First look

 

Below are some of the prisoners posted here; look at the side bar to this blog and you will see prisoners listed by last name. Under that is  a listing by issues. Each prisoner gets a link to his or her particular post and is asked to send it to family and friends. We  hope this helps start a movement for real change.

This blog is in its infancy and we ask for you patience.

link to our main blog here:www.prisonforum.org

Main issue I am starting with - conditions in RHUs ( restrictive housing units)in our maximum prisons. 

link to gathering post on that issue: 

Summer 2024 Report on Solitary Torture in WI Prisons: https://ourprisonersspeak.blogspot.com/2024/08/summer-2024-report-on-solitary-torture.html

Corleon Thomas, TIS prisoner
with too much time
this case is a good example of the wrongheadedness
 of truth  in sentencing

Sean Forester -Hoare: he and his family believe he has Mrsa, is also trying to prove his innocence. FFUP's attempts to get confirmation of diagnosis and treatment unsuccessful- picking this up again

Terrance Grissom- mentally ill . in for disrupting, here still 20 years later/ needs to go home to colorado where his mother resides

Bryant Johnson, on 24 hr oxygen ,
 need compassionate release
another pld friend to FFUP- old law prisoner ,eligible for parole for decades 

Bill Brocket too long in prison

Raymond Woods
first post describes being "inmate"

Tyler Milton, mentally ill, advocate
for himself and others

Nicole Pergande, speaks for many 

Michael Evans, 
PLEADS for mental health treatment

Damien Green, mentally ill, slated to be released
 in few months with no support , to homelessness
 after no treatment or training

Carrie Metz, much abused, tries to keep
in close touch with her son

"Mentally Ill Set up for failure"

https://ourprisonersspeak.blogspot.com/2024/07/mentally-ill-setup-for-failure.html

This us a blog we put together in 2018-19 after prisoners filled out questionaires about their experience in solitary. I have added their present pictures and am inviting each to write their own post. 

 

Fredrick Morris today

Fredrick Morris 2018
Fredrick Morris is from Chicago and is in perpetual Segregation. He tells me he is here because because he assaulted a guard who was abusing him . He is very clear headed although he does sink into self harm 

because he assaulted a guard who was abusing him

Chance Wallow long time seg survivor ,now in  general. Chad's first post tells of cells
with no windows or outside light 




Joseph Cook, one of hundreds convicted as
 juveniles who  need their cases reassessed

two more juvenile offenders

Kamau, Raynell Morgan  has suffered the worst
effects of long term solitary and retaliation

DarRon Morris, a story of
transformation
and wonderful artist

Second Chance for Juvenile Offenders
https://secondchanceforjuvenileoffenders.blogspot.com/

this is a blog done at least five years ago that we are updating now and again,, will invite all those still in or system to write and we will post.

Matthew Stechauner, innocent and
mentally ill, fine litigator

Nate Lindell, another story of transformation: from Bigot to a caring and effective litigator/many good ideas to share

                                                                

Jeff Poff, framed, trying to prove innocence,
shares wide view of system
After decades of wrongful incarceration, community members are coming forth with evidence of his innocence

Tom Ploszay needs surgery before release to homelessness/has lost everything and has innocence case. Good look at incredibly bad health care system/ we will soon have gofund me site to help him pay rent once released

Jimmy Johnson 328433  FLCI
always claimed innocence, now has proof, given the absurd amount of time- 113 years
working with FFUP prisoner litigator guides. 

;

 

Kendrick Sellers 
first blogpost tells of lessons about racism he learned from his father. 

