Open the door, MI!

No question about it: Isolation due to COVID nearly drove many of us crazy! 

From our friends, from our neighbors, in the news, we heard reports of such psychological disorders as anxiety and panic, insomnia, digestive problems, depression, loneliness, and irritability. Sadly, the suicide rate was up. 

Psychology experts point out that human beings are not “designed” to manage segregation, even for 10 days, let alone for a long period of time. Duh! As the Greek philosopher Aristotle reminds us, man is a “social animal.” 

I’ve got news for you. After hearing our complaints, more than 3,000 Michigan prisoners have little sympathy. These prisoners are caged in a 7x9 foot cell for more than 20 hours a day! They’re in solitary confinement. They were there before COVID. They’ll be there after COVID unless we do something about it. 

The HFP team is especially aware of this, not only because some of our clients are in seg, but also because our office is supporting Citizens for Prison Reform’s Open MI Door Campaign, an effort to end or at least limit solitary confinement in Michigan. 

My friend Lois DeMott Pullano, Executive Director of CPR, is spearheading this campaign, and it’s turning out to be an uphill battle. 

You see, we don’t like it when we’re stuck in the house all day, even though we have the opportunity to mask up, take a walk around the neighborhood, and chat with family members on zoom. 

Yet, we show little concern re solitary confinement in our prisons, where prisoners can experience 

-Confinement behind a solid steel door for 20 to 24 hours a day

-Water shut-offs and restrictions on food

-Inadequate medical and mental health treatment

-Physical torture such as top of bed restraints, hog-tying and restraint chairs

-“No-touch torture,” such as sensory deprivation, permanent bright lighting, extreme temperatures, extreme noise and forced insomnia

-Chemical torture, pepper spray, tasers and forced cell extraction

-Sexual intimidation and other forms of brutality and humiliation

-Infrequent phone calls and non-contact family visits

-Extremely limited access to rehabilitative or educational programming

-Restrictions on reading material, paper and mail. 

It’s no wonder that we get reports of severe anxiety, fear, rage, depression, even hallucinations, confusion and memory loss. 

It’s time to end the double standard. Isolation wasn’t a picnic for us. It’s hell for prisoners. 

We encourage your support of this CPR effort by signing a petition. Do it now! 

https://www.change.org/p/governor-whitmer-end-solitary-confinement-in-michigan?recruiter=1601458&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=d2fbe090-d42e-012f-0b93-404060e72abb

 

 

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 contact the author, Mark
Read more