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Feb. 4, 2018 Robert Johan Richter For American Prison Writing Archive Criming Wave I saw on the news that prisoners in New York are getting free tablets. How nice, maybe we'll get some basic human rights next! Let's see, NYS DOCCS officials have told me in writing that I will be retaliated against if I even try to access the courts, threatened me with physical force (again, in writing) if I report their crimes to the FBI, and stolen my property and refused to compensate me. Oh, did I mention the documented sexual victimization? What good is a tablet when I fear for my safety everyday? Recently, under the guise of looking for stolen food, an officer grabbed an inmate by the waistband of his pants and underwear, pulled, and checked out his private parts. I reported the staff voyeurism to the Superintendent, in writing, on 1/26/17. She should have known, since at least one female deputy superintendent witnessed it, and was required but law (PREA) to report it. The officer involved is known for inappropriate touching during frisks. I also reported that an inmate names Frank was going to be raped by a known sexual predator, a guy named Cesaro Cesar oppenly bragged about how he is a "chicken hawk". All of the inmates, snitches included, officers, and civilians knew that Cesar was planning to violate Frank, but nobody was doing anything about it. It's not snitching to tell the Superintendent something her subordinates already know. What happened? Frank got beat up five days later, and when the goon squad got to the dorm, they picked a guy at random and beat him up too. Later that night, Cesar got his as well. Six guys in the box because of one rapist the Superintendent knew about. Frank was a prime target, young, weak, weak-willed, and toothless. Homosexual behavior is tolerated, even encouraged, throughout the State prison system. There are at least three "marriages" over in the D-1 dorm, with guys freaking off in the toilet stalls and shower. The cops ignore it, the same way they ignore the constant smoking, or the countless inmates who walk around visibly stoned out of their minds. Frank had nowhere to turn for help. I used to publish comic books about crime and corruption on www.prisonsfoundation.org, but in this facility all the "artworks" have to go out through the Package Room, censored by staff. I also need a Hobby Shop Permit, which I can't get because my books are drawn on ordinary paper with a commissary pen. It's no accident that I was sent here, to the one facility with this policy. I wrote to both the Superintendent and the Package Room, but received no reply. So much for my federally protected Constitutional rights. Maybe "protected" is the wrong word. I could/should say "allegedly protected". Nobody is protecting my rights. Meanwhile, I am making no progress at all on a scientific front. Physics is a religion, not a science. Although the facts are clear, nobody pays any attention to them, or to me. There is no appeal to authority in science, and the converse is true as well: you can't ignore an argument just because you don't like the person making it. So what if I am in prison? Only a moron would believe that I'm guilty anyway. The world's leading forensic pathologist testified that there was no evidence of any cause of death. Guess what: the facts don't matter. Going through my old mail, what's left of it, I found a letter from a Deputy Commissioner telling me that Governor Cuomo had ordered DOCCS to investigate why I was illegally held on an OMH strip sell, and starved for five days. he said that he was sending the order to OSI. That was months ago, and there is no investigation. That same day, I received a hastily fabricated memo from the Institutional Steward at Fishkill CF, denying my claim for a whole bag of stolen property. Coincidence? No, a threat. After all, the letter from the Steward contained a memo supposedly written to the Steward, yet containing language such as "you signed for your property". Wait, the Steward signed? Me? It also claimed that my property had been searched as part of an OSI investigation. The message is clear: If I press for any kind of OSI investigation, the response will be the theft of my property, bogus misbehavior reports, and more time in the box. I get the message. I might be beaten or raped, even killed. When I got to Fishkill SHU, I was strip frisked with at least five people watching, and this was recorded on camera, even though DOCCS rules specifically state that SHU-to-SHU transfers will not be strip frisked on arrival. After all, I was strip searched when I left Greene CF. I filed a PREA complaint with multiple people. Sgt. Slepoy then retaliated by coming to my cell and loudly letting the entire gallery know that I had filed a PREA complaint. The director of Special Housing broke the law as well, denying my "ticket" appeal without following the required procedure. Weeks later, he acknowledged having received my PREA complaint before rendering his decision, yet he didn't report it to anyone. PREA is a joke in New York. DOCCS specifically bans some kinds of searches, and required that strip frisks/searches not involve spectators, then tells me that I wasn't strip frisked at all, it was a "clothing exchange", even though the process was identical to a strip frisk and no clothing (other then sneakers for boots) was exchanged. Retaliation is coming, I know it. I can't sue, can't contact the FBI, can't publish my comics. Will this essay even make it out through the mailroom? Will I be back in the box, or dead, by the time you read this? Nobody investigates crimes against me.
