Street roots., April 20, 2018, Page 5, Image 5

Street Roots • April 20-26, 2018
News
Page 5
THOMAS, from page 4
speaking out. Now, they don’t have to
worry about going through a media
outlet and if that media outlet will
properly convey their message or
misquote them or even choose to run
their story like I did. Now, they can
utilize their own social media. Like
Dwyane Wade told me in “We M atter”:
With social media being as powerful
as it is, you become, in essence, a
reporter. So it’s hard for someone to
tell you not to say things that you want
on your social media platform. You
can’t be in the position that LeBron is
in, that Melo (Carmelo Anthony) is in,
myself, CP (Chris Paul) and really care
about criticism.”
D . P.: For athletes who may want to
become activists but don’t know what it
takes to be one, what are some necessary
tools needed to make the transition?
E. T.: Just to do your research and
know what you are talking about and to
be prepared for the criticism that is
going to follow. You have to be able to
also defend your position because
certain portions of the media are going
to attempt to discredit you personally
and make you out to be a buffoon who
has no business speaking on this topic,
just as Laura Ingraham attempted to do
with LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
D . P.: What was the experience like to
speak with families o f victims o f g un
violence in relation to cop killings,
racism, systemic injustices, etc.
E. T.: Those were the most difficult
interviews I have ever done in my life. I
spoke to Emerald Snipes, who is Eric
Garner’s daughter. I interviewed the
mother and sister of Philando Castile,
Valerie and Alysza Castile. I interviewed
Jahvaris Fulton, brother of Trayvon
Martin, and Tiffany Crutcher, twin
sister of Terence Crutcher. They were
literally heartbreaking, but I think they
were important to show for many
reasons.
People have forgotten what these
protests were about. Somehow, it has
transformed into being about the
military or the flag, but those weren’t
the reasons Kaepernick listed for him
taking a knee. It was about the constant
killings at the hands of the police of
unarmed black men and women without
any form of accountability for the
police. When D-Wade and LeBron and
the entire Miami team wore the
hoodies, it was because of the killing of
Trayvon Martin. So I spoke to Trayvon’s
brother Jahvaris about the impact from
that.
Russell Westbrook spoke out after
the killing of Terence Crutcher, and I
spoke to Terence’s sister Tiffany about
the impact of that as well. The entire
WNBA had their media blackout and
protested after the back-to-back killings
of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile,
and Philando’s sister Alysza spoke so
passionately about what it felt to her,
seeing that. And although these
interviews were extremely difficult to
do, they were important to really show
what these protests are all about.
Oregon Department of Corrections employees
named in civil rights lawsuit claiming abuse
BY EM ILY GREEN
as punitive measures, “what my
clients are primarily concerned
regon Department of Corrections staff with is accountability,” said
Chavez. “They lived this day in and
fabricated evidence and unlawfully
day out, and they want to feel like
used solitary confinement in order to
punish two inmates without due process, they’re making a change in their
environment and aren’t voiceless in
claims a lawsuit being filed in federal court
this whole thing.”
on the inmates’ behalf.
“I just want to see some justice served
Representing the inmates are Portland-
for once,” Staggs told Street Roots during
based civil rights attorney Juan Chavez, who
a phone call from Snake River Correctional
sits on the advisory committee to Oregon
Institution, located in Ontario. While he is far
Justice Resource Center and on the
from friends and family, he said as much as
Executive Board of the Portland National
Lawyers Guild, and criminal defense attorney he would love to be transferred back to
Oregon State Penitentiary, “I’m scared of
Crystal Maloney.
becoming a target.”
The plaintiffs, inmates Shane Staggs, 32,
He was convicted of second-degree
and Rafael Mora-Contreras, 37, were featured
robbery and kidnapping in 2009 and is set to
this past August in a Street Roots’ report on
be released in 2026.
the use of solitary confinement at Oregon
Mora-Contreras is currently 15 years into
State Penitentiary, a state-run maximum-
a life sentence for murder. However, in light
security prison in Salem.
of new judicial findings, he has been granted
Both men, who were not affiliated with
a re-trial in Washington County.
each other, were employed within the p riso n
“If h e is in fact exonerated by a jury or by
and in good standing when they were placed
the state,” said Chavez, “then all of that
in solitary confinement for extended periods
torture he went through was incredibly
while under investigation for separate
unwarranted.”
nonviolent infractions.
