice, stigma, and dehumanization into Officers it results in horrible treatment for our troubled people. Thankfully Howard was willing to expose the abusers of power. A large percentage of time that does not happen. Pursuing justice and accountability while in DOC is extremely dangerous. This author can attest to this fact. I am harassed frequently. I have been falsely infracted many times, issued diesel treatment over thirty times, had excessive force used against me, and been brutalized on numerous occasions. Life in prison as a civil rights activist is very scary. Honestly, I credibly believe I may be murdered. Whether shot by a guard falsely alleging an escape attempt, spreading false rumors to prisoners that I am a snitch or rapist resulting in my murder, or guards manufacturing a use of force pretense and killing me that way. All these examples are true historical ways prison authorities have killed prisoners. The threat is so real and present that I have researched the feasibility of life insurance. To cover my funeral costs and to leave something to my loved ones. Just as important as inmate activists are those who are not in prison agitating for change. Swan, Lueders, and WICJ demonstrated immense courage, empathy, and even love for the incarcerated community through their activism. They deserve enthusiastic applause and deep appreciation. They do not owe prisoners anything. Moreover, they do not personally reap any benefit if justice and redress are achieved. Therefore their patriotic love for incarcerated Americans is propelling massive change and humanization in a very cruel and brutal landscape. (See: Howard v. Ashworth, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98405).


On April 18, 2024, Linda Thompson-Simms, demonstrated love to a mistreated prisoner by being his voice. Similar acts of activism by loved ones of the incarcerated are increasingly changing prison landscapes. The mistreated prisoner was me. As a modern-day prisoner slave, I have had countless interactions that turn into pretexts for harsh treatment. (See: The Thirteenth Amendment: Modern Slavery, Capitalism, and Mass Incarceration. 104 Cornell L. Rev. 899, 935-41 (2019). By Michelle Goodwin). The current mistreatment is merely another one upon thousands of others. Maltreatment, brutality, oppression, and outright hate is the norm. Without money, power, or resources troubled Americans are destined to be treated badly in the criminal justice system. (See: Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor. 120, 120-27. (2003). Tara Herivel and Paul Wright. Eds.). From arrest, detention, trial, sentencing, and imprisonment there is no justice for the pauper. "A startling account of our broken legal system, grounded by Rakoff's 24 years as a federal trial judge and as a federal prosecutor, he illuminates some of our most urgent legal, social, and political issues. (See: Why the Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go Free: And Other Paradoxes of our Broken Legal System. Jed S. Rakoff. FSG. ).


Railroaded by an unfair trial and then subsequently receiving an excessive de facto death sentence. I am especially versed in miscarriages. (see: State of Washington v. Daniel J. Simms, 171 Wn. 2d 1011, 227, P3d 295, 2010 Wash. LEXIS 216). Beyond poverty, those suffering from mental health disorders are also preyed on. As a penniless ex-foster child who experienced immense childhood traumas, I was especially troubled (i.e. substance use disorders, paranoid thought disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.). Thankfully, through multiple forms of therapy, such as talk therapy, writing therapy, and medication therapy I have been able to treat my disorders. On occasion, oppositional authority disorder, persecutory type, causes arguments with guards but even that is getting better. (See: Hopeless in Seattle: A Fosterkids Manifesto. By me). Nevertheless, the wheels of justice rolled over me viciously. Without resources, or people advocating for you, it is likely you will be harshly treated. As many Americans are increasingly coming to realize. "A damning account of policies that have criminalized mental health, shifting large numbers of people who belong in therapeutic settings into punitive ones. (See: Waiting for an Echo: The Madness of American Incarceration. Christine Montross. John Blake).


