Chippewa Correctional Facility Adds TASERs to Its Use of Force Continuum

by Efren Paredes, Jr.

Yesterday afternoon as I was seated on a bench in the Control Center at Chippewa Correctional Facility (URF) awaiting a visit I observed three facility staff members congregate around a computer monitor.

While staff watched the screen, I began hearing sound from a video they were viewing of an incident earlier that day involving staff use of TASER-manufactured electro-shock weapons on a prisoner in one of the housing units.

I could hear officers in the video yelling at a prisoner and ordering him to go to the back of the cell. After an exchange of words, staff discharged an electro-shock weapon on the prisoner. Upon impact of the taser projectile, I could hear the prisoner who was hit hollering.

I subsequently heard one of the staff members watching the video utter in an excited tone, "Fuck yeah! Took the fight right out of 'em!"  Amused by what she observed, a female staff member watching the video immediately began laughing loudly.

The video was replayed and the same female staff member who was watching the video burst into a loud laugh once again and then walked away from the monitor. When she moved from the monitor, I observed a portion of the video before it was turned off.

The following day prisoners at the facility heard staff members talking and laughing about the tasing incident. Staff also encouraged co-workers to view the above-referenced video in the Control Center.

Last year the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) added electro-shock weapons to their arsenal as a tool to incapacitate prisoners when MDOC staff deem necessary. The MDOC entered into a $3 million contract with Michigan TASER Company until 2013.

According to URF Warden Jeffrey Woods, the weapons can be used anywhere in the facility. This includes on members of the public, if necessary. The weapons will be available at MDOC prisons across the state by July 2012.

Funding for the weapons came from rate increases to telephone calls made between prisoners and their family members. Contact between prisoners and family members is an evidence-based proven part of rehabilitation for prisoners. Despite this fact, the MDOC preyed on this demographic to fund the purchase of their new weapons.

Several staff members have expressed opposition to their colleagues being armed with electro-shock weapons inside the prison. They express this sentiment because of the potential for abuse and the increased aggression exhibited by some of the staff who are armed with the weapons. According to one staff member, "This lack of professionalism could endanger others and unnecessarily exacerbate existent tensions within the facility."

If the recent nauseating events of MDOC staff viewing the tasing video is any indication of how electro-shock weapons will be misused against prisoners, and how sadistic the culture of violence and abuse against prisoners will escalate, Michigan citizens will witness a new frontier of inhumane treatment against prisoners ushered in by the misguided decision to arm MDOC staff with electro-shock weapons.

Not surprisingly, these weapons are being discharged the most at prisons housing large numbers of mental health patients. According to MDOC staff who asked to remain anonymous, "No special consideration is given to mental health patients or prisoners with physical disabilities before tasing them. We've been told to treat each prisoner the same."

The future of assaulting prisoners with electro-shock weapons and showcasing the incident videos is pregnant with potentially myriad dark possibilities. The only thing that remains to be seen is the depth of the darkness.

Updated June 30, 2012

Support Documentary Film Calling for End to Life Without Parole Sentences for Youth

by Efren Paredes, Jr.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to consider whether or not to end the sentencing of youths to life without parole (LWOP) -- death by incarceration -- nationwide.

If the high court rules in favor of abolishing this deplorable sentence it will make 2,500 juveniles across the nation eligible for parole consideration. Michigan incarcerates 358 of these juveniles, 15% of the total number of juveniles serving this sentence globally.

Ending LWOP sentences alone will not result in releasing a single prisoner. Parole Boards will just begin having the authority to give release consideration to these prisoners. Parole Boards currently have no authority to release prisoners serving LWOP sentences. Only state Governors can grant them a pardon or commutation of sentence that will result in their release.

To help end the shameful imposition of LWOP sentences on youths, a documentary film in its post-production stage titled "Natural Life" is seeking financial support necessary to be complete and distributed nationwide by the summer of 2012.

A complete description of the film is available at the end of this message, as well as information about how you can make a donation to help make the film completion a reality.

Please take a few minutes to visit the link and, if able, make a financial donation to this project. You can also contribute to this project in a big way by circulating the link to the fundraising project widely via email, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. You can also mention the link in editorials, in comment posts to articles on the Internet, and by posting flyers on college campuses, at churches, libraries, community centers, etc.

Your participation in this project can help change the course of history and end the mistreatment of juveniles by the criminal justice system. It will also send a message to the rest of the world that you stand in defense of human rights and the inherent dignity in our nation's youths.

I have been imprisoned since age 15 and the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling could impact my life in a huge way. Just four days ago I completed 23 years of imprisonment. I have spent 8,474 days -- over half my entire life -- locked away from society in adult jail and prisons.

If we do not end LWOP sentences for juveniles in the U.S. many of us will die in prison having never experienced living one single day in society as a free adult. We will never have been given the opportunity to be rehabilitated and be a productive citizen because of a crime we were convicted of committing when we were juveniles.

