Suffocating the voice

Suffocating The Voice By Frederick Mason Psalm 119:134 "Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep your precepts." Psalm 119:161 "Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word." There's been no clear identification of the persecution that goes on in prisons, and because of this, society has been completely ignorant - or blind, to what prisons do to a person. People sweep the least of mankind under a cement city, expect them to change when many officers abuse their authority, then expect inmates to come out of prison with a halo over their heads. We've completely forgotten, or ignored, the glaring fact that the ability of an inmate to change is largely based on the administration, and whether they treat inmates with compassion, or condemnation. I believe, because we're in the Super-Information Age, and in light of officers being questioned of their own morals, that prisons are soon going to have to take a very serious look at what part they've played in the secretive oppression of inmates. Much needs to be said, and to this point, very little has been said, because staff suffocates inmate's cries; society doesn't hear what we're saying, because prisons restrict their voices. So, let's see if you can hear me, or will the prison gag my words... Before I begin, let me temper my argument, and testimony, by saying that USP Tucson is, all things considered, a good prison to be in. If you HAVE to do time, and need the opportunity to do it in a safe penitentiary, this is as good as it gets. I would be remiss if I didn't thank God for being here... not that I'm in prison, but here, in Tucson. It is a safe place where you can do your time with minimal threats... However, it is not that the STAFF gets credit for this. No judge in the United States authorized any Warden, Captain, Lieutenant, Case Manager, Unit Manager, Counselor or any officer to make our lives any harder than it already is. It's not their place to add oppression to our sentence. Yet, they do it, because for whatever reason, many officers feel that they have a God-given right to judge inmates, and make our lives unbearable. No, that's not God-given... that's Satan-given. One of the biggest problems in prison is that staff makes inmates accountable for everything; even things they didn't do. Yet, when staff is clearly wrong, they attempt to suffocate the problem, so the public doesn't know how much they abuse their authority. Case in point: A couple of weeks ago, I attempted to send a letter out to "Raise Up Media", to share about an email I sent to the Warden when the Unit Manager, Case Manager and another officer refused to feed me. I retyped the email, and desired to send it to "Raise Up Media', for possible consideration. By rule, inmates here at USP Tucson cannot seal our own envelopes; we put the letter in, and "tuck" the flap. Then, staff is supposed to seal and mail the envelope. Or, so I hoped. Today, (May 11th, 2015), I got a letter... MY letter, in an US Postal Service envelope, with my letter inside, actually not a letter... just the envelope. I look at the envelope, to see that it made it as far as Phoenix on May 4th, but came back. On the envelope was the "Returned to Sender" stamp, with the stamped hand pointing at my hand-written address. On the right side was two stamped messages: 1) "Received unsealed at Phoenix, AZ 85026, and 2) "Received without contents Phoenix, AZ 85026. So, let me get this straight, my letter to "Raise Up Media", which incidentally was about prison abuse, was sent, unsealed AND without contents? This means that the prison likely removed my letter, yet foolishly sent an empty envelope, as if I made the mistake of not sending one. WHY? To avoid taking accountability for what they're doing to inmates. Inmates don't always do right, but many times they do their best, all things considered. But it becomes much more difficult when staff persecutes and oppresses inmates from speaking about the wrongs the prison does to inmates. Don't expect inmates to magically turn into angels if they're oppressed by wicked people. Instead, pray for both sides, that God may show His love and mercy to the captives, and defend them when they are oppressed beyond reason. It is my hope to produce a line of communication between prisons and the outside. As I share journals, essays and such, I hope to stimulate interest in prison issues. Hope to hear from you soon. FM