Showing posts with label Black Lives Matter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Lives Matter. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 May 2017

A LETTER TO DARREN RAINEY’S FAMILY

How are you doing?  Good, I pray.  As of the date (4/17/17) that I’m writing this I’ve been crusading for justice for the murder of Darren Rainey since I witnessed the evil that was done to him on 6/23/12.  By the Grace of God several other very loving people with big hearts have joined in the crusade when they heard how Rainey was so brutally murdered in the Dade C.I. TCU.  With June 23, 2017 being the fifth year, our crusade is not over.  As of the date of this letter, I haven’t been able to meet any of you or communicate with you in any way.  Not because I don’t want to.  God knows I do.  The only reason I haven’t been able to communicate with you is because I don’t know who any of you are or how to get in contact with you.  If I could speak with you, I’d have a lot to say to you, but if I could only say one thing to you, it would be this:  “will you please contact the founders and leaders of Black Lives Matter and Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network and ask them for help in getting justice for the murder of Darren Rainey?”  These Civil Rights leaders will help us if you ask them to.  They are wanting to hear from you.  The contact information for these people can be found on the internet.  If for some reason you can’t obtain the contact information for the founders and leaders of Black Lives Matter and Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, my sister who manages the blog Help My Brother Harold Hempstead @ Wordpress.com and the man who manages this blog can both help you obtain the contact information for these people.  Will you please show me kindness by contacting these Civil Rights leaders and asking them to help us with getting justice for Rainey’s murder?  Thank you.  If you’re reading this blog and you know how to contact any of Darren Rainey’s relatives, will you please send them a link to this blog or tell them how they can find and read this blog on the internet?
Harold Hempstead, a.k.a. Caged Crusader


Wednesday, 26 April 2017

WATCH OUT AFRICAN AMERICANS. YOUR LIVES ARE IN DANGER

''As I’ve watched the events that have happened over these last several years, the only thing that I can say to African Americans is:  Watch Out – Your Lives Are In Danger.

As African Americans continue to get killed and the people that kill them are not prosecuted because the culprits are white, or the people involved with the investigation and/or prosecution of the case are racist, the people of America are seeing they can get away with killing African Americans.

You African Americans need to think about what I’m saying.  What type of statement is tacitly being made every single time an African American is killed and the culprit is not prosecuted?  The answer is obvious.  The statement that is being tacitly made is, that people can get away with killing African Americans.

America has been built on the backs of African Americans and I believe it’s time for African Americans to rise up in love and unity in mass peaceful protest which is a Constitutional Right of all American people.  This is the only way that I believe the African Americans of our great nation can show the people of our country and the World that Black Lives Matter and enough is enough.

If you think that African Americans can continue to be killed and the people who kill them not be prosecuted and that this is not sending out a statement that people can get away with killing African Americans please let me know!  If you believe that Black Lives Matter, please let me know.

Please share this blog with your friends and anybody you believe can help us with getting justice for Darren Rainey.  Please sign our petition on Chang.org entitled THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONERDARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER


Caged Crusader''

 
 


This latest message comes from Harold Hempstead, the man known as the Caged Crusader - he's the white guy pictured above, in the prison uniform.  The black man next to him is Darren Rainey, the guy who was killed in a specially constructed steam-chamber, in the mental-wing of a Florida prison in twenty twelve.  
There's going to be a lot more messages like this coming out on Harold's blog, but we need more people reading it and spreading the word - can you help?  
All the time people talk about Amerika and politics - please harness the energy of talk into some action, then you go from being an observer, commenting passively on a situation, to a participator, engaging actively in the World - and you'll grow from doing so.  Darren's dead and Harold's in prison - he's doing what he can, but is obviously restricted in his activities.  It's up to us so-called 'free' people to please do what we can to help these brave warriors behind bars who are engaged in a stark fight between good and evil.  If ever you've wanted to give your power to a cause, this is for you.  Harold's message is all about Humanity, all about Love and  Unity and, of course, it's all about Justice - Real Justice, which the People are quite capable of determining for themselves, once the truth of events is made fully known.
We believe that when a bright enough light is shone upon the 'Rainey case', the World is going to sit up and take notice - and Demand some Real Justice.  I fully believe this will happen in time - but with inmate-witnesses lives being in danger, time is of the very essence.
Please help my friend the Caged Crusader - he's a good man and he needs all the help he can get. He's not fighting for himself, but for all inmates, even for Humanity in general.  For the voiceless, the mentally disturbed who are locked away in Solitary and subjected to terrible sufferings.  Please add your light to our accumulation of light. Shine a light into the darkness.  Thank you brothers and sisters.

Y'all need to read this, if you haven't already done so.... it's a classic On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - a book from the nineteenth century that has given me great inspiration and insight into the relationship between citizen and state.  The author was also a nature-mystic who wrote the book 'Walden' about when he lived in a hut in the woods - one of my heroes...

Thursday, 20 April 2017

Did Dade County State Attorney Katherine Rundle Say Black Lives Don’t Matter In Dade County, Florida?

