Davon's clemency board hearing was yesterday - the decision to turn him down was clearly made before we walked into the room, however. The chair made only passing reference to the thick stack of mail that had arrived in support of Davon's application, and cut me off when I was speaking on his behalf. He made a special point of reading things into the record to justify their determination against him. The county attorney's office can be expected to oppose such applications, but they went out of their way, it seems, to damn him - which was precisely what the board needed and asked for. Not that I'm accusing them of any impropriety - I'm sure they did what they felt was right - just as I'm doing. We just come from different places, and they don't know Davon like I do. As evidenced by their decision yesterday, They don't know him at all.
Pardons in Arizona have nothing to do with mercy or grace, by the way - or even justice for that matter, even when sincere people try to deliver it. Look at what our good governor did to Bill Macumber, the innocent man who has already spent 35 years in prison for murder and may well die there. Convinced beyond any doubt that his conviction was based on perjured testimony and manufactured evidence, the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency unanimously recommended him for a full pardon, which would have gone into effect if Brewer had simply left it alone for 90 days. Instead she quashed it, in the interest of her kind of "justice". Affirming Bill's innocence would have implied his ex-wife's guilt. As she worked for the Maricopa County Sheriff's office at the time she framed him, I suspect Brewer was doing someone with history there a favor. But what do I know?
Sadly, despite his story saturating the media across the country before November 2, the voters in Arizona elected that woman anyway.
As for Davon: the outcome of his hearing was no surprise, really - probably least of all to him - but it was still a disappointment; his little sister left the room abruptly in tears. We did, however, raise awareness about the prosecution of the seriously, mentally ill for their symptoms rather than their criminality, and built a network for prisoners with Hep C and their families. We also entered our objections to the prison industrial complex into the public record (that was the part I think they didn't want to hear). One of our legislators even turned out to corroborate Davon's mom's assertion that Arizona's prisoners aren't getting the medical care they need in there - and that came from a self-described "conservative Republican". I suspect he will pay a price for having done that, which is why I won't name him here. I doubt he would endorse my own take on the system, but he's still one of the few politicians I've ever met with real integrity. I can't think of a single Democrat in this state who would put themselves on the line like that for a convicted violent, crazed felon seeking mercy - much less another Republican.
I'm convinced that clemency boards exist largely to reinforce the illusion that the system we have of doling out punishment in our country is a "just" one that serves the best interests of society at large. By allowing room for pardons and commutations, we suggest that the legal system we live under, as a rule, delivers justice to criminals and victims alike, and that any abuse of power or injustice perpetrated by the state in the process is an exception that needs to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If that was the reality, however, our prisons would not be packed almost exclusively with the poor - most of whom have the least ability to do great harm. In a truly just and morally evolved society it is the money-lenders, warmongers and rogue sheriffs of this land who would be doing time for exploitation, mass murder, and kidnapping - not making the rules the rest of us have to live by. They certainly wouldn't be retiring with honors and drawing down our collective dime.
But ours is neither a just nor a moral society - it isn't even a democracy. It is a capitalist republic in which the wealth and power of the few still depends on their ability to co-opt, terrorize, and restrain the many. We literally replaced our plantations with prisons when overt slavery went out of style. America's governments exploit and injure far more innocent and vulnerable people than all our lone criminals combined do. We've even made the perpetuation of victimization and crime an attractive, acceptable industry from which savvy investors can profit.
Thanks, everyone, for all your support through this. Stay with us, please - this fight is much bigger than one young man, and has only just begun. Keep an eye on what's happening with Davon for awhile longer - he went further out on a limb in the interest of prisoner rights and health care than any of the rest of us had to - and risks paying a much higher price now than the one extracted from him at sentencing. We'll see if he's allowed to keep his good time - and make it successfully through the 4 years of probation he has yet to serve -in light of his and his mother's public defiance. I guess we'll also see if the Arizona State Legislature shows any mercy for the honesty and courage of one of their own.
Showing posts with label arizona board of executive clemency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arizona board of executive clemency. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Dear Director Ryan: Community standards for treating Hep C.
More unanswered correspondence with Director Ryan about Hep C. For all I know he's just sending me to his Spam Box now. The only way I can be relatively sure he sees this is by posting it or hand-delivering it - and I don't want them to trespass me down there if I show up too much.
Besides, this has useful info for everyone. Check out the links to the professional standards. Keep in mind when they were written, too.
Besides, this has useful info for everyone. Check out the links to the professional standards. Keep in mind when they were written, too.
-----------------------------
| Arizona Prison Watch | Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 10:15 AM | |
| To: cryan kklausner | ||
| ||
[PDF - 1 page]
Monday, August 23, 2010
Fight with the Truth, Director Ryan, or get out of the way.
One of my e-mails to Director Ryan and his corporate counsel last week, addressing the shoddy medical evaluation of Davon's condition, and what I think is really underlying a lot of this resistance. We are collectively, silently lending our consent to the widescale extermination of people with addictions and serious mental illness via Hep C, diverting them from hospitals and treatment programs in order to feed the prison industrial complex in the process, where many will ultimately die of neglect.
I must have hit a nerve or two with this one - it was never answered by either of them. I wasn't that surprised - just disappointed. I'd been holding out hope that Ryan just had a bunch of incompetent subordinates who were covering themselves by keeping the truth from him, and that if he knew the truth, he'd step up to the plate himself. But I think he knows full well what goes on in that place, and it's him that his people cover for. What a no-win situation that must be for them.
----------------------
This is Davon Acklin's prison doctor.
--------------------
------------------------
He also goes by "Bill".
----------------------------
August 18, 2010
Charles L. Ryan, Director
Arizona Department of Corrections
1601 W. Jefferson St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Director Ryan,
This is actually the closest to a white flag that you may ever see from me. I'm just showing you part of my arsenal to get your attention because you think I'm outgunned. I haven't posted that Google yet (nor, as far as I know, has Julie, but Facebook is her territory). By the time what I'm offering here expires I'll have thought of something better, though. Hopefully I'll have also figured out the software for my camera so I can upload that video of Julie, too. I don't expect it to ever enter a courtroom, but that doesn't mean it doesn't carry weight.
Davon could be getting well right now, for all the money and staff time you've invested in diverting his mom from getting him appropriate health care. That kid needs to be seen by a specialist competent in treating Hepatitis C before you claim he doesn't have a life-threatening condition with any credibility. So far, I'm not convinced that he's not in imminent danger, and I'm leaning towards thinking there's a whole class of men and women in there who are dying from your neglect.
