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 Mail
Call!
My name is Richard V. Hamilton, III. I'm a federal inmate
housed at FCI Yazoo in Yazoo City, Mississippi. I am also group
leader for FCI Yazoo Veteran's group. We are honorably discharged
men who served in World War II, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War.
Some of our members are highly decorated veterans who may have
only made one bad choice in their lives, but it landed them in
a federal prison to be punished under the government's mandatory
minimum sentencing laws.
We would like you to know that you have the full support of FCI
Yazoo City Veteran's Group. We will hand out Jubilee Justice
petitions to everyone we know to help support the national effort
to change the unjust sentencing laws ruling our country.
In closing I assure you that members of our Veteran's Group are
"transforming prison time into productive, human-enhancing
time. We will do everything in our power to assist you in our
common mission."
Richard V. Hamilton, III
I really enjoy the Razor Wire, and I pass it around for
others to read. Would you continue to send me current issues?
By the way, I will be here for awhile; I was forced into a guilty
plea of fifteen years for a lawn mower someone else stole, then
tried to get me to buy it. I didn't have the money at the time;
so I called a friend, and my friend bought it. I had to plea-bargain
because I was facing a natural life sentence if I had been found
guilty at trial. Yes, drugs were involved, on the informant's
part; so he made a deal with the prosecutor for a light sentence.
He'll have to serve two and half years.
Billy Ray Jackson
I just love the work you're doing; it's fantastic. I can't wait
to get my paper again. I look forward to it. Enclosed please
find the Jubilee Justice petition with five signatures and a
poem about the federal medical center prison here in Fort Worth.
There is much death here. You may print this if you like.
I am a pastor of the Gospel Sanctuary in Amarillo, Texas. My
wife needed two back to back operations. We had no insurance,
and so I defrauded a federal bank with fraudulent checks worth
$11,000 to get the operations done. At the time there seemed
to be no other way; we were flat broke.
My wife is fine now, and I was sentenced to 14 months at FMC
Ft. Worth. You wouldn't believe the stiff sentences some of these
guys get for such minor drug offenses; it's unbelievable. I would
estimate that 75% of prisoners here are in for drug related offenses.
My 'cellie' is 75 years old, got 10 years for conspiracy; Mr.
Montauo across the hall is 81 years old, doing 7 years for possession
of marijuana. Is this justice? No way; it's a death sentence
for these men.
Keep up the good work. See we all make mistakes, even me. I'm
no better.
Rev. Charles Brown, D.D.
I am a convicted bank robber who is serving his federal time.
I am a "convict" surrounded by nonviolent drug offenders
who should not be here. This is a prison for convicts. Every
day the bus keeps coming and more of our youth step off, only
to be thrown in with us "convicts". We mold them into
something they never were or would have been, but when they leave,
many are convicts like us. It is time for this insanity to stop.
All I can tell you is to keep sending us your youth, and we will
keep making them into convicts who may never again be nonviolent.
Spread the word please; this is no joke!
Convict R. Carten
The BOP has some interesting words/phrases in the prison vocabulary,
ideas such as SHU, Diesel Diet, Black Box, Bus Stop.
Bus Stop! I heard that one for the first time today. A dear sweet
friend has found herself in the "Bus Stop" in Carswell,
Texas. 'Bus Stop' is prison lingo describing a holding area for
inmates awaiting a unit assignment. It's not very nice. You have
little more than a cot, no work, no permanent housing, very little
property. It's an outrage! But it is also indicative of a prison
system on the verge of collapse by its own weight!
Here's a story told to me today. C has been in prison for 10
years now. She's doing a twenty-year bit for meth. She does not
deserve it, but that's another story.
Recently, she was transferred from FCI Danbury to FMC Carswell.
I am told she was pleased to be away from the horrors of Danbury.
For the first time in several years she was able to look out
at the landscape free of fences and razor wire. She seemed very
happy. She even had a bathtub in her room! For the first time
in ten years she was able to bathe without shower clogs and to
luxuriate in a tub alone! She was in 'inmate heaven'.
Apparently the BOP decided that she "owed" them more
time inside a fence. She told of being approached by a CO who
ordered her to come with him. She thought she was being taken
to SHU and so asked what she had done. She was being taken across
the street and was not supposed to be in 'inmate heaven', and
she was returned to purgatory. She was taken to the FCI without
any of her property, no pillow, no sheets, nothing!
Something has to change!! What happened to C is a routine process
within the BOP! Your relatives, friends and loved ones are subjected
to rough, brutal treatment modestly described as unconcerned
and insensitive!
C describes FCI Carswell as a high rise human warehouse packed
beyond capacity. There is some work but not enough for all the
women. There is little to do, only three working telephones,
little or no privacy. This is prison life at its daily, monotonous
worst.
Fred Kurtz
I am writing from FDC Miami. Thank you so much for your newspaper.
