THE FUTILITY OF REFORM
ABUSIVE GUARD CULTURE CODDLED

By: Timothy J. Muise
May 2015

On May 4, 2009, state prisoner Joshua Messier was beaten to death by guards at the Bridgewater State Hospital. An investigation was conducted by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security which resulted in then Commissioner of Correction, Luis Spence, an abusive employee who I knew first hand, being terminated. Prior to the dismissal of Luis Spencer, his predecessor, Harold Clarke was quoted as taking "exception" to the findings in a criminal investigation which ruled Joshua Messier's death a HOMICIDE, and stating, "everything was appropriately and professionally done." Mr. Clarke was on the record supporting the beating [to] death of Joshua Messier; that is the guard culture in Massachusetts. That is why all efforts toward reform are destined for failure as the best plans will crumble under the weight of the abusive guards "prisoners are less-than human" mentality.
Bridgewater guards beat Joshua Messier to death while attempting to "place him in four point restraints." Messier had been harassed by a guard on his way back from a visit and lashed out. This response to abuse cost him his life. The Public Safety investigation found that the D.O.C. delayed and filed falsified "use of force" reports, reports which were even rejected by some D.O.C. officials. If you were familiar with the D.O.C., and read the investigative reports of Public Safety you would see the same old names of abusers who have moved up the ranks of the D.O.C. for years. Ken Nelson, Terre Marshall, Ron Duval, Karen Hetherson, Peter Pepe, and other 20 to 30 year D.O.C. lackeys took these jobs when they were less than desirable folks who were the bottom feeders of employment candidates, but now have risen to the upper echelon of the D.O.C. "brain trust". It is this "trust" that is responsible for high recidivism, extreme wastefulness, and prisoner blood. These people, and the guards beneath them, doom the prison to failure, but year after year the system promotes them and expands the abusive mentality of the guard culture. We have coddled them for too long.
The unprofessionalism of these D.O.C. lackeys is coupled to another very potent failure element; that being the lack of any accountability. A human life has to be taken before anyone will even look at the abuse. Guards feel, and with good reason, that they can do anything they want to the men and women in their charge. Violent incidents are always left to be "investigated" internally. The fox is always the one to investigate the...

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...killing in the chicken coop. Joshua Messier dies in 2009 and the final report, a report we who live here did not need to read to know what happened - MURDER -, does not come out for years. Joshua Messier is long cold in the ground and the outrage over what took place at the hands of these abusive guards has simmered down. Here at MCI Shirley, with our 30 plus year D.O.C. lackey leaders, we are close to another prison murder. The guards here are out of control, and when we, the abused, attempt to bring the abuse to light, we are stonewalled by more D.O.C. 30 year lackeys. We are forced to go to that same fox who is abusing us. Why should you care?
The state prison system is creating crime and violence. Young men who fall victim to the core issues behind crime - drug abuse, mental illness, poverty, racism, etc. - are sent to hopeless environments where they are treated like they are less than human, exasperating their personal issues. These men are then released onto the street of your cities and towns totally unprepared, angry from the abuse, and feeling the square peg trying to fit into the round hole. Nowhere in the D.O.C. "philosophy" is their plan to assist men in working toward self-realization, which is the definition of rehabilitation. The D.O.C. has no plan to build the men and women in their charge - exactly the opposite - they allow the guards to mentally and physically, emotionally and spiritually, beat prisoners down, diminishing public safety and placing your life in direct danger; and you pay them well to do it. No reform efforts can succeed in this environment: NONE! No amount of money could reduce recidivism: NONE! No idealism, no activism, no concern can effect change until the guard culture and abusive mentality are destroyed through real accountability. Guards and administrators need to be shown the door. You must terminate the abusers, tear down the hierarchy, and start from scratch. The focus must be placed upon the rehabilitation mandate here in Massachusetts which has been forgotten about, by design, for so long.
Society cannot allow there to be anymore Joshua Messiers. We would ask that you assist us in arranging for a panel of educated prisoners to meet with the Governor and Public Safety Officials in an effort to expose the perpetrators and abusers. The cards must be placed on the table. We must hunt the fox with hounds and horses. The quest for true public safety advancement demands it. To get involved please contact me at:

Timothy J. Muise, W66927
MCI Shirley
P.O. Box 1218
Shirley, MA 01464-1218
http://betweenthebars.org/blogs/101