They say actions speak louder than words and it’s my position that Ms Rundle stated Black Lives Don’t Matter in Dade County, Florida, when she held that she wasn’t going to prosecute Rainey’s killers.  I have the Dade County State Attorney Inter-Office Memorandum stating they aren’t going to prosecute and it’s packed with inconsistencies and misquoting of facts and evidence.   I’ve mentioned several of the many problems in the State Attorney’s foregoing document in other blogs I’ve written.
I personally don’t know why Ms Rundle chose the route she did when she could’ve just been honest and admitted that to her Darren Rainey’s life wasn’t worth the money it would cost to prosecute his killers.  Yes, Ms Rundle would’ve received a big backlash if she just clearly stated the foregoing truth, but she has in essence stated the same thing by her actions in not prosecuting Rainey’s killers.
It is my position that Ms Rundle’s history of not prosecuting law enforcement officials who unlawfully kill African Americans and not prosecuting Rainey’s killers should show the people of Dade County and the World, that Black Lives don’t Matter in Dade County, Florida.  I’m asking the people of Dade  County, Florida and everybody who’s reading this blog to prove that Black Lives Matter in Dade County, Florida.  It is obvious that Black Lives and all lives Matter to me.
I pray that everybody who’s reading this blog join together in unity and peace and that we all do what we can to show the people of the World that even though Ms Rundle doesn’t think Black Lives Matter in Dade County, Florida, that Black Lives do Matter in Dade County, Florida, and all over the World.
Please share this blog with your friends and anybody you think could help us with getting justice for Darren Rainey.  Please sign our petition on Change.org  The Life of Black, Mentally Disabled Muslim Prisoner Darren Rainey Does Matter

Caged Crusader

Sunday, 9 April 2017

THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF INTENT TO HARM DARREN RAINEY

The following statement was written by Harold Hempstead, the 'Caged Crusader' of Florida, from a prison in Tennessee on 2nd April, 2017 and first published today on his blog - 

Question:  Was there any evidence of intent to harm Darren Rainey?

Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle says “No.”

What does the evidence show?
1)  Several inmates said the water in the shower Rainey was murdered in got very, very hot.  Some said the water temperature in the shower exceeded 180°.  Several inmates said Dade C.I. staff placed inmates in the shower as punishment, and staff use to turn the water on full hot with no cold while the inmates were in it.  Several inmates also said they were placed in the shower as punishment.  This was the same shower Rainey was killed in.

2)  The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) has a procedure called ‘Forced Hygiene Compliance Procedure.’  If Rainey wiped feces on himself and was refusing to shower, Dade C.I. staff were required to follow this procedure.  They didn’t follow this procedure because their intent was to harm Rainey and not to help him, because he was being a headache to them.  This procedure required them to get approval from the Duty Warden and Psychiatrist before placing Rainey in the shower, staff would’ve had to use a hand-held video camera to record all their actions and Rainey’s actions while doing Forced Hygiene Compliance and the Duty Warden and a nurse would’ve had to been present through the whole process.  These things would’ve prevented Dade C.I. staff from placing Rainey in the shower they placed him in to punish him and that eventually killed him.

3)  Rainey wasn’t placed in any of the 6 operating showers in Wing J1 where he was housed.  He was placed in a shower in another wing that he wasn’t housed in, on a night inmates in the TCU weren’t supposed to be in any showers.  He was placed in the only operating shower in the TCU that was in a blind-spot, that mounted security cameras in Wing J3 couldn’t view.

4)  Dade C.I. staff who tested the water in the shower Rainey was killed in said the water temperature exceed 180° which was approximately 55 to 60° hotter than what FDC’s Environmental Health and Safety Manual mandated it could be.  There was no lawful or logical reason for the water temperature in the shower Rainey was murdered in to be so hot.  The only possible reason it was so hot was to punish mentally disabled inmates that refused to follow staffs’ orders.

5)  Rainey was unsupervised and in the shower for approximately 2 hours as a form of punishment.

6)  If staff were trying to shower Rainey, how come they placed him in the only shower in the TCU that he could avoid the water in?  Rainey wouldn’t have been able to avoid the water in any of the ten other working showers in the TCU.  The obvious and only possible reason Rainey was placed in the only shower in the TCU that he could avoid the water in was because he wasn’t placed in that shower to shower.  Rainey was placed in that shower as punishment and that is why he was placed in the only shower in the TCU that reached temperatures in excess of 180°. 

7)  Officer Roland Clarke or any of the other Dade C.I. staff didn’t take Rainey out of the shower even though he continued to yell and kick the shower door asking to get out (because of how hot it was in the shower.)  If they weren’t trying to harm him they would’ve took him out of the shower when he was pleading to get out of the shower.

8)  In the state’s own report that I have, Dade C.I. staff and medical staff that were working on the night Rainey was murdered said his skin was burned.

9)  Dade C.I. Captain Dixon who tested the water temperature in the shower (according to the State Attorney) said the water was tested at 160 degrees.

How many times have the people of America heard obvious lies and twisting of facts by those who don’t want to prosecute when a black man is killed by a law enforcement official?  It is a sad thing that Dade State Attorney Ms Rundle has chose to not uphold justice but instead let Rainey’s killer (Roland Clarke) go free.

