Falsification of Evidence - Perjury - Submitting False Evidence - Attempting to Mislead a Jury - etc etc - Katherine Fernandez Rundle - Miami-Dade County State Attorney is guilty of them all and yet she still holds office -
In this latest blog from Harold Hempstead he gives irrefutable proof that Rundle and Co submitted irrelevant video in place of the valid footage - thus PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE in a homicide -
Thus she attempts to cover-up the murder of Darren Rainey in a chamber of super-heated steam at over 160 degrees Fahrenheit which left him dead with his skin peeling off -
The crude attempts of State Attorney Rundle to cover-up one of the foulest State-crimes of the 21st Century will not stand the scrutiny of further investigation at a higher level -
Since the State of Florida has based its case on false evidence - it is now time to re-open the case of Darren Rainey and bring justice and resolution -
Jeremy Schanche 7th February 2019
"The State Attorney in her Memo closing the Rainey case without prosecuting any of the suspects involved with his murder, said the footage from the mounted security cameras on the night Rainey died shows the times I provided concerning when specific things happened were inaccurate. The State Attorney didn’t disclose that the time stamps on the recordings that her office released were not from the mounted security cameras that recorded the events that happened with Rainey on the night he died. Rainey was housed in the Westside Transitional Care Unit, the cell he lived in was located in Wing-1 and he died in Wing J-3. The time stamp location on both of the videos the State Attorney released show an “E”. Additionally, the time stamp location on the three minute video states “J-4” and the time stamp location on the 117 minute video states “J-5”. This shows us that the time stamps on both videos came from the mounted security cameras on the Eastside in Wings J-4 and J-5. If the time stamps on the video footage was from wings J-1 and J-3 which were the wings where the cameras were that recorded what happened to Rainey, then the time stamps would’ve said “J-1″ and J-3”.
It’s outrageous that the State Attorney tried to manipulate people into believing the time stamps on the videos her office released were the time stamps from the mounted security cameras that monitored everything that happened to Rainey on the he night he died, when the time stamps on the videos prove that they weren-t.
I authored a book called “Department of Corruption – Darren Rainey – The Untold Story.” This book can be located at Crusader Books or Lulu Publishing. In my book I thoroughly explain numerous false statements the State Attorney made in her close-out memo on the Darren Rainey case – I also thoroughly explain all types of matters concerning the Rainey case and all types of matters concerning the Florida Department of Corrections – I hope that you read my book and join us in trying to bring reform to the Florida prison system. Please share this blog with your friends."
In April 2016 the New
Yorker magazine published an article entitled ‘Madness’ that mentions how Dade
Correctional Institution staff threw Darren Rainey’s Koran in the trash and how
the foregoing led to Rainey’s mental health getting worse and him being killed. Would Rainey’s mental health have got worse
if his Koran wasn’t taken from him and thrown in the trash? From personally witnessing these events I
don’t believe it would’ve. If I’m right
then that means Rainey was killed because his Koran was thrown in the
trash. Let’s look at how these events
connect: Rainey’s Koran being thrown in
the trash causes his mental health to get worse, Rainey’s mental health
condition causes him to get placed in the shower as punishment and while in the
shower he dies.
In other words, if
Rainey’s Koran wasn’t thrown in the trash his mental health wouldn’t have got
worse, he wouldn’t have been placed in the shower to be punished and he
wouldn’t have died in that shower. How I
see it is, Rainey’s Koran being thrown in the trash is what led to his
death. From my knowledge, this makes
Darren Rainey a Muslim Martyr.
I’m not a Muslim. I’m a Christian, but what do you think about
this? What do you think about Dade
Correctional Institution staff throwing Rainey’s Koran in the trash? Do you believe it’s right or wrong to be
disrespectful to the beliefs of other people?
I believe we should respect other people and their beliefs.
Please share your
answers with us. We want to receive your
responses to my questions. We care about
what you think.
What do we know? We're not doctors! We have no background in science! Why don't we just shut up and listen to the experts? These people know what they're talking about. They've been to university and studied medicine for years. They know what they are talking about - we do not, so please shut up.
