January/February/March 2010 Massachusetts Chapter
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This first issue of 2010 is dedicated in memory of Chief Ray Two Thunders Gauthier. Rest in peace Ray!
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An Open Letter to Governor Deval Patrick
Carmen Gauthier
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(I have chosen this forum for a letter to the Governor as his own website states any mail to him is screened by his assistants and referred to the appropriate department for response. Which in Honest English means the Governor would NEVER see my letter)
Dear Governor Patrick,
Let me introduce myself to you. I am Carmen Gauthier, a “High Honors” graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social services. I am a ten year veteran of the Texas Department of Children’s Protective Services. I have never been arrested not incarcerated in my life. Though I am a practicing pagan, I believe in and strive daily to practice the Christians’ “Golden Rule.” I am also the wife of the late, Raymond Gauthier, con number W45176.
As a family member of a MA DOC inmate, I am confused as to why I was not issued a con number. Obviously this was an oversight by Commissioner Harold Clarke, for certainly, during my entire relationship with the MA DOC, I was treated by MA DOC personnel from Assistant Deputy Commissioner Paul DiPaolo through Superintendent James Saba all the way down to the Correctional Officer guarding my husband’s dead body (so as to protect the public from him) as if I were in fact a convicted criminal.
Ah! I am corrected! I see from the press releases that you and MA DOC are indeed industriously working toward very goal with your Proposed Visitor Procedures and Attorney Access proposals.
Governor Patrick, in all seriousness, what happened? I remember the day that you were elected as Governor of the Commonwealth. There was so much happiness and so much hope for a better future for the lowliest of your citizens; the inmates of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You sir, a person of color, who had to have experienced at least some of the ignorant bigotry of prejudice; you sir, who not only was the first in your family to attend college, but attended Harvard. Harvard! You sir, who served as a law clerk with the NAACP and became the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. You were my hope and my husband’s hope, as well as all the family and friends and inmates who suffered unjustly the cruelties and whims of MA DOC employees.
We weren’t asking for a Sunday picnic or tennis courts or gourmet meals. What we were asking for our loved ones was common, human decency. For adequate medical care. For fair treatment. For clean facilities. For nutritious meals. And what you gave us was Harold Clarke.
Harold Clarke, infamous Secretary of Nebraska Dept of Corrections, during the Nebraska state Ombudsman’s Office’s 1999 report which found the prison health system wanting in “every aspect.” Since Mr. Clarke has been Commissioner, I personally know of two cases of MA DOC medical malpractice resulting in deaths: Edward Tavares and my husband, both incarcerated at NCCI-Gardner. Neither of these men was sentenced to death but both received the death penalty.
My husband had been feeling ill for, not days, not weeks, but for MONTHS. Time and time again he was turned away from receiving medical care by the nurse at Gardner. His chronic care appointment was unduly delayed. And by the time he was in so much pain that he couldn’t stand or walk, it was too late. He had Stage Four Lung Cancer which had spread to his spine and liver. His back bone was so riddled with cancer that one of his vertebra had crushed.
Governor Patrick, you may not like the idea, but as head leader of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are responsible for every person in prison or jail in Massachusetts as well as the free people of the Commonwealth. When you accepted the job of Governor, you accepted responsibility for every citizen of the state. And you have not delegated authority wisely by appointing Harold Clarke as Commissioner.
Whether or not you were aware of his history while working for Nebraska DOC, you should be aware of the violation of human rights being perpetrated within MA DOC now. It has been brought to your attention and therefore it is incumbent upon you to rectify the situation.
You can not restore Big Ed to his family. You can not restore my husband to me. But you can correct a mistake by having Commissioner Harold Clarke resign immediately. If you do not do this, then truly our hopes were misplaced and your ancestors’ honor has been tarnished.
Terminally Ill Prisoners
Luis D. Perez
Our own dead is indeed a very sensitive subject, but there is some very important information that we all should know. The family of terminally ill prisoners should have the appropriate medical consent for release of information so that the family of the patient can obtain an update of his or her present medical condition. Your loved one must go to the website and have access to the MDOC Policy Webpage 103 DOC 630 and 103 DOC 650 for Medical Policy and the Appendix attached to those forms.
The Red Tail Alliance “RTA” had an update of the medical condition of Chief Raymond Gauthier who was a terminally ill patient. For me this has been a very sad situation because I personally know him and his family.
