Transcript
"Michigan Corrupt Prison System" I am a man who's still incarcerated in the Michigan Department of Corrections. It's now going on 7 years. I still recall my 1st 30 days in prison when I had got assaulted by officers due to I was trying to go to the law library to file for Appeal due to I was misled by a court appointed lawyer to plead guilty to 2nd degree CSC with a guideline of 3-15 years. When I really realized what happen I requested to a officer how do I go about signing up for a legal writer that officer cuss me out and later lied and said I was trying to hang myself officers responded by running in my cell that same officer came in my cell and hit and kick me numerous times stating "I hate CSC punks." Not even a year later I was in Maximum Security. 1 of my friends assaulted a officer there and officers knew the guy was my friend so they retaliated against me by taking my food and turning my water in my cell off while I'm in the SHU. It went on for 5 days straight and by the Grace of God my mother called up to the facility just to check on me because she hadn't heard from me and by showing I had outside support they stopped violating my 8th Amend. All the times I got abuse or seen others get abuse it always went unheard of after the fact because when it comes to Michigan prison system we prisoners have no voice. Officers and other staff members suppose to be committed to protect but when it comes to prisons they don't unless it's prisoner on prisoner and they will never let it go unheard. Then they (MDOC) set up so many blocks when we address must be on the letter. Now by them doing that it can prevent us from writing back or even getting the letter. It seems if they (MDOC) don't want us writing to society to possibly put what they doing in the spotlight. Then the Michigan prison system don't really care about being sued at all they (staff) always let it be well known "we got Attorney General behind us and Attorney General know we corrupt officers but due to you prisoners don't have enough money you will never win". Which that statement is 100% true I'm going through it right now I sued a corrupt officer for using excessive force on me after I comply to every officer order he (officer) did it because I assaulted a white guy and the officer is also a white guy. I wrote plenty people to get my case heard but no one is willing to help me but I keep pushing 100% forward with my lawsuit because I want a change to happen in Michigan prison I'm tired being abused and seeing others get abused and isn't nothing been done about it. Days while I'm locked away in my cell I be so full of hurt and pain because I know I'm 100% innocent then when I'm sitting in a cage like an animal I'm keep being abused by officers I know if I reacted in a negative fashion to what the officer's doing to me I will get into trouble and officer knows that. It feels as if I'm in slavery again all I can do is cry and pray it will go away plus I can get my voice heard. It's very stressful dealing with these problems knowing by being locked up you lost a lot of your rights as a human but on top of that your voice not gone be heard but I always remind myself I'm going home. Now as far as Michigan parole board is another corrupt part of Michigan system because they are well aware how corrupt this place we are living in and still never try to get us people they don't give paroles to no type of chance to prove we made a mistake in life instead they don't let us appear at our hearings at all. My parole been denied 3 times already without really giving no good reason on doing so nor have the parole board ever allow me to come to my hearing. I'm up again for my next parole hearing January 2020 plus Michigan pass a new bill in May 2019 where it must be a true reason in detail why a person didn't get their parole but by me dealing with the parole since 2015 the very 1st time I suppose to had my hearing know how corrupt they are if they can find and loophole they will use it against a person. Dealing with Michigan SHU they force us to stay in there for a very long period of time for things such as a threatening behavior misconduct which officers 80% of the time lie due to it's a misconduct that the prisoner can't win at all it's the officer word against the prisoner word instead of having a fair hearing. MDOC don't get us in the hole to learn a lesson they doing it to remind us officers is the 1's with the power. By me doing 80% of my time in and out SHU I notice it broke me from wanting to be social with people and being around a lot of people. It isn't by choice neither it's just the results from being locked in a small room so long then once we get out of SHU they (staff) don't get us any treatment to help adjust back to the sitting of being around people and being 100% social with people. Officers and other staff members know it takes an effect on us mentally because they acknowledge it to me before by stating, "If I keep you in seg, the results gone be you no longer have control over your mind which will lead to coming back to SHU." SHU is 1 major way officers abuse their authority and abuse prisoners such as myself by taking our food trays and etc. Plus SHU doing a long term is also very corrupt because it's bad enough I'm in prison away from my family now I'm in SHU which pushes me even farther from my family and bonds get broken quick due to mail slow down as well as phone calls not only that I seen within my body I lose weight quick due to poor portion of food I can't order a lot of food in SHU. Doing long term in SHU should be 8th Amend. violation it's 1 thing using it to make us learn from our mistakes then using it to keep us to break us mentally and/or a place to hold us for officers can easily abuse us. In Michigan prisons 75% of officers at each facility be assigned to work nowhere but in the SHU due to how corrupt they are because if they work in General Population they create hostile environments for other officers and us inmates. Growing up at the age of 16 years I became a member of G-Shyne Bloods when I came to prison I kept living that life up until 2018 I stop being a member I got properly released but I can still be held on STG (Security Threat Group) 1 after STG coordinators acknowledge I am no longer a member. The warden in Michigan prisons always hinder a person with getting off that list because they know a lot of things they took from us people who are STG 1 or 2 such as 5 phone calls a week, no outgoing J-Pays or incoming, no secure packs and incentive programs nor can we get in any type of programs unless the parole tell the facility or MDOC to do so. It seems as if they want me to go back into my old negative ways, then like certain states got programs for gang members to take in Michigan they don't. They just put all STG members on the same yard and watch how it become corrupt because by us prisoners going at each other, we put that we are being oppressed to the back of our mind and deal with nonsense 1st it's set up in Michigan for STG members to fail instead of getting some type of help to change our negative ways in life. Me still being on STG just keeps me fighting positively to make a positive change for myself and others as well. Truly, Shakeal Sawyer