Please share this blog with your friends.  If you know anybody that can aid in getting justice for Rainey, please share this blog with them.  Please sign our petition on Change.org



Caged Crusader












Saturday, 11 February 2017

Petition 4 Justice Muslim Torture Death Florida DC Sauna

The torture/murder of the black Muslim convict Darren Rainey in a locked chamber of super-heated steam was the catalyst that launched Harold Hempstead’s crusade for truth and justice.  Unable to keep silent after witnessing this horrifically evil event, he has spent his time since the 23rd June, 2012 murder, writing countless letters to the authorities, the media and the human rights community.  The responses from the State have been belated, inadequate and evasive.  Four and a half years later, Rainey’s killers are still free. 

If you share Harold’s belief that all human lives matter, then please take action, sign the petition to the Department of Justice and Dade County State Attorney, and share it widely – do it in memory of Darren Rainey...  

....because all our lives matter.
Petition authored by Harold Hempstead, Florida's Caged Crusader.

CAGED CRUSADER WEBSITE LAUNCHED
There is now a site dedicated to Harold Hempstead’s mission to get justice for the murder of Darren Rainey and all the numerous human rights abuses that he’s testified to.  This is an evidence-based website where you can find a wealth of meticulously detailed legal information on the grievous issues with the Florida Department of Corrections.  The site is intended to grow into an archive revealing the truth about the foregoing and it is hoped that this has some value to the media, human rights organizations, law enforcement agencies and to the people. 
Due to the brutal conditions in FDC, Harold Hempstead and other inmates have suffered severe persecution for telling the truth about their experiences.  For most of us who perhaps take our free speech for granted, it’s a little easier to express our views.

Instead of just talking about what’s happening in America, follow the Caged Crusader’s site and start taking action…..

Monday, 27 June 2016

Harold Hempstead, Murder Witness Talks To The Limpet

Harold Hempstead believes in honouring the truth.  
He's a man who will not be silenced until the truth bears fruit - the fruit of justice.  This is a rare man with an incredible story to tell and I feel honoured to be working with him. Please hear his story with an open mind, reflect on what you've read and be ready to take action to help the cause of truth, justice and human rights.
"The amount of witnesses and evidence that exist proves Ofc. Clark was torturing mentally disabled inmates and that he murdered Rainey.  Affiant cannot think of any reason why an arrest and prosecution hasn’t been instituted against Ofc. Clark and etc. since June 23, 2012 with as much witnesses and evidence existing that proves Rainey’s murder.  Affiant prays that the Rainey’s murder hasn’t been receiving the treatment that it has received because Rainey was a poor, black mentally disabled, Muslim, prisoner and his life did not matter.  Affiant prays that the U.S. Department of Justice and State of Florida will not let Rainey’s killers get away with murder, and that they make a public statement that Rainey’s life and the lives of all poor people, all black people, all mentally disabled people, all Muslims, and all prisoners matter by arresting and prosecuting Raineys killers."

From a sworn affidavit by Harold Hempstead to Ms Vanita Gupta, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 5th May, 2016.
You can read the complete document here:







