Advocate calls for investigation into wrongdoings of NDOC after discovery

We received this from member Tonja Brown, per email of Dec 9th 2011, which witnesses of many possible cover ups and wrongdoings on behalf of NDOC and other State agencies:

Deputy A.G. Geddes was at the Board of Prison Commissioners' Meeting and had everything I said and presented stricken from the record:

To be placed on the Record of the Board of Prison Commissioners hearing set for December 5, 2011.

Tonja Brown, Advocate for the inmates and Advocate for the INNOCENT.

As an Advocate for several years I have witnessed the abuse of retaliatory behavior, discrimination, illegal acts committed and Slanderous statements made by NDOC as well as other State Agencies.

Recently during the Discovery Process in the litigation in Tonja Brown v Skolnik, et al., Case No. 157:10-cv-00679-ECR-VPC exculpatory evidence has now seen the light and it has had a profound impact on my Constitutional Rights as well as other inmates Constitutional Rights.

Because of this newly discovered evidence that had been withheld from Nolan Klein, inmates, and myself it now raises concerns and an investigation must be conducted by an outside Agency into the NDOC, Attorney General's Office, and the Inspector General's Office.

Governor Sandoval, I am requesting that you ask for an outside Investigation into the Attorney General's Office for Constitutional violations eg. withholding exculpatory evidence aka BRADY VIOLATIONS. It is apparent that the Attorney General cannot conduct any kind of an investigation into her own office because it would be a conflict of Interest.

I am demanding a letter of apology from NDOC, the Inspector General's Office, and the AG's Office. attached letters from Fred Huston, and Docs. NDOC 03811, 03854, 03855, 03856, 03857, 03935, 03911, 03912, 03935,

I am asking that this Board of Prison Commissioners file a complaint with the State Bar of Nevada against certain D.A.G.'s, William Geddes, Janet Traut for what I believe to be violations of the inmates Constitutional Rights and private citizen's.

For example Documents H& H 1084- 1089 a 2008 LETTER TO JANET E TRAUT, Senior Deputy AG, from NDOC Rev. Dr. Jane Foraker-Thompson regarding inmates Michael Spencer's and his suit.

Michael Spencer v Glen Whorton, et al USDC Case No 3:07-cv-00635-LHR-VPC. This letter details the NDOC's discriminatory and retaliatory acts made against certain Earth Based religions, aka Wiccans. Did Mr. Spencer ever receive this letter to be used to benefit his case? Or was it never turned over? He now has it on appeal in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In Don Helling's August 5, 2011 deposition in Tonja Brown v Skolnik, et al. Case No. 157:10-cv-00679-ECR-VPC pages 91 - 93, states that in 2007 "We converted over to a new system in '07, July of 07, which means all of the old data was flipped over into the new information system and when the information was flipped, and that --that errors occurred."

It appears that in 2007 inmate(s) had false felony charges placed on their OFFENDER INFORMATION SUMMARY AND THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF IT. There are other pages that refer to this problem too.

Then I refer you to inmate Joe Carpino's 2011 letter. In June the AG's office turned over some of the Discovery which clearly shows that 2005 Mr. Nolan Klein's Gang Affiliation is "Wiccan." This is referred to in the August 5, 2011 Deposition of Don Helling pg 156, NDOC 001642.

Tonja Brown v Skolnik, et al. Case No. 157:10-cv-00679-ECR-VPC

It is apparent that the Settlement Agreement in Klein v Helling 05-390 case was in non compliance, because, in 2009 he filed suit again in Klein v Corda Case No 3:09-cv-00387-LRH-RAM. One has to question that if this case was really settled then why was he taking it back in 2009, and why is the AR 810 still listed as a TEMPORARY AR? Don Helling's deposition will become a part of the record.

You have NDOC illegally listening in on legal phone calls between inmates and their attorneys going back from the 1990's through 2009 at least at 2- 3 Institutions.

2008 Case Don Evans, John Witerow, v NDOC ?? Interrogatories of Don Helling and Howard Skolnik.

July 29, 2011 Reports and Recommendation in the case. This case clearly shows that the Law office of Hager and Hearne were being illegally listened in on in Witherow when he would call the office of Hager and Hearne. This is now in Settlement negotiations. It should be noted that Nolan Klein was one of those whom NDOC illegally was listening in on it was documented and he received a letter of apology in 2004.

Tonja Brown v Skolnik, et al. Case No. 157:10-cv-00679-ECR-VPC Deposition of Don Helling page 148, and Deposition of Howard Skolnik August 12, 2011 page 71-72 refers to John Witherow, Don Evans case.

The ongoing of illegally opening up of legal mail. Documented and should be be placed on the record for the Board of Prison Commissioners December, 5, 2011 meeting, Letter from Joe Carpino and from attorney Travis Barrick. Mention of Wiccans and opening up legal mail.

Below: These Documents are a PUBLIC RECORD IN THE TONJA BROWN v SKOLNIK CASE. AND YES I CAN PRESENT THESE DOCUMENTS TO THE BOARD. These are NOT CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS AS D.A.G. GEDDES HAS PUT ON THESE DOCUMENTS. There was no court Order to authorize this as a Confidential Document. Mr. Geddes was silencing my voice, my first amendment to clear my name. Everything that exonerated us from these slanderous accusations. They withheld the documentation that cleared us thereby violating Brady material, and unlawful prosecution.

Don Helling's deposition page 173. WHAT IS EXTREMELY CRUCIAL HERE IS ON PAGE 173 WHAT Mr. GEDDES SAID. Attached.

This is a prime example how the inmates have been treated unfairly over the years, because, not only did they do this to Nolan Klein, an innocent man they did this to a me, a private citizen in order to silence me from reporting the abuse within the system.

This exculpatory evidence was withheld from Mr. Klein, and myself and several other state and federal agencies. NDOC continued to keep the false, aka lies in their files knowing that we had been cleared of any wrong-doings. They continued to spread around these Slanderous investigative reports instead of removing the information that they knew was not true. They have continued to Slander, defamation of character of our names.

The State of Nevada has caused me to become physically ill and emotionally distressed from these false accusations.

Tonja Brown v Skolnik, et al. Case No. 157:10-cv-00679-ECR-VPC NDOC 00028 - 00036, 03811, 03854, 03855, 03856, 03857, 03935, 03911, 03912, 03935, AUGUST 5, 2011 Deposition of Don Helling to be placed on the record.

BRADY V MARYLAND

Tonja Brown
2907 Lukens Lane
Carson City, NV 89706

This is only a portion of the violations that come to my mind in the case of Tonja Brown v Skolnik, Klein v Helling, Michael Spencer v Glen Whorton, et al. USDC Case No 3:07-cv-00635-LHR-VPC. Religious issues, Don Evans, John Witherow v NDOC, phone calls.

NRS 199.210

Offering false evidence. A person who, upon any trial, hearing, inquiry, investigation or other proceeding authorized by law, offers or procures to be offered in evidence, as genuine, any book, paper, document, record or other instrument in writing, knowing the same to have been forged or fraudulently altered, is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

[1911 C&P § 92; RL § 6357; NCL § 10041]—(NRS A 1971, 150; 1979, 1421; 1995, 1175)

NRS 199.230

Preventing or dissuading person from testifying or producing evidence. A person who, by persuasion, force, threat, intimidation, deception or otherwise, and with the intent to obstruct the course of justice, prevents or attempts to prevent another person from appearing before any court, or person authorized to subpoena witnesses, as a witness in any action, investigation or other official proceeding, or causes or induces another person to be absent from such a proceeding or evade the process which requires the person to appear as a witness to testify or produce a record, document or other object, shall be punished:

1. Where physical force or the immediate threat of physical force is used, for a category D felony as provided in NRS 193.130.

