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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1979)
by Earnest Lee Watson HJ8917 C o n tra ry to popular belief, a prisoner does not shed his con stitutional rights at the prison gate. The high courts have held that the in terests o f inmates in freedom from im position o f serious disciplinary measures is a liberty entitled to Due Process protection. But in reality, when you are in front o f Walter Shaw these noble holdings are little more than empty promises. The rules, such as giving notice, is to give the accused an opportunity to prepare a defense, and a chance to present that defense. But what really happens is that an accused inmate is deprived o f an enforceable con stitutional right to the procedural tools essential to the presentation o f any meaningful defense. W ithout the right to call witnesses and present documentary evidence, an inmate is not guaranteed the right to present any defense beyond his own word. W ithout the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses the inmate is not afforded a means to challenge the word(s) o f his accusors. There is no way one can resolve dis puted factual issues in any rational or accurate way without this process. The hearing amounts to little more than a swearing in contest; to say the inmate is invariably the loser. The right to present the testimony o f im partial witnesses and real evidence is particularly crucial to an accused inmate, who obviously faces a severe credibility problem when trying to disprove the charges o f a prison guard. Surely, the brief prolongna- tion o f the disciplinary committee to hear the testimony o f a few witnesses before reaching what would other wise be a pre-ordained decision provides no support what-so-ever for refusal to give inmates this right. In almost every setting where im portant decisions turn on questions o f fact Due Process requires an op p o rtu n ity to confront and cross- examine adverse witnesses. There is a serious potential for abuse o f the dis c ip lin a ry process by persons motivated by malice, vindictiveness, intolerance, prejudice, jealousy, or Mr. Cupp’s financial reward for in fo rm a tio n scheme. There is no rational means for resolving disputed questions o f fact without providing confrontation and cross-examina tio n . These basic c o n stitu tio n a l rights are denied and leaves these matters to the “ sound discretion” of prison officials. M r. Cupp’ s concern for the safety o f informants does not justify a wholesale denial o f the right to confront and cross-examine ad- Ernast Watson teaches a class at O S P . verse witnesses. Cross-examination is the principle means by which the believe-ability o f a witness and the truth o f his testimony are tested. Mr. Cupp seems to think that by allowing this that there is a danger o f hostility between the inmate and the guard or tw o inm ates, or that cross- examination o f a guard by an inmate w ould threaten the g u a rd ’ s tra d itio n a l role o f absolute authority, or that cross-examination would somehow weaken the discipli nary com m ittee as a vehicle fo r Trees, bushes need emergency care I f the recent cold weather mixed with freezing rain damaged trees and shrubs in your yard, make repairs as soon as possible. The earlier damaged plants are taken care of, the better the chance they w ill recover. Most o f the damage is likely to be minor, involving small limbs that are broken or cracked. Damaged twigs and limbs should be cut back to the nearest strong, healthy wood or bud. It is important to remove all broken, fractured or splintered wood to eliminate areas where rot could take hold. When pruning back to healthy wood, make the pruning cut flush with the nearest side limb. Do not leave a stub or snag. I f the pruning cut is one inch or more in diameter, apply a tree wound paint. I f tree limbs were bent but not cracked, don’t cut them down right away. Remove extra weight from them, such as expendable side limbs, and leaves them alone. With time, they may straighten out. In some hard hit areas o f the state, the ice broke large limbs from trees, and even caused major splits in tree trunks. A broken major limb should be sawed back to the trunk or major side limb and treated with a wound dressing. Trunks that are split may be pulled together. Two methods are com m only used, one involving bolts placed through the trunk, the other using wire around the tree. Bolt method. Holes are drilled at intervals through the split sections o f the trunk. Bolts with huge washers at either end are inserted in the holes and tightened to pull the split areas together. Wire method. Wire is inserted in rubber tubing and twisted around the trunk so it pulls the split sections together. The problem w ith this method, is that the clamping pres sure caused by the wire may gir dle the tree. This method should be used only when minimum pressure is needed to hold the split sections together. A fte r the sp lit sections are together, the outeT edges o f the split should be liberally painted with tree wound paint. Some trees, of course, have been damaged beyond repair, or may require more work than people are willing to do. Young, fast-growing trees have the best chance to recover from major damage. Trees that show little regrowth each year, trees that have been damaged before, and old trees with scraggly growth are less likely to recover from significant damage. In the early spring, an application o f nitrogen fe rtiliz e r around the dripline area o f the recovering trees and shrubs w ill encourage vigor and growth. Landscape plants Landscape plants w on’ t show some o f the effects o f this winter’ s unusually low temperatures u n til next spring. B roadlea f evergreens, such as rhododendrons, camellias, and ever green azaleas, are likely to develop brow n, scorched-looking leaves, especially on the windward side. The brow n leaves are caused by the plant’ s inability during sub-freezing weather to replace moisture carried out o f the leaves by the wind. Conifer evergreens, such as arbor vitae and cypress, also will have a browning o f the foliage. The brow n leaves cannot be revived. However, McNeilan advises . . . UNION OR CO M PANY DENTAL INSURANCE is a valuable asset. . . a mid-spring application o f fertilizer to stimulate new growth which may conceal the w orst o f the brow n foliage. Cam ellias, rhododendrons and other broadleaf evergreens w ill likely have fewer flower blooms this year because the developing buds were frozen. To get an idea o f the extent o f flower damage, take a flower bud from the plant. Cut a cross section and look at the florets inside. They should be green, or the color o f the flo w e r bloom . Freeze-damaged florets w ill be brown or black. Cleanup plan* Commissioners Connie McCready and M ild re d Schwab announced future plans regarding the cleanup after last week’ s ice storm. While City Park and Public W ork crews continue to clear the streets and remove hanging lim bs, the Com missioners stress the need for public help in rem oving the sto rm ’ s damage. Three avenues are available to citi zens helping in the clean up effort. First, brush and fallen limbs may be hauled to the parking lots at W ashington Park Zoo, G abriel Park, Westmoreland Park, Lents Park, Rose City G olf Course, and Cathedral Park. The use o f these sites has been extended through Sun day, January 28th. Secondly, citizens w ill be allowed to bum brush and limbs on days to be announced by the Department o f Environmental Quality. No burning permits w ill be required but residents are reminded to observe the normal precautions o f keeping the Fire at least 25 feet away from a combus tible building or material, remain in attendance while the Tire is burning and keep a garden hose available at the burning site. And third, wood and brush may be taken for use in fireplaces. Resi dents are also reminded that they are not allowed to cut limbs or trees in the parks. Mofeuci cim n or RoanANo*- rehabilitation. These generalized, speculative and unsupported theories o f M r. C u p p ’ s do not provide anything close to an adequate basis for denying the inmate the right to cross-examine his accusors. Blind deference to correction o ffi cials does no real service to them. There is nothing more corrosive to the fabric o f an institution than the feeling among those whom it con tains that they are being treated un fairly. M r. Cupp’ s argument that there is a danger o f violent response by the inmate against his accusors is great and that only prison officials are in a position to weigh the necessity o f secrecy in each case. But this is precisely the un-checked power o f prison officials which is the problem that due process safeguards are re quired to cure. The goal o f this prison is to rein tegrate inmates into a society where men are supposed to be treated fairly by the government, not arbitrarily. The disciplinary committee is coun ter productive. Harsh treatment pro duces an orderly prison but it comes under criticism because o f its inhum anity. W ith p articular em phasis on the unfettered discretion o f guards to impose punishment on the basis o f vague charges which were never subject to detached or impar tial evaluation. 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