Luis Nieves has stage 4 cancer. We worked with him in 22 and 23 after he had  all  his meds and palliative care taken away when new doctor came in- This is a good example of WIDOC health care and the "special needs committee" which can override any recommendations and orders made by off site, independent doctors

prelude

 This blog is under construction but the basic structure is here.

on the RIGHT are two main lists: one that collects prisoners documents and writing by issues and                                                                  one that list prisoners by last name

The main reason for this blog is that FFUP's advocacy is stuck. The WIDOC is in "defense mode" and is unresponsive to our concerns and too afraid of the public's ire against prisoners and too scared of losing more staff to do anything but give soothing platitudes. We must reach beyond out inner circles and build a power base that pushes for compassion and wisdom instead of unending revenge.

A major focus now is getting real relief for prisoners in our RHUs ( solitary confinement- "Restrictive hosing units") where conditions defy description. 

"animal in a Cage" by DarRen Morris

In "Summer 2024 Report On Solitary Torture" I gather documents and writings from prisoners representing the ongoing abuse . Most of these men  have family members who will step up and bear witness, so I am contacting investigative journalists to try to raise pubic awareness. At the same time FFUP is working on effective legislative and legal action with  litigators newly released and still entombed. We have tried all this before but now more people are listening thanks to the reports of courageous prisoners, the work of many activists, and the wonderful reporting of journalists.  

Now is the time to be real teachers- the easy solutions bandied about everywhere are not going to help. We cannot just close down prisons without a big time reduction of prisoner population and we cannot close solitary units without real mental health treatment. There is none in the state for those without money- the mentally ill too often end in prison because of the public's refusal to address difficult issues. Our "Out of sight out of mind" public mindset is no longer helping and we must begin the panful discussions and investigations needed.

This blog's basic structure is about done . Prisoners are invited to heave their own posts after which where they submit their writings and documents and I  quickly post and link them to posts and reports on same and similar issues. They get the link to thier poast and spread the word to family and friends.

FFUP gathers and learns and makes reports- and we all push for more accountability in every way possible. The solutions are available- the will to change needs to be strengthened. with this blog I hope to be able to gather the infinity that comes into mu mailbox, phone and corrlinks app.. The treasures I am given to safe keep and spread. I hope it will be a  major organizing tool for me

note: Feel free to contact me, and you can submit writings if you have personal experience with the DOC or want to comment on an inmate's post. WE will tolerate no hate speech and you must give full contact information in order to be posted. I will not post that info unless given permission but I need it in order to post, There are comment features on this blog and they will be monitored-

I believe prisoners are not their crime and that people change. Prisoners share with me what they are convicted of and tell that story if the choose but I do not ask nor am concerned with it except as it is needed in our work together. I believe that the confinement and loss of community of prison is the punishment. The mental and physical torture these men and women endure and we tolerate is a soul loss for all and a real crime perpetrated by our willful ignorance, We too can change.  

Peg Swan

Founder,Co-director FFUP

Forum for Understanding Prisons,  501c3 non profit

pgswan3@aol.com, 608-536-3993

29631 Wild Rose Drive; Blue River, WI 53518

Todd Thorud

Todd thorud, astute observer, victim of assault
 and prime plaintiff in suit to force 
   DOC to build mental health treatment facility
BD 1976, 48YO
in since 1998-old law prisoner

Most urgent is his health care need- he needs dental surgery and needs to be sedated to have it and is denied: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4-ZR_LJxsFPPxsO52vSmkXtq0I7Xfl1/view?usp=sharing

what is here so far:
1)two frauds/scams described
vendor scam
Keefe Commissary Network

2)how the DOC health care does not work
3) slave labor

  the vendors- SCAM ONE 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16PJ17z Carr and allR0QMf70VppG1rBc2sfXfqvl_RW/view?usp=sharing

transcribed below:

Todd Thorud  206723  osci

 DOC- v e n d o r s ( criminally predatory)

  Our incarcerated inmate population must use only DOC contracted/ approved vendors to purchase canteen, hobby, property, etc. items!  Inmate population cannot use an outside vendor! In theory we can only use an outside vendor if we cannot find something better from our DOC's vendors  but in practice such a purchase is never approved.

