When cruelty becomes torture, right in our state prisons!

There’s torture taking place in Michigan prisons. 

I’m not speaking figuratively. There’s actual, literal, torture occurring every day in some of our state’s correctional facilities. 

I’ll explain. 

For segregation areas, a prisoner count must be taken every half hour. It’s done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Here’s how. Corrections Officers have been issued heavy metal wands for this high-tech system. An electronic module has been installed in the door of every cell. When the officer touches the wand to the module, there’s a beep which signals that the count has been recorded. Simple, right? So what’s the problem? 

Well, many times that’s not exactly how the procedure goes, according to reports we receive. The wand is metal and it’s heavy, and if the officer chooses, he can slap it against the module. One loud clang. If he really wants to be annoying, the officer can slap it several times---rat-a-tat-a-tat. 

Larry, one of our informers, says, “Imagine someone banging on your door, your wall, every half hour of every day, while you eat, read, sleep!” Larry goes on to explain that these are not just a few renegade officers. “The exception is the officer who does his count without cruelty. The rule is officers who perform those duties with a callous disregard. And it isn’t just the prison guards. Mid-level and upper-level administrators not only condone this behavior, but many of them bang on the doors themselves. Even healthcare workers---people whose profession it is to relieve suffering---bang on our doors with their wands.” 

Larry’s letter to HFP was a sharp reminder to me. We’ve heard similar complaints from prisoners in seg for years, and until now I haven’t spoken up. 

The use of sound as a means of cruelty is not new. Carefully read this definition by The United National Convention Against Torture: 

...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as...punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating...him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, 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 shoe fits! 

This procedure can be done without noise. It’s time to make sure that happens. 

Incarceration is the punishment. We may not add to it.