But no one wins if Davon dies from this illness; we both know there isn't time for a class action suit. You may have fallen for your people's BS (assuming you aren't the source), but we aren't, so please stop sending people who don't know what they're talking about as if we don't get it. You may not have been made aware of this, but Davon's liver enzyme values are not only way out of range, they've multiplied since he was tested nine months ago. He should have been seen by a specialist and considered for treatment immediately. Instead, ever since his most recent labs were done, people have been trying to convince Julie - and now the governor's office - that she's just ignorant and over-reacting.
If the rapid rate at which Davon's liver functioning has deteriorated doesn't trouble you enough, then open his medical chart yourself - the first thing Julie noticed was what was missing. She has volumes of information she provided you folks on his psychiatric history and needs. He had 8 case managers and an ACT team that couldn't keep him out of prison, but you've only given him nine pages worth of care? That's shameful. You're not treating his mental illness, you just have him in chemical restraints.
It gets worse from there. Apart from Dr. Robertson's show of ignorance about his patient's medical conditions and needs, your staff have given Davon medications for illnesses he doesn't even have on more than one occasion. Are we really supposed to be convinced they know him at all? Did Jim Clenney think that giving us some guy with credentials would make us shrug our shoulders and quietly walk away? Did either of you?
Do you know what an aggressive strain of Hep C can do in ten more months? We aren't giving it one more month. I won't wait for the Clemency Board - I'm not putting all my stock in them, and a qualified assessment of Davon's status should have been done at least 3 months ago. You could have had a huge lead on this disease if he started treatment of any kind sooner - he's not even getting vitamin or protein supplements, and Julie's been screaming to your people - and everyone else in range - for months about his fatigue and malaise. There's absolutely NO reason he should be expected to be his own advocate in the face - and custody - of the state. I think he's pretty competent, myself, but he's nonetheless been designated as disabled by the severity and persistence of his mental illness for a long time; his mother even has power of attorney. That should have given someone a clue.
But even the guys who are certifiably sane give up asking medical for help, there. I have volumes of mail to that effect. That tells me a lot. I already know you wanted to save money by revamping how you do things in that arena - like increasing co-pays to discouraging requests for MD visits by people earning pennies an hour (if they're lucky enough to have paying jobs in the first place). I hope you also want to save lives, given the chance, despite the fact that those under your immediate sphere of influence are slaves and criminals. If so, you're investing resources in the wrong places. Prevent lawsuits by offering consistent, decent care.
I don't need an attorney or Julie's okay to tell you that there's nothing more we'd like to see than solid evidence that Davon's health care needs are being competently met and he has a chance to get well. An attorney will want more from you than that, so please don't waste any more time or public resources stalling us. Prove us wrong with the truth. That's what Julie's been asking for all along.
A lot of your other families are hurting too, actually, and the longer you leave me standing out here challenging you, the more there are who will find me. I make no promises to you about how I'll deal with their loved one's illnesses - I won't agree not to come after your department myself again - with an attorney, even - and I'll probably help anyone poor enough to need me. I'll grant that you're stubborn, but you've been wrong about Davon, and your resistance has only made me stronger and more creative as an advocate for prisoners with Hep C - as has time, too much of which has passed now.
It's urgent that Davon is assessed by a hep C specialist - not just have his physician rubber-stamped by a committee. If he was home we'd be calling 911 for an ambulance - a whole lot of people would be.
I can't swing Davon's medical bills - I can't even keep him stocked with peanut butter. Catch up with my credit report if you didn't know that already - I can't keep up with my own doctors. But I'll sell everything I have down to my computer, pledge a part of my monthly income for the cause, sign whatever you draw up that gets the state off the hook for it, and take responsibility for finding more people to help cover it. I'm not shy about asking for help when I find someone in trouble, and I am a witness that this family is in trouble.
I can fundraise a lot easier if this offer is made publicly than if it's just between us, but right now, if you get Davon help this week, you can pretty much write the terms. I'll even surrender my ego - just not other prisoners. I'm sure my little brother - the one who does health policy stuff for the United Way - would tell me that an attorney would never be stupid enough to say such a thing, but I'm not the one with the law degree in the family. Not yet, anyway. I'm already pretty occupied as a writer.
You will ultimately be the villain or the hero here, Director Ryan. In either case, I'll give credit where it seems to be due. I'll figure out my next move in a day or two if you block this one - we aren't playing the waiting game any more with you. Please tell Julie you're having Davon seen by a specialist, and then offer him the option of a full course of the best treatment a guy can get in there - for all any of us know, once he gets a taste of what his mom is fighting for, he'll opt out of interferon treatment until something better for people like us hits the market.
I know what the algorithims boil down to, by the way, that no one wanted to dare say out loud to Julie, because she's going to nail you for it already: treatment "isn't indicated" because he's a bad risk by way of co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis and substance abuse history. Everything else but those things and income level is actually just right for treatment to be recommended, otherwise. In fact, looking at his age and even Dr. Robertson's appraisal of his physical presentation, Davon would be seen by most experts as a really good candidate for treatment now - someone who would probably be successful staying Hep C-free, too.
That's bigger than you, though, I realize. It's the case all across the country, in the prisons and the community (though your standards - as demonstrated by your failure to even assess Davon thoroughly for the Clemency Board's recommendation - are below the community's. You don't even know if he has AIDS???). The scale of the epidemic - and the amount of bureaucratic cowardice in its face - won't stop me from doing everything I can to stop it, though.
In fact, it compels me forward every time I begin to feel too old and tired to keep the pace up. The dually-diagnosed are outright slated to die off from this thing, and I bet the CDC is paying close attention to their mortality rates, co-morbidities, and resiliency factors. If they aren't yet, they should be. But I think it's more insidious than passive observation - they're helping to starve your medical budget by way of issuing treatment guidelines that are way behind current research. A decade, at least. Check it out yourself (don't entrust it to your medical staff, anyway). They're leading the pack in their complicity with something I see as being the equivalent of murdering AIDS victims because they're gay. Only these people are also overwhelmingly poor, too. And people of color - that's why it's taking so long to catch up to HIV.
Can you imagine how many people would be freaking out if they grasped the truth about this disease? They don't have a clue unless their loved one has been to prison - that leaves most of white America in the dark. I'm planning to shine avery bright light in their eyes, too. They think they prevent cirrhosis and liver cancer by being tea-totallers, and they don't even consider the possibility that this could escape like AIDS and kill their own kids. The CDC's leadership role in Hep C wreaking havoc through so many lives may actually be your best defense - but when you have to answer for how you dealt with this epidemic to the generation that will inherit it, do you want it to be "I was just following recommendations?"
