02/19/12

Howdy! Greetings to all of you in the free world.

Wow. Where to start? I've never blogged before or opened myself to the world, and this is a daunting task.

Well, here I ma in lovely Butner, NC. I've been here since April 2011, after I was transferred from FMC-Rochester after having spent 5 months in the Hole (Segregation) based on a bogus "shot" (incident report) which I never had a hearing on. It was purely a retaliatory act, which is illegal of course.

Butner is spoken on throughout the BOP as "the place" to be. After being here, I have no idea why. This place is screwed up in so many way and is missing a lot of things which other prisons have. Private note: I'm on the same compound as Bernie M[redacted]. I've never spoken to him, just said hi in passing. There's also some serial killer here named Larry H[redacted] who's been featured on CNN (I didn't watch it).

My official job here is teaching the crochet class at Rec (recreation). I've had this job since last May or June and have only been paid, once this month, a whole $5.25. I used to get paid 15 Crystal Light packages a month, but they changed the staff member last August or so due to the staff change, and now they're waiting for a yarn order to start again.

Oh, you can see some of my crochet projects at: http://etsy.com/people/rosamundsbower?ref=si_pr. At least that's where I was told.

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02/20/12
Happy President's Day. Whoopie.

Usually—at least at every other prison I've been at—you get a holiday meal. Not here. They just switched the chicken that we're supposed to get tomorrow with the chili dogs we were supposed to get today, and it was a regular meal. The meals they server here are really small. I've been steadily losing weight here, and I'm already skinny. I'm pretty sure they don't have the required minimum calories.

The rest of my day was spent working on three different motions on two different legal cases, and I took my usual afternoon nap.

Two of the motions were requests for copies of the docket sheet (the list of filings) in two cases out of the District of Minnesota, and the other motion is to request an extension of time to reply to the 37-page report and recommendation by the magistrate judge on why that case should be dismissed with prejudice.

In one case I'm fighting some "shots" that I received at FMC-Rochester, and the other is a civil case against the staff there for harassment and retaliation. Wish me luck! Actually, I already lost the first case and it is now in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. I filed a brief on Jan. 30th and will have to file a reply brief after I get the government's response, which would be any day now.

Also, the past week I filed a motion in a case in which I'm fighting my criminal case in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. It's been my experience that the local federal district courts give inmates no chance for justice, and you must appeal you cases to get anywhere. Since most prisoners don't have the tenacity or the knowledge to keep fighting, we don't stand a chance. Plus, although the courts aren't supposed to expect the same standards out of prisoner as they do licensed attorneys, they still do. Hell, most of these courts completely ignore issues and cases that I put in my motions, and will not respond to them. In my case in the 11th Circuit, I'm specifically asking the court to address an issue the lower court has ignored in every one of my filings since I filed the case in 2007 (I think, or 2008). Whatever.

Oh, I was watching the show Alcatraz tonight, and it reminded me of some more trivia. There's a very old guy who was formerly at Alcatraz way back when—An. Moore. He's a miserable old soul and who can blame him.

At this prison, they also have one of those units where sex offenders go after their sentence is over, and they now have to go to court just to be released. This country is so screwed up! Yes, sex offenders are awful, but these people have completed their sentences and are still being kept here. What other country does this crap?

Okay, I'm done. If anyone reads this, I'd really welcome some questions. People out there really have no idea what this is like. This is not rehabilitation.

Love to all.
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