BOP increases the heat on Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres

[Moorbey]

BOP increases the heat on Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has upped the ante in its efforts to derail the Parole Commission from adopting the hearing examiner’s recommendation that Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres be released in April of 2010.

This month, BOP officials notified Carlos Alberto that he has been assigned a “Security Threat Group” [STG] status of “Domestic Terrorist Associate”* not insignificant timing, given his 29 years of conduct as a model prisoner. But the timing is not at all odd, for the BOP’s purposes of derailing his parole.

For the BOP’s efforts, timing has been everything. First, on the eve of his January parole hearing, the BOP leveled false disciplinary charges. The hearing was postponed; the charges were expunged. At the rescheduled May parole hearing came the recommendation of release in April of 2010. Within days, the BOP renewed the same false disciplinary charges. The Parole Commission then issued an order postponing for 90 days its decision whether to adopt the recommendation for release in April of 2010. Before the 90 day period expired, and while awaiting the adjudication of the false disciplinary charges, the BOP surfaced the STG status.

In addition to trying to impact the parole decision, the BOP’s efforts are also calculated to destabilize Carlos Alberto. As a result of the false disciplinary charges, the BOP held him completely incommunicado for 60 days, cutting off all telephone calls and visits. Though he was supposed to be able to communicate by way of mail, officials significantly delayed his outgoing and incoming Spanish language mail, due to a new translation policy, applicable solely to him. Their vigorous application of the new policy penetrated even his confidential legal mail, as officials confiscated privileged legal materials in the Spanish language. Thus, added to the uncertainty as to his future is the insecurity as to his ability to communicate, even with his attorney.

Protest letters to the warden and the director of the BOP are available at:
National Boricua Human Rights Network Lead Story Political Prisoners Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres: parole bid foiled by Bureau of Prisons.


Jan Susler
October 23, 2009
****************************************
Chronology of Federal Bureau of Prisons Intervention in
Puerto Rican Political Prisoner
Carlos Alberto Torres’ Bid for Parole

Carlos Alberto Torres has served 29 years in prison for his commitment to the independence of his country, Puerto Rico, serving a 70 year sentence. His release date is currently set for December of 2024. His conduct in prison has been above reproach. In 1994, he appeared before the U.S. Parole Commission, seeking release on parole. The commission denied parole and set him for another hearing in 15 years. That hearing was scheduled for January 22, 2009. The following events demonstrate the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ attempts to intervene in and derail his efforts to win parole:


November 2008
There is a disturbance in the prison population at FCI Pekin. Prison officials mismanage the incident. Officials then lock down the entire population for a month.

December 2, 2008
As a result of the disturbance, FCI Pekin officials transfer all the prisoners from the housing unit where Carlos had been assigned to a two man cell, and place him in Illinois 1 unit, cell A09, a ten man cell where the other occupants had been living for many months.

December 2008
Carlos makes more than one request for a cell change to a two man cell, but his requests are rebuffed.

January 14, 2009
Prison staff serve Carlos with an Incident Report: “On January 14, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., while conducting a shake down of A09 in Illinois 1 unit, I found three shanks concealed in a light fixture in the bathroom area of the cell. This area is considered common area, and inmate Carlos Torres #88976-024 is assigned to this cell.”

January 16, 2009
At his Unit Disciplinary Committee [UDC] hearing, Counselor Gebur tells Carlos that another inmate had assumed responsibility for the weapons.

Maurice Wilkins, one of the occupants of the cell, told the UDC that the weapons were his, and that neither Carlos nor the other cell occupants had any responsibility for them.

Lieutenant Haynes, who investigated the Incident Report, tells Carlos that he had no information pointing to his guilt, and no information indicating that Carlos had any knowledge of or involvement with the weapons; and further, that he had information implicating Maurice Wilkins as the guilty party.
January 22, 2009
The disciplinary hearing officer finds Carlos guilty, stating, “Although inmate Torres indicated he had no knowledge of the weapons, they were found in a common area of the cell. His contention the owner of the weapons was to come forward and claim them, does not diminish his responsibility for them, as no one inmate in the cell was given sole responsibility for possession of the weapons. Therefore, since the weapons were found in a common area of the cell, they are considered to be in his possession.”

