Injustice Wears a Tan

(15 paragraphs with 2 links, 1 video, and 1 image below to convey Leonna Brandao's letter to officials regarding abuses endured by her imprisoned son. Her letter to officials is herein.)

Leonna's son, John A. Diaz, is a young man who was sentenced to life in prison for murder.  Judges and juries sentence defendants to prison based on evidence presented at trial unless a plea bargain is arranged based on a confession.  Judges and juries do not sentence defendants to torture.

It is the job of the United States Department of Justice to protect institutionalized persons.  However, the Justice Department reneges on that responsibility regularly.  In Georgia, 37 inmates are reportedly MISSING after conducting a nonviolent inmate labor strike in December 2010 that thousands of black, white, and Latino prisoners participated in hoping to win a more humane incarceration.

In 2003, my mentally, physically disabled brother, Larry Neal, was SECRETLY imprisoned for 18 days until death under circumstances that the USDOJ and Memphis Shelby County Jail illegally prevent his survivors from knowing.  "YES, WE KILLED LARRY NEAL.  SO WHAT?  HE WAS ONLY A MENTAL PATIENT, AND A BLACK ONE AT THAT!"  Instead of OBEYING THE LAW, the injustice system actually allows or facilitates stalkers online and in person to persecute my family for daring to ask for information and records on the secret murder of a disabled American in a case that The Johnnie Cochran Firm was supposed to help cover-up forever.  That is not democratic, but Nazi.

Knowing all to well how criminal some of the people are in the justice system, I share Ms. Brandao's letter with my readers.  I know very little about the allegations.  I only know that this injustice system in the United States of America is cruel, racist, extremely class-conscious, heartless, and criminal.

Today, ANOTHER stalker came right to my house.  I asked that THEY never do that again, but they did.  See HOME INVASION!  http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/home-invasion-by-mary-neal.html 

Conspirators in my brother's murder cover-up insist on his family joining the cover-up and that we stop sharing the news with the public.  However, when people want CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS, they must arrange same under due process of law, not by burning crosses in black people's yards.  Yes, there are those who believe they will turn back the clock to the 1940s when black men's torture and lynchings were  ignored because of fear by other blacks and apathy by the rest of America.  I beg to differ.  WE WILL NOT GO BACK!  We are not dissuaded from the fight for justice if injustice wears a tan.  There is a song we used to sing as we marched in the 1960s and 70s:  "Ain't nobody gone turn me 'round, turn me 'round, turn me 'round; Ain't nobody gone turn me 'round - 'cause I am freedom bound!"  

After reading Ms. Brandao's letter, please help her if it is in your power to do so.  Please pray for her and her son. I have talked with her numerous times, and she is a sister in Christ.  Her letter is boldly addressed to people who took an oath of office to honor the Constitution.  All American officials do that, but some did not mean it or they have become weary in well-doing and joined oppressors. Some people in law enforcement and high justice offices are probably repulsed by the things they are asked to do.  In these Last Days, it is time to choose sides.  (Exodus 32:26)  

It is time for America to stop hiding human rights abuses and address them with the sense of justice that it fights to enforce on tyrants in Iraq, Libya, and perhaps soon in Iran.  Although Ms. Brandao's letter is bold, I know from our conversations how crushed she is.  Many times while I stood boldly for the incarcerated mentally ill, my knees were trembling and tears streamed from my eyes as I read another terroristic threat cyberstalkers sent to my email boxes, or when I arrived home safely by God's grace after being followed to my destinations.  All soldiers know it is possible to act courageously while one feels terrified.  Ms. Brandao needs your prayers and support, and so do I.  Please help her son if you can.  America must stop torturing and killing prisoners.  As my grandma used to say, "God don't bless no mess."

March 24, 2011

Massachusetts State House

Governor Duval Patrick

Office of the Governor

Room 280

Boston, MA 02133

Mr. Luis S. Spencer

Commissioner

RE: Conspiracy Concerns  -- MA Dept. of Corrections                                                                                                                                             John A. Diaz # W 6252350

Dear Governor Patrick and Commissioner Spencer:

Advocates who have been following the case of John Anthony Diaz are very concerned about two recent suicide attempts, by John A. Diaz, (first time offender serving a life without parole sentence).  It is of great concern that there may be a conspiracy against Mr. Diaz and that xxxxx [a prison official] is at the forefront of this conspiracy.

