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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2016)
Page 10 News SI a n ..... . Oregon State Penitentiary is a maximum-security prison in Salem, operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections. BY EMILY GREEN STAFF WRITER ocal civil rights groups are asking Oregon Department of Corrections for increased transparency and an audit of disciplinary actions taken against inmates. They’re also demanding reforms to the way it transfers inmates between its facilities and answers to questions about the transfer of a specific inmate in August On Sept 19, representatives from ACLU of Oregon, Voz Hispana Cambio Comunitario and Don’t Shoot Portland, as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, met with state corrections director Colette Peters and several other DOC staff at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. They brought with them letters signed by roughly 100 Portland-area community members and local civil rights and religious leaders, asking for a revision of the state corrections department’s disciplinary and transfer policies and, specifically, how they are applied to African-American and Latino inmates. “We have anecdotal reports from folks that are incarcerated that these policies are being applied disproportionately to certain communities of black and brown people,” said Mat dos Santos, ACLU of Oregon’s legal director. Additionally, he said ACLU of Oregon has “concerns about the transparency of DOC’s disciplinary policies and the transparency about policies relating to transfers.” When inmates are transferred to facilities L far from their communities, it creates hope having that evidence would pave the barriers to visitation. way for reforms within DOC. According to research compiled by Prison In their letter, the activists also requested Policy Initiative, just 31 percent of people in increased services for African-American and America’s state prisons receive a visit from Latino inmates and their families. a loved one in a typical month, though a “breadth of research” shows maintaining oz Hispana and Don’t Shoot Portland contact with family and receiving visitors are also asked Peters for the return of among the best ways to keep prisoners from Oregon State Penitentiary’s Latino Club reoffending after their release. president, inmate Rafael Mora-Contreras, Francisco Lopez, political director of Vbz whom they said was transferred to Two Hispana Cambio Rivers Correctional "We have anecdotal Comunitario, said his Institution in Umatilla organization also believes reports from folks that are earlier this year with no transfer policies and explanation given to his incarcerated that these disciplinary actions policies are being applied friends and family. disproportionately affect A DOC spokesperson disproportionately to inmates of color based told Street Roots she certain communities of on phone calls his office could not access any black and brown people." information regarding receives from their families. MAT DOS SANTOS, Mora-Contreras’ transfer. He echoed dos Santos’ legal director , ACLU OF OREGON Letters and documents concerns regarding provided to Street Roots DOC’s lack of transparency around DOC by supporters of Mora-Contreras raise handling of inmates, saying it causes questions about correctional staff’s confusion and hardships for their loved ones treatment of prisoners of different on the outside, especially when an inmate is ethnicities within the walls of Oregon’s transferred to a prison far from where they correctional institutions, but an analysis that live. would either back up or disprove these Lopez said he and the other activists claims does not exist asked Peters for an audit “of the department Lopez walked away from the meeting and an audit of issues that are arising there hopeful, saying the response from Peters in terms of communities of color - was “very positive.” especially African Americans and Latinos.” Peters issued the following statement in They believe an audit would confirm then- an email response to Street Roots’ inquiry suspicions that these inmates are treated regarding her recent meeting with the more harshly than white inmates, and they activists in Salem: “It was a valuable V Street Roots • Oct. 21 -27, 2016 STREET ROOTS PHOTO meeting. I always appreciate it when the community brings issues and concerns forward, and I look forward to the collaboration between DOC, Voz Hispana Cambio Comunitario, and Don’t Shoot Portland.” DOC spokesperson Betty Bernt said in the same email response that Peters and DOC have agreed to look into the issues brought forward in the letter; however, no decisions or actions have yet been decided. She wrote, “We will take all input into consideration as we move forward.” In response to an inquiry about data on disciplinary policies, Bernt wrote, “We do not have any existing reports that speak to disciplinary policies being applied disproportionately to any ethnic group.” The civil rights groups have not yet received a formal response from DOC in regard to their requests, but are scheduled to meet with DOC again on Oct 25. Mora-Contreras’ mother, Elpidia Mora, told Street Roots with the help of a translator that she has trouble communicating with DOC because she does not speak English. When her son was placed in solitary confinement for more than two months between April and June of this year, the effect on her family was devastating. She became tearful as she recalled the first 15 days her son was in solitary confinement She said she knew something was wrong because he stopped calling, but she had no idea what it was. See PRISONERS, page 11
