Hi, y'all,
I know a lot of friends and family of inmates want to change the horrible situation their loved ones find themselves in, but don't know how. Everyone's scared of retaliation against the inmates, and with good reason. We at PAPS have been working with the National Lawyers Guild and Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (administered by the Delaware-New Jersey NLG chapter) to help you - whether you are inside or outside the razor wire - be able to share your story in a way that will help affect change.
Here's the statement below, but basically the way it works is that if you are a friend or family member, you will email what you know to PLAN. You can designate whether you wish to remain anonymous and they will keep it confidential. Inmates should send their stories through LEGAL MAIL. This means guards can't open it, though they will log it. There is always a risk of retaliation, but an inmate known to have a relationship with a lawyer is less likely to face retaliation than one without.
Here is the statement from them:
Paul Stanley Holdorf, supervising attorney of the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (PLAN), is preparing to issue an advisement to the Bureau of Prisoners Southcentral Regional Director and Texas Department of Criminal Justice in order to serve formal notice of credible reports of the unconstitutional conditions of confinement being widely reported in Texas prisons in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
This administrative filing is intended to serve three primary purposes:
1) Document credible reports of inhumane conditions and serve formal notice of these reports upon FBOP and TDCJ. This documentation can also raise public awareness of these issues and provide supporting documentation to prisoners who might opt to litigate related matters at some future date (pending their exhaustion of remedies as required by the PLRA).
2) Advise FBOP and TDCJ that their pre-litigation preservation obligations are triggered in relation to this matter such that evidence of potential relevance to these incidents is retained.
3) Demand the immediate rectification of unconstitutional conditions.
In support of this effort, PLAN welcomes information and accounts of the conditions that have been experienced in Texas facilities in the period surrounding Hurricane Harvey.
Please be advised that prisoners can report their concerns to Mr. Holdorf by way of legal mail. Some prisoners find that their mail is less frequently intercepted and that they are insulated from retaliation when they report concerns by way of protected mail. However, prisoners should be aware that legal mail is logged by most prison facilities, and that supporting the preparation of this advisement does not initiate or imply an attorney-client relationship.
Mr. Holdorf also welcomes reports from prisoners' friends and family members who have had the opportunity to speak to people inside about the conditions they are experiencing, and who have perhaps also had occasion to visit these facilities themselves following Hurricane Harvey.
Of particular importance are:
* Timelines that log the chronology of events
* Accounts of any harm, suffering, or hardship that may have been caused by these events (either for prisoners or their loved ones)
* Times and dates of contact with prison officials, citing the name(s) of prison officials with whom individuals have interacted, the substance of those exchanges, and any follow-up or lack thereof
For PLAN to attest to receipt of reports of conditions of confinement concerns, PLAN must be able to verify the name(s) and contact information of those who submit this information. However, PLAN will not disclose this information without express consent. Please indicate whether you DO or DO NOT grant PLAN permission to cite your name and/or the name(s) of the affected prisoner(s) in the advisement filed. Please also indicate whether your submission may be excerpted.
The perceived credibility of reports from prisoners will be strengthened if they are received in the form of a signed affidavit.
There is no need to notarize affidavits. Prisoners need only end any written materials submitted to PLAN as follows:
PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT THE FOREGOING IS TRUE AND CORRECT.
SIGNATURE OF PERSON WHO COMPLETED THIS AFFIDAVIT:
EXECUTED ON (DATE THIS AFFIDAVIT WAS SIGNED):
Send to:
Paul Stanley Holdorf, Esq.
Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (PLAN)
National Lawyers Guild – Delaware-New Jersey Chapter
C/o Prison Law Project
132 Nassau Street, Room 922
New York, NY 10038
plan@nlg.org
If you are on the inside, make sure to designate this as LEGAL MAIL!!!
I know a lot of friends and family of inmates want to change the horrible situation their loved ones find themselves in, but don't know how. Everyone's scared of retaliation against the inmates, and with good reason. We at PAPS have been working with the National Lawyers Guild and Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (administered by the Delaware-New Jersey NLG chapter) to help you - whether you are inside or outside the razor wire - be able to share your story in a way that will help affect change.
Here's the statement below, but basically the way it works is that if you are a friend or family member, you will email what you know to PLAN. You can designate whether you wish to remain anonymous and they will keep it confidential. Inmates should send their stories through LEGAL MAIL. This means guards can't open it, though they will log it. There is always a risk of retaliation, but an inmate known to have a relationship with a lawyer is less likely to face retaliation than one without.
Here is the statement from them:
Paul Stanley Holdorf, supervising attorney of the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (PLAN), is preparing to issue an advisement to the Bureau of Prisoners Southcentral Regional Director and Texas Department of Criminal Justice in order to serve formal notice of credible reports of the unconstitutional conditions of confinement being widely reported in Texas prisons in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
This administrative filing is intended to serve three primary purposes:
1) Document credible reports of inhumane conditions and serve formal notice of these reports upon FBOP and TDCJ. This documentation can also raise public awareness of these issues and provide supporting documentation to prisoners who might opt to litigate related matters at some future date (pending their exhaustion of remedies as required by the PLRA).
2) Advise FBOP and TDCJ that their pre-litigation preservation obligations are triggered in relation to this matter such that evidence of potential relevance to these incidents is retained.
3) Demand the immediate rectification of unconstitutional conditions.
In support of this effort, PLAN welcomes information and accounts of the conditions that have been experienced in Texas facilities in the period surrounding Hurricane Harvey.
Please be advised that prisoners can report their concerns to Mr. Holdorf by way of legal mail. Some prisoners find that their mail is less frequently intercepted and that they are insulated from retaliation when they report concerns by way of protected mail. However, prisoners should be aware that legal mail is logged by most prison facilities, and that supporting the preparation of this advisement does not initiate or imply an attorney-client relationship.
Mr. Holdorf also welcomes reports from prisoners' friends and family members who have had the opportunity to speak to people inside about the conditions they are experiencing, and who have perhaps also had occasion to visit these facilities themselves following Hurricane Harvey.
Of particular importance are:
* Timelines that log the chronology of events
* Accounts of any harm, suffering, or hardship that may have been caused by these events (either for prisoners or their loved ones)
* Times and dates of contact with prison officials, citing the name(s) of prison officials with whom individuals have interacted, the substance of those exchanges, and any follow-up or lack thereof
For PLAN to attest to receipt of reports of conditions of confinement concerns, PLAN must be able to verify the name(s) and contact information of those who submit this information. However, PLAN will not disclose this information without express consent. Please indicate whether you DO or DO NOT grant PLAN permission to cite your name and/or the name(s) of the affected prisoner(s) in the advisement filed. Please also indicate whether your submission may be excerpted.
The perceived credibility of reports from prisoners will be strengthened if they are received in the form of a signed affidavit.
There is no need to notarize affidavits. Prisoners need only end any written materials submitted to PLAN as follows:
PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I CERTIFY UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY THAT THE FOREGOING IS TRUE AND CORRECT.
SIGNATURE OF PERSON WHO COMPLETED THIS AFFIDAVIT:
EXECUTED ON (DATE THIS AFFIDAVIT WAS SIGNED):
Send to:
Paul Stanley Holdorf, Esq.
Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (PLAN)
National Lawyers Guild – Delaware-New Jersey Chapter
C/o Prison Law Project
132 Nassau Street, Room 922
New York, NY 10038
plan@nlg.org
If you are on the inside, make sure to designate this as LEGAL MAIL!!!
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