The Truth is More Insidious and Treacherous.”
For years the superintendent here at Great Meadow has presided over and condoned some of the worst prison violence in New York state. The Correctional Association of New York ranks Great Meadow the third highest New York state prison in violence and ranked it number one in guards using violence against prisoners.
Why this guy hasn’t yet been fired is beyond me. Currently there’s a mounting crisis here over the limited number of phones in the prison yard that prisoners have access to so that they may call their loved ones. Oftentimes communication with the outside world or with one’s mom, wife, or child is the only thing keeping a man in prison from completely losing his cool. Look, the lack of phones in the yard is creating a serious risk of a riot. What is so upsetting is that the prison administration here, especially the superintendent, know what is going on. There has already been a number of incidents resulting from disagreements over the phone.
In fact, for almost two years now, the superintendent has been saying he is looking into adding more phones in the yard. But he never gets around to doing it. Why? I think the truth is more insidious and treacherous than anyone really knows. Who stands to benefit from all the violence here? The superintendent does, I think. Or else, why does he let all the violence occur when there are cheap and sensible solutions? Turning to the phones, adding 30 new phones would eliminate all conflict over them and the phone company would gladly install them for free. So what’s the problem? It’s time for Great Meadow to undergo a shift in culture.
I ask for all my supporters and all progressive minded people who hear this to join with me in calling for such a cultural shift. The violence here at Great Meadow is doing great harm and costing taxpayers money. There are cheap and sensible solutions such as adding more phones, approving a prison chapter of UFD, and finding better administrators.
This is Dontie S. Mitchell, better known as Mfalme Sikivu, reporting to you from Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @FreeDontieMitchell. Also, send me an email or a video-gram through Jpay with your questions and comments. I’d love to hear from you and struggle with you. Thank you for listening, and God bless. How’s that?
(Sound of a cell door closing.) These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
![Prison Radio is sharing an abbreviated version of a press release covering recent racist incidents at SCI Rockview in PA and the organizing to demand accountability. We are reaching out to people incarcerated at Rockview as well as recently transferred folks, inviting them to call, in hopes of hearing commentaries from them.
Benner Township, PA.-
On November 24th, 2023, imprisoned people at SCI Rockview found two nooses hanging in the CO’s office, displayed visibly for many prisoners to see. When the prisoners asked the staff why the nooses were hung, they were told it was a joke.
By December 4th, prisoners filed a grievance to document what they saw, noting that the hanging of the nooses was “unethical, racially motivated, hateful, [a] deliberate debasement of black inmates" and “unsafe for inmates, staff, [and] the whole prison in general.” In the grievance, they demanded that Sgt. Mosser and CO Richard be fired and investigated for a hate crime, and for CO Kirchner to get therapy. Captain Andrews, the head of security, denied the grievance.
The sergeant and COs are still working in the prison to this day, with no repercussions...
As of March 10th, prisoners have reached out to Pennsylvania officials at the Dept. of Corrections in a letter campaign, sending 100 copies of the grievance. Copies of the letter also were mailed to Governor Shapiro, Senator Fetterman, Senator Street, and various advocacy groups. The demands for relief in the original grievance have now become the platform of demands for this campaign. About 20 of the 100 letters were withheld by the prison.
Activists on the outside are joining forces with prisoners to elevate their demands, flooding the phone lines of DOC offices, assisting with outreach to media, and circulating the stories of prisoners who have found unity in opposition to the facility's virulent institutional racism.
In any other workplace, hanging a noose would be grounds for immediate termination. However, Nicki Paul, the superintendent's assistant and "grievance coordinator" informed the public that they self-investigated their staff and found they did nothing wrong.
Read the full article at i
https://conta.cc/4ayDxlB](https://www.prisonradio.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)