2. Where no physical force or immediate threat of physical force is used, for a gross misdemeanor.
[1911 C&P § 94; RL § 6359; NCL § 10043]—(NRS A 1967, 465; 1979, 1421; 1983, 1683; 1995, 1175)

NRS 199.150

Attempt to suborn perjury. Every person who, without giving, offering or promising a bribe, shall incite or attempt to procure another to commit perjury, or to offer any false evidence, or to withhold true testimony, though no perjury be committed or false evidence offered or true testimony withheld, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

[1911 C&P § 86; RL § 6351; NCL § 10035]

CONSPIRACY

NRS 199.480 Penalties.

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, whenever two or more persons conspire to commit murder, robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping in the first or second degree, arson in the first or second degree, or a violation of NRS 205.463, each person is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished:

(a) If the conspiracy was to commit robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping in the first or second degree, arson in the first or second degree, or a violation of NRS 205.463, by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years; or

(b) If the conspiracy was to commit murder, by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 10 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $5,000.

2. If the conspiracy subjects the conspirators to criminal liability under NRS 207.400, they shall be punished in the manner provided in NRS 207.400.

3. Whenever two or more persons conspire:

(a) To commit any crime other than those set forth in subsections 1 and 2, and no punishment is otherwise prescribed by law;
(b) Falsely and maliciously to procure another to be arrested or proceeded against for a crime;
(c) Falsely to institute or maintain any action or proceeding;
(d) To cheat or defraud another out of any property by unlawful or fraudulent means;
(e) To prevent another from exercising any lawful trade or calling, or from doing any other lawful act, by force, threats or intimidation, or by interfering or threatening to interfere with any tools, implements or property belonging to or used by another, or with the use or employment thereof;
(f) To commit any act injurious to the public health, public morals, trade or commerce, or for the perversion or corruption of public justice or the due administration of the law; or
(g) To accomplish any criminal or unlawful purpose, or to accomplish a purpose, not in itself criminal or unlawful, by criminal or unlawful means, each person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

[1911 C&P § 112; RL § 6377; NCL § 10061]—(NRS A 1975, 509; 1977, 1416, 1631; 1979, 1424; 1983, 1494; 1995, 1179; 1999, 1343)

Note: because the document is in PDF format and we cannot reproduce it, nor do we have a link to it, we can however copy-paste Page 1, p. 91-93 and 230-232, plus the last one, p. 237 (of 237) here. For a PDF of this document, please contact Tonja Brown. This should also be available in the Minutes of the Board of State Prison Commissioners of December 5th, 2011.

[page 1]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA
3 oOo
4

TONJA BROWN,
5 Administratrix of the
Estate of Nolan Klein and
6 TONJA BROWN, as an
individual,
7
Plaintiff,
8
vs. CASE NO. 3:10-CV-00679
9 HDM-VPC
STATE OF NEVADA DEPARTMENT
10 OF CORRECTIONS and HOWARD
SKOLNIK, Director of the
11 Department of Corrections,
12 Defendants.
____________________________/

13
14
15
16 DEPOSITION OF
17 DON HELLING
18 Friday, August 5, 2011
19 Reno, Nevada

20

21

22

23

24

REPORTED BY: MICHELLE BLAZER
25 CCR #469 (NV) - CSR #3361 (CA)
----------------------
P. 91-93, about false information in prisoners' I-files:

1 number 28, specifically towards the top of the page the

2 second title portion where it says "prior felony

3 convictions/holds and detainers"?

4 A Yes.

5 Q Was Nolan Klein convicted of battery with intent

6 to commit a crime in June 2007?

7 A That's what it appears to say on this report.

8 Q And so in this summary here it would reflect

9 somewhere in the narrative connected to that date how he

10 came to be convicted of that crime while he was in

11 custody at NDOC; right?

12 MR. GEDDES: Foundation, assumes facts not in

13 evidence.

14 BY MR. HAGER:

15 Q This is the Offender Information Summary --

16 A Right.

17 Q -- that you brought with you today and that the

18 attorney for the Nevada Department of Corrections has had

19 Bates numbered and produced in this case that relates to

20 Nolan Klein; correct?

21 A Correct.

22 Q Could you direct my attention in that document,

23 sir, to where it says that Mr. Klein was convicted of

24 either battery with intent to commit a crime, or the next

25 entry there, burglary, on June 5th, 2007 while in custody

Brown v. State of Nevada Don Helling Page 92

Bonanza Reporting - Reno (775) 786-7655 1111 Forest Street Reno, NV 89509

p. 92

1 of the Nevada Department of Corrections?

2 MR. GEDDES: Same objections.

3 THE WITNESS: In reviewing the case notes of

4 2007 there is no indication of any type of conviction in

5 that year.

6 BY MR. HAGER:

7 Q So can you explain to me, then, as the then

8 Deputy Director of the Nevada Department of Corrections,

9 how these two entries here reflecting either a felony

10 conviction, hold and detainer for two felonies of Nolan

11 Klein as indicated on this Offender Information Summary?

12 MR. GEDDES: Objection, foundation, may call

13 for -- calls for speculation.

14 THE WITNESS: I can only speculate how it

15 occurred.

16 BY MR. HAGER:

17 Q What is your best understanding of why it would

18 be there?

19 MR. GEDDES: Same objections.

20 THE WITNESS: Speculating, we converted over to

21 a new system in '07, July of '07, which means all the old

22 data was flipped over into the new information system and

23 when the information was flipped, and that -- that errors

24 occurred. And that's just speculation.

25 BY MR. HAGER:

Brown v. State of Nevada Don Helling Page 93:

1 Q Is this the first time anybody has ever pointed

2 out to you that there are false representations in Mr.

3 Klein's Offender Information Summary regarding an alleged

4 criminal history while he was in custody at NDOC?

5 MR. GEDDES: Objection, foundation, assumes

6 facts not in evidence.

7 THE WITNESS: The first I recall.

8 BY MR. HAGER:

9 Q So it's news to you?

10 MR. GEDDES: Same objections.

11 BY MR. HAGER:

12 Q Is that correct?

13 A As I recall.

14 (Whereupon Plaintiff's Exhibit 8

15 was marked for identification.)

16 BY MR. HAGER:

17 Q You testified earlier about a settlement

18 agreement in a medical case in which, in essence, the

19 NDOC agreed to provide medical treatment to Mr. Klein in

20 addition to some other things; do you recall that?

21 MR. GEDDES: Objection.

22 THE WITNESS: Well, I would defer to what the

23 settlement --

Here is the full document (scroll down, please), password is: depo11:

NV-CURE Letter to Prisoners Regarding Abuse

11/19/2011

 

Attached please find a copy of the NV-CURE letter, with attachments, regarding Staff abuse being sent to 175 NDOC prisoners today (Nov 18th).  The same information will be sent to additional prisoners upon receipt of additional donations.

Please print attached material and mail to any NDOC prisoners on your mailing list and e-mail information to other persons on your e-mail list with friends or family confined by the NDOC.  This information needs to go out as soon as possible - so we may receive feed back before the meeting with Director COX.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Plz download the letter here.