When Linda heard about the injustice that occurred at the hands of two oppressive and unfair Correctional Officers (C/O) she jumped into action. Without reservation, she spontaneously proceeded to zealously write e-mails and complain to the Secretary of Washington DOC, Superintendent of Airway Heights Correctional Center, and Leader of the DOC Ombuds. Such vigorous advocacy is crucial in a setting where C/Os routinely oppress and brutalize our incarcerated people. Women are historically known for their activism. Throughout history, they have fearlessly advocated for the less fortunate, disenfranchised, and vulnerable of society. (See: The Origins of Women’s Activism: New York and Boston, 1797-1840. (2002). Anne M. Boylan). Today women are indispensable in the arduous fight for proper care, safety, and security of the incarcerated. Many times prison administrators and C/Os use pretexts to run rampant on prisoners' rights and liberties. (The Problem With Pretext. 85 Dev. U. L. Rev. 503. (2008) By The Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovichfn, Tenth Circuit Judge). Viciously persecuting and punishing our troubled people for every petty or inconsequential infraction imaginable to keep them enslaved. (See: Slavery As Punishment: Original Public Meaning, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, and the Neglected Clause in the Thirteenth Amendment. 51 Arz. L. Rev. 983. Winter 2008. By Scott W. Howe). Having someone on the outside yelling loudly and advocating vigorously can make a huge difference. It can mean a bogus infraction gets thrown out, an abusive diesel therapy canceled, or a wrongful torturous solitary confinement stint ended. To the prisoner love truly is an action. Indifference is the opposite of love and hate. With millions of our countrymen and countrywomen incarcerated across the Nation, loved ones must continue to seek fairness and justice for the incarcerated community. Their empathy and activism are critical for change to occur. (See: Umpires, Empathy, and Activism: Lessons From Judge Cardozo. 85 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1629, 1634 (2010). Kim McLane Wardlaw).


The vast armies of loved ones stepping up to protest or advocate are making a big difference in the overall prison reform movement. Grandparents, parents, siblings, wives, partners, children, and even strangers are greatly effective and highly needed. (See: Moving Beyond Generalizations and Stereotypes to Develop Individualized Approaches to Working with Families Affected By Parental Incarceration. 50 Fam. Ct. Rev. 36, 38 (2012). By Philip M. Genty). One might mistakenly believe you have to be related, or in a loving intimate relationship, to express love through advocacy or activism. That is not true. (See: The Morality of Civil Disobedience. 43 Tex. L. Rev. 507, 508 (1965). Keeton). As Swan demonstrated above anyone can take part in the civil rights struggle. Many activists across the country have no loved ones in prison. Instead, they may have personally experienced the injustices prolific in the criminal justice system. (See: Contexts of Ill-Treatment: The Relationship of Captivity and Prison Confinement to Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment and Torture. Craig Haney and Shirin Bakhshay). Or perhaps learned about the cruelties of mass incarceration in some other way. No matter how one discovers the horrors facing our troubled peoples it can easily spark outrage and action. (See: A Holocaust in Slow Motion?: America's Mass Incarceration and the Role of Discretion. 7 DePaul J. Soc. Just. 117, 118-119 (2014). Mark Osler and Mark W. Bennett). To prison authorities, the incarcerated are merely numbers. Not human beings. Just like the Jews were only numbers to the Concentration Camp overseers. That is why vast numbers of advocates and activists are highly needed. Anyone, anywhere, can express love for their Country and fellow Americans by joining the battle. To be part of the solution rather than the problem. Make no mistake, one of the biggest problems is indifference. Those who were indifferent during the Civil War, during the women's suffrage movement, or the desegregation Civil Rights struggles, were just as bad, or perhaps worse, than those who expressly supported the rampant injustices. The greatest change-maker of all time Dr. King, Jr. stated about those who are more devoted to order than justice and who prefer a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice constantly says, I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cant agree with your methods of direct action... (See: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)). There is a clear battle underway. It is largely hidden from the public eye. Most do not even know about it. Usually, it is only when you, or a loved one, is adversely impacted that realization hits. Experiencing the heartless systemic injustices oftentimes impels the newly initiated to advocacy, activism, and even civil disobedience. (See: Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time 11. By James Kilgore. The New Press (2015)). One can not come close to the heat of institutionalized hate, oppression, and suffering without being burned into action. Many of those who dare throw their hats into the prison reform fight are quickly introduced to the brutality that prisoners endure daily. Such as retaliation, harassment, and multiple other forms of abuse.


