Jeana (DP) said:
Well, its probably not a day at the beach. LOL Here's a letter from one of the inmates complaining about just about everything:
Here is the text written by Erica Sheppard
May 01, 1999
My name is Erica Sheppard and I am a female on Death Row in the State of
Texas. I have been on Death Row for 4 years and in the years that I have
been here, never have I experienced such inhumane treatment; please
allow me the opportunity to inform you of whats happening to us behind
prison walls...
4 years since you wrote this? Now it's six years later and you've been there 10 years. That's way too long to be there, should have gotten rid of you already.
On October 21, 1983 a court ordered death row plan was passed for death
row inmates Civil Action Number H-78-987 by Honorable William Wayne,
Justice in the United States District Court, for the southern District
of Texas Houston Division. In this plan there are 2 classification of
death row inmates work capable and death row segregation; I am a death
row segregated inmate, not because of anything I have done wrong, but
because as a death row inmate it is by law my choice to participate in
the work program or not. However behind these prison walls if you dont
work, you are punished and treated differently; allow me to give you
some examples if you will...
Okeydokie, lets hear it...
1.Every list of reasons for a death row segregated inmate is either
violent or negative...
a) Escape or Attempted Escape.
b) Assaultiv Behavior
c) Possession of a deadly weapon... etc. etc.
Not 1 time does it say that its our choice to work or not to work. It
is a privilege to participate in the work program, it is not mandatory
for us to work because we do not get any credit or good time for working
nor do we get paid to work.
So sorry you don't get any credit. Good time credit, like you mean instead of taking your good time behavior off your time to serve, maybe you want us to add to your time to extend it when we set your death date?
2. For recreation we are allowed 1 hour out of our cells 7 days a week,
where as by court law it says we shall be allowed to recreate outside of
our cells for not less than 3 hours a day. Where are our other 2 hours
of recreation time?
Well would it make you happy if we chartered a bus to take you all out on field trips to the mall and movies?
3. We are housed in a building titled the Multipurpose Facility that
also houses Psyche patients and disciplinary segregated inmates, we are
often confused with the disciplinary segregated inmates, we are often
confused with the disciplinary segregated inmates because we to are
labeled segregated inmates. But the difference between the 2 is: We are
segregated because we have a death sentence by law. They are segregated
because of acting bad and not following the rules, but often times when
people tour this facility they are not informed of this status. Why?
Because they want to make it appear that we are here because we have
disciplinary problems and thats just not true.
Ok, we'll get large syringes painted on the back of your prison clothes. That should end the confusion between you and the bad people.
This multipurpose facility is not set up to house death row inmates, we
are suppose to have a day room equipped with at least 4 tables and 16
stools, a chinning bar and an assortment of table games such as
checkers, dominoes and chess, we are also suppose to have a water
fountain for drinking water, yet we have no such things. Why?
Because it's too much trouble. If we do that you'll probably want a jacuzzi, massuese and swimming pool next.
There are 4 other women housed in this multipurpose facility with me who
are also death row level 1 inmates, yet we are kept separated from each
other with no human contact, yet in the court ordered plan it says we
can recreate together so why do they keep us separated from each other?
The women who do work are allowed to recreate together and they have a
drinking fountain, games to play and access to other things in their day
room, why the discrepancy there?
Seems easy enough to resolve. Work if you want to socialize. See your number 1 above. I don't see any discrepancy here. You want to play games and socialize, get off your lazy *ss and work.
4.In the court ordered death row plan it states that death row
segregated inmates shall be permitted to view the television for 15
hours a day, yet we are not allowed or given the opportunity to do this,
we are being denied our proper tv time as ordered by the courts.
Nip/Tuck is really good this season, sorry you are missing it. Maybe if you were watching tv 15 hours a day you wouldn't have been out doing the crime you did. If you didn't watch that much tv then, why do you now?
Recently the Mountain View Unit under Warden Pamela Baggett has come out
with numerous changes as a punishment for us as death row inmates, we
are...
1. Handcuffed to walk across the hall to another room that would only
take 2 steps to get to or from our cells, which before it was not like
this, we were not to be handcuffed inside of the building at all.
2. We are handcuffed to walk from our cells to the showers that would
only take about 20 steps to get to from or cells: Again it was not like
this, we were not to be handcuffed inside of the building at all.
3. We are also repeatedly stripped searched when we leave our cells to
go to recreation or to the showers, or appointments, or visits and when
we are returned to our cells even though we have never left the presence
of the officers.
4. Our cells are searched repeatedly every day, every shift even when we
dont leave our cells. We are confined to our cells 23 sometimes 24
hours a day, in the process of these cell searches for contraband as the
administration calls it, our possessions are destroyed and mishandled
inappropriately when there is no need for these actions, yet the men on
death row do not have to go through these procedures as we women do.
I need to get with the warden, is that all she could come up with to make your life miserable?
We are confined to cells that are not properly ventilated, we continue
to tell the appropriate people about it, yet no one seems to care or
want to correct this inhumane treatment.
LOL! It's sure got be better than being in a cold dark grave like your victim.
There are 600 plus men on death row in the State of Texas and these men
are not treated as we are, they are allowed 2-3 hours a day of
recreation time out of their cells, they are allowed to view the tv the
appropriate 15 hours a day as the court order states, yet we as death
row women are not, why? We are all under the same court order.
I dunno, I don't care. How do you know what they get, you've been over there?
I ask you to please write letters to...
* * *
And inform them and express your opinions about whats happening to us
behind these prison walls, please! If no one speaks up on our behalf,
this inhumane treatment will continue to go on.
Yeah, you would know about inhumane treatment. How inhumane is slashing a woman's throat 5 times as she begged for her life. If you hadn't complained I would never have known how well you are treated on death row considering the heinous act you did.
I thank your for your time and your efforts to help, God be with you all
Sincerely,
Ms. Erica Sheppard
http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/Women/sheppard.html
PERSONALLY, IT GIVES ME A WARM FUZZY FEELING TO KNOW THAT THEY DON'T GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT, BUT THAT'S JUST ME.