The Chief was the founder of the Red Tail Alliance. This organization has helped Native Americans inside and outside the prison system. I was told by his wife and the counsel of “RTA” that the Chief had filed Commutation papers under a compassionate release approach, similar to the package that was accepted for our brother Billy Royce.
Chief Gauthier wanted to die as a free person and be buried in holy grounds for Native Americans. Two Thunders was his native name, his strength and spiritual power have been motivated by family and friends, who encouraged him to fight as a true Warrior of the people and the Nation of the Red Tail Alliance. He personally told us all something special to carry with us:
Everyone makes mistakes in life, and over the years many of us grew up away from those mistakes and became good human beings, the judges who have been making judgment of those mistakes, they themselves will be judged by a Superior Spirit.
My personal experience in prison is that decades can have passed and no one is recognized by who we are today, but rather who we were 20 or 25 years ago. We have constantly been judged by one or two individuals or by other people’s behavior, are what lead to mass punishment in the name of justice.
Two days before the Chief left for the hospital, he was working with me at the law library, he had back pain and was very pale, and suddenly he took a piece of paper and read to me as a personal message, now I understand the meaning. That little piece of paper has a few lines for the RTA Spiritual Circle and I will write those words as he read to me:
allow your inner light of our ancestors to guide you; don’t stand in someone else’s shadow when it’s your ancestor’s sunlight that should lead the way.” HOKA HEY!!
I finished this article at 10:30 AM on 1/24/10 and after it was typed another prisoner ran into me with a very sad face and he gave me the bad news – Raymond Gauthier “THE CHIEF” had died. May the Lord have mercy on his soul, you will be missed my old friend.
Letter to the Governor
Lonnie Gilchrist
Dear Governor Patrick,
Why at the maximum security prison in Shirley, Ma. (SBCC) on Saturday, January 30, 2010 were the prison guards refusing entry to visitors wearing boots on a cold snowy day? Moreover, many visitors had to travel a long distance to reach the prison facility to visit relatives or friends. This activity is inexcusable and is another example of prison employees doing things to discourage visits.
My brother brought my 85 year old mother out to the prison to visit me and he was denied entry because he was wearing boots, on a snowy cold day.
Is it not normal for people to wear boots on a snowy cold day?
SBCC’s Tactical Team
Name withheld
Take him down
Together we’ll share his destruction,
Savor the misery.
We know he’ll endure.
Take him down
Reduce his life to despair.
The ignorance and abuse
Will reach him to reform.
Take him down
Feed him nothing to sustain,
Boil and bake, reduce him
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To an over cooked cabbage.
Take him down
Teach him a lesson he won’t forget.
Teach him not to mess
With the boys dressed to protect.
Take him down
Beat him but don’t leave a mark.
Let him dance to our tune,
Accept out abuse as right and just.
Take him down
Teach him to jump a hoop
And do what we say
And when he gets out lets pray
He’s fool enough to accept
The battering of the mind.
Global Tel-Link
Daniel Holland & George Magrath
GTL is a reseller that leases line services and billing services from local and long distance companies. If you receive your GTL bill as part of your Verizon bill, then Verizon is acting as a billing agent for them. If any phone company other than GTL is including GTL charges, then they are acting as a billing agent for GTL. If your bill comes directly from GTL then they are their own billing agent. If you have a question about any charges on a bill, and are seeking a credit, you must begin with the billing agent.
It is important that when calling anyone regarding telephone service, or complaints, you keep a record of who you spoke to, i.e. Company called, Department called, name of person, title, the date and time of the call. This will be crucial to filing a report with the FCC, or DTE, if needed.
Credit:
There are two types of credit you are entitled to if you are disconnected
- If the call is disconnected before you begin a conversation and you have been charged with a connection fee, you are entitled to a credit of the entire fee.
- If you are disconnected in the middle of the call you are entitled to a pro-rated credit of the connection fee. If you are disconnected after 10 minutes of a 20 minute call, you would be entitled to a refund of $1.00, or 10 cents for each minute of the call you were able to complete.
Blocks:
There are two types of blocks commonly used by Billing Agents and Providers.
- The billing agent can place what is referred to as “toll cap” on your line. Basically, this means that when your bill reaches a predetermined amount, your long distance, and collect calling capability is blocked. The billing agent usually sets this amount at $200.00 when a customer establishes a new service and the agent has a problem verifying customer provided information. Or, when a customer refuses to submit information such as a Social Security Number.
