Balagoon is a long-term New Afrikan political prisoner who spent over 30 years in Indiana’s maximum security solitary confinement units in retaliation for his participation in the 1985 uprising at Pendleton CF (then Indiana Reformatory), which was a collective response to the intense brutality directed at Black/New Afrikan people incarcerated there by guards, with administrative approval.
Balagoon’s given name is John Cole Jr (DOC #14658). He can be contacted and you can support him by setting up an account at web.connectnetwork.com, or by writing to him at PO Box 1111, Carlisle, IN, 47838.
Medical Neglect in the IDOC and the need for Compassionate Release
In regards to your organization’s efforts to get compassionate release for prisoners who have aged and suffer from underlying health conditions that are exceptionally vulnerable to the coronavirus and possibly even death . . . Your words or suggestions did not fall upon deaf ears. I heard you.
I apologize for taking so long to respond to your message, but if the truth be told I was preoccupied with some very pressing legal obligations that required my undivided attention. In addition to this, I have a lawsuit pending against the commissioner of Indiana Department of Corrections, for holding me in solitary confinement for 31 years and 5 months consecutively without being afforded a meaningful 30 and 90 day periodic reviews while being housed on Indiana control units.
I stay pretty busy as a jailhouse lawyer aiding other prisoners legally. In regards to my health over the years of my imprisonment I began to experience serious health problems in 2009. The record shows that I was treated for hypertension and a enlarged prostate in 2007 while being housed at Westville Control Unit, however I stopped taking my blood pressure medication because I did not like how it made me feel (I did not know that to stop abruptly taking Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) tablets would cause the arteries in my heart to narrow thereby causing heart arrhythmias). In July of 2008, I was transferred to Wabash Valley CF where I was immediately placed on the Secure Housing Unit upon my arrival. After being on the SHU for approximately 7 months (in January), I begin to experience heart arrhythmia while working out (at the time my heart was racing I did not know what was wrong with me), the Doctors at Wabash Valley CF failed to diagnose my condition and consequently neglected to properly treat me. The only reason I survived was because in October of 2010 I was transferred back to the Westville Control Unit.
Once I was transferred back to Westville my condition was properly diagnosed as heart arrhythmia and I was prescribed metoprolol tart 50 mg tablets (Lopressor) and placed back on Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg tablets. I was told by the Doctor that the arrhythmias I suffer were as a result of me stopping taking my HCTZ tablets. According to him the narrowing of heart arteries is a side effect of the abrupt usage of HCTZ tablets.
The point I hope to make is that my health has been in decline ever since. I have been imprisoned now for over 42 now, I am still fighting my convictions because in reality I was convicted of a crime that I was never charged with. I am working on going back to court for a modification of my sentence in the future (The statute changed in 2015 allowing defendants who have non-violent crimes or crimes considered to be non-violent to petition the court 3 times without seeking permission from the prosecutor office. My convictions for criminal confinement are not considered as violence.
I will be 61 years old on 11/17/20 because I am an old man whose health is fragile and is no longer considered a physical threat, the State of Indiana just might consider giving me a compassionate release! Therefore, I am definitely interested in any efforts you and your organization put forth in an attempt to get me released. Right now I am back on the SHU because I dared to complain about an infection in the back of my throat, as a result I was given a coronavirus test and subsequently quarantine, which is ridiculous!
I understand that the virus should be taken seriously but there is no standard of procedure at this camp. Everything is done arbitrarily. I was transferred to the SHU on 11/10/20 and was told I would be here for 3 to 14 days depending on whether my test results are negative or positive. This one of those situations that I cannot complain about because it’s a no-win situation, they can easily argue that they were just being cautious and careful.