Darren Rainey




INTERVIEW  WITH  HAROLD  HEMPSTEAD,  MURDER-WITNESS.
Jeremy Schanche:   Now Harold, I’d like to introduce you to some folks in my country of Cornwall and all around this old world, readers of The Limpet newspaper.  First of all, if I may, I’d like to start by asking you your full name, date of birth and nationality.
Harold Hempstead:  My full name is Harold William Joseph Hempstead.  I’m known by family and friends by a short version of my middle name which is “Joe.”  I was born March 5, 1976, in St.Petersburg Florida, and I’m American.
JS:   And would you tell us where you live please Harold? 
HH:  I’m currently incarcerated at Martin Correctional Institution which is in Indiantown, Florida, in the United States of America.
JS:   And how do you come to be in such a place? 
HH:  I was placed in prison when two people told the police that I told them to burglarize several houses, and pawn stolen property.  In Florida, if anybody tells the police that you told them to commit a crime, you can be incarcerated like you committed the crime.  The foregoing led to me being placed in prison on thirty-four counts of burglary and one count of dealing in stolen property.
JS:  Now, would you please tell us when you were first imprisoned on these charges?   
HH:  I was arrested March 23, 1999, and I’ve been incarcerated since.
JS:  And when are you due for release? 
HH:  I was sentenced in April 2000 to 165 years in the Florida Department of Corrections
JS:  Could you repeat that please?  
HH:  I was sentenced in April 2000 to a hundred and sixty-five years in FDC.
JS:   You mean to say you got 165 years for allegedly telling others to rob some houses?
HH:  Yes.
JS:  That’s absolutely insane!  I live in Great Britain, and I estimate that over here, a case like yours would carry a maximum sentence of three or four years actual time served at the very most, possibly less.   Effectively you’ve been given a life-sentence for your alleged involvement in a cluster of non-violent robberies then, is that so? 
HH:  Yes.  I’m convicted under an aidder and abettor theory which means I’m convicted for crimes others committed.  Also when they committed the crimes nobody was home and nobody was hurt.
JS:  Well, it certainly is a draconian sentence, I’m sure it’s hard for a lot of readers out there to believe that such a thing could happen in a country like the U.S.A.  But then again, you have been a model-prisoner so surely you must be eligible for parole at some point?
HH:  The parole system was abolished in Florida in the early eighties.
JS:   You mean to tell me that the State of Florida has no parole-system whatsoever? 
HH:  Correct.
JS:  This just gets more and more surreal!  Now Harold, until not so long ago you were just another ‘forgotten’ prisoner languishing in the vast American prison system, but now stories about you and another prisoner have appeared in The Miami Herald, The New Yorker and The Guardian (from over here in Britain), as well as CBS Miami Local, Fox News, The New York Daily News etc..  Why is your name popping up more and more in global media, what event triggered this media interest in your case?
HH:  When I was incarcerated at Dade Correctional Institution in the FDC, staff were torturing and abusing mentally disabled inmates.  Staff were starving them and physically and psychologically abusing them.  In January 2012 staff started using a shower in the Transitional Care Unit (TCU) (which is like a mental hospital) that reached temperatures in excess of 180 degrees as a torturing device.  They would place inmates in the shower and turn it on full hot with no cold.  It would get so hot in the shower the patients would have to fight to breathe and not pass-out.  Over a six-month period staff placed five inmates in that shower as punishment.  The fifth inmate (Darren Rainey) was killed in the shower.  When he passed out from heat exhaustion, his body fell over the shower drain.  Rainey’s body blocking the drain caused the 183 degree shower water to rise over Rainey’s body, and cook his body for approximately 18 minutes.  The led to Rainey’s skin suffering from a medical term called slippage which means Rainey’s skin was slipping off his body.
For about two years, I submitted grievances and letters to different people for help with bringing the staff to justice who were torturing and abusing patients and who killed Rainey.  Nobody wanted to help till I brought the foregoing to The Miami Herald newspaper in Florida.  I spoke with The Miami Herald newspaper in April 2014, and in May 2014 The Herald wrote their first story.  Since then, the media and human rights groups across Florida have been making an all-out effort to help in getting justice for the Rainey murder, the torturing and abusing of the mentally disabled at Dade C.I., and in trying to make F.D.C. a safer place from the barbaric conditions and abuses that are so prevalent.
JS:  But how can you die from overheating in a shower?  Surely they are only hot enough for normal washing purposes, aren’t they?  Was anything unusual about this particular shower at the Transitional Care Unit of Dade Correctional Institution in the State of Florida?
HH:  The shower Rainey was killed in was rigged where only staff could control the hot and cold water knobs, and the inmate in the shower had no ability to control the foregoing knobs.
JS:  But surely if the shower was specially rigged up and the guards kept him in there for that long at that temperature, they should have been charged with killing him, so what happened to those guards?
HH:  Darren Rainey’s life was not of much value to a lot of people in Florida because he was a poor, black, mentally disabled, Muslim prisoner.  Because of the foregoing, Rainey’s killers are still free.
JS:  If you had not persistently written to The Miami Herald this story would never have broken, yet surely, when you live at the mercy of the guards, being a ‘whistle-blower’ must be taking a massive risk.  What made you risk your own safety to stand up for a man who was already dead?
HH:  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  The staff who killed Rainey not only violated state and federal law in murdering Rainey, they also violated the Sixth Commandment in committing murder (Exodus 20:13).  Rainey’s killers should be brought to justice by our state and federal government for Rainey’s murder.  If they escape prosecution here on Earth, they will not escape prosecution with God.
 As a Christian I am commanded to not murder (Exodus 20:13).  Just like the Sixth Commandment commands me to not murder, in the positive I’m also commanded to protect life and to help the weak.  I’m also commanded to imitate Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1;  Ephesians 5:1) who was a defender of the weak and of those who cannot help themselves.  
 All human life has value, which includes Darren Rainey.  In taking a stand asking for justice for the murder of Rainey, I’m not only taking a stand for the value of his life, but for the value of all human life.
JS:  Would you please tell us what were Darren Rainey’s race and religion, his age, diagnosis, crime and sentence please?
HH:  Rainey was a black male, he was a Muslim, he was in his fifties, he was schizophrenic, and I believe he had two years for a drug charge.
JS:  So you believe all humans have value?  Why is that?
HH:  Yes, I believe that all human lives have value.  The reason I believe this is if what determines the value of life is subjective opinions then we can’t pose an objection to abortion or the killing of any individual.  Why?  Because if we object to any killing, we’re saying that there was a standard that the killer should’ve followed and not committed the murder that he did.  If there’s a standard that should control people’s actions in not committing murder or certain types of murders, then that standard would be objective.  If there’s an objective standard that controls the value of life, then that means the value of life can’t be subjective.  If it’s subjective, it can’t also be objective;  if it’s objective, it can’t also be subjective.
 As a Christian I believe the standard that controls the value of life is God’s word (The Bible).  Since God is real His word is real, and He has preserved His word throughout time.  In Genesis 1:26, 27 it says that we were created in the image and likeness of God.  Out of all creation humans were the only thing created in God’s image and likeness.  This places us above the rest of God’s creation.  Since we were created in God’s image and likeness, to lower the value of any human life is to lower the value of God and the value He placed on us.  This is not what God wants.  That is why we are commanded to not murder (Exodus 20:13), and that is why only second to loving God, the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 36-40).
JS:   Now I know yours is a complex case touching on many related matters and I very much hope we can go into it in much more detail in the near future, but could you please tell us whether abuse of inmates by Florida prison guards is common, in your experience and knowledge, and if so, what are the main forms it takes?
HH:  Yes.  The abuse of inmates by guards in FDC is very common.  The main types of abuse that I’ve seen are staff physically beating up inmates;  staff paying inmates to physically or sexually batter inmates;  staff starving inmates by not feeding them;  staff excessively spraying inmates with chemical agent (mace);  staff disposing of the personal property of inmates;  and it’s not uncommon for FDC staff to kill inmates.
JS:   What you are describing sounds like a wholesale failure of the penal-system in Florida.  Human rights abuse of that scale and magnitude is surely a matter of grave international concern.  Are there any human rights organizations in the States or abroad, investigating the things you have described? 
HH:  Yes.  Thirteen human rights organizations have asked the United States Department of Justice to investigate the barbaric conditions, abuses, and murders in FDC.  Other than the foregoing, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International and Stop Prison Abuse Now have been doing a lot to try and put a stop to the unconstitutional conditions in FDC.
JS:  After the convict Mark Joiner had collected up all the pieces of Darren Rainey’s skin from the floor of the shower and the staircase, as ordered, what was he told to do with it?
HH:  Mark was told to throw the skin that he’d found into the trash.
JS:  Harold, before I ask my last question, I’d like to give you my most sincere thanks for giving this interview to The Limpet and I’d like to tell you that an increasing number of people around the World are taking an interest in your case and the cause you are promoting – Justice for the deceased Darren Rainey and justice for all the inmates trying to survive one of the World’s most brutal prison regimes.  I hope everyone who reads what you have told us will feel moved to use their freedom wisely and be ready to do something to help these unfortunate prisoners.  Of course, The Limpet has no objection to people being locked up if their crimes genuinely necessitate it and obviously some criminals are far too dangerous to be allowed to mix with free society.  I am not criticizing the rule of law itself, but the disgustingly inhumane, illegal and wholly unacceptable manner in which it is being applied in Florida.  If Florida says it is not the World’s business, then I say, when you cross a certain line, when you beat, rape, starve, torture and murder your prisoners on a regular basis then you have just made yourself the World’s business. 
So finally Harold, would you mind telling us how new arrivals were greeted when they were processed into the prison mental hospital at Dade Correctional Institution, Florida?  
HH:  The Dade C.I. Transitional Care Unit got so bad that in 2012 staff started welcoming the new arrivals to the Transitional Care Unit by stating “welcome to Auschwitz.”