You do realize that you're on the front lines, don't you? At least, your prisoners and lowest-paid employees are, anyway. They are directly in the line of fire. They are the fodder creating the illusion of a buffer zone for something that won't be contained and isn't about to burn itself out, at this rate.
I bet mentally ill prisoners with Hep C constitute a large portion of the CDC's control group - the main population that's pretty much guaranteed to be denied treatment. Ever think of that? That's what's driving me to deal with you - it is not the pleasure of your company I seek. I'm much more interested in breaking through your denial - if you have any to begin with - about what's really going on with Hep C than I am in suing you. I need the kind of help you might give someone who was a victim of your merciless enemy - that enemy being Hep C, and hopefully not me. I assure you I will not be shutting up soon about this, whatever you do, so please don't write that into anything I might sign, or it will waste our time. What's happening with this disease in America is extermination.
And my own family has been hit, so don't expect to shake me. I have nothing better to do with my life.
You actually have less than a day, now, before I write again, cc or publish. Consider this to be my call to 911 on Hep C brutalizing someone I love behind your walls - or think of it as your last shot across the bow; that's up to you. It's hard not to post this thing while it's fresh, but like most distress and warning signals no one else has to replay it if it's answered responsibly - it just gets filed. Everyone gets to hear if I have to keep yelling for help from your doorstep, though - and I won't be waiting for you to kill anyone before I holler again.
So, if you're sincere about the public welfare and deserving of any medals for courage under fire, then please stop waiting me out. Invite me in, again, instead. You control the time, the place, and the witness - I only trust Karyn, though, to have both a conscience and a clue. She's the only one I'll talk to other than you without bringing another Copwatcher along.
I'm not asking a lot for Davon, here, but I'm expecting a lot from you. I hope you appreciate what an extraordinary leap of faith I'm taking in both of you to offer to meet you by myself, in fact. That's why this window won't be open very long. Julie doesn't even know that I'm offering to do this, or she would probably stop me - as would most of my friends. You haven't exactly given us much evidence to think that you can be trusted. But, I figured if you were in the pockets of politicians I have good reason to be wary of, I'd already be incapacitated by now.
I'm counting on both your autonomy and your honor really meaning something to you. If they do not, then at least I know that whatever your response is, I will have done what I need to in order to retain mine - and in turn, my own freedom. You may hold a bunch of keys, but that doesn't mean you aren't bound by chains and auctioned off at the market when they're done with you. I won't be; not that way.
This is your chance to stop me, help me, or get out of the way - either way, I need to know where you really stand, and I don't think you can afford to ignore me any longer. I can put this thing on the November ballot, still, by making Hep C in the prisons a pivotal issue. I may yet. Please get back to me today.
Sincerely,
Peggy Plews
480-580-6807
--
“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)
Prison Abolitionist
http://prisonabolitionist.blogspot.com
Arizona Prison Watch
http://arizonaprisonwatch.blogspot.com
Arizona Juvenile Prison Watch
http://azjuvenileprisonwatch.blogspot.com
Hard Time: Hep C in AZ Jails and Prisons
http://hardtimehepc.blogspot.com
Free Marcia Powell
http://freemarciapowell.blogspot.com
¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!
I must have hit a nerve or two with this one - it was never answered by either of them. I wasn't that surprised - just disappointed. I'd been holding out hope that Ryan just had a bunch of incompetent subordinates who were covering themselves by keeping the truth from him, and that if he knew the truth, he'd step up to the plate himself. But I think he knows full well what goes on in that place, and it's him that his people cover for. What a no-win situation that must be for them.
----------------------
This is Davon Acklin's prison doctor.
--------------------
1 result (0.17 seconds)
Search Results
- [PDF]
ELEVENTH ANNUAL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE DAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2007 ...
- 3:04pmFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
David Robertson, DO. Surgery. Maricopa Integrated Health System .... had no risk factors for viral hepatitis. She reported 1-2 drinks no more than 2-4 times ...
azmec.med.arizona.edu/.../AED%20Program%20Book%202007% - Similar20Final.pdf
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Or maybe this is.
(I Googled them both to see what he's doing about the epidemic of Hep C in AZ prisons.)
--------------
Or maybe this is.
(I Googled them both to see what he's doing about the epidemic of Hep C in AZ prisons.)
--------------
Your search - "david w. robertson, DO" hepatitis - did not match any documents.
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-------------
This is Julie's friend.
-----------
This is Julie's friend.
-----------
About 61 results (0.20 seconds)
Did you mean: "bill remak" hepatitis
Search Results
Millions of Hepatitis C Funding Dollars Hijacked
Apr 27, 2009 ... William Remak, Chairman of the National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces and a two-time liver transplant recipient due to HCV is also ...
www.hcvets.com/nih/PressRelease/0904.asp - CachedThe Status & Recommendation for Public Health Education ...
National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces, CA National Association of Hepatitis C Task Force, William Remak, B.Sc. MT, B. Public Health, SGNA, Chairman ...
www.hcvets.com/publichealth/report.htm - Cached- [PDF]
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
The focus of this paper is on the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), ..... William Remak, Chairman, California Hepatitis C Task Force (Phone interview Nov. 2008) ...
www.californiahcvtaskforce.org/pdf/Beth_Powell_ hepatitis_paper.pdf - Similar - [PDF]
CALIFORNIA HEPATITIS C TASK FORCE Little Hoover Commission Stuart ...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Chairman, California Hepatitis C Task Force, Inc. Chairman, National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces. 2X Liver Transplant Patient, Cancer survivor. ...
www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/198/cirm/CHCTFNov08.pdf Bill Remak - Email, Address, Phone numbers, everything! 123people.com
Bill Remak is Chairman of California Hepatitis C Task Force ... 04 Continued from Segment .... William Remak Santa Rosa, US. William Remak West Warwick, US ...
www.123people.com/s/bill+remakCDC DVH - Viral Hepatitis - Resource Center - National Viral ...
Aug 27, 2008 ... Summary: This workshop will be provide an overview of viral Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, including basic epidemiology, risk factors, ...
www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/resources/mtgsconf/ - Cachednatvhprevconf2005.htm
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He also goes by "Bill".