Let us remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who reminded us "Our lives begin to end the moment we stop caring about the things that matter." The lives of children matter. And so do their futures and the future of this nation.

The fundraiser link is: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1031057648/natural-life

Contacting Efren Electronically

Recently the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) installed kiosks in the housing units at the Chippewa Correctional Facility (URF) -- where Efren is currently housed -- that allow prisoners to send and receive electronic messages ("JPay messages"). To send Efren JPay messages you need to visit www.JPay.com and create an account. Once you create an account you must purchase electronic stamps to send Efren messages. The electronic stamps cost 20 cents each. You do not have to pay to receive messages from Efren via JPay. He pays to send his own messages. After you have created a JPay account and purchased electronic stamps the next step is to locate Efren on the JPay.com web site to write him. You do this by entering his prison number in the "Inmate Locator" box on the site. Efren's prison number is "203116". To initiate correspondence with Efren using JPay.com you must first send him a JPay message. The MDOC does not allow Michigan prisoners to send messages to members of the public until the prisoner first receives a message from the person who is trying to communicate with the prisoner. Once Efren receives a message from you he can begin responding to your messages. Note that all incoming and outgoing JPay messages are screened by the MDOC.

Support Campaign to Lower Michigan Prisoner Phone Call Rates

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

In June 2011, the new contract for Michigan prisoner phone service began. The phone call rates nearly doubled, prisoners are now making fewer phone calls to members of the public, and they are being further isolated from society.

Consequently prisoners will have less contact with family and friends, who are a vital part of their survival and, in many cases, maintaining their sanity and sense of self-worth during their incarceration. The life line that the majority of prisoners cling to is slowly drifting away as they painfully witness the erosion of ties with family and friends.

The phone rate increases were unnecessary and avoidable. The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), however, awarded the prisoner phone contract to PCS, a phone company that charges higher rates than other companies for the identical security features they are providing to MDOC to monitor and control prisoner phone use.

To support the campaign to lower Michigan prisoner phone rates, you are encouraged to visit the link at the end of this post and sign the petition.

When you sign the petition, an e-mail opposing the rate increases will be sent on your behalf to Governor Rick Snyder, MDOC Director Dan Heyns, the Chairs of the Corrections Appropriations Committee, and your State Senator and Representative. The petition automatically identifies your state legislators based on your zip code.

If we do not lend our voices to this important campaign, the MDOC could earn $8 million and PCS could earn $3 million from the thousands of prisoners and members of the public being affected over the next four years.

Please share the petition link with others in e-mails, blog posts, and by posting it on Facebook and Twitter. The wider the circulation, the greater the impact. Support for this campaign is growing exponentially and dozens of those who have signed the petition have already received responses from their legislators.

Petition link:  http://tinyURL.com/NoMoreSEF

Berrien County Prosecutor Lacks Accountability

by Efrén Paredes, Jr.

In the Fall of 2009 Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter dismissed 40 convictions because Benton  Harbor police manufactured evidence, conducted illegal searches, and wrongfully arrested people. 

At the time of the case dismissals, Cotter claimed to be reviewing many other cases involving possible police misconduct as well. Cotter defended the police by saying they “didn’t engage in misconduct in every case they did.”

In an August 28, 2009, Michigan Messenger article, Cotter was quoted as saying, “The problem is that everybody who had a case now wants review.”

Cotter has it all wrong however. The real problem is that he would have the audacity to make the latter statement knowing there are likely many other wrongful convictions that occurred under his watch. His inept office reviewed the 40 cases he dismissed before the suspects were arrested and subsequently convicted. Not only did errors abound with the arrests themselves, but the review process by Cotter’s office was riddled with errors as well. Cotter has offered no explanation as to how his office got the review process and prosecutions wrong 40 times.

Rather than be embarrassed by all the errors he is personally responsible for in the cases he dismissed, Cotter has attempted to eschew responsibility altogether.

The reality is that there are only two logical explanations of how so many cases were wrongly prosecuted by Cotter’s office: either he is totally incompetent, or he knowingly allowed it to occur, was complicit, and should be investigated for corruption.

Since Cotter admitted to dismissing the 40 wrongful convictions, he has not publicly shared the findings of the dozens of other cases involving possible police misconduct that he was allegedly reviewing. The print, television and radio media in the area have also not held Cotter accountable for his errors and have not reported about Cotter’s review of the cases he claimed to be conducting. As far as anyone knows, Cotter could be covering up his mistakes as part of his damage control.

The citizens of Berrien County deserve answers. They also deserve to be represented by a prosecutor’s office that cares as much about not committing errors that wrongly rob people of their freedom as it does about protecting the public from crime.

One thing is certain. A large number of Berrien Country voters have lost confidence and respect for Cotter and his office, and rightfully so. He has made many obvious mistakes with impunity, and his hubris prevents him from admitting it.

Voters will be able to express their discontent and restore integrity in the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office next election. The obvious answer for starters will be ensuring Cotter vacates his office.

