by Kwame “Beans” Shakur
Illegal Denial of Video Visits
Due to the Covid-19 virus Wabash Valley Correctional Facility closed the visitation room in March. Those of us held captive in the SHU have not been able to see our loved ones in 9 months, however, population has still been allowed to maintain contact with the outside world during this pandemic thru the use of video visits on kiosk machines located in every cell house.
The refusal to place kiosk on the SHU even prior to the pandemic is another form of sensory deprivation used to break the minds & spirits of those held in solitary confinement. To my knowledge this is the only lock up unit in the state that does not have video visitation as an option, an option that exist in order to make visits more convenient due to the fact most of us are shipped across the state hours away from home and a lot of our loved ones work during visitation hours. Under normal circumstances 9 months in captivity with no interaction from a loved one is enough to cause an individual to experience a number of issues, not to mention the uncertain times We find ourselves in now. With family members and loved ones dying and testing positive for covid-19, the refusal to place a kiosk machine on the SHU is causing extreme mental & emotional distress for both captives and those on the outside.
The SHU is also the only lockup unit in the state that does not allow individuals on disciplinary segregation to purchase “picture tickets/tokens” on commissary. i have been housed on the SHU since July 31 ,2018 and in that time i have not been allowed to have a picture taken to send to my family.
Following the visitation room closure in March, GTL began giving out 2 free 5 min calls every week for everybody locked up using their services. They followed that by also giving out free video visits each week. So, even a super exploiter- parasite company like GTL understands the hard times We are all experiencing as a people and the need for ones to have contact and support from the outside world. With that being said i am demanding that my captors place kiosk machines for video visits on the SHU as soon as possible and allow ones to have their pictures taken on disciplinary segregation.
Update 12/25/20
As a result of this demand at least 20 prisoners filed grievances. In an attempt to censor those standing up for Our rights, the facility Grievance Specialist returned everybody’s grievance without officially attaching a grievance number or allowing it to pass through the proper chain of command. Therefore no higher authorities know that this issue has been raised and there is no documented paper trail showing that i exhausted all administrative remedies. These are the types of prison politics and corruption that We must expose and challenge. The grievance process is the first step a prisoner must take in order to take his/her case to court or even challenge on a facility level to seek relief. Without it you cannot move forward within the facility or pursue legal action.
Our oppressors/captors waste no time in showing us that We have no human or civil rights in their eyes, and that Our lives DON’T MATTER. This is exactly why N.A.L.C and IDOC Watch are working expediently to develop the regional & national infrastructure and network to Unify the voices of those behind enemy lines. Without the organizational and legal support from the outside We will continue to be silenced and dehumanized inside these modern day slave camps.
In addition to the illegal denial of video visits, people being held in the solitary confinement cages of the SHU are not receiving the diets or access to commissary they are entitled to per IDOC Policy & Procedure.
Please listen to the statements above from Kwame ‘Beans’ Shakur and Kevin ‘Rashid’ Johnson, who are both being caged on the SHU, and respond to their calls for outside support!
On January 4, we are asking everyone to call & email Wabash Valley CF warden Frank Vanihel and the IDOC Central Office to demand:
1) That video visit kiosks be installed on the SHU and that the people caged there be allowed video visits in accordance with IDOC Policy & Procedure
2) That people caged on the SHU be allowed the diets and commissary they are entitled to under IDOC Policy and Procedure
Warden Frank Vanihel: (812) 398-5050 (follow extensions to reach the Superintendent [Warden])
IDOC Central Office: (317) 232-5711 ext. 2, ext. 3, ext. 2
Deputy Commissioner James Basinger: jbasinger@idoc.in.gov