----------------------------
About 304 results (0.16 seconds)
Search Results
-
California Hepatitis C Task Force
Jan 23, 2009 ... Bill Remak is Chairman of California Hepatitis C Task Force & Chairman of National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces. ...
www.californiahcvtaskforce.org/ - Cached - Similar Mission Statement - California Hepatitis C Task Force
CALIFORNIA HEPATITIS C TASK FORCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ADVISORY BOARD. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 1) Bill Remak, Petaluma -Chair. 2) Phyllis Borchardt, San Diego ...
www.californiahcvtaskforce.org/miss.htm - Cached - SimilarBill Remak is Chairman of California Hepatitis C Task Force ...
He is a survivor of liver cancer and two transplants and is diabetic. He was a laboratory scientist at UCSF, but after his illness he started organizations ...
www.wsradio.com/wsradio-player.cfm/type/...with.../ - Cached24727.html Bill Remak (wmremak) on Twitter
Get short, timely messages from Bill Remak. ... To watch a webcast of the Congressional hearing on Viral Hepatitis, click here... http://fb.me/AYjYIxVP 1:54 ...
twitter.com/wmremak - CachedHard Time: Hepatitis C in Arizona's State Prisons.: Remak: The ...
May 4, 2010 ... By Bill Remak, B.Sc. MT , B. Public Health, SGNA, AHCJ. (wmremak@pacbell.net ) Chair, National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces and ...
hardtimehepc.blogspot.com/2010/05/remak-scandal-of-hep- - Cachedc.html
---------------------------
Any questions?
----------------------
Any questions?
----------------------
August 18, 2010
Charles L. Ryan, Director
Arizona Department of Corrections
1601 W. Jefferson St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Director Ryan,
This is actually the closest to a white flag that you may ever see from me. I'm just showing you part of my arsenal to get your attention because you think I'm outgunned. I haven't posted that Google yet (nor, as far as I know, has Julie, but Facebook is her territory). By the time what I'm offering here expires I'll have thought of something better, though. Hopefully I'll have also figured out the software for my camera so I can upload that video of Julie, too. I don't expect it to ever enter a courtroom, but that doesn't mean it doesn't carry weight.
Davon could be getting well right now, for all the money and staff time you've invested in diverting his mom from getting him appropriate health care. That kid needs to be seen by a specialist competent in treating Hepatitis C before you claim he doesn't have a life-threatening condition with any credibility. So far, I'm not convinced that he's not in imminent danger, and I'm leaning towards thinking there's a whole class of men and women in there who are dying from your neglect.
But no one wins if Davon dies from this illness; we both know there isn't time for a class action suit. You may have fallen for your people's BS (assuming you aren't the source), but we aren't, so please stop sending people who don't know what they're talking about as if we don't get it. You may not have been made aware of this, but Davon's liver enzyme values are not only way out of range, they've multiplied since he was tested nine months ago. He should have been seen by a specialist and considered for treatment immediately. Instead, ever since his most recent labs were done, people have been trying to convince Julie - and now the governor's office - that she's just ignorant and over-reacting.
If the rapid rate at which Davon's liver functioning has deteriorated doesn't trouble you enough, then open his medical chart yourself - the first thing Julie noticed was what was missing. She has volumes of information she provided you folks on his psychiatric history and needs. He had 8 case managers and an ACT team that couldn't keep him out of prison, but you've only given him nine pages worth of care? That's shameful. You're not treating his mental illness, you just have him in chemical restraints.
It gets worse from there. Apart from Dr. Robertson's show of ignorance about his patient's medical conditions and needs, your staff have given Davon medications for illnesses he doesn't even have on more than one occasion. Are we really supposed to be convinced they know him at all? Did Jim Clenney think that giving us some guy with credentials would make us shrug our shoulders and quietly walk away? Did either of you?
Do you know what an aggressive strain of Hep C can do in ten more months? We aren't giving it one more month. I won't wait for the Clemency Board - I'm not putting all my stock in them, and a qualified assessment of Davon's status should have been done at least 3 months ago. You could have had a huge lead on this disease if he started treatment of any kind sooner - he's not even getting vitamin or protein supplements, and Julie's been screaming to your people - and everyone else in range - for months about his fatigue and malaise. There's absolutely NO reason he should be expected to be his own advocate in the face - and custody - of the state. I think he's pretty competent, myself, but he's nonetheless been designated as disabled by the severity and persistence of his mental illness for a long time; his mother even has power of attorney. That should have given someone a clue.
But even the guys who are certifiably sane give up asking medical for help, there. I have volumes of mail to that effect. That tells me a lot. I already know you wanted to save money by revamping how you do things in that arena - like increasing co-pays to discouraging requests for MD visits by people earning pennies an hour (if they're lucky enough to have paying jobs in the first place). I hope you also want to save lives, given the chance, despite the fact that those under your immediate sphere of influence are slaves and criminals. If so, you're investing resources in the wrong places. Prevent lawsuits by offering consistent, decent care.
I don't need an attorney or Julie's okay to tell you that there's nothing more we'd like to see than solid evidence that Davon's health care needs are being competently met and he has a chance to get well. An attorney will want more from you than that, so please don't waste any more time or public resources stalling us. Prove us wrong with the truth. That's what Julie's been asking for all along.
A lot of your other families are hurting too, actually, and the longer you leave me standing out here challenging you, the more there are who will find me. I make no promises to you about how I'll deal with their loved one's illnesses - I won't agree not to come after your department myself again - with an attorney, even - and I'll probably help anyone poor enough to need me. I'll grant that you're stubborn, but you've been wrong about Davon, and your resistance has only made me stronger and more creative as an advocate for prisoners with Hep C - as has time, too much of which has passed now.
It's urgent that Davon is assessed by a hep C specialist - not just have his physician rubber-stamped by a committee. If he was home we'd be calling 911 for an ambulance - a whole lot of people would be.
I can't swing Davon's medical bills - I can't even keep him stocked with peanut butter. Catch up with my credit report if you didn't know that already - I can't keep up with my own doctors. But I'll sell everything I have down to my computer, pledge a part of my monthly income for the cause, sign whatever you draw up that gets the state off the hook for it, and take responsibility for finding more people to help cover it. I'm not shy about asking for help when I find someone in trouble, and I am a witness that this family is in trouble.
I can fundraise a lot easier if this offer is made publicly than if it's just between us, but right now, if you get Davon help this week, you can pretty much write the terms. I'll even surrender my ego - just not other prisoners. I'm sure my little brother - the one who does health policy stuff for the United Way - would tell me that an attorney would never be stupid enough to say such a thing, but I'm not the one with the law degree in the family. Not yet, anyway. I'm already pretty occupied as a writer.