I have in my possessions numerous denied request and grievances for medical assistance, filed by John A. Diaz to no avail. Anthony Mendonsa (Mendonca), Deputy Superintendent of Classifications stated in a letter to an advocate that Mr. Diaz’s medical issues have been addressed. How can Mr. Diaz's medical issues be addressed when the Doctor, Health Care Administrator, Bonnie Werner and Marlene Dodge have all denied every request by Mr. Diaz. Nurse Practitioner Mark Schnable, approved a physical therapist following calls to the prison and allowed that to stop before the approved time without a notice to the patient and not long after Mr. Diaz's attempted suicides.

If this individual’s medical and psychological needs have been met, I would like to know the name of the DOCTOR, WHEN he was seen and HOW he was diagnosed? Mr. Diaz was placed on medication for pain for a brief period of time for pain in his legs. Yet, AT NO TIME was he SEEN by a DOCTOR to date. How can a doctor give medication to an individual he knows nothing about? An individual that may have allergies or other serious results from certain medications without first being seen.

Moreover, following two attempts at taking his life, due to ongoing provocation, denied request for medical and psychological help, ongoing harassment by xxxxxxxxxx  and certain staff he obviously has control over and in spite of the severity of John's emotional state and unmet needs, he was assigned a mental health worker. It was then and ONLY THEN; THAT he was seen by any mental health provider. I would also like to add, that I trained with the MA Dept. of Corrections as a mental health worker and in no way, was a mental health worker qualified to provide psychological treatment. Especially to a prisoner whom throughout the past fourteen years, been seriously abused and deprived. Therefore, I would like to know the name of the Psychologist who approved the mental health worker without seeing the patient. The Psychologist/Psychiatrist who saw Mr. Diaz following his two attempted suicides. What were the dates he was seen and what was his diagnosis for this individual, Mr. Diaz who obviously was so depressed, he tried to take his own life twice. Would you consider John Diaz to have had his medical or psychological needs met? Can anyone ensure that this young man is psychologically capable of being double-celled at this time? Moreover, while still in an unstable and sensitive state, John Diaz was again forced to double-cell.

Mr. Diaz, while handcuffed, was forced to double-cell with another inmate. Because he refused and started to fight the other inmate while still handcuffed, he was taken off to another area of the prison, by four guards (specifically xxxxxxxxxx) and three others (names unknown) and beaten. He was then placed in Solitary Confinement where he remained until recently. My first visit with John A. Diaz after almost a year, was devastating. John had a cut over his right eye, swelling over the his left eyebrow and a bruised and swollen lip. Letters were sent out and the Governor's Office called the prison. The investigator, who knew and liked some of the individuals he was to investigate, suggested to Mr. Diaz that maybe he did it to himself and when asked by Mr. Diaz to view the video for proof, the investigator stated the videos are destroyed after two weeks which is not true and is also illegal. The internal investigation went nowhere. This again, causes concerns for a CONSPIRACY .

John A. Diaz received a letter which I have in my possession, from Peter Heffernan, Deputy Director of Health Services Division, regarding his denied request and appeal to have medical assistance. The letter was another letter of DENIAL, stating that the altercation that took place on January 4, 2011 showed his abilities to function within normal limits. The altercation which took place on that night was the assault by four guards when Mr. Diaz again, could not cope with being double-celled and panicked when forced to double-cell. Although that has not solved his ongoing medical and psychological needs. It only proves that this patient is in dire need unaddressed medical and psychological treatment.

(Ms. Brandao goes on to describe what she believes to be evidence of a conspiracy to harm and possibly kill her son.) 

Sincerely

Leonna Abraham Brandao, S.W. III

Mother of John A. Diaz

New Vision Organization, Inc.