   The Contracting system for all DLC inmates is extremely corrupt and predatory towards all inmates and anyone else who tries to help our inmate population.

    The Wisconsin DOC Administration uses NASPD( the National Association of State procurement officials) to select and contact all of its vendors. DOC does this in secret and behind Closed doors. 

    We need this practice to be brought into the light and under public scrutiny. This process should be monitored by the Wisconsin Attorney General's office.  The contacts should be open to our inmate population also. We are intended customers and we should have a say in what we are being sold and for how much. Also,every inmate should have the opportunity to submit questions concerns and so on to any potential vendor.

    The DOC Administration and its co-conspirator NASPO are fully legally and financially liable for the actions of all contracted vendors that are allowed to operate within the DOC system. The DOC allows these contracted vendors to behave in criminally- predatory in egregiously contemptible ways. They continue to increase the prices of all goods and merchandise and so on that is sold to our inmate population and everyone else who wants to help the inmate population by sending items from the DOC vendors.

     This is outrageously criminal extortion and fraud etc.It also is ethically and morally repugnant to say the least.

    The DOC should have to allow loved ones, family, friends and so on and others who wish to send us items from the doc approved vendor to pay the price every other citizen pays.

This outrageous fraud by the doc has cost ordinary innocent taxpayer citizens of Wisconsin millions of. Dollars.

     By charging our inmate population so much for everything we need, DOC and its corrupt predatory vendors ensure that our inmate population has to ask someone outside  the DOC system to buy items we can't afford ourselves. The Wisconsin Administration knows fully well that our intimate population can't afford most items in our vendor catalogs..This is deliberate extortion and fraud by the doc and its vendors.

     This causes significant hardship on our inmate population and others who try to help us survive this increasingly predatory and abusive incarceration.

    Someone needs to stop this. 

Sincerely concerned Todd l Thorud  226723

   SCAM TWO

Todd  t h o r u d 226723  osci

 The  k e e f e  commissary Network (KCN) 

   Sunday August 11th 2024

     The Keefe commissary Network(KCN) is the devil! it is evil in all its forms, such as its subsidiaries Access Corrections, IC Solutions,etc.

      KCN and its subsidiaries have engaged in campaign/ criminal Enterprises and etc to criminally, predatorily prey etc upon the inmate population of Wisconsin Department of Corrections, city and county jails etc.

.     KCN has done this in 39 other states etc with the full complicity/ authority of the correction system in 40 + States, cities, counties, and other localities throughout the US. These states,, cities, counties and other localities have given KCN their complete permission to act, and behave as they wish with complete autonomy and impunity.

       As long as each state, city, County locality, gets its commissions and sales taxes and etc,they don't care what happens to the inmate population, our loved ones, friends , etc or any person who wants to help our inmate population Survive the increasingly difficult incarceration Within the correction system Nationwide.

       KCN and other similar- criminally predatory companies such as Union Supply  Group,  have preyed upon our inmate population and others who are trying to help us for Decades. (30plus years). They have violated our constitutional rights,,Our civil rights and our human rights. They've knowingly and purposefully extorted and defrauded our inmate population, costing us billions of dollars and  and have caused our population to suffer in pain and misery for decades. 

      While  we have suffered these decades, we have asked for help from the DOC, the state government, the state court system, the State Legislative  officials, the State Attorney General office etc, We have been dismissed, ignored, threatened, and punitively- harassed, antagonized intimidated and bullied to dissuade and deter us from challenging the DOC/ States failure protect us from any abuse or being taken advantage of by anyone, including the DOC and its employees, the state and its employees.etc.

    When the Wisconsin -DOC Administration and the state of Wisconsin  decided to switch to a different tablet, they knew and were fully aware that our population would be losing all access and use of our ATG tablets and our media content. They knew that we would  lose our significant investment in the tablet and media content that we owned. KCN had no intention of refunding our inmate population for the cost of the tablet or the media content that we owned 

     Yet the DOC Administration kept lying to our inmate population, telling us that they were still working on the issue. They also allowed ATG(access-keefe) to keep selling the inmate population tablets and more media content  even though they had no intention of refunding or reimbursing our inmate population for either the cost of our tablets or the media content that we purchased. They continue to do so to this date. This is egregious: fraud and extortion.