About the Medical Care at ESP:

11/16/2011

 

Family and Friends of Prisoners at Ely State Prison:

There is currently a medical care settlement at ESP which the court approved a year ago. An independent medical monitor has been appointed to oversee Ely State Prison's compliance with the agreement for two years. Please write to Amy Fettig, ACLU Staff Counsel regarding ongoing medical issues at ESP. The ACLU is tracking and monitoring complaints and forwarding them for the Monitor's review, according to Amy Fettig. Her address is:

Amy Fettig
Senior Staff Counsel
National Prison Project of the ACLU
915 15th St., NW 7th floor
Washington, DC 20001

We are not animals, we are human beings that are locked down 23 hours a day

The original of this letter is at the archives of Nevada-Cure.

Thank you for writing me back. I received your letter on August 30, but am only now getting a chance to answer it. I have been going through so much in here for about a month because these so-called correctional officers have been denying me my meals and not only me but a couple of other inmates as well, and that senior co in the bubble name Jesse Cox has been throwing away my fellow prisoners’ mail retaliating against us because of grievances and anything that we do or say. So me and several other prisoners had to do what we did to get the warden’s attention.

It’s obvious they don’t understand nonviolent protest because every time we get together and write a grievance these c.o. continue to do what they want to do “illegally” so we have to do what we have to do in a violent way to get these people to understand us. We are not animals, we are human beings that are locked down 23 hours a day in a maximum security prison in the middle of nowhere, a lot of us don’t have any family to help us (I know I don’t) and it’s hard to get people to hear our voice because the “C.O.” throw away our phone kites.

Just a few weeks ago I was removed from 4A to 4B after talking to the “caseworker” about what was going on and its like they don’t even care because after I told the caseworker what happened and why I was acting the way I was acting, they moved me to the other side (4B) with a bunch of really really mentally ill people who scream and bang on their door all day. Not only that, when they moved me into the cell, it was not clean at all. My water was turned off, my toilet was turned off and the guy who was in there before me left feces and urine in the toilet and I couldn’t flush the toilet because the co turned it off. I asked if they can turn it on so that I can flush it and the only answer I get is whistles and “chain chain chain, chain the fool” song that the c.o.  sings to me just to provoke me. It keeps going and going.

That same day they refused to give me my dinner. I did nothing during chow time and they passed right by my door without even looking at me. So I flooded my room, tired of all the foul treatment, the cruel and unusual punishment, my lonely life without any help and everything else. Pencil in my hand I tell the Sgt. to go get the Cert team, come in my room and get me, I’m not cuffing up. You come in here and I’ll stab all of you. That day I was ready to die or get beat down by seven officers but it didn’t happen. They kept me in there all night until about 10 am the next morning. I was able to calm down and the warden came to talk to me. I told what happened. She acts like she cares but I know she doesn’t care at all. So I cuff up, get on my knees so that they can put the shackles on my ankles. The c.o. made a slick comment and I turned around to look him in the eyes and tell him to shut up and boom! I’m knocked to the ground with a closed fist by the officer. This isn’t the first time, so it didn’t shock me. One of the officers named Coleman that also had fun assaulting me while yelling, Stop resisting! Thrust his two fingers to the side of my neck going for my pressure point. I laughed at him because he wasn’t doing a good job at what he was doing, my body was supposed t shut down when he did that even though I was on the ground already, but it didn’t. The AWO was there, he seen what happened, why it happened, but he didn’t see it all (I wonder why?)

Well, I’m sorry for taking up your time with all this and not responding to your last letter. I will respond to your last letter, but let me tell you more. After that happened with the officers I was sent to the infirmary with no shirt, no socks, no shoes, put in a cell naked with a suicide blanket until I was seen by “mental health”. I was seen and cleared to go back to the hole. I was doing alright until one morning I was up ready to go outside so that I can get some fresh air and run a couple laps, a c.o. that did not like me told me that I couldn’t go to yard so I captured the food flap so that the Sgt. could come talk to me, he did and he said it was all a misunderstanding and I could have my yard time if only I would comply with their orders. I did. I got my recreation time and came back to my cell without any incident at all.

So I’m sitting in my cell reading a book by Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and here comes the mental health lady telling me she’s taking my yard and my phone. I didn’t care about the phone because I didn’t have anyone to call anyway and still don’t. So I ask how long are you going to take my yard time and she said, “As long as I want to.” I told her she couldn’t do that because I didn’t do anything and she walked away, so I flooded my room to get the sgt. or warden’s attention but to no avail. The C.E.R.T team comes and tells me they are going to clean out my cell and search it. They did and they also took me to another cell and strapped me down to a bed naked in a camera room and while they were strapping me down I told the CERT officer that I can finally look him in the eyes. He pulled my hair, pulled it so hard that my head lifted and turned my head the other way, pushed it down on the bed. A week later I got strapped down again for talking to another prisoner down the way from where I was and then they moved me to another cell and refused to let me shower and have a towel. So I flooded again. Nothing happened that night. The next morning mental health lady comes to my door and tells me that they are going to be taking my mattress every morning from 6 am to 6 pm. I told her no, you’re not. They took it from me and I slept on the cold dirty nasty stinking bug infested floor all night. They did not give it back to me at all. I was cold, without clothes, just a suicide blanket, naked sleeping on the floor. Did I write a grievance? No. Why? Because all I’m going to get is grievance denied, grievance denied, and grievance denied. I tell you this because nobody else listens to me at all. I hope that you understand the life I live in prison.

Well, as you probably already know, I will not be able to get a job here at Ely because of all the things I’ve been doing (It’s not my fault). They’re violating my rights; they’ve been doing it for the longest now. But there’s nothing I can do because I don’t have any help in here or out there. I hope that you can help me or get the IG or AG to talk to me because if this continues I don’t think I’m going to make it out of prison, and in my mind I don’t even think that I am going to get out of prison and I’m not even a lifer.

Now, on the lawsuit that I want to file is for something that happened down in High Desert. I did not want to shower in my room because it was dirty so the officer took me to the other shower up front in the infirmary to the shower. I started yelling and screaming, that’s all, and the officer opened the shower gate, snatched me out and slammed me on my face, punched me in the left side of my face, then my nose, causing it to bleed and then he put a pillow case over my head. I couldn’t see or breathe and I was down after that. I was scared, terrified and paranoid because of the cruel and unusual punishment and the excessive force that was used on me. (Like always). If you would like for me to send you a copy of my notice of charges I will do that because the c.o. even says that he hit me in the face and put a pillowcase over my head. It says that in my write up that he wrote (which I know is enough for a law suit).

Well, thank you for your time…

Letter to NDOC Director Cox about mistreatment at ESP

Sent: October 19th 2011.

Director COX,

Please read the attached letter recently received by Hope For Freedom from a very young ESP prisoner regarding mistreatment and inhumane conditions of confinement. We receive similar letters every week describing horrific events and abuse, misconduct and indifference by staff. The abuse, mistreatment and inhumane conditions described in those letters must be addressed through legitimate and reasonable action to alleviate these problems.

From the attached letter, it is apparent that ignoring the complaints of prisoners and their abuse and mistreatment only leads to additional misbehavior and causes further problems.  That is why ESP is perpetually a long term lock-down facility. When a person is labeled the “worst of the worst” and constantly abused and mistreated, he responds accordingly. People in the community would go to prison for treating a dog in the same manner NDOC ESP staff are treating prisoners at ESP. Staff charged with control of recalcitrant prisoners must be the ones to act with intelligence, reason and restraint. That is not happening at ESP.
 