I share it and read to whoever will listen. Enclosed please find
some stamps (my 12¢/hour pay).
Your cause is justified. I surround you all in the white light
so that your energy is magnified. Yesterday I pled guilty to
a charge (possession with intent to distribute) that will get
me 135 months, and at 58 years of age this lady is going to do
everything possible not to die in prison. Your energy to change
things helps me keep on keeping on.
Much love
Gail Matheus
Little drops of water falling on hard stone will eventually wear
away the rock. Little words beating constantly on the ears of
a conditioned, lethargic public will eventually break through
rigid minds. It is true, as many critics point out, that prison
problems are old and tiresome subjects. But without that constant
barrage of words prisoners might still be living in the age of
the ball and chain.
Gary D. Jackson
A friend gave me your paper to read. It is a good to know there
are people in the free world who do care. Reading it also brought
on sadness learning of all the children torn away from mom or
dad. I am 39 years old and have served a little over 2 years
on a 15-year sentence given for a first time offense for conspiracy
to distribute methamphetamine. I have six children - Corey, Nick,
Ian, Shawna, Michael, Shayne. I love my kids. This sentence has
been so devastating that the children would rather think of me
as really dead instead of coming to grips with this peculiar
living death.
Could you please send their mother a copy of your paper and one
to my father? I don't have any money now, but here are stamps.
I hope to send you more next month because I would like to become
a member. I don't know, but I guess I'm hoping for a miracle.
I feel only heartache knowing my kids, my family, have abandoned
me, a cruel reality worse than doing the time. They say "out
of sight, out of mind". So is it true?
Jeff Farr
(Editor's note: You are a member, Jeff. Thanks for the stamps,
and keep your head up.)
I recently wrote you and briefly explained my situation. Praise
the Lord someone cares about this war on drugs. I pled guilty
to one kilo of cocaine of which I knew nothing. I was trying
to buy a truck from a friend who did get caught, and now I am
entrapped in his conspiracy. I am facing a minimum mandatory
sentence of five years while he's living it up at home, not even
charged with crime.
Joe Cardosa
I am currently incarcerated at Pocatello's women's correctional
center in Idaho. I am serving 4-9 years for aiding and abetting
delivery of a controlled substance.
I happened by a copy of your paper in the library. I read your
articles, and I am shocked and appalled at our legal system.
I lost faith in it, personally, in 1995 when I was brutalized
in county jail by a sergeant. He is a barber now in the very
same town.
Melody Logan
I am writing to thank you for what you are doing. I received
a three-year prison term, basically, for being a drug addict.
It amazes me to see the number of women in here with these ridiculously
long sentences for drug law violations.
It is so sad because as children we are taught that drugs are
wrong and all, but by the time it really sinks in it is too late
and we wind up in prison. I am hoping that, together, we can
get something done to change these harsh laws, and I will be
contacting November Coalition after my release.
I personally believe that the reason they are confining so many
people is for the money. Look at the billions of dollars Unicor
makes from prisoner labor, not to mention the money the government
makes from seizing our homes and other property.
Right now I'm in a prison so overcrowded they are putting beds
in the TV rooms and making flats in the middle of our unit.
Good luck in trying to get these ridiculous laws changed.
You have my vote.
Sincerely Nancy Piche
A friend of mine shared your publication with me, and since I
didn't want to destroy his paper by cutting out the membership
form, I am sending this letter to ask that I be placed on your
mailing list.
I must say that, as a writer, I am very impressed with the quality
of articles that appear in your publication. Though I am not
in prison for a drug law violation, as a long-time prisoner in
my 17th year of confinement I can't help take note of some outrageous
sentences drug law violators receive. Especially noticeable are
the disparities in sentences that people receive, an inequity
supposedly to be cured by the institution of fixed, determinate
sentences equalizing one case with another.
Awareness of those inequities does not necessarily amount to
being educated with regard to the politics behind the policies
that cause the sentences. I thought that I had seen it all between
the military and prison, but the Razor Wire certainly opened
my eyes so much so that some of my future articles will certainly
be on sentence disparities for drug offenders. Currently I write
quite a bit for News and Letters in Chicago.
Robert E. Tallaferro, Jr,
I'm an inmate at FPC Beaumont in Beaumont, TX. My female pen
pal mailed me her copy of the Razor Wire and I thought it was
heaven sent. Thank you for speaking for so many inmates who can't
voice their pain.
I was sentenced to 135 months (first time offender) conspiracy
offense.
I understand punishment but over kill is ridiculous. I am 31
years old with a wife and four children (3 boys and 1 girl).
Because I refuse to give them any information, I was hammered.
These people are getting beyond themselves!
I would gladly appreciate a subscription for me; my wife, plus
my sister. I've enclosed a few stamps, because at 12¢ an
hour, I don't have much.