    We  cannot use other vendors, we are forced to use these criminally predatory vendors no matter how they. treat us. Even though there is plenty of proof showing that Keiffe, KCN and Union Supply are abusing the inmate population throughout the US, the Wisconsin DOC Administration still chose to award KCN yet another contract.

      This so they can continue to exert and defraud our inmate population and our loved ones. We need help to stop this cycle of abuse and mistreatment; still forcing us to buy criminally overpriced Goods and merchandise; for decades more to come!

 

 sincerely disgusted and frustrated, Todd l T h o r u d  226723

 

2)not yet transcribed but originals linked here:  

                                                   

Transcriptions for all the letters linked below are coming- these are readable as is however, with many good ideas. 

   1) Life story:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u-0VBrgrMDvXsTlyHvrm7n0MZ_2ZRqIS/view?usp=sharing   

2) Sedation dentistry

a)https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4-ZR_LJxsFPPxsO52vSmkXtq0I7Xfl1/view?usp=sharing

b)https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UOlXJaimWm1DcxfxR2T62jimQiwyYSNb/view?usp=sharing      

4) health care in the DOC https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WhOen0Kq1T1y5ttE02if726Js9J-_oo5/view?usp=sharing                              

5) Slave Labor:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zEjdgsoLuFcnapSiywMnBaKMU_k9G3by/view?usp=sharing

Bryant Howze

Bryant Howze  214434

Bryant Howze facing severe retaliation,

                                                                            severely stressed

Oshkosh Correctional Institution

PO Box 189

Phoenix, MD 21131

b1969, 55yo                          

Bryant Howze, under extreme stress,,suffering retaliation 

Bryant Howze has migraine headaches, finds prison life very stressful.  The Health staff on and off again help him with botox shots etc but he has come to realize that finding ways to reduce his inner stress would be most helpful. unfortunately  now finds himself in a truly scary situation. It goes like this:

1)he got into an argument with another prisoners, there were some blows.

2) One of the officers threw his entire body weight against Bryant in an effort to stop the fight. It toppled Bryant, who is a small man. The  officer was big.

3)Bryant was injured , was put in the "Hole" ( solitary-disciplinary segregation) and not given any health care

4)Bryant filed inmate complaints and exhausted remedies on the incident, citing "use of excessive force". all complaints were dismissed .

5) When Bryan t got out of segregation, he found most of his property was gone. 

6)The prison has filed charges against Bryant for the fight that started this whole thing even though the "victim" was not hurt and is not pressing charges AND has written and affidavit stating as much. The DOC continues to pursue this. Last week there was a court hearing canceled because the victim did not show up. Bryant waited for hours at the court house. 

7) Bryant's stress is through the roof . He knows all this is retaliation for  his filing complaints against the officer. 

Letter from Bryant :

Bryant Howze 214434 o s c i

Postmarked  July 7th 2024

 I want you to know that on June 4th I went to RHU( the hole) and when I got out of RHU June 27th most of my property is missing.

 Officer Eddie Moore  through his body toward me from behind like he was playing football. officer Moore drove into me.

 I am 55 years old and he did not tell me anything or say nothing to me.

 he, officer  Eddie  Moore, to another officers and inmates that he slipped. no Peggy, He did what he did on purpose.

 Conduct report that he typed up says  different.

 Most of  my hobby stuff is missing as well as other property.

 so please  work with me I'm getting my hobby items again.

 I also need paper and envelopes.