The NDOC confines thousands of prisoners serving life sentences, many without the possibility of parole, and it is only a matter of time before those prisoners conclude that the only avenues realistically available to them to resolve their problems are destruction and violence. It happened in Attica, New Mexico and Lucasville, to name only a few of the most devastating prisoner uprisings, and it can happen anywhere at any time when prisoners are abused and treated unfairly.  We must prevent that from happening again. Intelligent and reasonable steps must be taken to prevent such an event from occurring at an NDOC facility. Abuse and repression is not the answer to the operation of safe and secure institutions.

With your consent, we would like to begin a dialogue with you concerning the operation of the NDOC. With our member years of experience while incarcerated and in prisoner advocacy, we may be able to provide you with some valuable insights and suggestions. It would not hurt to hear our views and opinions and we may be able to provide constructive information and intelligent solutions.

NV-CURE invites you, other NDOC employees and all persons in the community concerned with the rehabilitation of errants to join NV-CURE and assist in our efforts to bring real reform to the Nevada criminal justice system.

Please advise us of your decision regarding a dialogue and our invitation to join NV-CURE at your earliest convenience.  Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Nevada Cure

Solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement

10/17/2011

NV-Cure issued the following statement of solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement today:

NV-CURE stands in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread to hundreds of cities and town squares across America. We share a common commitment to exposing the corruption of corporate power upon our democratic system. This is especially important given the control corporations have exerted over the prison system and the money being extorted by corporations from prisoners’ families, those least able to afford more extortion.

We condemn any police crackdown on our fellow citizens and veterans  around the country. There is no excuse to silence those who speak freely, assemble peacefully, and seek to petition their government.

“That’s not a bedmove sheet, that’s a death warrant”: A real life look into murder, negligence and callousness at Ely State Prison

“That’s not a bedmove sheet, that’s a death warrant”: A real life look into murder, negligence and callousness at Ely State Prison

An exposé by: Douglas Potter
Published here in December 2012 and here.

I am a convicted murderer. Convicted of a murder that occurred here in Ely State prison (ESP). This is my first time at trying to pen an article like this so bear with me, but what I have to say will be truly mind-blowing to many who read what I am about to reveal and thou it may boggle the Public’s brain, unfortunately the reality is that this is just another occurrence that has become common, if not every day life, to many who have spent more than a couple of years in this sickening world of madness and despair.
Even though prisoners are generally discarded by society and are sometimes even looked down on as “low lives” and “garbage”, I still believe that there are people out there who care, people who have loved ones inside and who want to know the truth of what really goes on in here, no matter how brutal that truth may be.

There are several things that have compelled me to write this article, one of those was after reading a truthful and descriptive article by another prisoner about what has been referred to as: The “Bloody Sunday” Incident, by Coyote Sheff. It is something I can attest to because it was something that I, myself, was involved in. I was there that day. (see attachment 1A: Inmate Grievance Report, log # 2006-28-92302, dated: February 4, 2010. See also: Solidarity and Struggle: more on the Jan. 31st Riot at Ely State Prison, by Coyote Sheff, in: http://sfbayview.com/2010/solidarity-and-struggle-more-on-the-jan-31-riot-at-ely-state-prison/ and on: http://nevadaprisonwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/solidarity-and-struggle-more-on-esp-jan.html).

It brought back a lot of thoughts and feelings that I have since purposely pushed from my mind so as to forget about them, but this is not a story about that incident, but a story of an even more brutal and monstrous nature. A story about another Dark and Bloody morning that ended in death. This is a story that needs to be told so that everyone can know and understand the events that led up to my victim’s death. So that the public can be aware of the negligence, incompetence, and callousness that has become a common theme in this world of defined darkness at Ely State Prison.
Before I get to the facts of this murder, first let me say this, in the article about the “Bloody Sunday” Incident, Coyote Sheff mentions a few things in particular that really stood out to me and which I will also touch upon in this article as it pertains to my story in more ways than you could possibly understand. Those particular things that were mentioned in Sheff’s article are: 1) The Indictment and trial of the Aryan Warriors. 2) The Indeterminate Lockdown of ESP inmates. 3) The forcing of cellmates upon inmates.

There may be readers out there who doubt the truth and credibility in Coyote’s articles - you may even feel the same way about what I have to say - and even though I know what Coyote says is the truth, without actual proof and documentation there is always going to be individuals out there who disbelieve, discredit, or disagree. But where Coyote has failed to back his words up with proof, I will not fail in that regard. Everything I tell you will be backed up with the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC)’s own paperwork as documentation. “It’s not what you know, but what you can prove.” And know this: ESP fought tooth and nail for nearly two (2) years to try and keep these documents that you are about to see from being released through Discovery in a Court of Law.

The things that I cannot prove, I will leave out. I will only discuss and reveal that which I can support with their own words, documents, and signatures so that no one has to take my word for it; so that you can see for yourselves and make up your own mind. So that no “Localboy 76’s” can try to come along and attempt to divert the truth with a broad blanket of how “You can’t believe these disgruntled, whiney, inmates…”

I want everyone to know that I make no excuses for my actions. I only attempt to explain factors and circumstances that had a direct bearing and impact on my choices, so that people can understand the who, where’s, ways. I take full responsibility for the stabbing and death of Anthony Beltran. I accept the consequences and punishment that was handed down to me in a court of law. No appeals have been filed in my case. For those actions that I am innocent of, I will never take responsibility or accept punishment for them (you know who you are, and so do others).

I have been called a coward by some, but even if that is true, at least this coward can stand and take responsibility for what I have done, which is more than anyone will ever see or hear from those uniformed cowards here at ESP who hide behind their paper badges, razor-wired fences, lying and covering up the truth of that day in their safe little self-created environment. It is not what you know, but what you can prove and whether this specific case, January 31st Bloody Sunday, or the countless other use of force incidents within these walls, when all of the witnesses are you, and you control all of the evidence, then you can pretty much do whatever you want as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut and sticks to the same story. It is the same regardless of incident, the one common denominator among ESP staff and how they get away with so much.

Unfortunately, as is more often the case, most incidents are brushed aside, investigated with tunnel vision and protecting the prison and its staff from liability at the back of everyone’s mind. My story is about such a case, a case that wasn’t so much about the truth as it was the state manouvering to protect themselves from as much of it as they could. No one within the NDOC or within the ESP administration taking responsibility for their actions, the actions of their staff, and the fact that two (2) different inmates at Nevada’s most notorious maximum security lock up (ESP) should have never crossed paths, let alone be locked into a cell together. Ely State Prison can be described as a place where prisoners are paced to be warehoused, a place where prisoners are placed to be punished and to suffer, and in this case, a place where a certain prisoner was placed to die. A death that easily could have and should have been prevented.

1.
My name is Douglas Potter, #66313, I am known to be a violent gang member with a history of NDOC assaults and stabbings (see attachment 1: NDOC - Disciplinary History Report).

I entered the NDOC in August of 2000 after being convicted of two (2) counts of armed robbery with use of a deadly weapon (see: attachment 2 NDOC / ESP #66313 cover sheet with photo).

After passing through the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC, in Carson City) intake I was placed onto the NNCC main yard where in 2001 I was suspected of stabbing another inmate in the throat and other security threat group activities (see attachment 3: NDOC / NNCC Investigation Informative, dated: Sept. 2001).

As a direct result of this assault, I was transferred from NNCC to the Nevada State Prison (NSP) in Carson City, where in 2002, I assaulted and severely beat my cellmate to the extent that the services of Carson-Tahoe Hospital, Washoe Medical Center, and care-flight were needed. I was charged, convicted, and an additional 1 to 6 years were added to my sentence (see attachment 1: NDOC Disciplinary History Report; Incident ID # 16148).