Tel (508) 533-7735

cellphone (508) 583-0051

CC:     Mr. Eric Holder, Attorney General

           Mr. Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General          

           U.S. Department of Justice

           950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

           Washington, DC 20530-0001

CC:     President of the United States

           Mr. Barack Obama

CC:      Joseph Biden, Vice President

             Washington, DC

CC:      Ltd. Governor Tim Murray

            Massachusetts State House

CC:      Office of the Lt. Governor

            Room 280

           Boston, MA 02133

CC:      Ms. Veronica Madden, Deputy Commissioner

            50 Maple Street, Suite 3

            Milford, MA 01757

That ends Ms. Brandao’s letter to officials. This writer hopes her son gets the protection he deserves. The USDOJ has a duty to protect the rights of institutionalized persons. Roughly 60% of more than 25,000 inmates in solitary confinement are mentally ill - enduring a type of torture which psychiatrists recommended to the CIA for use on detainees in the War on Terror camps because of its harshness. Although wrongful convictions happen, most prisoners are guilty of the offenses for which they were sentenced.  Nevertheless, I agree with a great human rights advocate of the 1800s, Ms. Dorothea Lynde Dix.  She wrote: "MAN IS NOT MADE BETTER BY BEING DEGRADED; HE IS SELDOM RESTRAINED FROM CRIME BY HARSH MEASURES, EXCEPT THE PRINCIPLE OF FEAR PREDOMINATES IN HIS CHARACTER; AND THEN HE IS NEVER MADE RADICALLY BETTER FOR ITS INFLUENCE."   Please read more about Ms. Dix at Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill. Use this link: - http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Be aware that 2.3 million Americans and immigrants are incarcerated, and over half of them were convicted for nonviolent offenses.  Some are innocent, as proved by over 400 inmates whose convictions were overturned with new evidence in recent years.  American prisoners include roughly 1.25 million mentally ill people who should be hospitalized or released (if nonviolent) into community care programs.  Prisons are for public safety, punishment, and rehabilitation - never torture (Hebrew 13:3).  Ms. Brandao's contact information follows.  I hope that visitors at MaryLovesJustice blog will contact her and offer comfort and assistance.  See the video below of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., after which, the article continues.

RACISM IN THE UNITED STATES JUSTICE SYSTEM MUST BE ADDRESSED.  INJUSTICES FESTER AND UNDERMINE SOCIAL COHESION.

See the front page news below:

Miami Police Dept. Under Investigation After Killings of 7 Black Men in 8 Months This is a sobering story in the New York Times that's worth a fuller read. Apparently, the Miami police department is under scrutiny after a series of fatal shootings by officers on the job: A major meeting is being held today to discuss the issue, which has inflamed racial tensions. It hasn't helped that clips from an unmade pilot reality TV show featuring the cops has surfaced online, featuring them describing themselves as "predators" who "hunt" for suspects: Mr. McNeil was the seventh African-American man to be shot and killed by Miami police officers in eight months. The shootings in this racially polarized city have led to marches on the Police Department’s headquarters and calls for a Justice Department investigation, and the city manager has initiated an investigation into the chief’s record. After pushing for action for weeks, the families of the seven shooting victims will speak at a City Commission meeting on Thursday. Some families are demanding that Chief Exposito be dismissed. By Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 @ 06:43 AM

Police officers, security and prison guards, and all who have the means to kill or abuse people under the color of law must exercise proper restraint and honor human and civil rights laws. Such persons have the ability to commit such egregious offenses that they could disrupt domestic peace. This makes it important for the U.S. Department of Justice and other officials to ensure that persons who are equipped with guns, Tasers, and other weaponry and represent law and order in any capacity should have proper training and operate with the understanding that there will be zero tolerance for abuses of power. There should be no opportunities to dodge accountability if they act illegally in their official capacities. Accountability equals homeland security. As Dr. King said, "No justice, no peace."

JOIN THE BOYCOTT 4 JUSTICE: No Shopping on the 9th of each month.  It is the people's peaceful response to corporate greed and government indifference.  http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/boycott-4-justice-no-shopping-april-9.html

Blessings from Mary Neal, human/civil rights advocate appointed by God to obey Prov. 31:8-9. YOU have the same appointment.