If you want to know what this is about, see my post from last night about a prisoner who was beaten (by the Aryan Nation, it turns out) at Victorville Federal Penitentiary, had his jaw broken, had the orbit of his eye shattered, was taken to an ER, recommended for treatment, but then taken back to the prison instead and put into solitary, where his jaw is untreated (except for some Tylenol 3) and he is expected to lose his vision without treatment.
The person who contacted me has tried to find lawyers today. No luck.
I still don't know exactly what to do with this sort of case, which is outside of my professional expertise.
So I'm asking you to do this "old school." Calls and e-mails. Raise the profile. Tell them to get this guy back to an ER while there's still a chance of saving his vision.
I've not been acting as a lawyer in this matter so far, more like as an activist, but regardless I've been authorized to give out the prisoner's name and ID number. It is:
Kevin H___ (NOTE: I've redacted this now that it's resolved)
#16664-045
dob- 10/14/1963
victorville fci 2
Read the other diary. I can add this to it, from the person who wrote:
I don't think we're too worried about privacy at this point. Here are some contact numbers and an email address that my family have been burning every day to get a response, which isn't forthcoming.
Victorville prison 760-530-5700
western regional office 209-596-WRONG NUMBER
www.bop.gov/victorville
They're getting the run around at every turn.
The story I have, and no reason to disbelieve it, is that Kevin was jumped in the med line by 4-5 Aryan Nation gang members and beaten severely. When they brought him back from the hospital all his stuff had been ransacked by both the gang members and the prison guards and nearly all of it stolen, then they threw him in the hole with nothing but some tylenol3 that the hospital gave him in his hands. He's been there suffering ever since. He's apparently allowed 15 minutes of phone time every month when in the hole, and he called his sig other on Saturday to tell her this. She couldn't understand much of what he said because of the broken jaw, but this is what she got out of that conversation.
Do what you can.
I haven't been able to get through the phone number either, but on the Wikipedia page I did find this e-mail address: VIP/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV. So if we can't get through by phone, we can at least do this.
I'm going out of town in a half hour and won't be back until early evening, so I won't be around for comments. What I suggest is:
(1) Read the other diary for background.
(2) Put your concerns into your own words. Let's not have 1000 identical letters, let's have letters that show that someone actually read and thought through each one.
(3) BE POLITE, but BE FIRM.
(4) Recount the relevant facts that are meaningful to you.
(5) Ask for this prisoner to be taken out of "the hole" and back to the ER, where he can see an ophthalmologist and a plastic surgeon who might be able to save his sight while it is still possible, as well as treatment for his jaw.
Simply knowing that people are watching is often all it takes to get people to do the right thing. Right now, this inmate seems to be viewed as trash. Let the prison wardens know that we view him as a human being with human rights, among them the right to medical treatment while incarcerated to save his vision.
I don't know what else we can do, but I do know that we can do this. But it needs to be today.
She said "Do what you can" to me. That goes for you too.
Fri Dec 23, 2011 at 9:39 AM PT: Sometimes good things happen. Click here to read about the happy ending.