These people, Medical Examiners and the like, have also taken the Hippocratic Oath and presumably other oaths too, to serve their community in a lawful and proper manner, without prejudice, etc., so they're obviously not going to lie. I promised my friend Harold Hempstead to publish whatever he has to say on the Rainey case, as, after all, he was downstairs, right below the shower, listening to Darren Rainey scream and beg for mercy as the 'guards' taunted and mocked him. Well, he was a madman, after all. Apparently he got so mad he over-heated, his skin fell off and he dropped dead. How mad must you be for your skin to just peel off and drop onto the floor?
Anyway, for some obscure reason, Harold Hempstead chooses to dispute these expert findings from a highly qualified public official and since I promised I'd publish for him, I s'pose I'll have to go ahead, even though he's a convicted robber, so presumably can't be trusted, whereas Dr Lew is a celebrated and highly qualified, long-serving, medical professional, so presumably can be relied on one hundred per cent to pursue and expose the truth in a fearlessly honest and scientific manner - obviously.
Oh, to be fair, Dr Lew said it wasn't just his 'schizophrenia' that killed him - she pointed out the high death-rate of 'schizophrenics', but I think this is largely down to the police shooting them - it was also the result of 'confinement'. Being in a room is not known to be fatal, without other significant factors, like a knife-wielding maniac being locked in the room with you, etc.. She also cited the 'warm, steamy atmosphere' as one of the reasons his skin fell off. I'm never bathing again, I don't know about you, but I ain't risking it! I never knew how dangerous it was - thank God I still have my skin..... to think of all those times I've been in a warm, moist, steamy atmosphere, in a room with the door closed! To wit, my own shower at home! All this time I was living with an un-exploded bomb in the next room! Thank God Dr Lew warned me about the dangers of that one! She also mentioned a 'previously undiagnosed' heart condition - that had never caused him any problems in life and could hardly be substantiated independently, after they pushed for a quick cremation of Mr Rainey's earthly remains. As I think about this, I can feel a kind of anger rising.
Well that's enough from me, let's go over to our man in Tennessee, a man who actually knows what he's talking about. A brave Crusader, yes, but a gentle soul, a kind-hearted old-style Christian who takes Jesus at his word. A man whose weapons are those of a true warrior - a ball-point-pen and the Spirit.
Brothers and Sisters, please read Harold Hempstead's blog, and for God's sake share it around. It's not a story on the internet - it's murder - for real - and torture - starvation - rape - indefinite Solitary - and everything else - please join our fight for the Value of Life and help spread this information. Let's show those miserable gits in Florida that even if they don't care about brother Rainey's unthinkably vile death locked in that torture-chamber they rigged up down there in Miami - plenty of us around the World do - and the noise around this case is going to get louder and louder until it stops people like Dr Lew, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Julie Jones and the whole damn corrupt gang of 'em from getting any sleep.
Please print out The Limpet and pass it around. It can also be stuck to walls as a poster - don't hold back...
“…as soon as I told him “I did all
that I could do” it seemed like a big light turned on in my head that caused me
to clearly see “I didn’t do enough to stop Rainey’s murder.” As soon as
this light turned on, and I realized I didn’t do enough, it felt like a
thousand pounds of sadness fell upon me. From that day on I realized that
my failures led to somebody being killed. From that day on I cried every
day for hours a day for about a year. Over that year I thought not only
on how I didn’t do enough to stop Rainey from being killed, but I didn’t do
enough to stop any of the starving, physical abuses and torturing I witnessed
while in the Dade C.I. TCU.”
Harold Hempstead, April 2017, from his
prison cell in Tennessee.
In his latest despatch from behind bars,
‘Caged Crusader’ talks of his feelings about the slaughter of the poor, black
man, the prisoner, the ‘crazy man’, the Muslim, the drug-smoking street-man,
our brother, Daren Rainey.
Harold has quite literally been through
Hell over this. He is driven by a need
to witness and reveal the truth of this horror to the World. Witnessing the crimes of prison-officers,
while a prisoner himself, he is risking his life. Do you think you could share this post? Could you spread this post through other
channels? Are there people you know who
would take an interest in something like this?
