Transcript
Essay on the Injustice of the Justice System I come before you in the series of essay's and update of my life in the prison system of the state of New Mexico. I am currently working on the end of two degrees one is a doctoral degree in Theology, and secondly one for the liberal arts degree. This essay's is based on the injustice of the justice system across America and in the STATE OF NEW MEXICO. I open with a great civil rights activist his name is Martin Luther King Jr. "moratorium" what is this? In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: (1) collection fo the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, (2) negotiation, (3) self-purification, and (4) direct action. I am here because injustice is here, just as the eight-Century prophets left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their hometown's; I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular hometown "i.e. prison." Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.... GOD BLESS AMERICA We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.... Few words in our language arrest our attention as do "crime," "violence," revenge," and "injustice." We hate crime; we love justice; we speak that we live by the rule of law. Violence and vengefulness we repudiate as unworthy of our civilization, and we assume this sentiment to be unanimous among all human beings. I am a born borrow of things and in so I put my own spin on it as one of my favorite theologians John Wesley put. I come too you to speak on the subject of prisons and prison riots, the unconstitutional wrongs done to prisoners at this time in our America. It is with great pains that I write you as to the totalitarian abuses of prisoners across America at this very moment. America, with great armies deployed abroad under a banner of of freedom, nevertheless harbors the largest infrastructure for mass deprivation of liberty on the planet. We imprison nearly as great a fraction of our population to a lifetime in jail (around seventy people for every hundred thousand residents) than Sweden, Denmark, and Norway imprison for any duration whatsoever. [Prison's Dilemma Minorities and the Law, 2015] It goes on to say "over the past four decades, the United States has become a vastly punitive nation, without historical precedent or international parallel. With roughly 5% of the world's population, the U.S. currently confines about one-quarter of the world's prison inmates. In 2008, one in a hundred American adults was behind bars. Just what manner of people does our prison policy reveal us to be?" As an expert on both subjects I was a soldier and as such fought for the very rights of person's of the United STATES OF AMERICA and now as a prisoner in the New Mexico Corrections System. In the first I served from 5-18-1989 to 5-22-1995, I was introduced to combat in 9-02-90 to 3-30-91 in the theater of operations of Southwest Asia in SAUDI ARABIA under desert shield and desert storm. I was awarded Southwest Asia Service medal with 2 bronze stars, Kuwait Liberation medal, Army Achievement medal, National Defense Service medal, Army Service ribbon, Expert marksmanship, Qualification Badge with pistol, Grenade and Rifle bars, I also received an expert in mechanics and Drivers Badge and O.S.R and C.O.A. and also two combat patches one with my own unit 197 Inf. Bdg. HHC 2nd/69th Armor Fort Benning GA and was attached to the 24th Inf. Division out of Savanna GA. But that came to and end on June 25, 1992 as my then wife had been having an affair with a sergeant on Fort benning while I was deployed to Saudi Arabia and when I came home she was not there and after that he attempted to take my life for her sake. I myself could of shot and killed him in cold blood many times over but I still believed he was my brother in arms so I only injured him to try and teach him a lesson. But I did not understand that I was having to suffer for an undiagnosed P.S.T.D. and Chronic fatigue syndrome and or chronic multi-symptoms illness. When I was arrested and sent to Fort Sill ok. I was less then honorably discharged. At that point I still did not know about P.T.S.D. but registared on the Gulf War Register in 1995 under (C.F.S.) (C.M.S.I.). So after this my P.T.S.D. took me straight to hell were I find myself after 16 years of suffering under the hand of the STATE of New Mexico penal system; as I suffered from these illness the penitentiary of New Mexico and Geo Group Inc. and Corizon now Centurion Health Care group I've fought for the past 4 years to have my medical issues be taken care of but they seem to differ so I have used there system of justice to force them to start to help prisoners with healthcare issue's. This has brought me to 3 civil tort claims and 3 Federal 1983 and to the New Mexico Nursing board and there malpractice suits and to the medical board of New Mexico. Now that I have spoken on the premise of private prison's in America and in the State of New Mexico there we must go back to 1980 when the penitentiary of New Mexico suffered one of the bloodiest prison riots in U.S. history. The costly reforms that followed lef the state with some of the highest per-inmate cost in the nation. As such New Mexico in 1997 authorized two private firms to construct and manage prisons for high-security prisoners. The result was not what was hoped for: In the first year of operation, all three of the privately run facilities erupted in riots. [Forging social order and its break down: by Bertuseem & Jack Goldstone] As in April 6, 1999 at Lea County Facility in Hobbs and then on August 31, 1999 at the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility in Santa Rose in New Mexico's private prisons - three facilities with 1,718 inmates had four distinct episodes resulting in an inmate and officer fatality. The intent behind private prisons is to save money for the public authorities while still delivering profits to the private contractor. [F.S.O. page 507] Now comes privatized medical treatment at all of New Mexico prisons as I have been to P.N.M. South & North Facility's and at G.C.C.F. in Santa Rosa and at L.C.C.F in Hobbs and now I find myself in Northeast New Mexico Detention Facility ie NE.N.M.D.F. in Clayton and Western in grants had a C.C.A. contractor for the women. It is proven that private contractors can in know way save the state moneys due to the violence is greater and Constitutional violation are greater and medical malpractice is greater... I am but one inmate and personally have 8 civil suits most are medical issues but alot are related to retaliation on the part of the Administration and the staff and officers that supposed to care for the inmates well being. In a article by the Santa Fe New Mexican there are over 178 civil suits filed against the Penitentiary of New Mexico and Corizon Medical Inc. In also a carbon copy of the Arizona Department of Corrections & Corizon Medical Inc. This article is called the "death yard." I myself have been placed in situations were I had to harm other inmates to do this was not by choice but due to retaliation on the part of Administration officers placing me in units where I had no choice but to assault other inmates or be assaulted by the Gang member's that run the show in the prison's since the Administration started to lock-down all "clicksters" ie prison gangs in 2006. This resulted in child molesters, rapist, and informants to rule the roost and now the city gang's run the lines only for there drug use's its a carbon copy of the ideas and happenings of the 1980 and 1999 prison riots. As Geo Corp has lost the federal contract they in my point of view need that riot to retain there job security in the state prisons. But there under fire in at least 10 states because of the more violent acts and constitution violations and due to there lack of meeting the medical needs of the inmates. Under "forging social order and its breakdown: riot and reform in U.S. Prisons author(s): Bert Useem and Jack A. Goldstone in the American Sociological Review Vol. 67 No. 4 (Avg. 2002 pp 499-525 you can see the problem as it is today the 5 conditions leading up to the Prison Riots are what the current administration is doing. Also in the Santa Fe New Mexican Dated Augs 17, 2016 shows the problem as it is also Ryan vs. Parison of Arizona its a national problem. I will [illegible] fight for not only myself but the one's who do not have a voice in the battle for prisoners rights. Please contact me at NE.N.M.D.F. Victor Apodaca. Sincerely an Old Soldier Victor Andrew Apodaca Sr.
