Update June 26: Angaza’s release date has been pushed back again, to July 28, after being found guilty of another bogus conduct report! The case number is MCF 20-06-0175, for “Threatening.” DHO Grove, the same white officer who found him guilty on the other two bogus charges, pursued this charge four days after the incident when he allegedly threatened her occurred, rather than within 24 hours as required by IDOC policy. She only attempted to charge him after she assaulted him, in retaliation for Angaza attempting to address the fact that she had pushed him.
Update June 24: We received these messages from Angaza today, dated June 22:
Comrade i dont feel 2 good. All day my head has been pounding in my throat feels really sore. I am afraid that they have placed me n a cell who previous occupant could of had covid-19. I will submit a health care form but could u call & inform these people what is going on. Also keep a record of this so that we have proof just in case i am sick. It mite just b that these dudes in here keep setting fires and i am forced 2 breathe in the fumes that is causing me 2 feel like this. Man i swear these people are trying to kill me.
MuchLov!!!
Comrade i just came back from taking a shower & while out I learned that Sgt Norris had gone into my personal property & given a pair of my sweatpants, laundry bag, towels n washcloth another prisoner. This is the same pig who came inside my cell today and removed my blankets, leaving me without any bedding, and refused to issue me a confiscation form in accordance with policy. Note that i am n a camera cell so this was caught on video. I am writing you all this so we have a complete record of the ongoing harassment i am being subjected to at the hands of staff at this facility. Use this to file an official complaint down state and post this on all our platforms so everyone will know what is happening. I have still not been give my person property. This is despite the fact that i am not serving out any disciplinary seg sanctions and by policy they can only house me on this unit under admin seg statutes that would entitle me to all my person property. I need for everyone to press this issue because Deputy Warden Payne has convinced these people that they can do whatever they want to us and unless we push back the abuse will continue.
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The pressure we’ve been applying is working! Two weeks ago, staff at Miami CF found Angaza guilty of two bogus conduct violations, less than a week before he was scheduled to be released, pushing his release date back from June 13 to Aug. 12. The call and email campaign we launched in response caused the sanctions on the charge for “interfering with staff,” to be lifted, moving his release date back up July 13.
Now we need to get the other bogus charge dropped – and if we do, Angaza will have to be released immediately! Please read the message from Angaza below, and then call & email to help set him free!!
As I sit inside this cage witnessing the transformation of the world i cant help but be inspired, and for the first time in my life, hopeful that maybe humanity can survive the wicked disease that is racism. As a black man in amerikkka i am keenly aware of the power that systemic racism can have on the lives of its victims and have suffered the injustice of it criminal (in)justice system. See as an 18 year old manchild i was railroaded by that system for a stupid mistake that caused harm to no one, yet the judge felt the need to sentence me to 48 years. What did u do? Fire a gun in the air several times while being chase by the police.
Though i hit neither the police officer or anything else the state of indiana called what i did attempted murder and off i was sent to prison to spend what has been the majority of my life. Yet that isn’t even the cruelest part of my story. At the age of 45 i have served out the original sentence handed down to me yet indiana dept of correction officials refuse to release me. They have chosen instead to target me with continuous petty harassment and vindictive disciplinary actions which they use to justify the extension of my sentence. Note that nothing i have ever done inside of prison has ever led to new criminal charges being filed against me. Yet i have had to serve out an additional three years because of petty conduct reports such as missing roll-in & possession of unauthorized property. I have no assaults on staff or prisoners, have never been found with a weapon or in possession of drugs & i am not apart of a prison gang. So why do they target me for harassment? Because i have chosen to use my time to transform myself into conscious Black man wanting to get out and help uplift my people communities of oppressed people everywhere. Because of my political beliefs, thy view me as a bigger threat than the gang members who are allowed to brutalize each other at will around here. As I write this i should be at home yet here I remain because my captors has chosen to ignore my efforts at rehabilitation and instead focus on repressing a potential voice for change.
Please call IDOC Central Office and email IDOC Chief Counsel Robert Bugher and demand that the remaining charge against Angaza (aka Jimmy Jones #891782) be dropped immediately! Please make sure to mention the case number and the due process violations when you call, and leave a message if no one picks up!
Email IDOC Chief Counsel Robert Bugher: rbugher@idoc.in.gov
And call IDOC Central Office: (317) 232-5711, ext. 2, ext, 3, ext. 1
Sample Script:
“Hello, I am [calling/emailing] to request that disciplinary conduct report case numbers MCF 20-04-0222 & MCF 20-06-0175 against Jimmy Jones #891782, at Miami CF, be reviewed and dropped immediately. Mr. Jones is being held past his scheduled release due to these bogus charges, and he should be released immediately! He is facing constant harassment from staff at Miami CF, most recently by Sgt. Norris who stole some of his property out of his cell and gave it to another prisoner, clearly trying to instigate a fight. Mr. Jones is also being held in disciplinary segregation in violation of IDOC disciplinary policy. Here are the grounds on which the charges should be dropped:
MCF 20-04-0222
1) According to IDOC Policy & Procedure, when imposing sanctions the DHO shall apply consistent progressive discipline, as per Policy 02-04-101, “The Disciplinary Code for Adult Offenders,” which states that sanctions shall be imposed equally to all prisoners for comparable offenses and circumstances. DHO Grove failed to abide by policy when she suspended the sanctions of the white prisoner, Robbins #189787, who is the person that stole the sweater in case number MCF 20-04-0221, yet Grove allowed him to go home on 6-11-20. Grove applied the harshest sanctions possible against Mr. Jones in the same incident where she applied no sanctions against Robbins, despite the fact that Jones’ recent disciplinary record is much cleaner than Robbins.’
2) Mr. Jones was denied access to the ev
idence against him that he requested, and thereby prevented from preparing an adequate defense prior to the hearing. When screen for this write-up Jones specifically requested as physical evidence photos of the alleged unauthorized property, and did not waive his right to 24 hour notice in advance of the hearing, but he received neither the evidence or advance notice, in direct violation of his due process rights under IDOC Policy & Procedure 02-04-101.
MCF 20-06-0175
1) DHO Grove, the same white officer who found him guilty on the other two bogus charges, pursued this charge four days after the incident when he allegedly threatened her occurred, rather than within 24 hours as required by IDOC policy. She only attempted to charge him after she assaulted him, in retaliation for Mr. Jones attempting to address the fact that she had pushed him in her office, on camera, when he went to get the paperwork to appeal the other charge.
Mr. Jones is also currently being held in Disciplinary Segregation at Miami CF and his access to his personal property is being restricted, which violates IDOC policy governing the use of Restrictive Status Housing, because Mr. Jones has not been issued any sanctions justifying holding him in Disciplinary Segregation.
Finally, as found in the case State ex rel. BRAY v. RUSSELL, 729 N.E.2d 359; 2000 Ohio LEXIS 1433., it is a violation of prisoners’ rights under the US Constitution, to hold them in prison past the completion of the sentence assigned to them by a Judge in a court of law. This case was decided on June 14, 2000, by the Supreme Court of Ohio, which found that prison disciplinary boards extending prison terms pursuant to prison rules for violations occurring in prison violates the Constitutional doctrine of Separation of Powers.”
