PRESS RELEASE
media@incarceratedworkers.org
PRESS RELEASE
November 13, 2017
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(CHICAGO, Illinois) Jermaine Reynolds, a prisoner being held at the Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone, NY, is currently suffering in solitary confinement with injuries to his kidneys, head and leg after being beaten up by his chow escort on Oct 7, 2017. His wife, who reported the situation, has already contacted the NY Inspector General, and is requesting help from IWOC to keep her husband safe, and demand accountability from those responsible for his appalling treatment. She says:
“[Jermaine’s] disposition is full of lies and inaccuracies [..] they charged him with assault to an officer but no correctional officer name is attached
[..] He has had X-rays taken and his head has been hurting [..] his wounds just healed since Oct 7th [..] Other inmates witnessed his attack, and threats were made towards the other inmates. Those inmates were beaten for protecting him. It is hard to understand his “guilty” charge on his disposition. He was handcuffed with his hands behind him. So there is no way for him to have hit anyone with his hands.”
We are calling for a “comms zap” to the Upstate Correctional Facility, demanding that the prison administrators remove Jermaine from the Secure Housing Unit, and launch a full investigation into his assault and subsequent hearing:
Mail: Upstate Correctional Facility, 309 Bare Hill Road, Malone, NY 12953
Phone: (518) 483-6997 (Franklin County)
We are also requesting that folks file complaints with the Office of Special Investigations:
Office of Special Investigations - Intake Unit
NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
The Harriman State Office Campus
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12226-2050
Notes to editors
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In the USA, people in the criminal justice system experience chronic health conditions, infectious diseases, substance use disorders, and mental illnesses at much higher rates than the general population:
National Commission on Correctional Health Care, The Health Status of Soon-To-Be-Released Prisoners: A Report to Congress, vol. 1, (Chicago: National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2002), available atncchc.org/filebin/Health_Status_vol_1.pdf
David Cloud, On Life Support: Public Health in the Age of Mass Incarceration (New York, NY: Vera Institute of Justice, 2014), available atvera.org/publications/on-life-support-public-health-in-the-age-of-mass-incarceration
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The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) is a grassroots prisoner union, part of the Industrial Workers of the World, fighting prison abuse and exploitation.
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