Portland Observer
Thursday, October 27, 1977
Page 3
From behind the wall
by tarry Baber «35021
O.S.P. Corr«w¡<«ndeot
Black inmates file petitions for a
variety of reasons
a girlfriend being
denied viaiting privileges; being sent to
isolation for a rule infraction; the confis
cation of personal property; a guards
abuse; discrimination of race.
Many complaints have been filed in
aversion to the food.
One petition
alleged ."...Judge, you wouldn't believe
how grown men can foul up even hot
dogs. The salad always has unidentified
objects in it and the coffee would drive
your car six miles."
The petitioner summed his case in
conclusion: "Our cooks is crazy, Judge."
Officials and guards at the prison are
not unduly concerned about the constant
flow of petitions or being named as
defendants in lawsuits.
One guard
expressed little concern, and sentiments
are shared by most of his colleagues.
"W rit writing keeps them (inmates)
busy. If a con has a beef. I ’d sure as hell
rather see him hit the law books than hit
me. (Fortune News, 9/77)
In the Oregon State Penitentiary,
there are no George Jackson's, no Eld
ridge Cleaver's or Malcolm X's. Black
men, who were convicted by courts,
thrown into dingy prison cells - only to
emerge among society “social outcasts'
with the undeveloped hidden skills and
knowledge that terrorizes our courts, and
prison officials today. The treatment of
Black people behind stone walls and iron
bars.
It was through the eyes of a
ballpoint pen, gliding across pages, and
volumes of paper which revealed true
stories and events of their prison exper
iences as well as others. They soon had
the public vomiting with guilt in knowing
that their tax paying dollars were con-
doning such treatment administered. It
was through these w ritten materials that
laws were changed; procedures were
enacted and investigations were lodged.
Sure, during the 60s and early 70s
prison riots were born; prison strikes
were formed - even right here in this
great state we found our prison on fire -
the names of Attica. San Quentin, Joliet,
Walla Walla and McAlester became to
pics of conversation. To the Black women
standing in welfare lines; topics of con
versation to men of dark color in bean and
potato fields; words of fear within the
eyes of small Black children in rundown
ghetto classrooms. Why? Because most
of them all had something in common. All
were poor, most lived in Black communi
ties and most had a loved one a father,
brother, uncle, cousin or husband - con
fined within.
But today these names are slowly
vanishing, along with the memories of the
violence that came with them.
The
buildings and cell blocks have been
rebuilt on their compounds or either
revamped old ones with a new paint job.
Even those human beings who had died
senselessly by bullets, clubs and tear gas
bombs have all been buried, some w ith
out a tombstone, but the fear lives on in
the minds and hearts of Black people in
their communities and prison cells.
Why must there always be violence
before a problem is recognized?
Why has this states Black prison popu
lation jumped from 125 Blacks (10%) in
1970, with an average total population of
1,200; to well over 300 Blacks (19%), with
a slight rise in population of 1,400. A
question that not only many of the white
leaders of this state can not answer, but
many of the Black leaders shade their
eyes to and refuse to «newer It can not
be blamed on the rising Black population
within Oregon (25,000 in 1970 to 30,000
in 1977). It was slightly over one percent
of Black people living in Oregon to total
population 1970, and it is still slightly
over one percent today.
A t work right now is another riot
desperately trying to be created by a
handful of Black prisoners at O.S.P., but
this time it is a hope that not one drop of
blood will be shed, not one head will have
its brains bashed in, nor a cell will be
damaged. This time the battleground
hopefully will be a courtroom instead of a
"Big Yard." The bullets will become the
ink pen; the clubs will be sheets of paper;
and the guns will become legal law books.
It has clearly been proven throughout the
past fifteen years that "the pen is still
mightier than the sword.”
Yes, prison riots have clearly taught
one main lesson - it is they who suffer, it
is they who become the victims, the
targets, the losers.