Notes:
Since conducting the interview, Harold Hempstead has been transferred to a different prison in Florida.
Temperatures stated are expressed in Fahrenheit. 183 Fahrenheit is 83.8 Centigrade.
Rainey’s charge:  Darren Rainey was incarcerated for possession of less than two grammes of cocaine.   
Mace is known in the U.K. as ‘pepper-spray’.
Biblical quotations:
Exodus 20:13:  Thou shalt not kill.
1 Corinthians 11:1:  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Ephesians 5:1:  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Genesis 1:26, 27:  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:  and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;  male and female created he them.
Matthew 22: 36-40:  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.







Tuesday, 5 April 2016

We kill guys here and get away with it so you better ask around

A lot of British people like to holiday in Florida, it’s famous for its hot sun, but look out, it can make your skin peel if you over-do it.  That’s how hot it is in Florida.  I’m a Brit myself and I know that when tourists go off to Florida, to America - as the USA likes to call itself - they imagine a peaceful holiday - I think it’s taken for granted that USA is a civilized country, a land where guests are treated with courtesy, the sick are given adequate medical treatment, a land where justice prevails, no matter what your social class, sex or ethnic origin.  It’s even in the Pledge of Allegiance that Amerikan school-kids chant every day… …”and Justice for All…”  they say.  But something rotten, foul, dark and evil festers in the State of Florida.
“Just throw it in the trash.”  These were the chilling words of the guard when Mark Joiner asked him where to put the stuff he’d just cleaned up.  The scene is Dade Correctional Institution and the aftermath of a particularly horrific event, even by Amerikan jail standards.  
Please follow the links for the full story of Darren Rainey, Randall Jordan-Aparo, Harold Hempstead, and Rollin Austin and don’t forget to sign the petition to have the whistle-blower who originally raised this story, moved to safer custody.  