You will ultimately be the villain or the hero here, Director Ryan. In either case, I'll give credit where it seems to be due. I'll figure out my next move in a day or two if you block this one - we aren't playing the waiting game any more with you. Please tell Julie you're having Davon seen by a specialist, and then offer him the option of a full course of the best treatment a guy can get in there - for all any of us know, once he gets a taste of what his mom is fighting for, he'll opt out of interferon treatment until something better for people like us hits the market.
I know what the algorithims boil down to, by the way, that no one wanted to dare say out loud to Julie, because she's going to nail you for it already: treatment "isn't indicated" because he's a bad risk by way of co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis and substance abuse history. Everything else but those things and income level is actually just right for treatment to be recommended, otherwise. In fact, looking at his age and even Dr. Robertson's appraisal of his physical presentation, Davon would be seen by most experts as a really good candidate for treatment now - someone who would probably be successful staying Hep C-free, too.
That's bigger than you, though, I realize. It's the case all across the country, in the prisons and the community (though your standards - as demonstrated by your failure to even assess Davon thoroughly for the Clemency Board's recommendation - are below the community's. You don't even know if he has AIDS???). The scale of the epidemic - and the amount of bureaucratic cowardice in its face - won't stop me from doing everything I can to stop it, though.
In fact, it compels me forward every time I begin to feel too old and tired to keep the pace up. The dually-diagnosed are outright slated to die off from this thing, and I bet the CDC is paying close attention to their mortality rates, co-morbidities, and resiliency factors. If they aren't yet, they should be. But I think it's more insidious than passive observation - they're helping to starve your medical budget by way of issuing treatment guidelines that are way behind current research. A decade, at least. Check it out yourself (don't entrust it to your medical staff, anyway). They're leading the pack in their complicity with something I see as being the equivalent of murdering AIDS victims because they're gay. Only these people are also overwhelmingly poor, too. And people of color - that's why it's taking so long to catch up to HIV.
Can you imagine how many people would be freaking out if they grasped the truth about this disease? They don't have a clue unless their loved one has been to prison - that leaves most of white America in the dark. I'm planning to shine avery bright light in their eyes, too. They think they prevent cirrhosis and liver cancer by being tea-totallers, and they don't even consider the possibility that this could escape like AIDS and kill their own kids. The CDC's leadership role in Hep C wreaking havoc through so many lives may actually be your best defense - but when you have to answer for how you dealt with this epidemic to the generation that will inherit it, do you want it to be "I was just following recommendations?"
You do realize that you're on the front lines, don't you? At least, your prisoners and lowest-paid employees are, anyway. They are directly in the line of fire. They are the fodder creating the illusion of a buffer zone for something that won't be contained and isn't about to burn itself out, at this rate.
I bet mentally ill prisoners with Hep C constitute a large portion of the CDC's control group - the main population that's pretty much guaranteed to be denied treatment. Ever think of that? That's what's driving me to deal with you - it is not the pleasure of your company I seek. I'm much more interested in breaking through your denial - if you have any to begin with - about what's really going on with Hep C than I am in suing you. I need the kind of help you might give someone who was a victim of your merciless enemy - that enemy being Hep C, and hopefully not me. I assure you I will not be shutting up soon about this, whatever you do, so please don't write that into anything I might sign, or it will waste our time. What's happening with this disease in America is extermination.
And my own family has been hit, so don't expect to shake me. I have nothing better to do with my life.
You actually have less than a day, now, before I write again, cc or publish. Consider this to be my call to 911 on Hep C brutalizing someone I love behind your walls - or think of it as your last shot across the bow; that's up to you. It's hard not to post this thing while it's fresh, but like most distress and warning signals no one else has to replay it if it's answered responsibly - it just gets filed. Everyone gets to hear if I have to keep yelling for help from your doorstep, though - and I won't be waiting for you to kill anyone before I holler again.
So, if you're sincere about the public welfare and deserving of any medals for courage under fire, then please stop waiting me out. Invite me in, again, instead. You control the time, the place, and the witness - I only trust Karyn, though, to have both a conscience and a clue. She's the only one I'll talk to other than you without bringing another Copwatcher along.
I'm not asking a lot for Davon, here, but I'm expecting a lot from you. I hope you appreciate what an extraordinary leap of faith I'm taking in both of you to offer to meet you by myself, in fact. That's why this window won't be open very long. Julie doesn't even know that I'm offering to do this, or she would probably stop me - as would most of my friends. You haven't exactly given us much evidence to think that you can be trusted. But, I figured if you were in the pockets of politicians I have good reason to be wary of, I'd already be incapacitated by now.
I'm counting on both your autonomy and your honor really meaning something to you. If they do not, then at least I know that whatever your response is, I will have done what I need to in order to retain mine - and in turn, my own freedom. You may hold a bunch of keys, but that doesn't mean you aren't bound by chains and auctioned off at the market when they're done with you. I won't be; not that way.
This is your chance to stop me, help me, or get out of the way - either way, I need to know where you really stand, and I don't think you can afford to ignore me any longer. I can put this thing on the November ballot, still, by making Hep C in the prisons a pivotal issue. I may yet. Please get back to me today.
Sincerely,
Peggy Plews
480-580-6807
--
“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
Prison Abolitionist
http://prisonabolitionist.
Arizona Prison Watch
http://arizonaprisonwatch.
Arizona Juvenile Prison Watch
http://azjuvenileprisonwatch.
Hard Time: Hep C in AZ Jails and Prisons
http://hardtimehepc.blogspot.
Free Marcia Powell
http://freemarciapowell.
¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Dear Director Ryan: Writing to Goliath.
The following is an excerpt from an email I sent to Director Charles Ryan at the Arizona Department of Corrections this weekend. I offered to meet him in his office to discuss a few things, so don't expect me to post a written response from him - they aren't often forthcoming, as emails have their way of making it to court.
My side was a long letter, though - this part of which was a complaint about the phone call I witnessed Friday between Julie and Ryan's people. I still can't figure out how to get the video of that call posted and distributed, but will leave those links here once I do. That recording is as real as it gets, and everyone who's advocated on Davon's behalf needs to see it. Keep acting up out there.
"...By the way, your doctor was really cruel and condescending to Julie Acklin and owes her an apology - at the minimum - as far as I'm concerned. If you all taped that conversation from your end, you'd better play it back. I hope you weren't there condoning his behavior. I also hope you know more about Hep C in prisons than he does - and more about your high profile prisoners, too. He didn't even know if the patient he swore was in no mortal danger had been tested yet for HIV - yet he seemed to think that Davon hadn't asked for an HIV test, either (which was by way of justifying why he wouldn 't have had an HIV test. He knows that kid wouldn't have known to ask before all this.).
