Letters from Inside: Covid-19 and the Carceral State #20

This is part of our series Letters from Inside: COVID-19 and the Carceral State, centered on amplifying the voices of incarcerated people in Ohio. Below is a transcript of an electronic letter sent to us on 10/22/2020 by Darrick, published with his permission and edited minimally for clarity.

Darrick is still facing the unjust conditions detailed below. We ask anyone who reads this to send an email to complain to the following email addresses for officials at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institute:

• drc.aoci@odrc.state.oh.us
• kim.rowe@odrc.state.oh.us
• drc.crc@odrc.state.oh.us
• drc.publicinfo@odrc.state.oh.us

Darrick requests that we ask them the following questions:

• Is Darrick’s Restrictive Housing Term expired?
• Did Ms. Wilson forge Darrick’s signature on the October 19th security review?
• Why is Darrick on food and clothes box restrictions when he’s not under any sanctions?
• Did Mr. Wakefield’s conduct report represent accurate facts or did he lie about the time in it?
• Is what has happened to Darrick legal and within the framework of policy? If so, which policy?

If you would like a form email to send, please reach out to voicesfrominsideoh@gmail.com, and we will send you one.

Here is Darrick’s recounting of the unjust treatment he has been subject to:

My name is Darrick Newsome #A676–232, I’m a Prisoner at the Allen Oakwood Corr. Inst. 2338 N. West Street, Lima, Ohio 45801. These are the violations of law that I’m subjected to because I stand up for my Rights as a HUMAN BEING. This is my attempt to make the General Public aware of the abuses being heaped upon Prisoners throughout this country. I will be retaliated against for exposing the Prison Industrial Complex, but that is something that I take comfort in because as a MUSLIM it is my duty to ENJOIN WHATS RIGHT AND FORBID WHATS EVIL. Please, post this, share this, send this to your representative, or call the ODRC and inquire about these gross INJUSTICES, for these acts are being done with the tax-payers money. You have a right to know what they aren’t telling you

The AOCI Investigator Shawn Wakefield issued me a falsified conduct report on 9–24–20 (ACI-20–002773). What made the conduct report false is the time of the offense that Wakefield placed in the report, he stated that my cell was shookdown at 10:00am on 9–3–2020, this NEVER occured. The only shakedown of my cell was conducted by Correctional Officer Vance and this resulted in me being charged with a rule 51 violation in which I was found NOT GUILTY due to Corr. Officer Vance’s testimony (ACI-20–002530).

5120–9–11 (D) and (D)(1) state: “No inmate shall be found guilty of a violation of a rule conduct without some evidence of the commission of an act and the intent to commit the act”, “The act must be beyond mere preparation and be sufficiently performed to constitute a substantial risk of it’s being performed”. The conduct report issued by Wakefield FAILS to meet this criteria because no cell search was ever conducted at 10:00am on 9–3–2020. This isn’t just a mistake on the behalf of Wakefield, it’s a violation of 56-DSC-01 (D)(1)(g) which states: “Reporting staff members signature and date and time of report” must be included in the conduct report.

Furthermore, if Wakefield wanted to change the time of the Offense/Conduct Report, 56-DSC-01 (F)(1) provides “In every case, the hearing officer shall determine whether the conduct report has been accurately completed in a manner to sufficiently support a charge. The hearing officer shall determine whether the conduct report:

a) cites the correct rule

b) identifies the charged; and

c) cites sufficient facts to support the charged violation”

(F)(4) provides: “If the Conduct Report is inaccurate, the hearing officer may return it to the charging official for correction or revision”.

Wakefield, intentionally and with malicious intent, falsified the time of the shakedown in the conduct report because I was already found NOT GUILTY of possessing the contraband in RIB case number ACI-20–002530, along with Inmate Lawhorn being found GUILTY of the same contraband and admitting that it belonged to him (ACI-20–002529). So, Wakefield knew that he couldn’t charge me with the same contraband that I was found not guilty of and that another inmate pled guilty to. So instead, he fabricated a conduct report stating that my cell was shookdown at another time, in an attempt to make it look like these were unrelated cell searches and thus being able to issue me a new conduct report.

If the conduct report was reviewed according to 56-DSC-01 (F)(5) which states “Hearing officers shall withdraw a conduct report when it has been determined to be a duplicate or when the conduct report has been determined to be the product of harassment or unauthorized supervision”, 56-DSC-02 (E)(1) which states “The decision of RIB must be based solely on information obtained in the hearing process, including staff reports, the statements of the charged, and evidence derived from witnesses and documents”, or at the Warden’s Decision On Appeal where the warden’s designee reviews the entire record to either uphold or overturn any violations of policy. The hearing officer, Sgt. Van Horn, FAILED to do his job, the RIB chairman/panel, Lt. Ledesma and Ms. Wilson, FAILED to do their jobs, and the warden’s asst. Jody Factor, FAILED to do her job. If any of them reviewed the record they would’ve seen Wakefield’s violation of policy, but instead they chose to blindly persecute me in violation of my DUE PROCESS as protected by Administrative Regulations and ODRC policy under the color of state LAW.

I have remained in restictive housing since 9–3–2020 for a falsified conduct report that Wakefield issued me. I was sentenced to 30 days LC and a recommended security review. My 30 day LC time expired on 10–3–2020, but per the request of Wakefield I remain in restrictive housing because I’m a security threat. This also, is in violation of Restrictive Housing Procedure (H)(1)(a) which states “An individual shall be released when: Their restrictive housing term imposed by the RIB or SMP expires”. Upon making AOCI Administration aware of my situation through complaint, hunger strike and suicide watch, they responded by moving me from restrictive housing to the AOCI QUARANTINE AREA FOR COVID-19. This is being done to myself and to Prisoners Valdes, Hill, Canon, Davis, and Easely. I’m being detained in this housing area under the guise that before AOCI does my security review, they must afford me Due Process of the Law in regards to my Appeal of the Warden’s Decision On Appeal, until this is done I shall remain in this housing unit. I’m not allowed to order commissary, have any of my electronics, use the phone/jpay, have video visits, complete my college work (I’m kicked out due to this falsified conduct report) or anything else as provided by the privileges that I have as a level 1 inmate. They allow me thirty minutes a day out of my cell. This is a violation of my 1st, 6th and 8th Amendment (Due Process, Equal protection Clause, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment).

Whatever the allegations in the conduct report are, they are MOOT!!!, because the conduct report in and of itself is a violation of LAW.