SUNGLASSESGATE!

Remember when we tried to give a wheelchair to a Michigan prisoner earlier this year, and it took almost five months to make it happen? To refresh your memory, a prisoner needing a wheelchair had a problem getting one from the state, and so we innocently shipped a donated chair. But apparently that was in violation of some policy, and it took months before reason prevailed, and the chair was moved from the warden’s office to the cell of the prisoner.

Well, the state never forgot that, and now the same prisoner is in the Michigan Department of Corrections limelight again. This time he’s been placed in the hole (segregation). The charge: Smuggling!

It’s a case much more serious than the wheelchair incident: His friend, with his knowledge and consent, sent him a new pair of sunglasses! Think of the serious ramifications! Everyone should know that sunglasses may not be sent to a prisoner. Just as with the wheelchair, this is against policy. But the MDOC dug in on this one, appointing an inspector AND a hearings investigator. The prisoner was thrown in the hole, the company that shipped the sunglasses from out-of-state was threatened with a federal investigation (US Mails), the friend of the inmate faces permanent restriction from prison visitation, and the state will even hold a hearing on this matter on November 14!

I have a copy of the MDOC Notice of Proposed Visitor Restriction, and regarding the sunglasses issue, it uses such ominous terms as “conspired …to send sunglasses,” “the package (of sunglasses) is fraudulent,” and, “ the prisoner has been charged with the following major misconduct violation: 045 Smuggling.”

The Michigan Department of Corrections faces huge issues and struggles with incredible financial problems, yet it spends this much time and money on sunglasses? It promises to even produce tapes of telephone conversations proving that these people conspired to have the sunglasses sent! Are sunglasses considered dangerous contraband?

Let’s compare the wheelchair issue. WE sent a wheelchair. Was that package fraudulent? We freely discussed this plan with the prisoner in advance. Was that a conspiracy? Why wasn’t the prisoner placed in segregation when the wheelchair arrived, and why wasn’t there a hearing to determine whether our visiting should be suspended?

The answer is simple. RETALIATION! The prisoner and his friend are learning an important lesson: It may take time, but when it comes to a shoving match, the MDOC does not intend to lose!

Doug Tjapkes
HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS
20 W. Muskegon Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49440

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more