Citizens shouldn’t keep paying the price for Cotter’s mistakes or malfeasance with their hard earned money or the loss of their liberty. I know firsthand what a heavy price citizens can pay for the mistakes of the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office. I’ve spent 22 years in prison so far to prove it!

Follow Efren Uncaged on Twitter

The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee to Free Efrén Paredes, Jr. has created a Twitter page named "Efrén Uncaged" to share Efrén's thoughts, interests and social activism.  The page can be viewed at:  Efrén Uncaged

There will be a broad range of subjects covered, including Latino politics, history, culture and identity; comprehensive immigration reform, education, juvenile life without parole sentences, life in prison, and other topics of interest.

Since entering the twittersphere, Efrén's posts have been read and shared by many.  He offers a unique perspective and important commentary about a host of current events, and he elects to employ honesty over political correctness.

Efrén's social justice and human rights activism spans the globe and is widely supported and recognized by those in the domestic and international communities.  His efforts have been instrumental in reducing violence, ending human rights violations, building institutions of learning, rallying support for or opposition to candidates of political office, and creating paradigm shifts for progressive change in society.

Please share Efrén's Twitter page with others via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter and ask them to do the same.  Help us advance Efrén's efforts to make meaningful contributions to humanity one tweet at a time.

New Efren Paredes, Jr., Support Video, produced by Mario Rocha

by Hans Koppenhoefer, Jr.

A new video supporting Efren's release was recently produced by his friend, supporter, and TIME Committee member, Mario Rocha. 

In Mario's description of the video he states: 

"Fasters hold a vigil for Efrén Paredes, Jr., who in 1989 was wrongly convicted and sentenced to three life terms, including two without the possibility of parole, in the State of Michigan. Today Efrén is 37-years-old and, in spite of his plight in the fatal hands of the state, devotes himself as a leader for peace, consciousness and youth justice. He writes extensively on issues related to human rights and actively promotes theoretical and practical alternatives to the dehumanizing exercise known as imprisonment."

The person on the phone that people in the video are speaking to is Efren.  He called Mario's phone at the event from a Michgian prison and was able to join participants in spirit.

We are grateful to Mario for producing the video and helping us continue bringing global attention to our campaign to free Efren.  As long as Efren remains in prison, none of us are free.

Cotter’s criticisms are ironic, given his record

By Scott Elliott

Editor,

In his Jan. 2 guest column, Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter says former Gov.
Jennifer Granholm’s criminal justice record was an unmitigated disaster. While I don’t entirely disagree with him, someone should point out that his own record has been far worse. He cites her last minute reversal of the commutation of Matthew Makowski’s sentence from a 1988 murder conviction as the final insult. Last year alone, Cotter was forced to reverse an astounding 43 convictions handled by his office. Cotter also continues to waste taxpayer money by meddling in areas he is neither qualified nor paid to deal with.

He is engaged in a campaign to discredit the Michigan Department of Corrections in the apparent hope of influencing appointments to top positions. I would not be surprised if he is pushing a promotion for his longtime crony, the infamous Steve Marschke, who is currently in charge of internal affairs for the state prison system.

Marschke was Cotter’s campaign manager in his failed run for a judgeship several years ago. Questions still linger about his involvement in what many believe to be the wrongful death of Eric McGinnis, a black Benton Harbor teenager whose 1991 drowning was described in Alex Kotlowitz’s book, “The Other Side of the River.”

Another mystery is Marschke’s interest in the case of Efren Paredes Jr., who was 15 when he was convicted in 1989 of robbery and murder and sentenced to three life terms, two without possibility of parole. His accusers all admitted their involvement in the crime, given leniency for their testimony and were all later imprisoned for other crimes. Neither Marschke nor Cotter was directly involved in the case, yet both attended the hearing for Efren’s commutation request in December 2009. Granholm denied the request late last year. Cotter must have spent many thousands in preparing his presentation against Efren, and even treated the audience to his own rendition of a 1980s rap song which supposedly reflected the boy’s state of mind at the time of the crime.

In a recent telephone conversation with Barbara Sampson, chairwoman of the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board, I asked what she thought Marschke was doing at Efren’s hearing. She told me that, given her knowledge of politics in Berrien County, partly from having read the Kotlowitz book, she would have been surprised if Marschke had not been there.

At least Cotter’s motives are less puzzling. He does not believe in rehabilitation, especially when it comes to juveniles. At the recent sentencing to life without parole of 14-year-old Dakotah Eliason, who inexplicably shot his grandfather, Cotter absurdly overdramatized the danger to the community if Dakotah were ever to be freed. He said the public would have to sleep with one eye open. I can just see Cotter cringing under his covers at the thought of marauding 14 year olds stalking the quiet hamlets of Berrien County.

Sleep tight, Art, and don’t let the bedbugs (a more real threat) bite.

Scott Elliott Benton Harbor

Please See Art Cotter's Guest Column Below