That's inexcusable. Furthermore, it's a standard Hep C practice guideline, even in prison, for the physician to automatically test for other forms of hepatitis and HIV whenever a lab comes back HCV+. He should have had some certainty that Davon had been tested if he knew his patient was so healthy that he wouldn't even evaluate him further at this time.
He's full of it. This guy is either strategically trying stall and ridicule Julie, or he really hasn't been keeping up with his profession, so you might want to check him out again. Even I know more about current treatment recommendations than he does. And medical ethics, apparently.
My report of how that conversation went will be in my blogs, whether or not we plan to meet this week - there's no damage control to be done to head off that one. It exemplifies the stone wall your administrators maintain when you're really into denying a problem that everyone else out here can already see - like security in the private prisons...we've been screaming about a lot of this stuff for awhile. Funny how it's ending up an election issue. It still looks a lot like you're waiting Marcia out - as if you're hoping we collapse from the heat or fatigue and shut up already. I guess your doctors are pretty much the same...
...Regarding Davon - whether it takes five months or 15 years to kill that kid, I'll figure out how to prove that he could have become virus-free and avoided such a fate if he'd been treated according to current community standards now, before his liver functioning deteriorates any further. You could be responsible for helping spread Hep C through the community, with the shoddy care he's received.
The one good thing the doctor had to say today is that it may still be early enough in the progression of the disease that there's still hope if he gets prompt treatment - even though he refused to admit that's what he was really saying. That part - the hope - I celebrated tonight. But it is good news that Davon isn't in imminent danger of dying only if that is true, and your physician didn't exhibit a lot of knowledge about either Davon or Hep C..."
My side was a long letter, though - this part of which was a complaint about the phone call I witnessed Friday between Julie and Ryan's people. I still can't figure out how to get the video of that call posted and distributed, but will leave those links here once I do. That recording is as real as it gets, and everyone who's advocated on Davon's behalf needs to see it. Keep acting up out there.
-------------------------------------
"...By the way, your doctor was really cruel and condescending to Julie Acklin and owes her an apology - at the minimum - as far as I'm concerned. If you all taped that conversation from your end, you'd better play it back. I hope you weren't there condoning his behavior. I also hope you know more about Hep C in prisons than he does - and more about your high profile prisoners, too. He didn't even know if the patient he swore was in no mortal danger had been tested yet for HIV - yet he seemed to think that Davon hadn't asked for an HIV test, either (which was by way of justifying why he wouldn 't have had an HIV test. He knows that kid wouldn't have known to ask before all this.).
That's inexcusable. Furthermore, it's a standard Hep C practice guideline, even in prison, for the physician to automatically test for other forms of hepatitis and HIV whenever a lab comes back HCV+. He should have had some certainty that Davon had been tested if he knew his patient was so healthy that he wouldn't even evaluate him further at this time.
He's full of it. This guy is either strategically trying stall and ridicule Julie, or he really hasn't been keeping up with his profession, so you might want to check him out again. Even I know more about current treatment recommendations than he does. And medical ethics, apparently.
My report of how that conversation went will be in my blogs, whether or not we plan to meet this week - there's no damage control to be done to head off that one. It exemplifies the stone wall your administrators maintain when you're really into denying a problem that everyone else out here can already see - like security in the private prisons...we've been screaming about a lot of this stuff for awhile. Funny how it's ending up an election issue. It still looks a lot like you're waiting Marcia out - as if you're hoping we collapse from the heat or fatigue and shut up already. I guess your doctors are pretty much the same...
...Regarding Davon - whether it takes five months or 15 years to kill that kid, I'll figure out how to prove that he could have become virus-free and avoided such a fate if he'd been treated according to current community standards now, before his liver functioning deteriorates any further. You could be responsible for helping spread Hep C through the community, with the shoddy care he's received.
The one good thing the doctor had to say today is that it may still be early enough in the progression of the disease that there's still hope if he gets prompt treatment - even though he refused to admit that's what he was really saying. That part - the hope - I celebrated tonight. But it is good news that Davon isn't in imminent danger of dying only if that is true, and your physician didn't exhibit a lot of knowledge about either Davon or Hep C..."
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Mother and Goliath: The AZ Department of Corrections.
So, we can use legal assistance on this if any help is out there, but I'm afraid it won't come in time to get Davon treatment now. Therefore, we still need everyone's help putting pressure on the Governor and the ADC.
Julie had a phone appointment with Davon's prison doctor Friday; it's just taken me awhile to figure out the software to save and upload it for you. This is unedited, so be prepared for Julie to really articulate herself on the whole thing after she hangs up.
I think she did a pretty good job dealing with these guys, frankly. And Davon's doctor has some studying up to do. He isn't current on his practices, and doesn't seem to know anything about Davon except a few notes he jotted down to justify refusing him treatment for Hep C. How can he swear that Davon isn't in any kind of imminent medical danger when he doesn't even know if he was ever tested for HIV? (He was, by the way, and needs to be tested again. The original test was negative, though. We knew that already, ourselves...)
Making sure Davon was tested for HIV and other forms of hepatitis (which they, on their own initiative, vaccinated him against) was one of the first things Julie did when she began to learn about this disease. That's a standard protocol in the community these days, so the doctor's ignorance about whether it was even done is both an indicator that he hasn't read the chart very well, and a sign that it isn't standard practice for the prison to do that with everyone who tests HCV +.
In any case, his word about how well Davon is doing can't be trusted. Otherwise, we would have both been celebrating the news from this call, not swearing at the end. Every test that might substantiate his health status is being delayed until October because "it isn't indicated" right now (by the tests that were done nine months ago). Despite their lack of current, critical information, the "Hepatitis C Committee" reviewed Davon's case last week and also decided that "treatment isn't indicated". Based on whose account of his medical condition, I wondered? This condescending osteopath's who doesn't even know his patients? This man tried to justify the possibility that Davon may not have been tested for HIV by stating that he wouldn't have been tested if he didn't ask.
Should he really have to? He's disabled by virtue of his mental illness, and beaten down by the discouragement of trying to get help and being ignored. His mom has to fight him to get him to put in a health request - he doesn't expect them to do anything for him. They don't.
What is the ADC exposing the public health sector to, by botching Hep C and HIV treatment in prison this? They're following guidelines that were developed a decade ago - the research out now totally contradicts half of what these guys try to convince Julie of. And it's very clear that Davon's best chances of ever ridding himself of this virus is before further organ damage occurs, not afterwards, as the ADC stipulates.