One of the most fundamental notions of American civil society is justice and freedom for all. Yet for the first few centuries of the nation's existence, those tenets were denied to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us. Not only did African Americans have to fight vigorously to end slavery, receive the right to vote, and desegregate society. Often they were criminalized for it. The Courts had historically ruled disgustingly in favor of the institution of slavery pre-Civil War. [J]udges upheld slavery based on legal justifications. (See: Justice Accused: Anti-Slavery and the Judicial Process. 119-21. (1975). By Robert R. Cover). Likewise, many Judges rule almost exclusively in favor of the hate-filled institutions of prisoner slavery that keep our people in bondage today. (See: Addicted to Incarceration: A Federal Judge Reveals Shocking Truths About Federal Sentencing and Fleeting Hopes for Reform. 87 UMKC L. Rev. 3. Fall, 2018. Mark W. Bennett). Women also had to fight incredibly hard against entrenched government for their right to vote and to end domestic slavery. (See: The State Made Me Do It: The Applicability of the Necessity Defense to Civil Disobedience. 39 Stan. L. Rev. 1173, 1189-90 (1987). Steven M. Bauer and Peter J. Eckerstrom). Similarly, the civil rights battlefield today is prisons. It is critical to our Country and our descendants that we overcome the plague of mass incarceration. Ending systemic abuse, oppression, slavery, and hate benefits the entire Nation. The problem is, that prison reform receives very little media or public attention. Despite the extreme degradation and cruelty that is inflicted daily upon millions of our imprisoned people it largely goes ignored or unchanged. [W]ith every successive call for 'reform,' the prison has remained stubbornly brutal, violent, and inhumane." (See: Prison Reforms in Vogue and Other Strange Things.....TRUTHOUT. (Mar. 21, 2014). By Mariame Kaba. http://www.truthout.org/articles/prison-reforms-in-vogue-and-other-strange-things [http://www.perma.cc/3QA6-XCLZ]). Average Americans are shocked to learn that for over a century and a half of the United States, both Federal and State, has been using crime as a pretext to enslave their citizens. (See: America Never Abolished Slavery. Huffington Post. (May 2, 2015). By Angela F. Chan. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angela-f-chan/america-never-abolished-slaveryb6777420.html [http://www.perma.cc/HD9K-VZBF]). They are further stunned when they learn prisoners are treated as bad, and sometimes worse, than slaves were in the pre-civil war South. (See: Worse Than Slavery: Parchment Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice 31-84. (1996). By David M. Oshinsky). All of the prisoner's labor is taken by force, coercion, or duress. Refusal to work as a prisoner slave is punished harshly. During the pre-Civil War era whips were the Slavemaster's tool of coercion. Today prison administrators and C/Os use torturous solitary confinement, loss of good time, loss of property, or countless other deprivations to coerce slave labor. (See: Contexts of Ill-Treatment: The Relationship of Captivity and Prison Confinement to Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment and Torture. Craig Haney and Shirin Bakhshay). The modern governmental Slavemasters are systemically stealing billions of dollars worth of wages, civil forfeited funds, and extracted funds. Making the U.S. the biggest Slaveholder and Kleptocracy in human history. (See: Towards a Constitutional Kleptocracy: Civil Forfeiture in America. 96 Mich. L. Rev. 1910, 1918-1920 (1998). Herpel). An added insult and humiliation is the Jim Crow laws that reign supreme at every prison in the Nation. Prisoners can not eat with C/Os. They can not drink from the same water fountains as C/Os. They can not shake hands with C/Os. They can not play sports or games with C/Os. They can not use C/Os first names. Nor can they even act friendly with C/Os. Breach of these dehumanizing and inhumane laws by prisoners invokes severe punishments. Including the worldwide condemned torturous practice of solitary confinement. (See: The Science of Solitary: Expanding the Harmfulness Narrative. 115 NW. U.L. Rev. 211. (2020). By Craig Haney). On occasion, it may even provoke guard brutalities.


Beyond the prison bars, there are different systems of injustice awaiting the newly released slaves. The most insidious is mass supervision. Despite the ineffectiveness. Efforts to reduce recidivism through intensive supervision are not working. (See: Study After Study Shows Ex-Prisoners Would Be Better Off Without Intense Supervision. The Brookings Institution. Jennifer L. Doleac. July 2, 2018. http://www.Brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/07/02/study-after-study-shows-ex-prisoners-would-be-better-off-without-intense-supervision). Mass supervision is a mechanism to manufacture pretexts to send our troubled peoples back to the prison plantation. Varying from petty procedural violations (i.e. failure to timely report, staying out past curfew, associating with known felons, etc.) to violations for new criminal activity. Additional layers of discriminatory and prejudicial treatment in housing, employment, banking, credit, and countless other areas such as occupational licenses, make reentry virtually impossible. "It is legal to discriminate against ex-offenders in ways it was legal to discriminate against African-Americans. Once you're labeled a felon depending upon what State you're in, the old forms of discrimination....are suddenly legal. As a criminal, you have scarcely more rights and arguably less respect than a black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow."

