SEE UPDATES BELOW [04/24/2023]
Long-term political prisoner Aaron Isby-Israel is facing intense retaliation and harassment at Plainfield CF!
Since being moved to Plainfield from Miami CF in early March, Aaron has faced escalating harassment. The issues began when Aaron went to pick up his kosher food tray for his religious diet a few days after being transferred from Miami. When he went to get his tray from the kitchen, he was confronted by Sgt. Geitner, who demanded to see his diet card, which the DOC had failed to transfer with him from Miami to Plainfield. Aaron patiently explained that he didn’t have his diet card, but he was on the kosher diet list, and the food service staff would know that, so there was no need for Sgt. Geitner to involve herself. Sgt. Geitner took issue with Aaron’s response and threatened to prevent him from getting his food. Aaron ended up speaking to a captain about the issue, and ever since he has been facing harassment and retaliation from guards at Plainfield. The harassment he has experienced includes two completely unwarranted strip/cavity searches where he was forced to strip naked without any probable cause and subjected to highly invasive cavity searches, despite having no history of trafficking or contraband possession in his 30+ years in DOC custody and having no conduct reports since 2014.
These types of strip/cavity searches no longer occur at most IDOC facilities because of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and policy adjustments in response to it. It’s also important to note that the guards conducting the searches have not been wearing name tags and have refuses to provide their names, which is also a violation of IDOC Policy & Procedure.
It also seems to be the case that the harassment is part of a larger plan on the part of the DOC to run Aaron up on new charges, as he is currently fighting for habeas corpus relief because he shouldn’t be in prison at all anymore, and is only there due to IDOC’s miscalculation of his sentence and credit time.
Please listen to & read Aaron’s testimony below for a full account of the harassment he is experiencing.
Please call IDOC HQ and email the Governor & Ombudsman to demand that the harassment against Aaron Isby-Israel cease immediately!
Governor Holcomb: https://www.in.gov/gov/ask-eric/
Ombudsman: Ombud@idoa.in.gov
IDOC HQ: (317) 232-5711 ext: 0, ext. 1
Script: “Hello, I am [calling/emailing] on behalf of Aaron Isby-Israel #892219, who is incarcerated at Plainfield CF, to demand that the unwarranted strip searches and harassment by guards stop immediately, and that he be allowed unfettered access to his legal materials. Since being transferred to Plainfield in early March, Mr. Isby-Israel has been subjected to two strip searches without any probable cause by guards who were not wearing name tags and refused to identify themselves. Mr. Isby-Israel has no history of trafficking or possession of contraband and has not had a conduct report since 2014. The harassment Mr. Isby-Israel is facing seems to be retaliatory, after he demanded that his religious diet be observed when Sgt, Geitner tried to obstruct his access to kosher meals. Thank you.”
04/24/23 Updates Below
From Aaron, dated 4/14:
On 4/10/23 at Plainfield Correctional Facility, nigerian sergeant comes in west L-dorm, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., ransacking prisoners cells and leaving prisoner property and legal papers in disarray. Prisoners are targeted for more degrading, abusive and usanitary visual body cavity strip searches without probable cause. The cell lights are kept on and never turned off, which is further punitive treatment by this sadist officials.
On 4/11/23, at Plainfield Correctional Facilty, nigerian ofc. KiKi is back on west L-dorm, attacking more prisoners by ransacking their cells and conficasting their blankets and articles of clothing, it is between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., another nigerian sergeant is aiding him in this abuse and attack. It is day two our cell lights are still on, cannot sleep, these 70 watt lights should not be on for 48 hours, this is torture and inhumane? I do not have control over my light in my cell, there is no light switches, to enable me to cut off and on my lights? Ofc. KiKi has sexually assaulted a prisoner in cell L-40, the prisoner is alleging a PREA!
On 4/12/23 at Plainfield Correctional Facility, my cell lights have finally been cut off after being on for two consecutive days, in west L-dorm. It has been a common and frequent act by this ofc. KiKi and his co-conspirator nigerian sergeant to use these cell lights to punish us collectively and individually, there should be switches in these cells, so, we can have controll over our lights, giving these nigerian guards complete control over our lights is permitting abuse?
I have went three days without toilet tissue, I repeatedly asked for tissue the pass three days and the nigerians refused to provide me with this basic human need, I just got a roll of tissue on 4/13/23. Since I arrived here to Plainfield Correctional Facility, I have only been afforded four rolls of tissue in the past month. This is inhumane, most prisons, I have been to they give you tissue as needed?
Aaron
04/24/2023
What is going on at the Plainfield Correctional Facility is being done with the intent to prevent, undermine and foreclose my efforts to obtain my immediate release from prison. The Indiana Department of Corrections and its higher ups, namely Commissioner Christine Reagle, and her Agents are denying me Credit time that they are well aware, that if this time is restored to me, my days in the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) are over and I will be entitled to immediate release! I am currently fighting for the restoration of this credit time in the Indiana Court of Appeals, on a Writ of Habeas Corpus. I was sent to Plainfield Correctional Facility (PCF/aka IYC), during this litigation on March 9, 2023, and I have continued to experience obstructions from every turn from these officials? My legal papers were seized and turned over to the law library staff and I am only allowed to use it on a loan basis, when I can get to the law library, I was denied to keep my legal property in my possession? The problem with this I am on a deadline to file my briefs in the Indiana Court of Appeals, and my access to this law library has been cancealed, three times in the past three weeks (4/14/23, 4/19/23, and 4/24/23), by these prison officials. I believe these cancellation are calculated and are being done by these officials to undermine and obstruct justice in my litigation! There is no other reason for these intentional acts by the officials, and the instructions to commit these crimes are coming from higher ups in the commissioner’s office. Chr
istine Reagle is on notice of my current unlawful restraint in IDOC, I confronted her in person on November 4, 2022, about my unlawful restraint at the Miami Correctional Facility, when visited my Job at Braille and told her I was being denied my credit time? She has done nothing to remedy my situation! Aaron
A recent photo of Aaron Isby-Israel