PABLO PINA D-18079
P.O. BOX 7500 D-2 122 (SHU)
CRESCENT CITY CALIFORNIA 95531

Governor Brown Brought Mr. Beard in as the California Prisons Director so that he could restructure the system. Supposedly Beard had an exceptional track record as the Director of the Pennsylvania Prison system.

One thing Governor Brown did right was going outside of California's correctional union to find a new director. But he should have looked longer and much farther than Beard and the state of Pennsylvania.

I believe that Governor Brown's intentions were good, had he appointed a former prison guard or warden from California, then nothing would change, that exactly what's taken place for decades. So if he wanted to change the system he had to bring in someone from outside California's prison guard union.

The problem is that he is no different than the previous directors, and proved as much during the hunger strike.

The third hunger strike was under his watch. The new director Beard made it clear that he would not negotiate with prisoners on strike, and wanted the prisoners to end the strike first before he would discuss conditions in the prisons.

We didn't believe that he intended to negotiate period, because from the start of the hunger strike on July 8, 2013 he refused to respond to any of the letters and petitions directed at him and Governor Brown. Had they attempted to work out a solution from the beginning then the hunger strike would not have gone on for almost two months.

Instead they beat around the bush expecting prisoners to end the hunger strike on their own, and wait on prison officials to get around to making some changes when they feel like it.

I've been sitting back here over twenty years now, they have not done a damn thing yet. It took that first hunger strike to force them to give us a handball for the yard. They said they would give us a medicine ball and an exercise (ab) wheel and pull up bars and dip bars. But all we got was a handball. We had to go on a second hunger strike to force them to put the pull up bars on the yard.

After twenty years they finally gave us something for the yard for us to do. Al these years I used to go out to this little concrete yard and exercise for an hour and a half. There's nothing out there, so all I could do is exercise. That's the only thing I was allowed out of my cell. The rest of the 23 1/2 hours I was in my cell.

There is no reason why we could not have a handball, basketball, some type of pull up bars. They claim we are in security housing. We aren't allowed to the general population, but dogs are treated better than we are. At least dogs get a damn ball or rubber bone to chew on. We don't get nothing. And they wonder why so many prisoners lose their minds or commit suicide. Yes they finally gave us a handball and yes finally put pull up bars out there after twenty two years and they didn't do it because they felt like doing it. They did it because of all the national attention and heat they got from the news media and prisoner activity from the outside world and the fact that to get that attention we had to starve ourselves for weeks at a time. It wasn't easy, I've been on hunger strikes before, but that was a long time ago. I'm much older now and don't know how it would affect me, and others. I ain't going to lie it was rough after a week of not eating i could barely talk. My voice had almost shut down. I couldn't sleep and I was feeling like I was going to pass out any minute.

I was losing weight fast. As it was I was under nourished as it was, so when the second week passed I had lost eighteen pounds. The hunger strike was called off because prison officials promised changes.

Because they did nothing except give us a handball, we went on the second hunger strike. This time it lasted three weeks and I lost 30 pounds and had to be sent to a hospital to be monitored.

Then Governor Brown brought in Mr. Beard to do something about the problems surrounding the prison system. They were worried about the lawsuits that prison advocates filed in Federal courts forcing prison officials to focus on the medical treatment of prisoners, many were dying regularly. Mental health care, and then came the over crowding.

While they concentrated on these they continued to disregard the other prisoners housed in segregation. The (SHU). The food is really bad we are given the same damn thing every week. Why they give out menus I don't know, if anything they should give it to the new guys, because after a month you should know it by heart.

The food was one of the reasons I went on strike, I also complained about the filthy trays and if they aren't filthy they are filled with water. So the food is always watered down. I believe the are the cause of all the stomach illnesses that we get.

It wasn't always like this. When this place first opened in 1989 it was like a five star restaurant. Like everything else it was okay. But as each year passed things began getting worse. IT was as if they were trying to make it as uncomfortable as possible around here. After twenty years it got to the point that it couldn't get any worse, they have had us in these bulidings where we get no sunlight ever. I used to be a perfect brown color and now i'm as white as a ghost.

I think the diet, or lack of a healthy diet and lack of sunlight was the cause of almost all our medical problems, many of us have eye problems, and almost everyone wears glasses here. So I think it's related.

These are only some of the problems, but new Director Beard did nothing, so we had this latest hunger strike that lasted almost two months. Director Beard said they would begin speaking to prisoner representatives in the end of September 2013, which is next week. We'll see what they have to say.