MTWT Ronald Clark Jr. Hunger Strike Day 5

"Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Moore has announced new prison procedures in the wake of the Valdes beating death, including a requirement that all use of force against prisoners be videotaped. Guards must also receive advance permission from the warden on duty before using force on an inmate—“if possible.” ~Kate Randall, 11 August 1999 WSWS (World Socialist Web Site)

6/11 They put a fan out here in the hall where it's blowing on my cell. Tell you anything? They know this hunger strike's going to put a lot of bad publicity on the FDOC.

When that fan came apart this morning it was loud!! BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BOOM!! and came to a stop. :-) I had a feeling that was going to happen. It was vibrating a little more each day."

"Assistant Warden Dixon came here this morning, talking to me. Only 6 of us started this hunger strike. There was supposed to be 21 but as usual it's easier to talk about doing something than it is to do it. I already figured a bunch would fall off."

"Assistant Warden and Colonel Griffis has been down to talk to me and asked for a list of my demands. So I've written down the list."

"We do have another fan up here. Colonel Griffis said they're talking about installing fans - 3 on each wing, so they're trying to resolve some issues. He said to me, "get up here and talk to me." Then he admitted these COs abuse these inmates with chemical agents."

I didn't know that there were FANS; I thought they put one on him. Even though at least twice he's written that somebody moved it so it wasn't blowing on him. So I don't know when these other fans appeared.

Colonel Griffis and his cronies came through and removed the fans. Colonel Griffis announced to the prisoners, "This is in retaliation for this hunger strike". So the guys that weren't doing the strike are angry at the ones that did, and vice versa. All the inmates are all really livid.

Ronnie says this whole fan thing is an idiotic form of retaliation. What they're trying to do is throw all the issues off of them, the guards, FDOC, pit inmates against each other, kick back and watch the sick show. It's getting more and more dangerous and a riot could occur. Which is exactly what the FDOC wants. Ronald's mother is very upset that once again they're using Ronnie and making him out to be the instigator of all of this, nothing was accomplished.

"Ronald wrote that he's heard the guards going around yelling "Don't be mad at me, be mad at Clark." They're pitting the inmates against each other and it's going to boil over and get real ugly. And they will have planted the seeds and created this mess themselves. This is so wrong and needs to get out there and we need attention!"

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From 1979 –1999, excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States. During this period, more people in this country died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined.
~Emergency Preparedness

Tips for Preventing Heat-Related Illness

The best defense is prevention. Here are some prevention tips:

Drink more fluids (nonalcoholic), regardless of your activity level. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.
Don’t drink liquids that contain caffeine, alcohol, or large amounts of sugar – these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also, avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps.
If at all possible stay in an air-conditioned place. Even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat.
Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath, or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off.
Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.

Is Col. Griffis a good officer? I don't know - he's related to Little Jason Griffis of Valdes fame.

Kay Lee's QUESTION: What is the recycle program? Is this the audit the Feds were conducting when they busted Griffis?

Officer's ANSWER: (5) Recycle- Is a facility that was opened at the old swine farm behind FSP. When you are passing the warehouse going towards FSP it is the tan building out in the field on the left. It's function is to serve as a collection and processing facility for all the recycle materials such as, Aluminum cans, brass, paper, card board and even milk crates.

In 2002 when Sgt Markham was in charge of the recycle they were averaging about $100,000 a month being returned to the general budget of the department, but when he stood up to AC and would not let him run it the way AC wanted it run, they put Markham on midnites and put Brian Griffis over recycle. At that time there was about $450,000 in the recycle general account.

Within a month Sgt Markham was contacted by the IG's office concerning the account being overdrawn. And now a formal audit is being conducted because the department hasn't received any disbursements from recycle since Sgt Markham was replaced. Also several inmates who were working there have been shipped to unknown locations in connection with this the preliminary amount that I was told was 4.25 million dollars.