Darren Rainey / Dade Correctional Institution Psychiatric Ward/ DCI Warden Jerry Cummings / Florida’s ‘Transitional Care Unit’ and the shower




Harold Hempstead  (268866) - Whistle-blower in danger  -  Please sign petition for his transfer to safety:  
Harold Hempstead (268866) was sentenced to 165 years in prison for burglary when he was 23 years old  


Harold Hempstead 


Info on whistle-blower Harold Hempstead, the man who first broke the story to the press.  Please check it out:
https://helpmybrotherharoldhempstead.wordpress.com/2015/08/13/read-the-new-story-in-the-miami-heralds-editorial-on-my-brother-harold-hempstead/

Josh Allen amongst others given shower-treatment, afraid to shower for months afterwards


Randall Jordan-Aparo gassed to death in metal cell, Franklin Correctional Institution,  by State of Florida/Rollin Austin and agents:
DOC suing State of Florida over abuse at Franklin.
Contact Franklin Correctional Institute:


“We kill guys here and get away with it, so you better ask around.”
Meet’ Mr Suttle’, Rollin Austin:
Gary Lloyd - repeatedly gassed and beaten by guards


90% increase in use of force incidents in Florida prison system.


Contact the State of Florida:


Contact the Attorney General of Florida: 
(Public Face of Florida Justice System)


To:  Pam Bondi, Attorney General, Florida.  5th April 2016
Dear Pam Bondi,
As a British Citizen I am writing to express my horror and outrage at the sinister death of Mr Darren Rainey, whilst in the custody of the State of Florida.  I feel that crimes of this enormity are a cause of concern not just to the American people, but to Humanity. 
The sheer barbarity of the killing of Mr Rainey (like that of Mr Jordan-Aparo) has far-reaching repercussions.  Not only does it call into question the fundamental nature of a justice system in which such atrocities occur, but it is also highly counterproductive to United States foreign policy, as it seriously undermines America’s attempt to portray itself as a promoter of civilized values in the world.  In this way, the endemic culture of barbarism that is accepted by some as normal in Florida’s prisons is not only causing untold misery and injustice to the prisoners and their families, but is doing a great disservice to the United States and its image in the world-community.
Furthermore, when we consider Mr Rainey’s race and religion, his torture and murder are particularly offensive to large sections of the American population and the world-religious community, namely the black population and Islam.  Considering Miami’s history of race-riots and the western world’s current battle against Islamic terrorism, one can scarcely imagine the damage done to race-relations in Florida and international relations in general by incidents of this nature.
The world is looking at Florida, looking for Justice.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche

Enc.:  Copy of letter to Mr David Prodger, British Consul General.


Tourism


To:  Florida Tourist Industry  5th April
Re:  Florida’s Image in the World
Dear Tourism Industry Workers,
I am sending you a copy of a letter to the British Consul General in Miami, regarding the image of Florida and how it is being damaged by the torture and murders of prisoners by guards in Florida jails.  The letter explains how this barbarism has a negative affect on tourist revenue by repelling potential visitors who only wish to take holidays in civilized countries.  My wish is that you would share this information with your colleagues and open up debate on this subject, as the light of public scrutiny is highly conducive to justice.
With thanks and best wishes,
Jeremy Schanche

Enc.:  Copy of letter to Mr David Prodger, British Consul General.
----------------
Reply from 'Visit Florida':

Contact Corizon:
Corizon staff are not known to have carried out atrocities, merely acquiesced to them, for fear of financial loss to themselves.   You can contact them at the above link.
Finally, if you have thoroughly checked out all the information above then please remember the words of an old convict, in fact a ‘death-row’ inmate whom I admire very much, Fyodor Dostoyevsky:  “You can judge a society by how well it treats its prisoners.”
Other News:
BLACK LIVES MATTER - Like the Black Panther Party of the 1960’s, the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement is a response to the ongoing murder of black Americans by their police.  The latest manifestation of this movement is the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls.  
This is dedicated to the memory of Sandra Bland:





Demand Georgia Cancel Execution:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/stop-execution-kenneth-fults-usa-georgia-death-row

Demand Egyptian Government Co-Operate With Investigation Into Torture And Murder Of Giulio Regeni:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/287/486/251/demand-an-investigation-into-the-brutal-murder-of-my-friend-and-classmate-giulio/

Fight For 15:  
S T R I K E April 14th:
http://action.lowpayisnotok.org/page/content/april14/


Justice for Brit in Iranian jail:


Save The Florida Panthers:


Protect Florida’s Manitees:

Stop the Seal Hunt:


Norway: Stop Hunting Whales for Fur-farm use:
https://forcechange.com/155234/stop-hunting-whales-for-use-as-feed-for-animals-in-fur-farms/?utm_source=ForceChange+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8528b966e8-632FC4_2_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_600a6911b9-8528b966e8-296300293


Tell China to Stop the Seal-Trade:
https://action.hsi.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=104&ea.campaign.id=48914


Britain: Stop the Fox-Cub Hunt:


Protect Hares, Ban Snares:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/takeaction/381/257/671/

Petition against Tory Class-War Offensive on young people:

Don't cut housing benefit in the UK for 18-21 year olds!