From Court case citing on CCAP (Wisconsin courts online)   

  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_s-CX9bDSJbMYIsHTuLgD6clIfyWWzgA/view?usp=sharing

Robert Mayers ( victim,) affidavit

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a_ND1F5XT_otjLTw2EOOx5twiNOcxByY/view?usp=sharing

 

                                           my letters to court and warden 9124

Judge Daniel Bissett 

Winnebago County Circuit Court

415 Jackson Street 

 PO Box 2808

Oshkosh, WI 54903-2808

 

                                        Re: Friend of the Court letter for Bryant Howze

Winnebago County Case Number 2024CF000588

September 4, 2024

Hello,

I am very concerned for the well being of Bryan Howze, who has a hearing in your court on September 9th.

He suffers from Migraines because of stress and I have been trying to help him through our non profit's DEstress

 project, sending him hobby supplies and wordsearch books which he enjoys.

Please let me share with you what I see. On June 4th Bryant and Robert Meyer began fighting,I guess Bryant was

"winning", when Officer Eddie Moore Jumped Bryant. Bryant says he "threw his whole body toward me from behind

 like he was playing football. He plowed into me." There was no warning. Bryant was taken to the hole, was given no

 nursing care and no x-rays and when he got out, much of his  property was missing.

Bryant explains he is 55 and small and officer Moore is a large man. Bryant sustained injuries and still has trouble-

lots of pain in his back and he sometimes has trouble breathing . He filed complaints on the incident and all

 were dismissed. Officer Moore says he slipped.

The bizarre thing is these charges the prison has filed charges against Bryant!  Robert Meyer was not injured and

refuses to file charges. Officer Moore used excessive force, meaning there were lots of alternative actions possible.

It looks very much like this is an attempt to protect Officer Moore. It is in retaliation for Bryant's filing complaints.

 Rather than pursuing this absurd path, I suggest the prison should use this incident to teach staff how to de-escalate

such incidents safely. Bryant needs x-rays on his back and nursing care, his property back.

     

 I thank you for your attention.

 

 

Peg Swan

Founder, Co-director FFUP

Forum for Understanding Prisons,  501c3 non profit

pgswan3@aol.com, 608-536-3993

29631 Wild Rose Drive; Blue River, WI 53518

 

Warden Brian Cahak,

1730 W. Snell Road ​ 

PO Box 3530

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3530

                                        Re: Bryant Howze 214434

Winnebago County Case Number 2024CF000588

September 4, 2024

Hello,

I am very concerned for the well being of Bryan Howze, a prisoner in your institution. He suffers from Migrains

because of stress and I have been trying to help him through FFUP's DEstress project, sending him hobby

 supplies and wordsearch books which he enjoys.

I believe the charges against Bryant are fabricated in an attempt to protect office Moore and the prison. Instead

of admitting that excessive fore was used and using the incident as a teaching moment, they are going full scale assault on the victim. What I see is this: On June 4th Bryant and Robert Meyer began fighting, I guess Bryant was "winning", when Officer Eddie Moore Jumped Bryant. Bryant says he "threw his whole body toward me from behind like he was playing football. He plowed into me." There was no warning. Bryant was taken to the hole( segregation), was given no nursing care and no x-rays and when he got out, much of  his property was missing.

Bryant explains he is 55 and small and officer Moore is a large man. Bryant sustained injuries and still has trouble-

 lots of pain in his back and he sometimes has trouble breathing . He filed complaints on the incident and all

were dismissed. Officer Moore says he slipped.

 Robert Meyer was not injured and refuses to file charges as he was not hurt. Yet there is a court hearing on September 9^th. And I believe this is a waste of your time and taxpayer’s money and a big turn in the wrong direction. This is retaliation against Bryant for filing a complaint against Officer Moore and may force him to take legal action. Honesty and accountability on the part of the prison is needed here instead.

 Founder, Co-director FFUP

Forum for Understanding Prisons,  501c3 non profit

pgswan3@aol.com, 608-536-3993

29631 Wild Rose Drive; Blue River, WI 53518