While serving hole time at NSP for this assault, my mental health deteriorated to the point that in April 2005, I was transferred to the mental health unit at NNCC where I was placed on anti-psychotic medication, returned to NSP, and then transferred to Ely State Prison (ESP) where I remained in the hole on psychotropics until Nov. 2003 (see attachment 4: NNCC Mental Health Unit Chrono, dated 4/10/03. Also, attachment 5: Release / Refusal to take medication dated 11/15/03).

After completing my hole time I was classified to General Population and assigned a cellmate. I was placed in the workers unit and given a job in the ESP kitchen where, in 2005, I assaulted and repeatedly stabbed another Inmate Worker with a meat carving fork and I was given two (2) years in the hole. (see attachment 1: NDOC - Disciplinary History Report; Incident ID # 55156).

It is the position and the policy of the ESP Administration and staff that in order to be considered a “Positively Programming” Inmate, you are required to double-cell. That if you ever expect to move anywhere, and to receive more privileges within ESP, then you must double-cell or risk being severely punished to the fullest extent (see attachment 6: I.P. 5.13 Inmate housing /cell assignments. Also: attachment 7: AWP Adam Endel memo: “To all inmates”/double-celling, dated: Sept. 2006).

Ely State Prison
For those not familiar with ESP, it is essentially a human warehouse. A maximum security prison which houses approx. 1,100 inmates of various custody and classification levels. With the exception of a small worker unit, the entire prison is confined to their cells, locked down 24/7 with inmates being allowed to use an enclosed recreation pen for one (1) hour a day and the use of a shower once every three (3) days when staff availability permits. The prison is divided into two (2) sides or phases.
Phase II houses General Population Inmates and Phase I houses Disciplinary Segregation (Dis. Seg.) and Administrative Segregation (Ad. Seg.) Inmates, with the only difference between the 3 classification levels being the amount of privileges you are allowed, i.e.: food, clothing, hygiene supplies, property, phone calls, visits, etc... “General Population” receiving the most, while Ad. Seg. less, with Dis. Seg. inmates being stripped of all such items with the exception of bare constitutional minimums allowed by law.

In 2005, under pressure to double cell in the hole and the threat of severe sanctions to be imposed if I didn’t, I double-celled to avoid such conditions and indefinite placement in Dis.Seg. and/or Ad.Seg. Because of such fears, unit caseworkers became empowered with a “fuck you”-type arrogant, callous, if not hateful, kind of attitude which directly came to bear on me when I tried to address the concerns I had with the compatibility of any future cellmates, and the stressful issues I was having concerning such a double-cell environment. I tried to address such issues verbally with my unit caseworker, ccwsII R. Chambliss, to the point of frustration and anger, and eventually in writing to both him and ccwsII Drain (see attachment 8, 9, 10: three (3) kites to Chambliss and Drain with responses).

As a direct result of such, I was written up and punished for my actions. (see attachment 1: NDOC Disc History Report; Incident ID #9454).

2.
With ESP classification and unit caseworkers fully aware of my past history of violence, inmate on inmate assaults, and concerns/”threats” regarding cellmate compatibility, ESP staff continued to double-cell me with other inmates. On March of 2006, the Office of the Inspector general (I.G.) validated me as belonging to the Security Threat Group (STG) “Aryan Warriors” (AW), with caseworker Chambliss documenting such within the NDOC computer system (see attachment 11: NDOC-offender Information Notes; entry date: 3/24/2006).

3.
In August of 2006, after completing my hole time for the ESP kitchen stabbing, Associate Warden of Programs (AWP) A. Endel immediately cleared me for movement and double-celling in Phase II, General Population (see attachment 11: NDOC-offender information summary case notes; entry date: 8/31/2006). Approximately two (2) weeks later I was then moved to General Population and housed in Unit 5, A-side, cell #30 (5-A-30), where for the next three (3) months I had four (4) different cellmates (see attachment 11: NDOC-offender information summary/case notes dated: 9/8/2006). Inmate Anthony Beltran #89304 being my last cellmate.

4.
I had just finished almost two (2) years in the hole. I was hesitant, fearful, of addressing my double-celling/compatibility concerns. I did not want to go back. AWP Adam Endel’s memo to all inmates was posted in the Unit 5 Sally Port (see attachment 7: AWP A. Endel double-celling memo dated: Sept. 7, 2006). My father was thinking about coming to visit, I wanted to call home. So I bit my tongue and fought with myself to live in a concrete box and having someone in my face every time I turned around.

5.
Upon my arrival in Unit 5, I had repeatedly requested approval to be moved to an open unit, the Workers Unit (Unit 8). My requests went unanswered and after my 1st and 2nd cellmates had been cleared for movement to Unit 8, around November 2006, C.E.R.T. Sgt. R. Otero came to my cell-door and informed me for Institutional Safety and Security Reasons, and my stabbing gin the culinary, that I was going to stay where I was at, that he couldn’t put me in the Culinary and sure as hell wasn’t about to give me a shovel or rake on Yard Labor. That my request was denied. (see attachment 12: K. Weiss memo to Warden McDaniel, dated 1/2/2007).

After my 2nd cellmate had been cleared to move out, I began to plan for my 3rd cellmate. On occasion, inmates can submit requests to move in together to ensure compatibility due to our long periods of lockdown, sometimes for years on end. Avoid the “roll of the dice” on a caseworker-initiated bedmove. So as required by IP 5.13, my 3rd cellmate and I submitted kites requesting to live together and when my 2nd cellmate moved out on Dec. 12th, 2006, we moved in together that same day. (see attachment 13: Kite to Mrs Weiss dated 12/7/06/ Also: attachment 6: OP/IP 5.13 Housing Cell Assignments).

Seven (7) days later on December 19, 2006, caseworker Weiss came to my cell-door telling me that she was going to move me into cell#31 with Beltran, that she had already put in the bedmove sheet, and asked if I would fill out a kite requesting to move in with him. She also asked the same of Beltran. I don’t know what he said, but I told her “fuck no” or “hell no,” I’m not sure which and we then argued. She left saying she was sorry, that she already put it in. (see attachment 14: Cell Assignment Form dated: 12-9-06).

The next day, on Dec. 20th, 2006, custody staff told me to pack my shit, that I was moving next door into cell #31. I requested and spoke to caseworker Weiss where I complained aggressively and bitterly and finally convinced her to at least try and postpone the bedmove until my cellmate actually moved out. She went into her office and called someone, I don’t know who, but she came back out a short time later and was upset. Said that she just got her ass chewed out, that she was sorry and there was nothing she could do and she left. (note: I have no phone records from the Unit 5 caseworkers’ office, but they do exist. All phone calls made are logged and tracked from prison phones).

For ccwsII (caseworker) Kay Weiss to at a later date claim that no-one “complained of compatibility…” is an outright lie. (see attachment 12: Weiss memo to warden McDaniel dated: 1/2/2007).

There are two (2) kinds of bedmoves, caseworker-initiated and inmates requested. The latter requiring both inmates to submit written requests. In inmate Beltran’s institutional file (I-File) or my I-File, there is no record of any such requests being made by Beltran or myself. Yet. On the cell assignment form, in the top right-hand corner, someone has made it to appear that we did agree by scratching out: “ccws RX”(RX = transfer) and writing in: “Inmates agree.”(see attachment 14: Cell Assignment Form dated 12/19/06).