Thank you for caring when no one else does
Bobby Pringle
My name is Boyd Gilbreath. I am serving a 66-month sentence at
F.P.C. Beckley for fire arm in relation to a drug trafficking
crime and possession of marijuana for resale.
A so called buddy of mine set me up and I was caught red handed
with 5 pounds of weed and 4 guns.
My lawyer said the prosecuting attorney told her it I did not
take a plea I would get 5 years imprisonment for each gun. So
I took the plea and here I sit doing 66-months for what they
call a violent crime. I am not eligible for sentence reduction
for the drug program because I have a 924(c) which they consider
a crime of violence. I never used any of my firearms in a violent
way and I have never had any kind of assault charge.
I was on pre-trial release for over a year before I was sentence.
I had a good job, a beautiful girlfriend, and a wonderful newborn
son. The judge did not take this into consideration and still
sentenced me to prison.
I can not afford to send any money at this time, but I'm really
interested in receiving your newspaper the "Razor Wire".
I only make $25.00 a month and spend most of that on the phone
calling to my mom and dad.
If there is anything I can do from here to help fight the injustices
of the federal system please let me know.
Sincerely,
Boyd Gilbreath, prisoner of the drug war
My name is Brandy Shipman. I'm twenty-five years old, mother
of two daughters, and only child to my mother. The reasons why
I'm writing is because I was convicted of conspiracy distribute
a quantity of marijuana. I was sentenced to seventy-eight months
because of level enhancements and guidelines. I believe this
to be a harsh punishment for a first time offender who has never
had any type of trouble with the law. There were several other
people involved in my case. Some with previous offences and did
no time or less than a year of jail time. I take responsibility
for my actions and mine alone. At the time I didn't think of
my association with those people or consequences that came with
it. I feel as the prosecutor and my government said my life had
no worth when they sentenced me. Some rapist, murders, and child
moesters get less time than people charged with conspiracy or
drug charges. The government would rather build more prisons
than spend money on alternatives to help solve the problems.
People make bad choices in life but that doesn't make them a
bad person. I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I also
believe if a person brakes the law they should be punished.,
but many factors should be taking into consideration. If not
just the person who is being sentences, who life is effected
but also the families. I hope and pray my letter will be taken
into consideration and to heart.
Sincerely
Brandy Shipman
Puff the magic dragon lives by the sea" sang the Vietnam
war era song from whence the gunship was named. But "Puff"
doesn't live there anymore since the Fuerzas Armades Revolucionaries
de Columbia (FARC) shot it out of the sky last week and the only
"Puff" left was a fireball crashing into a mountainside.
Puff was infamous for its awesome firepower and the bloody mayhem
it inflicted upon the peace-loving people of the Republic of
North Vietnam, the mendaciously treacherous Washington regime
(District of Criminals and corruption) claims that no U.S. military
personnel were aboard the downed Puff. Nevertheless, that is
one down and even Bill Clinton's $1.3 billion appropriated for
"Plan Colombia" will not purchase many high-tech Puffs,
Hueys and Blackhawks in the rapidly escalating war-on-drugs fiasco
encroaching into the mountainous jungles of South America.
Involvement of the United States in Colombia's civil war shows
how insanely out of hand the war on drugs has become. Most people
want drugs legalized, and drug prohibition has only caused more
people to use drugs in defiance, despite the federal government's
incarceration of more of its own citizens than any society in
the history of the world - most of them for drugs.
David P. Holtz, Prisoner of the drug war
Just a quick note to let you know I've moved. I don't want to
miss your next issue of the Razor Wire. By the way, you might
be interested in hearing those of us here at Victorville are
literally living in a warehouse. I also received some information
from the internet, it shows that this prison was built on top
of a toxic waste disposal. Can you believe it? The information
is really scary!!
Best wishes,
Debi Campbell, prisoner of the drug war
My name is Deborah Williams. My husband to be has been locked
down since February 5th, 1997. I will never forget that day they
came and took him away. He is a non-violent offender. He was
given 5 1/2 years. My son was in the 4th grade, now he is in
the 8th grade. Seems ike he's been gone forever. He is suppose
to be released next year. Its been real hard trying to do it
all on my own. I work 54 hours a week with one day off since
he's been gone. And still can't seem to save enough to go visit
anymore than twice a year. I am sending $1.00 to you, its not
much but all I can give right now. Maybe next month I can send
$5.00 and be able to receive your paper that you send out. Bless
you for all your trying to do. If I can help let me know.
Deborah Williams
Hi, my name is Takara Kapral. My father had sent me some petitions
to get signed. So I got 82 signatures. My father is serving a
ten-year sentence at Fort Dix prison in Fort Dix NJ. So he has
already served five of those ten years and asked me to get the
petitions signed if not for him, maybe for someone else. Well,
I am going to close now. If there is anything else I can do to
help please write me back.
Thank You,
Takaia Kapral
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