Oppose Conservative Party Asset-Stripping:  
Selling England By The Pound:


Defend Animal Rights:  Stop the Repeal of Animal Welfare Codes:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-repeal-of-animal-welfare-codes?bucket=blast

British Airways: Replace Athena’s Wheel-Chair that you broke:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/anthea-s-wheelchair?bucket=blast4

Cornish News:
Correspondence between me and my ‘MP’ - (except that an MP who will not answer letters is not fulfilling their function and is therefore not really and MP):
March 16th  2016 Email from Derek Thomas MP, To: Jeremy Schanche, Editor, The Limpet:
Dear Sir
You are an intelligent and thoughtful man.
I hope you are aware that Cornwall Council already has the powers to deal with poor quality rental properties and receives considerable money from the Government to deal with this problem. There is no reason to create legislation when the powers already exist.
The most useful thing you could do is to let tenants know through your publication how to contact the Council's housing team.
Kind regards
Derek
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email to Derek Thomas MP for West Cornwall,  16th March, from Jeremy Schanche:
Dear Derek, thank you for your kind words.  Of course, traditionally Socialist parties throughout the World are on the side of tenants and conservative, reactionary, or right-wing parties exist to further the interests of the property owning class.  
Perhaps you could take this opportunity to clear up a public mystery - are you are landlord yourself?  There is certain confusion amongst the electorate about this question - a clear answer would be most informative to the public.    
Surely the whole raison d'etre of the Tory Party is to create unnecessary legislation to re-form our nation in a materialist, competitive and  hierarchical mold.  
On the contrary, I believe the best social use of my publication is to expose the lies, hypocrisy, selfishness and evil that lie at the heart of conservatism - the political expression of the irresponsible rich, the unaccountably  powerful and those afraid of equality and progress.
Incidentally, your betrayal of the disabled is profoundly shameful and will bring a tide of misery to countless suffering people.  Christianity?
How could you?
Best wishes, Jeremy Schanche
image
Derek Thomas has voted for substantial cuts in Attendance Allowance - the money given to disabled people to help them survive.  In essence, this will make it extrem...

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So, shortly after I sent Derek a copy of my “LET THEM SUFFER” poster, Ian Duncan Smith remembered to resign and I sent Derek a link to my in-depth piece of journalism on the inner life of IDS:
and after Derek had previously refused an interview, I received the following:
To: Jeremy Schanche, 22.3.2016
Dear Jeremy
I have some time over Easter if you want to undertake your interview.
11am on Thursday 31st is an option in Penzance.
Is this any good?
Kind regards
Derek Thomas
Member of Parliament for St Ives
-----------------------------------------------------
23.3.2016
To Derek Thomas ‘MP’:
Dear Derek,
Thank you for your recent message requesting an interview with The Limpet.  This came as a surprise, as you previously stated clearly that you did NOT wish to do this. (In contradiction of your initial agreement!)  I feel that, in terms of unfinished business, the most useful thing you could do would be to respond to my fox-hunting letter of last June, and my enquiries from last autumn about the legal basis for waging war.
If normal relations could be established between electorate and representatives, there would be a much stronger basis on which to conduct a meaningful interview, as this would at least indicate that Democracy is thriving.  
Sadly I'm rather busy at the moment and will not be free on the 31st.  If you could give me a little more notice it would be very helpful.
Best wishes and Viva la Revolution!
Jeremy Schanche
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23.3.2016 Message from Derek Thomas MP:
Thanks Jeremy
My email was following up your most recent emails.
I have surgeries every week and I can assure you that the two issues you refer to have not been raised other than by two people.
I gauge the priorities people have through conversation with them not the subjects that dominate social media sites.
So I am very happy to do an interview but this needs to cover a broad range of issues. Please.
Kind regards
Derek Thomas
Member of Parliament for St Ives
-----------------------------------------------------------
23.3.2016 To Derek:
Dear Derek,
As I understand it, the duty of an MP is to reply in writing to letters from constituents.
The number of other constituents who (you claim) raise the same issue does not overrule the fundamental obligation to reply in writing to constituent's letters.  If you imply that only two other people in the constituency are concerned with the war, or the fox issue, then that would indicate your lack of understanding of the feelings of the populace.  It may well be that since your right-wing leanings are well-known and are reflected in your voting record, many people would see no value in trying to discuss serious issues with you.
As for social media, unlike yourself, I have no interest in it and am not on facebook, etc.. as I find many people use it as a passive substitute for activism.
I find my conscience to be the best guide for choosing which issues to focus on.
Good wishes,
Jeremy
-----------------------------------------------------
23.3.2016 From Derek Thomas MP:
Thank you Jeremy
I agree and I think I have responded to letters from constituents although I am aware some were lost or overlooked in the early days. Replying to a letter from a constituent is different to contributing to a publication/blog etc which I believe is the purpose of an interview with you.
My point about the issues raised by constituents is about identifying their priorities. I can assure you that the people that come to my surgeries are certainly not 'right-wing' and are not coming to see me because life is altogether good.
I'm willing to meet with you to take part in a far-reaching interview. If this is what you want than good. Let's get it in the diary.
Regards