An outright lie and attempt to cover up and protect staff from any responsibility and liability for negligence placing a prison gang member and sex offender into the same cell.

As an inmate I don’t have the luxury of choice, and within a prison environment, what choices I do have is between the lesser of two evils as we are all at the mercy of staff and their decisions. I go where I am told and do what they tell me to do or I can take my ass to the hole and go sit stripped out in a concrete box. Those were my options. My “choices” as well as Beltran’s.

So when they came for me an hour later, rather than refuse and fight, I moved into 5-A-#31 with Anthony Beltran, who several days later, turned out to be a convicted sex offender x8 (see attachment 15: NDOC/ESP #89304 coversheet with photo).

And that is how my path came to cross with that of Beltran’s. How his path came to cross mine is similar, but shorter, and never should have happened.

6.
Anthony Beltran entered the NDOC through the High Desert State Prison (HDSP) in January of 2006 after being convicted of first degree kidnapping, robbery & multiple counts of sexual assault (see attachment 15: NDOC/ESP 89304 coversheet with photo). After passing through intake at HDSP he remained in ad-seg due to his sentence stature, nature of crime, and that he was accused of being involved in a plot to harm a county jail officer, which did not endear him to prison staff who promptly “validated” him as a “Security Threat Group” (STG) and scheduled transfer to ESP to be housed (see attachment 16: chrono entries for Beltran dated: 5-18-2009).

On 10/24/2006 Beltran was moved to the workers unit, units, where he remained for approximately three (3) weeks before being transferred to the ESP Infirmary on 11/19/2006. From what appears to be the continued denial of medical treatment by ESP staff and his inability to be able to see a doctor, things reached a point where on 11/19/2006 custody staff had to apply “use force” on Beltran which involved 4-pointing him to a bed under restraints. (see attachment 17: unusual occurrence report: Beltran: dated 11/19/2006).

On November 22, 2006, Beltran was moved to unit 5 and placed alone, into cell #31 (5-A-31), due to the nature of his crimes, caseworker Weiss advised him that to remain here in Unit 5, General Population, that he would be required to double-cell, and discussed segregation unit placement for his own protection. (see attachment 12: Weiss Memo to McDaniel).
For the next month, Beltran remained on single cell status when on December 20, 2006, after a caseworker- initiated bedmove, I was removed from the cell I was already living in with a cellmate, and placed in Beltran’s cell. (see attachment 12 and 14: cell assignment form and Weiss Memo to McDaniel)
Eight (8) days later on December 28, 2006, Anthony Beltran lost his life.

7.
For anyone not familiar with the NDOC prison system and the daily environment within prison among the inmate population, particularly the White population, the placing of a validated AW gang member into a cell with a convicted sex offender could best be described as: “gasoline and a match.” The ESP administration and CERT fire cabinets are stuffed with acts of violence by alleged AW gang members against other inmates at ESP and other prisons throughout the system. Particularly, against informants, rapists, and child molesters.

For anyone familiar with such within the prison system, whether they be staff or inmate, to see on a cell assignment sheet the word “AW” for one inmate, and “convicted sex offender” for the other, would immediately have the word “danger” come to mind. As one person exclaimed to me upon seeing the cell assignment sheet for Beltran and I, “That’s not a bedmove sheet, that’s a death warrant.” For classification/unit caseworkers, CERT staff and ESP administration officials to claim ignorance of such dangers is grossly incompetent, negligent, and outright absurd. The NDOC’s knowledge of such potential dangers is well-documented within a Federal Criminal Indictment filed against the Aryan Warriors (AW) and their alleged activities. (see attachment 18: Federal Criminal Superseding Indictment dated: May 20, 2008 #2:07 CR-145-KSD-PAL).

8.
Within the Nevada prison system the need to protect inmates convicted of sex crimes is obvious and clear. Such inmates are despised and hated by both inmates and staff alike. When and where they are found out by other inmates, they are subject to serious risk of violence and physical bodily harm, even death, at the hands of their fellow inmates. Ask anyone who works in the corrections field, whether State or Federal, the truth of this and you will find them all in agreement regarding that sex offenders face.

The Nevada Department of Corrections is no different. NDOC Administrative Regulation (AR) 509 deals directly with the Identification, Management, and Protection of such inmates. At Ely State Prison, warden McDaniel, associate warden Adam Endel, CERT office staff, and classification/unit caseworkers are all fully aware of the need to protect such inmates from the rest of the inmate population, particularly from any alleged gang members.

Up until 2006, ESP was one of several prisons which operated a fully self-contained protective custody unit and yard to specifically house those sex offenders and other inmates who had previously been assaulted and who had survived their attacks, as well as those inmates who, if placed in General Population, would become potential victims themselves. ESP administration officials created and implemented I.P. 7: 21: Protective Segregation Level 1 and I.P. 7.22: Protective Segregation Level II, to identify, manage and to protect such inmates while here at ESP. (see attachment 18a: IP 5.01: Duties of Institutional Classification Committees, dated: 2/1/2006; page 4).

Even with such protections in place, sex offenders would still routinely be assaulted here at ESP, even those in the Protective Custody Unit, when and where found. Case in point, Jeremy Strohmeyer, in 2004, allegedly assaulted by another General Population inmate as he walked across the yard to a visit. Even as of this date, 2011, the NDOC still operates Protective Custody Yards to house sex offenders, etc… For any ESP classification/unit caseworkers, CERT office staff, and administration officials to claim ignorance of the need to protect sex offenders from other inmates, especially alleged gang members, is grossly incompetent, negligent, and outright absurd. (see attachment 17 “AW” Criminal Indictment also, attachment 18a: IP 5.01).

9.
Only caseworker Weiss knows why she initiated such a clearly dangerous bedmove, ignoring established procedures. As such, regarding The Duties of Institutional Classification Committees; IP 5.01 (page 4) at the bottom of the 1st paragraph states: “…if it is determined that P.C. housing is not needed, then the inmates will be reviewed to determine suitable housing at ESP.”(see attachment 18a: IP 5.02 page 4).

Which raises the obvious question: How in the hell could I ever be considered “suitable housing” for a convicted sex offender?!?!
In all fairness, classifying inmates is not an easy job. People make mistakes (caseworkers are human too as caseworkers go, Kay Weiss is one of the best and most decent). That is why there are Institutional Procedures (IP’s) and Operational Procedures (OP’s) in place which dictate a system of multiple safety checks and balances to catch and to stop such a mistake from happening. In this case, as with all bedmoves/cell assignments at ESP, it is IP, now OP 5.13, and the cell assignment form. (see attached) which has multiple reviews and approvals by senior and experienced corrections staff. From the unit housing sgt, all the way up to the associate warden of programs. The only problem is that this system has failed. Turned into a crap shoot, a roll of the dice, for caseworkers regarding cell/housing assignments, and it continues to fail on a regular basis to this day.
You can have the best OP in the entire prison system to house inmates, but if the people whose job to implement it are lazy, incompetent, callous, or simply incapable of performing their duties, then that system is worthless and people are going to get hurt. An IP or OP is only as good as those whose job it is to enforce it.

Beltran is dead because I stabbed him and if Kay Weiss, sgt P. Hunt, ccwsIII H. Peltier[unreadable], CERT sgt R. Otero, acting A.W.O. Lt. T. Jones, and A.W.P. A. Endel, would have followed proper review procedures and not simply “rubber-stamped” the cell form and passed it onto the next person, Beltran would still be alive today. They didn’t kill beltran, they just opened all the doors and unlocked all of the locks.