Portland City Commissioner Charles
Jordan, a Oregon Black man and leader,
stated that, “during 1976, 39 percent of
all those persons who were arrested in
Portland were Black," as w ritten in the
October 16, 1977, Calvin O.L. Henry
column. Henry went on to question, by
writing, “One cannot help but wonder
how many of these Blacks were convicted
and sent to Oregon State Penitentiary.
What happens to these inmates educa
tionally?" W ell, at least Henry makes it a
point to try and find out by volunteering
his time each week to come behind the
walls and teach a Black studies course --
where is Jordan?
Since March of this year a small group
of Black inmates, together with a small
group of white inmates, have formed a
group with the purpose of not starting a
riot, not to fight a war between them
selves. but to gain knowledge - know
ledge of Oregon law. Since its inception
the group has grown greatly. It was done
voluntarily as well as being self taught.
This motivation has drawn the attention
of attorneys, law professors as well as
even judges, throughout the state, to the
point that they themselves have stepped
forward to assist these inmates' needs
voluntarily.
This fall a full course mini-summary
will be presented to help th irty inmates
continue to gain and become more know-
ledgeable within this field. Those sum
maries will be provided by the Will«
mette University People's Law School,
under the guidance of a third year law
student named T erry Johnson, and it will
go as follows;
October 26th
Prisoners Rights.
November 2nd
Api>eUate Procedure.
November 9th
Parole Procedures and
Probation
November 16th
Misdemeanor Crime
and Your Right.
November 23rd
Wills and Probate.
November 30th
Divorce and Child
Custody
December 7th
Self Divorce Clinic.
Attorneys: Larry Matusar, Tim Spof
ford, Gary Babcock, Scott McClaster,
Marc Sussman, M ary Dahlgren, and Ann
Hubard.
Paralegal: Sandy Hobach.
Third Year Student: James Rhoades.
Circuit Court Judge: Judge Edmond,
Bend, Oregon.
People who have stepped forward,
following in the footsteps of Judge
Robert E. Jones, Attorney Bob Cannon
and many others.
No, there are no George Jackson's,
Cleaver’s or Malcolm X's here at the
Oregon State Penitentiary.
Convicted
Black felons who became national heros
to Black people suffering in prison,
communities and counties by letting their
Black voices be heard throughout the
courtrooms in America.
No, there are none here, but there
maybe
someday.
by Ron Flynn «32199
Under the constitution an accused
person has the right to face his accuser,
but not at O.S.P.
This fact is more
flagrantly flaunted in regards to the
“reliable informant."
“You have been accused by a reliable
informant who’s identity must remain
anonymous" is the standard text of a
good percent of the disciplinary write-ups
at O.S.P. The reliable informant has and
can still cause:
1. An inmate to be returned from the
Annex, and lose his custody because a
“reliable informant" thought he was
going to try and escape. I f an inmate
were planning such a move he would be
stupid to relate his thoughts to another.
2. An inmate to spend fourteen days in
the "hole" while a reliable informant's
information was investigated. No proof
was found, but you cannot reclaim four
teen days in the "hole."
The reliable informant does not have to
back up his story, after all, he is reliable.
An inmate can present a defense on his
own behalf, but the following quote
indicates his chances are as the prover
bial snowball in ------------ !
"To call witnesses - limitedly - A)
Other inmates, or staff members who are
working in the institution or whose duties
take them within the institution may not
be called as witnesses since their testi
mony is unduly hazardous to institutional
safety and correctional goals; B) other
persons may not be called as witnesses if
their testifying is unduly hazardous to
the witness, institutional safety and/or
correctional goals...".
Who does that leave to present as
witnesses. Your reliable informant is not
as reliable as th eir............
A creature as silent as a snake, as
repulsive as a hyena, burrowing as a mole
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and evil as a wolverine, who will destroy
its own limbs to save himself.
Most
outstanding characteristic about this ani
mal is his distinctive "brown nose."
