Dear Senate, Reporters, Sunadamin,
Advocates,
Below this letter is a lot of information telling what
pepper spraying does to inmates. I have written you reporters of
this pepper spraying abuse in the Texas Prisons and this below proves more
of what it does to these human beings. 87% of inmates are non violent and
99.9% of the entire US could be in prison for their wrongs, but most didn't
get caught in their crimes and many like the OJ's, Bush Family, Clintons,
and the like did get caught but the US does not have "EQUAL JUSTICE".
At the Wynne Unit in Huntsville Texas.....the guards are playing cops and
robbers too much. They are spraying pepper many times a week and the seg
cells that are 6 by 8 feet are too closed up for the pepper to get out
of the cells.These inmates only complained because their food was being
slopped together and the guards are paying them back by spraying. Their
food is bad enough as it is, and then for it to be slopped together is
really bad. The Polunsky Unit is being sprayed on a daily basis also.
Many people have died from the pepper spray as it locks up the airways.
My son is inside and he has asthma and Lyme Disease and this pepper spraying
has nearly killed him many times. These prisoners are mild and non violent...(at
least 87% and higher, we believe) and they will be our next door neighbors
in the future. These human beings are being treated worse than animals
similar to the way men treat chickens as they train them for cock fights
and the way men train bit bull dogs to fight. Inmates go in the system
as a small time criminal and leave acting as a pit bull and only for the
reason that these guards and some wardens have sick minds and treat these
humans in this way. Please help us STOP the pepper spraying and other abuses?
Thank you,
Brenda Pitts Bennett
701 Meadowdale
Royse City, Texas 75189
bpb123@earthlink.net
http://maxpages.com/copbrutality
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http://www.afn.org/~iguana/archives/2001_05/20010512.html
http://www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/AMR510671997
http://www.aclu.org/news/1999/n081299e.html
http://headwaters-ef.enviroweb.org/actions/pepperspray/support.html
People with asthma, epilepsy, taking prescription medicine,
lung conditions, heart conditions, youth, various physical disabilities,
under the influence of drugs, and pregnant women should never come into
contact with OC spray. "OC sprays cause upper respiratory inflammation;
therefore, they may have detrimental effects on people with preexisting
respiratory problems." (National Institute of Justice, Technology Assessment
Program, 3/94)
http://www.havc.org/Pepper_index.html
http://www.mic.ki.se/Diseases/c21.613.html
health hazards on pepper spray
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6416/smith-ok.html
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Sharing by: Brenda Pitts Bennett
Texas Prisoners Advocates
bpb123@earthlink.net
http://maxpages.com/copbrutality
www.geocities.com/copbrutality
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BAYTOWN - The Harris County Medical
Examiner's Office has classified the death of a man who died shortly after
being arrested by Baytown police as a homicide. Luis Torres, 45, died after
an altercation with police Jan. 20 in which he was pepper sprayed. The
medical examiner's office said Thursday that Torres - who was unarmed -
died from "mechanical asphyxia (meaning something physically kept him from
breathing) and blunt impact trauma." In a press conference Thursday
night, Interim Police Chief Byron Jones declined to comment on the cause
of death, saying that the case is still under investigation and that he
had not seen a final autopsy report. When Jones was shown a proof of death
letter from the medical examiner's office, Jones said it was the first
time he had seen it. Jones initially stated that the cause of death was
mechanical asphyxia and did not mention blunt impact trauma. He said he
did not believe excessive force was used in Torres' arrest. Furthermore,
Jones said he did not anticipate any criminal chargesagainst Officers Bert
Dillow, Micah Aldred and Sgt. Rodney Evans. He said the officers
followed proper procedures during the arrest. "I don't feel there was any
unjustified force used," he said. All three officers were placed on administrative
leave after the autopsy results were reported to the Baytown Police Department
on Wednesday afternoon, Jones said. Jones said the investigation will turned
over to a Harris County grand jury when it is complete. Torres was pronounced
dead at 1:10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 20 at the former BayCoast Medical Center.
Shortly after midnight, Baytown police had been called to investigate reports
of a possibly intoxicated man walking in the street at the intersection
of South Main and East Nazro streets. Upon arrival, Officers Aldred and
Dillow located Torres in the 200 block of South Main Street. Aldred and
Dillow spoke to Torres in English and Spanish and were attempting get him
to put hands on the car, but Torres refused to cooperate and walked away,
Jones said. A video of the incident exists, but Jones declined to show
it to reporters during the press conference. Aldred and Dillow were told
that Torres was the subject of an earlier emergency medical call. Earlier
that night, Torres' family called an ambulance for Torres because of problems
with high blood pressure. When the Baytown Emergency Medical Services arrived,
Torres fled and paramedics reported seeing a shiny object in his hand,
possibly a weapon. When Officers Aldred and Dillow attempted to question
Torres about the earlier incident he became uncooperative. According to
a police statement, "Mr.Torres resisted to the extent that pepper spray
was required to detain him." Sgt. Evans arrived during the altercation
and assisted in detaining Torres, Jones said. Baytown EMS was called to
the scene, which is a police department policy in all pepper-spray incident.
Torres had stopped breathing by the time paramedics arrived. Jones said
that as far as he knew, the only force used to detain Torres was pepper
spray. "There was a night stick there, but it wasn't used," he said. Attorney
Michael Solar is representing Torres' family in a potential civil lawsuit
against the city of Baytown. He said he was disturbed by the medical examiner's
report."Suffice it to say that we will be contacting the FBI and other
police agencies who may have an interest in this matter," he said. "We
will thoroughly investigate and prosecute responsible parties." Solar claims
to have post-mortem photographs which show that Torres was badly beaten.
"I believe that the evidence is going to point to an overreaction on the
part of the authorities in this instance," he said. "Rest assured that
we're going to take all actions available under the law to obtain justice
not only for Mr. Torres but for his widow and children
that he left behind." Jones said he had not seen any autopsy photos and
declined to comment on Torres' physical state before or after the incident.
Jones said an internal investigation is ongoing within the Baytown Police
Department. The Harris County Attorney General's Office is also conducting
an investigation into the incident. Jones said that as part of the investigation,
the police department will review its policies on the use of force.
http://www.texasplan.org
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Doctors with us in our struggle....please consider e
mailing me a brief description of what this pepper spraying will do to
humans and to the sick ones also? Thanks!
This pepper spraying is happening to NON VIOLENT INMATES
in segregation, daily, at the Wynne Unit at Huntsville Texas, and for no
reason except that these sick guards want to play cops and robbers.My son,
Chad Bennett # 790798 Wynne Unit Huntsville Texas 77349 has asthma
and Lyme Disease and therefore this pepper is making him strain for air
and hurts the lesions on his skin from the Lyme Disease. Please help us
to STOP these sick minded guards and wardens from doing this! It is killing
people! Above the statement made by Police Chief Jones, that the police
followed proper procedure ought to make each of us angry! If this
is proper procedure for a non violent man to die for a cop to get his cookies.......we
have troubles.
Thank you,
Brenda Pitts Bennett
Texas Prisoners Advocates
bpb123@earthlink.net
http://maxpages.com/copbrutality