A ”comedy of errors”… a “colossal failure”… “incompetence at its finest”… However you wish to view it or describe it, it never should have happened and in his attempt to pass the buck and not take responsibility for his involvement, AWP Adam Endel, I believe, inadvertedly provides the best answer as to what is fundamentally wrong here at ESP and its policy of double-celling (“ware-housing”). On the stand at my trial, Endel gave testimony regarding his signature on the cell assignment form:

Q: “So if everyone approved, would you just simply check ‘approved’?”
A: “Yes, I would.”
Q: “Would you do any independent research?”
A: “No.”
(see attachment 19: A. Endel Testimony; trial transcripts page 741, lines 5-9).

If the AWP is not going to check for any errors and just “rubber-stamp”/approve a bedmove, what’s the point of even signing or having a bedmove sheet in the first place?

Later on during cross-examination, Endel goes on to explain that he gives great weight to whether inmates approve of the move, in his approving of a bedmove! (see attachment 19 Trial transcripts, page 742, lines 22-24).

Well, that’s great news to ask inmates who are enemies, or rival gang members, etc… and want to get together and take care of business. All they have to do is put in a kite to live together. Hell, I can think of a few child molesters I would like to talk into celling up together… Just by agreeing, we’re half way home on being approved. -

When top ESP administrators / warden(s) at a 24/7 maximum security prison do all they can to essentially force double-celling onto the inmate population, and then simply rubber-stamp bedmoves with little or no oversight, allowing whoever to move into a cell together, allowing unit caseworkers to simply cell-up who-ever… then is it really any wonder why there is so much inmate on inmate violence? So many cell fights, vicious beatings, stabbings, even deaths?? At what point does it stop becoming the fault of the inmates, and that of the prison officials?

For a clear view of what goes on in this prison, for a true glimpse into the daily, routine cycle of violence, that goes on within these walls, one has to look no further than the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) video log books at ESP (see attachment 20: CERT video logbook entries dated from: 12-16-2006 to 7-3-07). This is just what gets reported and responded to. This is just a fraction of the violence that goes on here inside these cells on a daily basis, and it still goes on here to this day. The same cell assignment forms, the same forced double celling under threat of punishment, the same sloppy cell assignment(s) and disregard for inmate safety, the same lack of oversight and rubber-stamping approvals, all leading to the same daily violence, beatings, stabbings and even deaths.

Where did it all start? Where does it end? I don’t know. I, like many others in here, am a product of our environment and we struggle every day to try and not be consumed by it, but in the end becoming more of a problem than a solution. It’s a vicious cycle of inmate violence, staff abuse, inmate violence and even more staff abuse. We all need to take responsibility for our actions, but in here that is a one way street. ESP staff fail to see the blood on their hands, doing no wrong, admitting no wrong, focusing instead on damage control and protecting one another which only continues the cycle of frustration, anger and violence.

10.
Given all of the violence that goes on in this forced double cell environment, you would think warden McDaniel, awp Endel, and other ESP policy makers would have proper medical facilities and trained staff to treat the sick and injured. There are no such staff or facilities at ESP and on the day of Beltran’s death, he never stood a chance after he left the cell.

Registered nurse (RN) Gloria Carpenter testified that the ESP infirmary is not a hospital but a clinic-type setting and they don’t have the tools and medical supplies readily available and prepared to treat such injuries (see attachment 19: Trial transcripts, p. 540, lines 11-15).

Nurse Carpenter further testified that they were on their own. That they did not have a doctor on the premises, that they were making phone calls trying to get a hold of a doctor in another prison, but they could not reach one and eventually they had to rely on a nursing administrator for medical advice/treatment. (see attachment 19: Trial transcripts page 536, lines 18-24; also: page 537, lines 1-6).

Nurse Carpenter testified that the only thing medical staff in the infirmary were prepared and able to do to treat Beltran, was to provide CPR (see attachment 19: trial transcripts, page 541, lines 20-23). She further testified that she and other medical staff repeatedly requested that an ambulance be called by custody staff, that no one ever did call, and that they were unable to get an ambulance for Beltran to take him to an area hospital. That custody staff would not provide or call for an ambulance. (see attachment 19: trial transcripts, page 536, lines 1-8; also: page 542, lines 21-24 and page 543, lines 1-4).

To say the medical care at ESP is inadequate is an understatement. The medical care at ESP is grossly negligent given the warden McDaniel-created environment of violence and abuse. Dr William Noel, a medical expert retained by the ACLU, provided a report in December, 2007, that described his review of the medical records of thirty-five (35) prisoners here at ESP; in his report, Dr Noel stated: “The medical care provided at Ely State prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering that I have ever encountered in my thirty-five (35) years of practice.”(see “Ely State Prison”, from: WikiPedia.com (visited Dec. 2011), also: http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/prison/reportbymedicalexpertonelystateprison.pdf, p. 1).

On March 6, 2009, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit against the NDOC, governor Gibbons and other State officials on behalf of inmates at Ely State Prison regarding health care. In July, 2010, the suit was settled with the NDOC agreeing to implement sweeping changes. As of 2011, it remains to be seen what permanent changes will remain (see Rikers v. Gibbons: http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/health-care-ely-state-prison with links to the settlement agreement (2010 )).

11.
Before the stabbing and death of Beltran at ESP, the NDOC used to allow inmates state-wide to purchase typewriters from the prison canteen and to keep such property in their cells. Inmates were also allowed to do the same at ESP. I have never owned or purchased a typewriter before, but I had one in my possession and from it I pulled a metal rod, which I then used to stab Beltran with.

The investigating White Pine County sheriff’s office (WPCSO) detectives after Beltran’s death on December 28, 2006, wanted ESP staff to identify and explain who owned the typewriter used in his death and how did I end up with it in cell 5-A-31?? (see attachment 21, p. 15: WPCSO crime scene photos of typewriter in cell 5-A-31).

As for ownership, ESP staff trough Property Room Records determined the owner of the typewriter to me a Thomas Murray #55461 and that he was currently out on Parole. (see attachment 21, p. 16 Lt Tony Jones - Report on Typewriter, dated 1/10/2007). As for how it came into my possession, on January 10, 2007, ESP investigator Gerald Thompson of the Nevada Inspector General’s Office (IG) contacted WPSCO detective Mike Stolk and explained to him that he tracked the origin of the typewriter, that it had been the property of inmate Thomas Murray, of unit 8, probably a couple of years ago, and that inmate Murray is now out on Parole. Investigator Thompson went on to further explain that the typewriter could have passed through numerous hands during that time-frame before getting to inmate Potter. (see: Attachment 21, p. 18: WPCSO Supplement Report, dated January 25, 2007, page 2, bottom paragraph).

The problem with these statements are that they are a complete fabrication. With the exception of being on parole, investigator Thompson lied about everything else. Thomas Murray had not been living in Unit 8. He was not living in unit 8 when he paroled, nor did he parole a couple of years ago, as investigator Thompson misleads detectives into believing. Nothing passed through inmates’ hands for years…

Thomas Murray lived in Unit 5. His last cell assignment at ESP was 5-A-27, three (3) doors down from me, and he paroled from that cell around the last week of October, 2006, two 92) months prior to the death of inmate Beltran in cell 5-A-31. (see attachment 21, p. 19: cell shakedown log for cell 5-A-27: “Murray & Atwood”, dated October 11, 2006).