For some reason, this “thing" only
surfaces under an alias of w rite ups,
secret reports and other devious para
phernalia of the establishment. I t cannot
sustain itself on its own, but most cling
like a leech, sucking the blood of its own
kind, never hesitating to dig, burrow and
claw to survive.
Its name, as applied by the establish
ment, in in itself, a mockery. Reliable:
“Refers to a person or thing that can be
depended on as in need or emergency and
often connotes levelheadedness or steadi
ness."
The first statement in the
dictionary is more descriptive although it
was unintended. "Applied to a person
or thing that can be counted upon to do
what is expected or required."
The
informant can truly be depended upon
to do what is expected. I t has to in order
to survive.
For some reason, the “reliable infor
mant" never seems to have as much
prestige or carry as much "reliability”
unless he is beneficial to someone who
cannot carry their own program and must
depend upon this source to fall back on.
A t this point, the "informant" is all
knowing, all seeing and indisputable. But
what is there to dispute? A shadow? A
make-believe phantom? Who can argue
with a non-entity?
W hy confuse the
establishment with facts, when its mind
is already made up?
I t is sorry indeed, when intelligent!?)
men must depend and use these T H IN G S
in order to accomplish the ends to which
they seem to thrive on, and to lower
himself to the level of such a being. Could
this be evolution in reverse?
this arousal. Why? Because conjugal
visits would be too expensive.
Too
expensive, how much is it worth to save a
marriage, how much is the mental well
being of 1,500 men worth? How much is
it worth to save men from homosexual
ity?
Is it truly the will of the people of
Oregon that these intolerable conditions
of broken marriages and shattered men
continue unabated? I don't think it is.
There are 2,000,000 people in this state
and the administration claims it would
cost $400,000 for conjugal visits. Would
you pay 50c to save a marriage, or 50c to
save some 19 year old from being homo-
American State Bank
2737 N.E. Union
Oregon had the chance to give prison
ers conjugal visits, but because the
administration did not support it, it
failed.
So on one hand they sell us
sexually arousing material and on the
other they deny us any normal outlet for
282-2216
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by Thomas TarreU «38943
There is a thriving interest behind the
walls in mens magazines, such as: Play
boy, Penthouse, and others.
These
sex-oriented magazines are sold by the
prison canteen for a substantial profit,
and the inmates - who are separated
from most aspects of human normality
are naturally aroused by this vast out
pouring of literature depicting what
they are denied.
sexually abused? That's what it would
cost the citizens of Oregon, 50c a piece.
How can the administration deny our
basic human sexuality and then turn
around and exploit that sexuality for a
profit? In my opinion this is a classic
example of a highly confused policy or
intentional cruelty.
W hat is the solution? The only realistic
solution was denied us by the administra
tion and the legislature. Of course they
could stop selling the magazines
but
then what would be left for these lonely
frustrated men in their bleak 6 x 8 cells. I
leave the results to the imagination of the
reader, because my mind recoils from our
alternatives.
Open Saturday Morning
NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED
Come in at your convenience
PARK FREE-Any Park n Shop Lot
HOURS:
Weekdays 8:30 a m to 5 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dr. Jeffrey BRADY,
DENTIST
S.W . 3rd & YAMHILL ST„ PORTLAND, OREGON
TAKE ELEVATOR TO 2nd FLOOR 3rd ST. ENTRANCE
PKK TOUR PHONE.
TAKE IT HOME.
There’s a new store in town. The
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It’s conveniently located so you can
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You pick out exactly what you want.
Then take your phones home. In some
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If installation is required, th at’s
arranged at the PhoneCenter Store, too.
You can also make changes in service
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But the nice part is you save $5 per
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Check the PhoneCenter Store
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Portland Customers: East, 10522 S. E.
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238 S.\Y 5th; Hollywood, 2030 N.E. 42nd.
Vancouver Customers: 610 Esther.
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