Posting #163 – Inmate Petition - Piedmont Regional Jail, Farmville VA

By:  RSOL of Virginia and the Inmates of Piedmont Regional Jail
Date:  11/02/2009

Dear ACLU of Virginia, every Virginia Delegate and Senator and every Virginia Congressman and US Senator,

A supporter of ours received a petition written in pencil from her son and other inmates at the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville ,VA.

She has typed up the petition and has asked that we forward it on to raise awareness and hopefully correct the violation of human rights that is currently occurring at PRJ.

The inmate’s current housing is entirely inadequate and unsanitary per the attached petition. The conditions and treatment mentioned in the petition are similar to the conditions discovered in third world countries.

Her son is one of three supporters son's that we know of that are currently being considered for Civil Commitment in Virginia. He was having consensual relations with a girlfriend who lied about her age and now he's facing possible commitment to an institution for the sexually perverse. His wife and daughter have already been without their husband and father for way too long. Civil Commitment is suppose to be for the most heinous, repeat offenders so why would our State even consider him for such a fate?

RSOL of Virginia

October 29, 2009

The signatures that follow this letter identify the inmates/detainees that are currently going through this atrocity known as Civil Commitment.  This group is currently being housed at Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, VA.  The signatures are followed by release dates, so it should be noted that some are past their mandatory release date and some are quickly approaching.

None of us are being held in a DOC facility nor being housed under DOC regulations.  There is a pod contracted by DOC to hold us and it is well-equipped.  Instead, our current housing is entirely inadequate, unsanitary, and a direct violation of our rights.

Before leaving our previous institutions, we were made to send home all of our personal belongings, save for legal documents alone.  No hygiene, commissary, photos, writing correspondence, or personal mail was permitted.  Upon arriving here, we were told that DOC lied and we could have brought it all.
Being as though we are detainees for DOC, we are under the assumption that the contracted facility should provide the necessities such as t-shirts, socks, boxers, towels, etc…  Instead we have only what we wore in on our backs.  The rest must be purchased off of an overpriced commissary without us being permitted jobs to earn money for our basic needs.  The responsibility is instead put on our family to provide for us when most of us have completed our sentence.

Therefore, in this NON-PUNITIVE process, not only are we suffering punitive actions but our loved ones are being punished as well at the hands of DOC.  It costs approximately $11.25 to make one 15 minute phone call, local or not, which our family must pay for.  Our sentence is completed…there is NOTHING civil about this process.

During our initial arrival and intake process at Piedmont Regional, we were scolded by the “Chief of Security” and an overly animated “Lieutenant Lee” that (quote) This is not DOC, Not run like DOC, and we will learn to deal with it or we can be dealt with ourselves”.  We were then threatened to be sent to Red Onion and even with physical abuse, all for merely questioning why they would not provide us with clothes, hygiene, and towels.

We have not been given access to Law Library services, Inmate/Detainee Advisors, counselors, or grievance coordinators.  We have received no outside recreation and most of us have not received a medical screening or even talked to a doctor and have noted medical conditions that must be attended.
Again, this is supposed to be a civil process and we are done with our active sentence, yet we are being housed in an overcrowded pod/dorm where during count time some of us are locked down for several hours.  The pod is designed to hold 20 men in 10 cells, but 8 double bunks crowd the dayroom and there are currently 31 men in the pod/dorm.  This creates unsanitary conditions in an already decrepit environment.

We are sex offenders with a variety of offenses, but we are also your sons, fathers, brothers and friends.  But most importantly, we are human beings in America.  We have paid our debt to society that was set forth by an official elected by citizens to give the sentence that we have completed.

We ask you all…where are our human rights?  Where are the organizations to protect out human rights?  The state has embarked on a modern day witch hunt and we are being discriminated against and placed under Double Jeopardy for crimes we have paid for, and there is NO voice to speak for us and no chance at Redemption.

We are all aware of the intent of Civil Commitment and understand its value on society, but we also agree that there was adequate time to determine each individual case before our release dates.  This has become a stepping stone for political careers and we are merely political hostages.

Note:  Some men were afraid of signing due to retaliation from staff and/or DOC…

25 Signatures were listed on this petition. RSOL of Virginia decided to remove their names to protect their privacy for this web posting.

One inmate has been held more than 4 years past his release date, four of them are over a year past their release date and five should have been released this year.

They are being “considered” for civil commitment they have not been committed, if they had been deemed for commitment they’d be transferred to the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation for treatment.