ESP investigator Thompson knew this information above and purposely lied and fabricated a story to cover those facts up. He intentionally mislead WPCSO detectives to prevent them from discovering the truth of Thomas Murray’s last known cell assignment at ESP and ascertain the true whereabouts of the typewriter. Investigator Thompson wanted to hide from WPCSO detectives the fact that Thomas Murray and his typewriter were in Unit 5 just prior to the typewriter being used in a homicide they were investigating, and most important of all, investigator Thompson wanted to prevent detectives from investigating and finding out that the only way a typewriter could have passed from inmate Murray’s cell into my hands, is with the help of Unit 5 staff.

Investigator Thompson purposely lied and intentionally mislead a homicide investigation in order to protect ESP staff from any involvement and to keep the NDOC safe from any potential liability regarding the death of inmate Beltran. (Unit 5 is a 24/7 lockdown unit. Any time an inmate leaves his cell, he is in restraints, handcuffed behind his back and under ESP staff escort and supervision. A typewriter does not fit under a cell door, it does not fit through the food slot).

I.G. investigator Thompson arrived that morning and was gone, left ESP within the hour. He could care less that a C.O. picked up the weapon and walked off with it; showing it to other C.O.’s around the prison. He could care less that there is not a single photo or video-frame footage of Beltran until a sheet was thrown over him. That all staff video recordings are distorted and unviewable, and then clears up and becomes viewable after the body is covered. All investigator Thompson was concerned about was that his cat back home had the sniffles and he wanted to take her to the vet. On December 28, 2006, instead of investigating a homicide and any staff misconduct/involvement, investigator Thompson was at the vet. He did not even stick around for the WPCSO detectives.

When an investigator for the Inspector General’s office is more concerned with his cat than investigating an inmate homicide, that is cause for some major concern. And when an investigator from the IG’s office lies to and fabricates a story to mislead other law enforcement officers to prevent them from uncovering potential prison staff involvement, then everyone out there in the public needs to stop and say, What the hell is going on in there at ESP?!?!

Because until the general public stands up and starts demanding some accountability of the NDOC and of the Inspector General’s office, whose responsibility it is to police prison staff, then you’re going to keep hearing about ESP staff abuses, inmate beatings, and unusual deaths. It is exactly why you do hear about such things to this day here at ESP.
This is just one case, one instance, where staff lying and covering up can be shown and in a rare instance proven and documented. You can see the standard operating approach that they decide to take, sweep it under the rug and hope no one on the outside takes notice and makes issue of it, so that you the public, their real bosses, will never know about it and other staff misconduct.

Well, now you do know about it, now you know about the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Beltran’s family in regards to this incident (see: Helen Jane Romero et al. v. Nevada Department of Corrections et al., docket # 2:08-cv-00808-RCJ-LRL).

And until each of the taxpaying public starts calling for change, responsibility and accountability of the NDOC and until you start holding ESP officials, such as warden McDaniel and associate warden (AWP) Endel, responsible for how they run and manage their prison and staff, then be prepared for a lot more lawsuits like the one above and other similar ones.
As of this date, warden McDaniel and associate warden Endel are no longer at Ely State Prison. After all that has occurred here at ESP, the medical malpractices, staff abuses, inmate deaths and lawsuits, director Greg Cox has seen fit to reward warden McDaniel for his fine management at ESP by appointing him deputy director of operations for the NDOC, placing him next in line for director. The public doesn’t have to worry about McDaniel running a prison anymore, you all just have to now worry about him running an entire prison system. Former awp Endel has been enjoying the fruits of his excellent incompetence at ESP as well, taking such skills to Parole and Probation where he is now in charge of those to be released back into your communities.

If Adam Endel approves of and finds me “suitable housing” for a protective Custody inmate, then how does that make you feel as a public that this same person is now deciding which violent, sexual predator, inmates should be approved for parole/probation and placed back onto the streets next to your sons & daughters? Everyone should take notice and be concerned with his decision-making abilities.

I have written these words so that others can know, so the public can know, how these events unfolded between Beltran and I. Aware of the actions and decisions of all involved, and so you can know how easily all of this could have been prevented. When people read all of these articles and comments out there about the senseless depravity of Ely State Prison, know that it is true and not just some more inmate sniveling bullshit. Now you can see for yourselves, with the NDOC’s own documents, how much merit is in these articles.

The situation here at Ely is beyond deplorable… imagine if it was your son, brother, friend, cousin, uncle, husband or father who has been thrown into this black pit of hopelessness, forced to swim with the sharks or drown in a murky pool or bloody water. The suffering, all of these things are real. As a public, your concern should not be with me but with those in here not doing life without parole, bit with those in here forced to live under such psychologically harmful and debilitating conditions to then one day be released back into society. Your neighborhoods. You don’t have to treat inmates like animals to be “tough on crime.” We are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment, and the sooner ESP can adopt that into its actual management and treatment of its inmates, then the better off we will all be in here, inmates and staff alike, as well as society as a whole.
I don’t deny or downplay what I’ve done, or the tragedy that was committed by my hands and for which I will surely and dearly pay. I can say - not with pride, but with truth - that I’m a criminal, a murdered and an administrative puppet on a string. I can’t hide it or deny it, but what about the people that keep us here and move us around like pawns on a chess board, who are fully aware of how we act, react, think, feel and see things as they use our own ideologies and criminal ways against us?... What about them, what can they say?... What can they say about themselves?... How can they look themselves in the mirror and not hide the truth of what they are?

In Truth and Sincerity,
Douglas Scott Potter
Ely State Prison, Nevada
October 14, 2011

Received, typed Nov-Dec 2011. On Dec 28th it is five years ago that this tragedy happened. What has changed?
Douglas Scott Potter's story can be read also with the attachments on his Scribd-site: http://www.scribd.com/DouglasScottPotter

Memorandum

Please be advised that the Nevada Chapter of National CURE has been reactivated. We are currently actively recruiting prisoners, their families, their friends and prisoner rights supporters to join us in a concentrated effort to change the Nevada prison and parole systems. We need your help. Working together, instead of at cross purposes, we can change the way our government treats our errants. Please join our cause. Working together we can make constructive changes to the systems.

The prison system MUST BE REQUIRED to provide to all prisoners:
adequate medical care, food, clothing and housing; rehabilitative educational, vocational and programming activities; and with respect for their constructive activities on behalf of other prisoners and themselves.

The parole system MUST BE ELIMINATED - OR REQUIRED: to provide full and fair hearings on parole application; to permit an applicant to review any and all information that will be considered by the Board in deciding a parole
application; to confront and cross examine each and every person that has contacted the Board in opposition of a parole application; and to comply with all requirements of Open Meeting Law or, alternatively, the Contested Case requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Working together, jointly, and in solidarity, we can change the way the systems operate. By our concerted activities, we may demand the changes required through our legislative, judicial and support initiatives; by our votes in each election; and by o& reporting and demanding the removal from office all of the “tough on crime” bureaucrats that abuse their positions of power.

Join NV-CURE and help us change the prison and parole systems. We need you to become involved and help us to help those that depend upon us to secure for them their basic human rights.

Struggle in Solidarity,
NV-CURE Board of Directors
July 27th, 2011

John Witherow
Anthony Villa
Travis Barrick
Laurie Reilly-Johnson
Michelle Ravell
Pat Hines
Benjamin Zvenia
Board of Directors

NV-CURE
(Citizens United For The Rehabilitation Of Errants)
540 E. St. Louis Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89 1 04
nevadacure @ gmail .com
Nevadacure.org