Date: Friday, May 8, 2020 Time: 9:43 am Location: Toledo Correctional Inst.
Out of nowhere, myself and thousands of other prisoners are now at-risk of contracting COVID-19! At the prison I’m in, we were all given masks. But in the area of sanitation, the prison isn’t taking it seriously. Our showers stay dirty, so much to the point that some prisoners wash up in their cells, rather than go to the shower. I’m uncertain of the exact number of how many people have contracted the virus here. But prisoners and staff have both tested positive.
A fellow prisoner that just moved into my cellblock, however, told me that there was an entire block full of prisoners that were being quarantined. He said that they were in the block that used to house kitchen workers, and that they weren’t being allowed to send out mail or use their phone tablets*. He also told me that the pandemic has caused great tension throughout the prison between prisoners and prison employees. He told me that officers are pissed-off at the DRC director, because they aren’t receiving supplemental “hazard pay.” He told me that the officers were suing the Director, and that, in turn, the Director was reassigning officers to job posts that they didn’t want to work. As a result, he said that the pissed officers were taking their frustrations out on prisoners.
I don’t know what the hell the Trump Administration is doing? He needs to stop being an egomaniac, and do what’s right for the country! Nobody knows what the virus is capable of doing. So, why is everyone in a rush to open the country back up? People should be demanding better leadership, and listening to experts in the medical field. Playing political games at a time like this is going to get people killed.
I want to give a shout out to the Ohio prisoner rights organization “EPIC”(ENSURING PAROLE FOR INCARCERATED CITIZENS), headed by Jeanna Kenny. They held a momentus protest outside of Marion Correctional Institution,last week, and are helping lead the fight for justice, for prisoners, by example! Join in and support them on your social media platform, www.EpicXTeam.org [(614) 207-2407], the same way that UNIVERSAL SUPPORT NETWORK founder Norman V. Whiteside did. If their is going to be gains made against Ohio’s criminal justice system, the various few Ohio organizations and activist need to put their egos to the side, and work together for the common good of prisoners! Because fighting and bickering isn’t helping prisoners. It’s hurting us, in fact. Those who are truly generals should be in the lead. So, put your egos aside, organize, and work together! You all have the Internet at your disposal, so, use it to “UNITE.” Use it to communicate and listen to the ideas and views of one another, otherwise understanding and unification will never be realized.
Last, if you are seeking justice for old-law prisoners who have to go before the Parole Board, then you should be supporting the “INVISIBLE CHESS:The Jason Goudlock Story” film. The film uses my story of injustice, as well as the story of Delano Wright’s, to expose the secretive and unjust dealings of Ohio’s Parole Board. But, the film is a film that was made for the purpose of attaining justice for all old-law offenders! The log line for the film reads:”TWENTY YEARS AGO, OHIO MADE FOUR THOUSAND PRISONERS THE UNDERCLASS OF THE UNDERCLASS.”
Four thousand! Not just me. FOUR…THOUSAND! So, let’s come together, and aggressively spread the word about the INVISIBLE CHESS film. Much deserved noise has been recently been made about the captured-on-video killing of Ahmaud Arbery, and the brazen months long decision by Georgia law enforcement to not arrest Arbery’s assailants. This type of brazenness is the same kind of brazenness that the Ohio Parole Board displays. The INVISIBLE CHESS film clearly shows the ruthlessness of the Ohio Parole Board, yet they haven’t been forced to be held accountable. I say, let’s make them be held accountable! Use social media to demand JUSTICE! We have to fight together, and stay aggressive! Simply complaining without taking any action will get us nowhere in Ohio.
I conclude this posting by saying “stay safe,and stay strong during these difficult times.”
In the struggle, live from incarceration nation…
Postscript: Please circulate the video and Press Release of the INVISIBLE CHESS billboard that was recently put up in Los Angeles. … I want to, also, give a shout out to the students of Prof. Paul Moke at Wilmington College, who are watching INVISIBLE CHESS in his Criminal Justice class. Thank you.
[*] Call the Toledo media, and the ACLU, and ask them to make an inquiry about the alleged mistreatment of quarantined COVID-19 prisoners. Ask for them to request interviews with various inmates and prison employees.