Code of Virginia sections
37.2 - 900 thru 905
A. Within 120 days of receiving notice from the Director pursuant to § 37.2-903 regarding a prisoner who is in the database, or from a court referring a defendant pursuant to § 19.2-169.3, the CRC shall (I) complete its assessment of the prisoner or defendant for possible commitment pursuant to subsection B and (ii) forward its written recommendation regarding the prisoner or defendant to the Attorney General pursuant to subsection C.
B. CRC assessments of eligible prisoners or defendants shall include a mental health examination, including a personal interview, of the prisoner or defendant by a licensed psychiatrist or a licensed clinical psychologist who is designated by the Commissioner, skilled in the diagnosis, treatment, and risk assessment of sex offenders, and not a member of the CRC. If the prisoner's or defendant's name was forwarded to the CRC based upon an evaluation by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist, a different licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist shall perform the examination for the CRC. The licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist shall determine whether the prisoner or defendant is a sexually violent predator, as defined in § 37.2-900, and forward the results of this evaluation and any supporting documents

Anyone being held longer than 3 months is being detained illegally

Please write to your State Delegate and Senator, your US Congress member and to the Governor expressing your outrage of this situation immediately!

Recent Piedmont Regional Jail Death due to unsanitary conditions and abuse:

Man’s Death at Farmville Detention Center Brings Criticism, February 26, 2009:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/article/JAIL26_20090225-220613/216066/

Another Jail Death and Mounting Questions, January 27, 2009:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/28detain.html?_r=1

1st Response to Posting #163
From: Maury at the VCBR
Date:  01/23/2010

RSOL of Virginia,

Technically the Virginia statute allows for their confinement, indefinitely up until they are either committed or conditionally released.

The guy who has been waiting 5 years is fighting his case, that’s why its taken so long for him. We all know him and don’t blame him for fighting.

According to the statute the civil commitment process should start ideally 10 to 12 months          before an inmates release date so the trial would have time to wrap up and the inmate wouldn’t      serve any additional jail or prison time beyond their scheduled release. Well the problem is           they’re waiting until 60 days from release to begin the proceedings. Even when the state adheres to the code, 10 to 12 months is nowhere near enough time to complete a trial when its repeatedly delayed and postponed. The delay almost always is a result of our inexperienced court appointed lawyers not being ready. How could they be?

I’m yet to meet even one resident whose lawyer had prior knowledge of these statutes let alone experience with an actual SVP trial.

It’s still so new, 6 years is nothing relatively so we’re the guinea pigs.

I feel for those guys but they are there because they complained about being kept in prison            during their trials that the state had to look into it and they realized it was illegal so they moved        all of the guys to local jails. It’s progress believe it or not. The biggest step that could be taken   would be to have the SVP trails completed BEFORE an inmates release date or at least very         shortly thereafter. In a more perfect world, our lawyers would not be chosen randomly like       criminal defense lawyers are, they would have to pass an exam on SVP laws and statutes before being appointed. Only then would we be afforded the right to a fair trail in my opinion. Too        often our lawyers rely on us for information on the statutes so how is that fair?

               
I did want to let you know of a practice that is CLEARLY a violation of our rights here at the VCBR, our yearly reviews.

When a resident must go to the hospital he is escorted by two VCBR security guards. They           walk him in, sit him down until he sees a doctor then walk him out a drive him back to the    VCBR. But when a resident is up for annual review, he is handcuffed, shackled and escorted by armed Sheriff’s Deputies’ beck to the local jail where he is processed into the jail like any other   inmate and held until they decide they can spare the manpower to drive him back to the VCBR. For me it took a week, for some it’s taken 2 and 3 weeks. Meanwhile we are inmates again    without even having been accused of a new crime. I was not given my medications for the week; they stayed with my court documents in a lock-box for the entire week. One guy slept on the floor for a week, another witnessed and nearly became involved in a mob assault in which two inmates were beaten up.

How can they put us in jail for even one second let alone 1 to 3 weeks when we are no longer       inmates and NOT subject to punitive measures? The second we were committed we became “residents”, not inmates. The local jail calls it a courtesy hold and some say that Sherriff’s                Deputies are required to execute court orders but they are not. Do they shackle and escort            people who live in society who have civil trials coming up? No!!!!

According to the statutes we are no longer subject to punitive measures and the bottom line is they can’t be allowed to put us in jail but they do it every 12 months. We’ve brought it up around here and the VCBR says they can’t afford the transportation costs of escorting every resident to every annual review. The VCBR has 5 perfectly good vans parked out front and they just sit there.

Financial burden is no excuse to violate our constitutional rights.

Maury