The reason that October is the magic month to do further labs on Davon, by the way, may have to do with the ADC's budget cycle. It really means that nothing will be done until November, when they have new money again. They've probably spent their medical budget for the year on 911 calls to prisons where they don't really have 24-hour clinical staff on site, as they suggest that they do.
Note that what the doctor is telling Julie, by the way, is not only that Davon won't be getting any treatment right now for his Hep C, but that he won't be recommended for medical release to the AZ Board of Executive Clemency, either.
That makes your appeals to them all the more important. Take the time to write a letter. Insist that these young guys with a shot at responding to treatment get to choose whether or not to go through it. Assert that this community's standards of care are outdated, as are the ADC's. Remind them that prisoner health is public health, and that withholding treatment for infectious diseases running rampant through the prisons puts us all at risk. Please remember, as always, to cc both the Governor and Julie (julie.acklin@yahoo.com) on that, too.
(The video is too long to actually post here, so I'm giving you the Youtube links...no, still too long. I'll keep working on this...)
Julie had a phone appointment with Davon's prison doctor Friday; it's just taken me awhile to figure out the software to save and upload it for you. This is unedited, so be prepared for Julie to really articulate herself on the whole thing after she hangs up.
I think she did a pretty good job dealing with these guys, frankly. And Davon's doctor has some studying up to do. He isn't current on his practices, and doesn't seem to know anything about Davon except a few notes he jotted down to justify refusing him treatment for Hep C. How can he swear that Davon isn't in any kind of imminent medical danger when he doesn't even know if he was ever tested for HIV? (He was, by the way, and needs to be tested again. The original test was negative, though. We knew that already, ourselves...)
Making sure Davon was tested for HIV and other forms of hepatitis (which they, on their own initiative, vaccinated him against) was one of the first things Julie did when she began to learn about this disease. That's a standard protocol in the community these days, so the doctor's ignorance about whether it was even done is both an indicator that he hasn't read the chart very well, and a sign that it isn't standard practice for the prison to do that with everyone who tests HCV +.
In any case, his word about how well Davon is doing can't be trusted. Otherwise, we would have both been celebrating the news from this call, not swearing at the end. Every test that might substantiate his health status is being delayed until October because "it isn't indicated" right now (by the tests that were done nine months ago). Despite their lack of current, critical information, the "Hepatitis C Committee" reviewed Davon's case last week and also decided that "treatment isn't indicated". Based on whose account of his medical condition, I wondered? This condescending osteopath's who doesn't even know his patients? This man tried to justify the possibility that Davon may not have been tested for HIV by stating that he wouldn't have been tested if he didn't ask.
Should he really have to? He's disabled by virtue of his mental illness, and beaten down by the discouragement of trying to get help and being ignored. His mom has to fight him to get him to put in a health request - he doesn't expect them to do anything for him. They don't.
What is the ADC exposing the public health sector to, by botching Hep C and HIV treatment in prison this? They're following guidelines that were developed a decade ago - the research out now totally contradicts half of what these guys try to convince Julie of. And it's very clear that Davon's best chances of ever ridding himself of this virus is before further organ damage occurs, not afterwards, as the ADC stipulates.
The reason that October is the magic month to do further labs on Davon, by the way, may have to do with the ADC's budget cycle. It really means that nothing will be done until November, when they have new money again. They've probably spent their medical budget for the year on 911 calls to prisons where they don't really have 24-hour clinical staff on site, as they suggest that they do.
Note that what the doctor is telling Julie, by the way, is not only that Davon won't be getting any treatment right now for his Hep C, but that he won't be recommended for medical release to the AZ Board of Executive Clemency, either.
That makes your appeals to them all the more important. Take the time to write a letter. Insist that these young guys with a shot at responding to treatment get to choose whether or not to go through it. Assert that this community's standards of care are outdated, as are the ADC's. Remind them that prisoner health is public health, and that withholding treatment for infectious diseases running rampant through the prisons puts us all at risk. Please remember, as always, to cc both the Governor and Julie (julie.acklin@yahoo.com) on that, too.
(The video is too long to actually post here, so I'm giving you the Youtube links...no, still too long. I'll keep working on this...)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Free Man in Prison: Visiting Davon Acklin.
Wanted to let folks know that I was finally allowed to see Davon at ASPC-Tucson this weekend, and we had a really nice visit. Considering my recent protests and letters, I was kind of surprised that they didn't greet me with all sorts of bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs, hostile guards, petty rules, and unpleasantness falling just short of a strip search to get in. The whole affair was pretty low-key, though: the men and women in brown were civil - even friendly - as they checked me in and told me to keep my feet on the ground (they were killing me and I kept stretching them out on the bench).Davon looked gaunt and pale, but his smile was warm, his hugs were strong, and our conversation flowed as if we had been friends for years. He's mature, insightful, bright, and kind. I correspond with a lot of prisoners, some of whom have committed pretty heinous crimes, but many of whom are either innocent or have been abusively sentenced. Davon is one of the few who takes responsibility for the decisions and conduct which led to his arrest and ultimate incarceration, even though his prosecution was inappropriate and the sentence was excessive - in my book, anyway.
Rather than ruminating on how unfair life has been to him, Davon's spent a lot of time learning what he can from being where he's at, and thinking about what things he needs to do differently once he's free again. It's not just that he wants to avoid returning to prison - he spoke both humbly and eloquently of his remorse for what he's put his family through, for stealing from others who worked hard to acquire their possessions, for letting addiction run his life and wreak havoc in the lives of others. We talked about our respective sources of spiritual strength and understanding, and struggles managing our moods and minds. I was AA-raised and he was prison-raised, but somehow we both ended up with similar conceptions about our responsibilities to our families, our communities, and ourselves.
Davon isn't in a 12-step program, nor is he enrolled in any kind of formal treatment in prison. But he's spent a bit of time studying religion, reflecting on his own values, exploring the world through the Discovery Channel, and growing despite his confinement. He is as engaged in the process of recovery as I was at his age, going to meetings every day and celebrating sobriety anniversaries (my 3 and 6-month ones over and over again the first few years) only he may well be more mature than I was at the time. His wisdom has come at greater price than most have to pay, though - and he'll likely be paying for it for awhile.
Davon worries more about his mom and little sister (whom he adores) than he does about his health. He wasn't nonchalant about it - he really hasn't been feeling well and as much as he wants a job to occupy his time and pick up a few more bucks a week (which is all it amounts to, literally), he admits he doesn't have the energy to be a predictable employee right now. The day we visited he said he was having a good day - that was evident by the life in his eyes and all the cupcakes he consumed. But once you get a job there, if you fail to show up for it you start accumulating tickets - there doesn't seem to be any real accommodation for someone who is struggling with fatigue, weight loss, and other symptoms like he is.