The suit claims both men suffered
The complaint being filed in their case
emotionally, physically and economically -
mirrors allegations outlined in Street Roots
due to lost wages - as a result of their stay in
coverage (see “Caged” at news.streetroots.
solitary confinement.
org), which revealed a pattern of bad
“If you don’t have a strong mind,” Staggs
practices at Oregon State Penitentiary with
said, “you’ll go crazy.”
regard to its use of solitary confinement and
Mora-Contreras began to suffer from
the internal investigations into inmate
auditory hallucinations while in solitary,
misconduct that lands prisoners in it.
according to the lawsuit, and both men lost
Specifically, accusations of coercion and
significant weight and suffered from anxiety
abuse of power directed mainly at one
and severe distress.
individual in the department’s Special
In Oregon, solitary confinement means
Investigations Unit: Lt. Douglas Yancey.
spending 23.3 hours each day in a 6-foot by
Street Roots originally withheld Yancey’s
10-foot cell with no natural light, access to
name. Oregon DOC Director Colette Peters,
outdoors and limited opportunities to speak
Inspector General Craig Prins and Hearings
with people, according to court documents.
Officer Jeremy Nofziger are also named in
Chavez’s lawsuit comes on the heels of a
the lawsuit, which as of press time, Chavez
Disability Rights Oregon report finding that
said he planned to file in U.S. District
at the same facility, Oregon State
Court’s Eugene Division April 20.
Penitentiary, employees are failing to make
Both plaintiffs, and other inmates involved
progress on a pledge to allow inmates with
in the case, allege Yancey attempted to bribe
severe mental health issues out of their cells
and coerce inmates into submitting false
more frequently in the Behavioral Health
testimony against the plaintiffs and retaliated
Unit where they reside. While some
against inmates by placing them in solitary
improvements have been made, this unit
confinement.
remains another form of solitary
“I think this makes a strong case to show
confinement.
that a correctional officer shouldn’t be
The use of solitary confinement against
trusted with this specific tool, because it will
Mora-Contreras and Staggs, the lawsuit
claims, is a violation of their Eighth
be abused,” said Chavez.
The case also alleges the large-scale riot at Amendment right to be free from cruel and
unusual punishment, as well as a violation of
Oregon State Penitentiary involving 200
their Fifth Amendment rights of due process
inmates in 2016 was the result of Yancey
telling a group of gang members that another and First Amendment rights to be free from
compelled speech and retaliation.
inmate was a “snitch,” after that inmate
The suite also claims the state violated the
refused to provide him with false
equal protection clause of the 14th
information.
Amendment on the grounds that it places
While the suit seeks damages that, as of
people of color in solitary confinement at a
press time, had not been determined, as well
S E N IO R STA FF R EPO R TER
O
higher rate than other inmates.
In March, Mora-Contreras filed two other
lawsuits claiming constitutional rights
violations against various DOC employees at
Two Rivers Correctional Institution in
Umatilla, however he has not retained
counsel to represent him on either of those
cases.
Historically, solitary confinement cases
claiming cruel and unusual punishment have
failed, but decisions issued two months ago
are beginning to change that precedent.
“Supreme Court precedent says how we
judge what’s cruel and what’s unusual is
based on an evolving standard of decency,”
explained Chavez.
On Feb. 21, in Virginia, a federal judge
ruled it was cruel and unusual to confine
death row prisoners to solitary confinement.
Chavez pointed out that decision was
partially based on growing evidence that
shows solitary confinement is psychologically
and physically harmful.
“We know more about the abuse that it
creates and the trauma that stems from it,”
he said.
In her decision, U.S. District Judge Leonie
Brinkema stated that, “Given the rapidly
evolving information available about the
potential harmful effects of solitary
confinement,” her decision was not bound by
the “decades-old determinations” on which
defendants in solitary confinement cases
typically rely.
Also in February, a federal court judge in
Pennsylvania granted an injunction to release
death-row inmate Darrick Hall from solitary
confinement, where he had been held for the
past 24 years, despite his death sentence
being vacated in 2014. In this case, the judge
ruled the Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections violated the inmate’s 14th
Amendment due process rights.
Much of Chavez’s case, however, relies on
inmate testimony, which he admits could be
difficult.
“But I think the public is coming to
understand that we shouldn’t confuse power
with credibility,” he said. “Having a badge
doesn’t mean you get a pass at accountability.
The paper trail here supports my clients’
stories and theories of this case.”
emily@streetroots. org
@greenwrites