If you find that a billing agent has placed a block on your line you can negotiate its removal. The primary reason for placing a block are, (a) the agent cannot verify identification information, (b) poor credit reference report. or (c) a history of fraud at the customer address. The billing agent may request that you go to one of their local offices with proof if identification to remove the block or that you pay a deposit until you have established your credit.
- The Provider can place a block requiring the customer to set up a pre-paid account for all calls through its service.
If GTL placed a block on your line, you will have to call them to either remove the block, or increase the amount allowed to be billed before the block activates. There are several arguments that you may use to get GTL to rescind the block, or increase the amount accrued before activating the block, (a) you can explain that you have been a customer of the phone company for X amount of years and have never been late paying a bill (b) you have never been disconnected for failure to pay a bill or, (c) you have been receiving collect calls at the present number or past numbers for many years and have always paid the bill.
If either the Billing Agent or the Provider refuses to remove the block, or increase the amount accrued before the block activates, you may then file a complaint with the DTE and/or FCC. The longer you have established phone service, the better your chances of prevailing with these agencies regarding blocks.
Calling Billing Agents and Providers:
As noted, it is important to ask for the department, the name and title of the person you are speaking to, as well as noting the date and time of your call for future reference. When calling regarding credits or blocks always try to resolve the issue with the department that first takes the call, usually Customer Service.
If they say they are unable to help you, ask to speak to their supervisor. Customer service representatives will sometimes try to pass the buck as they are normally under strict time constraints to complete calls, and will try to complete the call as quickly as possible. Supervisors are trained to resolve problems brought by more aggressive customers.
When asking for a credit from a Billing Agent, it is not unusual to be told that you will have to call the Provider. Not true! You simply have to point out that as Billing Agent for the Provider they can remove the charge and bill it back to the Provider (GTL). If they are unwilling to resolve the dispute at this point, simply as to be connected to the company’s President, or ask for the telephone number and/or mailing address of the DTE and FCC. One of the things companies do not want to hear is that you are going to file a complaint with either agency.
Filing a complaint with the DTE and/or FCC:
You can file a complaint with either of these agencies for a number of reasons (a) poor service, (b) poor reception, (c) crossed lines. (d) cross talk, etc. But the most common reason is for billing problems. You must first try to resolve your complaint with the company you are having the dispute with. If the company does not resolve the issue in the way you are entitled then you may file a complaint.
You can contact the DTE and/or FCC and ask for their complaint form with instructions for filing, as well as a list of your rights. Or, you can submit your complaint in letterform. It is important to include in your letter/complaint the names of all the people you talked to, along with their department, their titles, the dates contacted, etc.
The DTE and/or FCC will forward the complaint with all the information, and the requested remedy to the Corporate Office of the company. These two agencies have the same effect on phone companies that the IRS has on people. They have no problem leveling fines to make companies do what they are required to do.
DTE
Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations
Executive Office of Economic Development
1 South Station, 2nd Floor
Boston, Ma. 02110
(617)305-3500
FCC
New England District Office
1 Batterymarch Park
Quincy, Ma. 02169-7495
(888)225-5322
A Proposal to The MA DOC To Expand Earned Good Time (c.127 SS 129D) for Minimum Security Prisoners Performing Service on Community Work Crews
Wayne Alexander
Prefatory Statement
On June 17, 2005 a DOC Advisory Council instituted by Governor Romney and chaired by former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger made a number of recommendations concerning the MADOC and in particular Recommendation #9 read: The Department should hold inmates more accountable for participation in productive activities designed to reduce the likelihood that they will re-offend.
The preliminary report was unambiguous about the DOC’s intentions and responsibilities.
“The DOC recognizes the necessity of communicating incentives and clear long-term goals for participation in productive activities to inmates from the beginning of their time of commitment… The Department has created a workgroup under the direction of the Assistant Deputy Commissioner to investigate best practices that encourage and reward program participation by inmates. The DOC is also conducting a comprehensive review to determine whether earned good time is an effective motivational tool for offenders. The DOC is also considering expanding the criteria under which programs can be considered for earned good time by reviewing best practices…”
DOC Advisory Council, Preliminary Report, June 17, 2005 @ pp. 28-29.