Update and Reiterate
September 8th 2000
My birthdayDear Friends;
This mailing is possible because between you, me, and our family and friends, we gathered the 300 stamps necessary for everyone on the project to get a letter. It's been awhile as usual, but we have not been idle. The website disappeared and the host had no idea who took it down. So, I've rebuilt your pages and they are better than before. Tell your family the MAKING THE WALLS TRANSPARENT project is located at http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke . It is also listed as one of the projects of the Journey for Justice.
There are thousands of letters and hundreds of your files stacked around me. The information is excellent and a lot of medical and legal supporting documents are included. I even have the burnt skin from an inmate who was pepper sprayed then put in a hot shower. You have made prison life very real to the readers.
Some of the letters ask for legal help, so I feel I should clarify the Transparent Walls project. I am not a lawyer and the lawyers I work with are first amendment people. Their help is important when I do the prison vigils. They keep me from getting illegally kicked off public property as I exercise my right to protest. But, they are no help with your legal issues. When I get your information, I put it on the website and send the most urgent and extreme to an email list of 800 individuals, lists and groups. Sometimes I know exactly who to refer your information to, most times not. I can not personally help you with your case, but I can put it in front of the public, where people who can help may see it. I can speak about the Florida prison situation everywhere I go. I can make sure your project is covered in the press packets for the journeys: I can build the site, I can visualize strength for you, but that is the extent of my abilities.
This project is investigative in nature. The website serves as an amplifier for you who desperately need to be heard and is directed to those who need to hear. I am just the old lady listening intently at the prison gates, and because I know listening is not enough with the extremely abusive conditions we are talking about, I tell as many others as I can hoping to find those who can help or who will at least penpal with you. I wish I had more power, but I don't.
It is a constant source of pain that I can do so little about the unjust and inhumane situations you are facing. I can call the wardens and Tallahassee (and frequently do), I can put families in touch with each other, I can (when finances permit) vigil in front of offending prisons to draw attention to the plights and I can talk to reporters. But, I do not have the power to personally make anything happen. I can cause ripples, but some of the people who read your information can cause tidal waves. Right now there is a process of unity developing that will make the permanent improvements that are necessary to call ourselves civilized. I can help speed that up by connecting others together. Alone I am powerless, but united we are mighty. That is why I accepted the job of Florida PRUP coordinator.
There is one thing I have to reiterate. In all that you report, you must be extra careful to be totally truthful. I must know the good as well as the bad to show what works and what doesn't. You've done an excellent job because the concerned staff that I stay in touch with (and yes, there are good people working as correctional officers) tell me that the page reflects the general truth. Reporters and investigators have told me that they will check out the stories, but that when they run into the first lie in an inmate's account, they will put that case aside and go to a new one. If you do not want them to turn from you, you must be very honest and stick to the facts.
Because I have become known as a prisoner advocate, I have heard all the warnings: Inmates lie, inmates exaggerate, inmates will try to use you. I want to state that out of 300 inmates, not one has asked for anything but to be heard. In fact, you have given to me: The stamps you so kindly send (I know how valuable they are in there), the cards, prayers and well wishes. Everyone of you are very much a part of my extended family. I am very proud to tell people that you have been gentlemen and women and have indeed earned your place in this project.
Although your information is excellent, up to now, even when our stories manage to get an offending officer removed, they seem to be given no more than 3 months suspension, and they always come back just as bad as when they left. I've found out with the DOC, every fix can be counted on to be reluctant and temporary. I don't know if that is mainly because of Michael Moore's unfettered belief that inmates are a less-than-human commodity, and yet as little money as possible should be invested in their care, or if the reluctance to fire a bad guard stems from the difficulty DOC has in keeping good correctional officers. Several of the DOC staff I communicate with told me that Michael Moore is the one man the staff despises as much as the inmates. Well, the public I meet feels the same. On that the inmates and guards agree. The only person who seems to want Moore in Florida is Jeb Bush.
I have been contacted by a person who has been granted a 2-year fellowship to research Florida's abusive system through a University here in Florida. They called because of your webpage and your stories. I will be helping them all I can. You will be helping them through your vivid and detailed accounts.
I want to get this letter to you because work is pouring in and I'm afraid it may be hard to find the time to write until October. Someone calls needing all the medical cases, another wants to know about the beatings, or the pepperspray and I try to go though your files to accommodate them, which is time consuming. I've been building on both sites because on September 20th, we begin a journey to bring the issues to the candidates, including Jeb's brother, George Bush in Texas who, God forbid, may be our next president. So it is going to be very busy and I don't want you to think I've forgotten you. On the contrary, I worry about you very much, and at this point, my life is dedicated to bringing about change in these areas.
So, know that I stand firm. Know that your stories are being heard and understand that the UNITY of groups and families and you will be what makes the difference. Do something this week to make it a little bit better for one of your neighbors, and we will continue to work together to make it better for all.
With Strength for You and Love for Peace,
Kay Lee
715-831-0076