Prison Abolition Prisoner Support (PAPS)
Media Contact: Azzurra Crispino
iheartpaps@gmail.com
(512) 710-PAPS (7277)
INMATES IN BEAUMONT NOT EVACUATED AND REMAIN WITHOUT
WATER OR PROPER SANITATION AS FAMILY MEMBERS DISPUTE OFFICIALS’ REPORTS
Inmates in Beaumont facilities continue to be without
running water, and many have not showered or been given clean clothes in ten
days. As Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Executive
Director Bryan Collier claims “we did not have water
that came into any of our units that were occupied”, family members of inmates
at Stiles Unit say this is an outright lie, as there was water in the inmates’
cells on Friday. Lindsey Disheroon reports her husband Clifton Cloer said he
was in calf deep water as of Monday afternoon. Mr.
Collier claims he visited the unit himself, presumably accompanying TDCJ
Spokesperson Jason Clark, but there are concerns over how thoroughly they
toured the facility. Ms. Disheroon – who
is formerly incarcerated - says “if the executive director
came to the unit and inspected like he claimed all the inmates would know.” Did TDCJ officials only view sections of the
units that had remained dry?
Although
the City of Beaumont was under a voluntary evacuation order, none of the
prisons in the area were evacuated. TDCJ
runs Gist, LeBlanc (a pre-trial detention unit), and Stiles, while the Federal
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) runs the four facilities in USP Beaumont complex
(including satellite camp, low, medium and high security facilities), which
suffered an electrical
fire three weeks before the hurricane. Harris County Jail, located in
downtown Houston, was also not evacuated.
Across
the various Beaumont area units, inmates are without water and food is scarce. Although port-a-pottys were delivered, in some
units they were reserved for correctional officers. Port-a-pottys were
insufficient for the number of men housed in the units and were not being
emptied, causing some inmates to resort to voiding in plastic bags. Some stooped to drinking
toilet water. Lunch at Stiles, where
inmates welcomed refugees even though they had not been able to make commissary
for six weeks, on Monday was a holiday meal.
Most other meals have been insufficient. Across the way at Gist, “they were not given water today August 4, 2017” said another
woman scared of retaliation, after speaking to her loved one over the phone.
Inmates
were forced to take medication that is supposed to be taken with food are
taking it without and report vomiting. One
diabetic inmate, speaking through his wife who wished to remain anonymous in
fear of retaliation on her husband, reported he was supposed to be getting
sandwiches but was only receiving bread without bologna or peanut butter, and
was choosing to fast as eating only bread would cause his blood sugar to
dangerously spike.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: FAMILY MEMBERS,
CURRENT AND FORMER PRISONERS
VIDEO AVAILABILITY: INTERVIEWS WITH
FAMILY MEMBERS
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