It was clear from our conversation that Davon's been studying up on Hep C and taking responsibility for not exposing others to his virus. A few months ago I sent him a calendar for prisoners about Hep C, which he read through and has been using. He talked about the different recommendations they made for preventing transmission in prison - like not sharing tattoo equipment, razors, or other items that could have blood on them. He observed that they were good recommendations for preventing HIV infection, too, so he's trying to protect both himself and others from further harm.
It was also clear to me that he doesn't have his hopes up about a pardon - I'm not sure he's convinced he "deserves" one. Davon sees men suffering around him every day who have heavier burdens that he thinks he does, and less help to carry them. He takes responsibility for his crimes and has accepted his sentence; he's not expecting to get out until his scheduled release date, though he appreciates everything that Julie and others are doing to try to spring him. He does hope to be better educated about his medical status, to get a full workup, and to have some kind of choice about treatment to rid his body of this virus - he realizes that the sooner that happens, the better his chances are of successfully recovering. He doesn't like being sickly and wasting away, and he's concerned about the implications of the labs that have come back thus far, as is Julie. He doesn't want to be an infectious threat to the health of others, nor does he want to die at an early age of liver or kidney failure. He wants to work in construction with his step dad and have a family someday; he wants to have a life after prison, and put what he's learned into better use for others than he has thus far. That doesn't seem to be too much for a young man to yearn for.
Davon is still good-natured about being a poster boy for Hep C in prison - he figures that with all the work his mom has done to get him decent health care, at least his misfortune can help educate and serve others. He seems to have the respect of his peers, and has managed to avoid being sucked into the gang scene. He stands on his own two feet, but I can tell there are plenty of fellows there watching his back, too. According to him, that's as much due to the help his mom has given the other guys and their families as it is to his own reputation and character. He chuckles knowing that he's probably experienced some retaliation by guards as a result of Julie's activism as well, but sees a certain amount of that as unavoidable.Not that he's happy about that, but he seems to think that it's still better to be mistreated because of something good he or a loved one does than to be ignored for being indifferent to injustice or suffering. He's not stupid and running to everyone's rescue, but his value system tells him that doing nothing when something is clearly called for can be worse than getting in trouble for doing the wrong thing. That's the kind of person he is.
I have no idea how long we ended up visiting Sunday, and there's a whole bunch of stuff we talked about that I can't even begin to get into, but that pretty much sums up the heart of it all. Davon apologized for not writing back to everyone who's written to him - those letters really do mean a lot, and he loves the pictures he gets of other places in the world. Postage is hard to negotiate sometimes - especially for letters overseas. And he just doesn't have as much energy or focus as he used to - even I don't get as much mail from him now. He asked me to extend his appreciation, though, to everyone who's written to him, signed his mom's petitions, joined his cause, and pulled for him in one way or another. He's especially relieved to know that Julie isn't in this alone, for her sake. He loves her and worries about her a lot. He doesn't want her to worry so much about him. Because of that, I suspect that he's feeling worse than he lets on most days.
Davon's rap sheet would tell you that he's an out of control drug-addicted, mentally ill violent criminal - a repeat offender, even - who some would say shouldn't ever see the light of day. But a closer look at him reveals a compassionate, responsible, maturing young man who has become a better human being despite, not because of, the dehumanization of life in an Arizona state prison. Perhaps his good character shouldn't have any bearing on whether or not he gets medical treatment for his Hep C infection, but we all know that value judgments figure into equations like that anyway. Why else would the state eliminate AHCCCS funding only for those liver transplants needed by people with Hep C, if it wasn't because the population is made up largely of those who have been criminalized for their addictions? It's the same reason we took so long to do anything meaningful about treating AIDS: the twisted logic goes that these are society's undesirables, anyway, who did it to themselves, and therefore deserve what they get. Some sick pups would even call such a fate divine justice. They've clearly never lost anyone they love before.
Davon is a more free man in prison in many ways than a lot of us - he chooses who to be and how to conduct himself without making excuses like so many do. He deserves better than what he's getting now, I can assure you, whatever standard you measure that by. They all deserve better, but he's the one in my sights right now.
As for Divinity's role in this young man's future - God is Love, as I understand it, and works miracles through the actions of ordinary people. Davon seems to be doing his part. So, please join the cause, visit the new page Julie's friend set up for her urging that he gets treatment now, and sign the petition to the Clemency Board if you haven't already - then spread the links to your friends. If you've done all that and want to take it a step further, write Governor Brewer a personal letter urging better treatment for all those with Hep C, and send a copy to Julie, the AZ Department of Corrections and your local paper. Remind them that prisoner health is public health, too. We need to be educating everyone else about this, before it's too late.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Governor's Reply and I: Correspondence with the ADC.
Some of you may remember that I wrote to the Governor a couple of weeks ago about Davon Acklin, William Macumber, and the other prisoners that she's leaving to die behind bars - regardless of their illnesses, crimes or innocence. Yesterday I received a reply to that letter from the Office of Constituent Services at the Arizona Department of Corrections. Below is that email, followed by my response to it. I doubt I'll be hearing from them again - I kind of hit "send" when I was trying to "save" and proof it. This gives you the update, though.
FYI: the people I cc'd my response to are Charles Ryan (the Director of the ADC) and his corporate counsel, Karyn Klausner (who was pretty cool when she was a criminal defense attorney, in my book, because she stuck up for that 8-year old St. Johns kid that prosecutors wanted to charge as an adult for killing his dad. Still, try to avoid messing with her.)
------------------------------------
(sorry folks - technical difficulties I can't fix, so head over to Arizona Prison Watch for a readable copy of the following email response)
FYI: the people I cc'd my response to are Charles Ryan (the Director of the ADC) and his corporate counsel, Karyn Klausner (who was pretty cool when she was a criminal defense attorney, in my book, because she stuck up for that 8-year old St. Johns kid that prosecutors wanted to charge as an adult for killing his dad. Still, try to avoid messing with her.)
------------------------------------
| BETTY CASSIANO | Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 12:23 PM | |
| To: arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com | ||
| ||
(sorry folks - technical difficulties I can't fix, so head over to Arizona Prison Watch for a readable copy of the following email response)
| Peggy Plews | Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 4:42 AM | |
| To: BETTY CASSIANO Cc: CHARLES RYAN | ||
| ||
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