Stating that, “Although not directly related to the infraction, privileges were taken to deter the inmate from this behavior in the future,” disciplinary hearing officer imposes punishment: 60 days forfeited commissary; 60 days forfeited visiting; 60 days forfeited use of telephone; 30 days disciplinary segregation, suspended if there is clear conduct for 180 days; and 41 days forfeited statutory good time.

The finding of guilt is a departure from the norm. Routinely, when one cell occupant accepts responsibility, the other cell occupants are found not guilty.

January 31, 2009
Maurice Wilkins, one of the occupants of the cell, makes a sworn statement accepting sole responsibility for the concealed weapons, stating, inter alia:
* “no one living in cell A09 other than me had any knowledge of the shanks found. The shanks were mine, and mine alone. I am the one who made the shanks and hid them in the light fixture undeknown [sic] to any other person who lived in the cell.”
* “the shanks were mine and mine alone, and no one other than me had knowledge of them.”

February 2009
The National Boricua Human Rights Network, the Comité Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico, and other groups and individuals commence an ongoing letter writing campaign to support Carlos’ bid for parole and denounce the Bureau of Prisons’ efforts, sending hundreds of letters to the warden and the director of the BOP.

April 30, 2009
BOP regional director, in response to Carlos’ administrative appeal of the guilty finding, admits a “procedural error,” and returns the incident report to the prison “for reconsideration.”

May, 2009
FCI Pekin staff inform Carlos the Incident Report has been expunged.

May 26, 2009
Parole hearing at FCI Pekin via videoconference with hearing examiner for U.S. Parole Commission; hearing examiner recommends release on April 3, 2010.

June 10, 2009
FCI Pekin Warden Smith approved the unit team’s request to process the re-written Incident Report.

June 2009
At the second UDC hearing, Carlos restates his innocence and provides the committee with Maurice Wilkins’ sworn statement accepting sole responsibility and absolving Carlos.

July 2009
At the second DHO hearing, Carlos restates his innocence and provides the committee with Maurice Wilkins’ sworn statement accepting sole responsibility and absolving Carlos. Additionally, Maurice Wilkins testifies in person and tells the DHO that he was solely responsible and that Carlos had nothing to do with, and did not know about, the weapons. Regardless, the DHO finds Carlos guilty once again.

During the hearing, Carlos asks the DHO what information he needs to affirm Wilkins’ statement and prove his innocence. The DHO tells him “a UDC investigation.”

Carlos’ efforts to obtain such an investigation have been for naught, with officials telling him there is no such thing.

July 27, 2009
U.S. Parole Commission issues Notice of Action, stating: “Defer decision for up to 90 days to determine the outcome of the pending disciplinary report for Possession of a Weapon. Upon disposition by the DHO, a copy of the misconduct report and DHO findings should be submitted to the Commission for review.”

September 2, 2009
The bilingual prison intelligence officer--- who has been translating Carlos’ Spanish language mail for more than a year, and who continues to translate other prisoners’ Spanish language mail* informs Carlos that he will be subject to a new procedure for screening his Spanish language mail* that henceforth his mail must be sent to a translator outside the prison, which will delay for a month the delivery of his incoming and outgoing mail. The officer also tells Carlos that the order comes from higher up, and that “they” are watching Carlos’ every move. The officer provides Carlos with nothing in writing.

The initial response to Carlos’ grievance indicates only that “the change in mail handling procedures is to ensure the safety and security of the institution.”

October 9, 2009
The warden’s response to Carlos’ further grievance about his mail informs Carlos, for the first time, that “you are on enhanced mail monitoring status due to your STG assignment of Domestic Terrorist Associate. This STG assignment requires translations to be completed by a certified linguist. Currently, there are no staff members at FCI Pekin that are a certified linguist for Spanish.”1

No one provided Carlos with any documentation of such status, or with the criteria for placement on or removal from such status.

October 10, 2009
Prison staff violate Carlos’ confidential attorney-client mail, confiscating legal materials written in the Spanish language, telling him they must copy and translate the privileged materials.

October 25, 2009
The Parole Commission’s 90 day deferral expires.

October 23, 2009
Jan Susler
Attorney for Carlos Alberto Torres
People’s Law Office
1180 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60642
773/235-0070 x 118
jsusler@aol.com


1It is believed that STG stands for Security Threat Group, but the BOP has not provided Carlos with any definition.




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