(See: The New Jim Crow: How Mass Incarceration Turns People of Color Into Permanent Second Class Citizens. Am. Prospect (Jan.-Feb. 2011). Michelle Alexander). Add the debilitating untreated traumas from the inherent extreme prisoner's on-prisoner violence, heartless prisoner politics, the cruelly excessive and oppressive prison rules regimes, the daily C/Os brutalities, the constant daily fears of prison administrators' arbitrary and capricious cell moves and diesel therapy, the systemic depreciation and undervaluation of prisoner labor, the heartbreaking separation from family, and the institutionalized unfair predatory practices of extracting vast sums of money from families and communities for deficient property, commissary, media, and communication products. (See: The Trauma of the Incarcerated Experience. 48 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev., 257, 273 (2013). By Mika'il DeVeaux). Such egregious abuses and traumas culminate in a very mentally disturbed individual. One which is largely unfit to do common societal functions like making resumes, applying for jobs, paying bills, or even the inability to interact socially. (See: Trauma Exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Incarcerated Men. 91 J. URB. Health 707 (2014). By Nancy Wolff, Jessica Huening, Jing Shi, and B. Christopher Frueh). Understandably with such immense baggage troubled Americans released from prison recidivate within a relatively short amount of time. An overwhelming majority are back on the prison plantation within ten years. Among State prisoners 83.4 percent reoffend within nine years, 58.2 percent commit the same type of offense again. (See: U.S. Dept of Justice Statistics, 2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism: A 9-Year Follow-up Period (2005-2014) at 11 (May 2018). http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514.pdf). Many return with cruelly long sentences. Mainly due to unconstitutional recidivistic laws that place our people twice in jeopardy for past crimes. In direct contravention of the Constitutional drafter's intent. Of course, such misinterpretation and outright abuse of U.S. Supreme Court authority was necessary to increase sentences for the slave class. [I]t is wrong to punish an offender more severely for a second offense if that person has already paid for the first offense since that amounts to punishing the person twice for the first offense." (See: Retributive Justice and Prior Offenses. 18 Phil. F., Fall 1986 at 40, 43. By James D. Stuart).


Without a doubt making a bad criminal decision in America today is akin to being enslaved after losing a war in ancient days, being placed into involuntary servitude for debts, or being African and forced into the slave trade. They are all exceedingly horrible fates. Despite the indisputable atrociousness of mass incarceration, it is increasingly imposed on large segments of our society. That is why there is a huge struggle for civil rights in the criminal justice system. Those who love their fellow citizens. Those who embrace human rights. Those who have personally experienced the injustices. Those who have loved ones inside. And those who strive to leave their children and descendants a system that saves, helps, and restores rather than enslaves and destroys. The countless unseen masses of kindhearted people that tirelessly advocate and protest against the tyranny of mass incarceration. They deserve acclamation, esteem, trophies, and awards. Instead, they receive questioning blank stares, stigmatization, indifference, and hard lives of thankless social justice work that seemingly achieves very little genuine reform. Regardless, even if the establishment and those in authority disparage and denigrate, this undertaking is monumental and noble. Millions of prisoners are suffering across the country and they thank you deeply from their hearts. Whether for your patriotism, love, or concern for future generations. No matter how you arrived at your advocacy work, you are applauded and appreciated. Forming a more perfect Union is not easy. Sometimes it consists of appearing at legislative sessions to speak for or against bills. It could mean protesting with signage at Courthouses, prisons, or governmental offices. Other times it may simply be subscribing to prison reform podcasts like www.DefundDOC.net. Of course, front-line activists may perhaps draft and email complaints to prison administrators. No matter how small or big your contribution is, your efforts and love are very much appreciated and truly inspiring.


You can continue to educate yourself on the injustices and inequities of mass incarceration by simply subscribing to our free podcast and blog. www.DefundDOC.net. Every new subscriber will receive a free digital copy of one of my books: "DEFUND D.O.C.: TURNING ALL PRISONS INTO TREATMENT AND CAREER CENTERS," or, "THE ART OF LIVING: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN LIFE AND BUSINESS, I LEARNED IN PRISON."

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