In years to come, for thousands of imprisoned men and women across America, several cases will mark when they received the right to be cured of Hepatitis C: 1) Abu-Jamal v. Wetzel (Civ. A. No. 16-2000, 2017 WL 34700 [M.D. Pa. Jan 3, 2017]); 2) Postawko v. Missouri DOC (No. 2:16-cv-04219-NKL, 2017 WL 1968317 [W.D. Mo. May 11, 2017]); Chimenti v. Pa. DOC (Civ. A. No. 15-3333, 2017 WL 3394605 [E.D. Pa. Aug. 8, 2017]).
The second and third of these cases are especially important because both are class action, or civil suits brought against the state, representing thousands of imprisoned sufferers of hepatitis C.
The Chimenti class, named after Salvatore Chimenti, a prisoner from SCI-Smithfield who has had Hep C since 1991, recently survived a Motion to Dismiss, where a federal judge (John R. Padova) ruled that the DOC’s Hepatitis C Protocol, as practiced by the prison medical staff both delayed and denied treatment to Hep C sufferers, and raised 8th Amendment claims that DOC officials were “deliberately indifferent” to serious medical needs of the prisoner plaintiffs. The judge further found that the DOC made their delays and denials based on cost factors, rather than medical ones.
Abu-Jamal, Postawko and Chimenti: it looks like the third time’s the charm!
![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)