Derek Thomas
Member of Parliament for St Ives
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To Derek Thomas 23.3.2016:
Dear Derek - do you not recall a long series of letters from me, asking you to reply to my original letters?
Overlooking or losing letters from the public is disgraceful, 'early days' or not.  
Anyone who votes tory is "right-wing" by definition.  Conservatism is an authoritative 'philosophy' of social division and exploitation espoused by the OWNING-class, obviously.  To further their interests, these people bought the Press and thus control the mental climate of the masses.
You say these constituents come to you because "life is not altogether good" - perhaps this is due to artificial-austerity programmes, attacks on the vulnerable, the young, the students, the doctors, the disabled and the poor, in short, to the cynical class-war your party wages against it's perceived 'enemy', the proletariat and the financially powerless.
As I said, before commencing an interview, I would like answers to my letters please.   Here's a link to the hunting letter:
image
Being eaten alive by dogs is not cruel claims Derek Thomas, Tory MP for St.Ives, who also says that hunting foxes is a matter of principle.  Metheven yw ha glawak h...

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easily overlooked - in spite of the posters all over the streets and the internet...
and you'll find my war-enquiry in your email inbox if you search for my name.  
I too desire a far-reaching and deep dialogue - that's why I wrote to my MP in the first place!
Best wishes,  Jeremy Schanche, The Man Who Democracy Overlooked.
----------------------------------
1st April 20116:  From Derek Thomas MP
To Jeremy Schanche:
Dear Jeremy,
Thank you for contacting me about changes to the support given to vulnerable people.
This issue has dominated the media since the budget announcement, although I expect that you are more bemused than interested in the 'fall-out' between senior Conservative figures. You quite rightly expect MPs to get on with the job and make things better for our, and future, generations.
In 2010 the UK had one of the greatest debt problems of the developed world. Contributing to this was a welfare bill that was unsustainable and, in part, counterproductive.
The Prime Minister has said, and I quote, 'If you are genuinely sick, and vulnerable, and you need help - you will get that help. The safety net will always, always be there for you - in fact we have made it stronger. The system we inherited was fiendishly complicated for a lot of people to access and a significant part of the welfare bill went to those who actually could be working with the right support. We said: let's make it simpler, let's get proper objective assessments of whether people can work and above all let us direct resources at those who really need it.'
Like other backbench MPs, I am committed to this, and the wrestling (often behind closed doors) that's gone on since May (and continues) is about how the Government can achieve this. It is right to reduce the Nation's debt - public services will not be funded adequately until we do. It is right that the people who need our help and support get it and it is important that no one is left behind - this is a mark of a caring and civilised society.
However, it is a complex and difficult balance to strike. This debate will run and run, mistakes will be made (and must be corrected quickly). I want to be part of a society that genuinely cares for everybody and I believe it is possible to keep control over our finances. I have appreciated the time that you and many other people have taken to raise concerns and experiences. I do not underestimate the enormity of the task but I can assure you that I am absolutely committed to finding the best ways to support people who need our help and I make every effort to be available to understand the issues that they face.
As I am sure you will be aware, since I received your email, the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Stephen Crabb MP, has confirmed that the proposed changes to the Personal Independent Payment have been shelved and I welcome this news.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Member of Parliament for St Ives
House of Commons   London
  SW1A 0AA
Telephone: 020 7219 4435
--------------------------------------
1st April 2016  From:  Jeremy Schanche
To:  Derek Thomas MP:
Dear Derek,
Thank you for your reply, which I will print.  However, history has proven again and again that conservative politics are fundamentally and ideologically opposed to public medicine.  
The National Health Service is the living embodiment of Socialism and a major cornerstone of the post-war consensus. After years of armed struggle against a fascist enemy, the returning troops were extremely politically-aware and, as you know, 1945 saw a landslide victory for the left.  The social programmes of the late forties represented everything the British troops had fought for - in short, a decent society.
A few platitudes from the well-fed mouth of David Camoron the multi-millionaire Etonian plutocrat are hardly going to convince the public that the British conservative party have just done an about-turn and have suddenly developed feelings of compassion for humanity! You yourself voted to attack the disabled by slashing their money - that's a disgusting thing to do and no amount of bureaucratic hogwash will cover that fact.
Your party is at war with the disabled, young, ill, under-privileged, the disenfranchised, those seeking justice, the under-educated and most of all, the poor - it always has been, for that is it's raisin d'etre, in fact, you only corresponded with me at all because you wanted to counter my 'DEREK ATTACKS THE DISABLED' campaign and try to salvage your battered public image.  Well, if you wanted a good public image, perhaps you should have joined a party that is on the side of the people rather than a right-wing gang of plutocratic reactionaries.
With all best wishes,
Jeremy

In memory of the thousands of terminal-cancer sufferers who have been selected as 'fit for work' by Ian Duncan Smith and died within a fortnight. Hail to the Regime.  Arbeit Mach Frei.
---------------------------------------------------
 Fyodor Dostoyevsky 


General Strike in the UK, 4th of July


Please Print, Cut and give out these flyers to publicize The Limpet, thanks!