Human rights people, church people, political people, or just plain
people? Please help!
Thanks,
Your friend,
Jeremy
DADE COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY KATHERINE RUNDLE LIED IN HER REPORT ON DARREN RAINEY’S MURDER
After Darren Rainey
was killed an officer on another shift asked me to tell him everything that happened
on the night Rainey was killed. When I
got close to the end of the events that happened on that night, as soon as I
told him “I did all that I could do” it seemed like a big light turned on in my
head that caused me to clearly see “I didn’t do enough to stop Rainey’s
murder.” As soon as this light turned
on, and I realized I didn’t do enough, it felt like a thousand pounds of
sadness fell upon me. From that day on I
realized that my failures led to somebody being killed. From that day on I cried every day for hours
a day for about a year. Over that year I
thought not only on how I didn’t do enough to stop Rainey from being killed,
but I didn’t do enough to stop any of the starving, physical abuses and torturing
I witnessed while in the Dade C.I. TCU.
My FDC prison files
will prove that I blamed myself for not doing enough so much that FDC staff at
Everglades C.I. sent me to Regional Medical Center TCU to be analysed for Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
In my 41 years of
living, there was only one time I had to fight for my sanity. That was from about June 24, 2012 till June
12, 2013. As a person brought up
believing in the teachings of the Christian Bible, I understood how high God
held the value of all human life and while I was in the Dade C.I. TCU, I
believe my actions showed I didn’t do enough to stop the violence and killings.
I seen 3 inmates die
that I knew (Darren Rainey, Oscar Davis, Darrel Richardson), I seen dozens of
inmates denied their food trays, I seen inmates physically beat, I seen staff
placing medicines and other substances in inmates’ food. I seen these things done to inmates by the
Dade C.I. staff I worked for and that God gave me as sheep to evangelize.
Even though my daily
crying for hours a day stopped in the beginning of June 2013, till this day
I’ve never thought that I did enough to stop the murder of Darren Rainey and
the violence in the TCU. In an April,
2014 meeting with the Miami Herald, I told them I didn’t do enough. In an April 2015 meeting with the DOJ and
FBI, I stressed to them that I didn’t do enough. During this discussion I couldn’t control my
crying over my failures so they gave me a short break to get myself
together. In an April 2015 interview
with a New Yorker magazine reporter and June 2015 interview via telephone with
Miami Herald reporter Julie Brown, I told them I didn’t do enough, several
articles cite me as saying I didn’t do enough.
It is important for
you to know all that I’ve said so far because this information will help you
understand how I felt when I was first told that the Dade County State Attorney
lied and said that I said I did all I could to stop Darren Rainey’s
murder. I was in utter shock that she
would say something so far-fetched. I
still can’t properly express myself on this lie that her office made because of
the shock that I have, that this of all things would be alleged.
There’s tremendous
evidence to exist that proves I never thought I did enough to stop Rainey’s
murder. Yes, I know I was an inmate in
the TCU and I could’ve been killed; yes
I know I couldn’t physically stop the abuse and yes I know I wasn’t obligated
by state or federal law to stop Rainey’s murder or any abuse. I know these things. However, I also know that I and all
Christians in the Bible are commanded to help those who can’t help themselves
and I and all Christians are commanded to have courage and fear not.
I don’t know if the
Dade County State Attorney has produced something false to support their lie or
they’re just lying. I do know that the
Dade County has my diary in their possession and it shows that on June 24, 2012
(the day after Rainey was murdered) I stated in my diary I didn’t do enough to
stop Rainey’s murder. Also, the DOJ,
FBI, my family and media have copies of that same diary so they also know the
Dade County State Attorney lied.
I did what I could
prior to his murder, but I beyond all doubt I didn’t do enough to stop Rainey
from being killed.
The extent to which
the Dade County State Attorney will go to to not prosecute a law enforcement
official for killing an African American in Dade County Florida is shocking.
African Americans are
people too and they should be treated like such. Do you believe African
Americans should be treated like people?
Do you believe Black Lives Matter?
In the interests of journalistic balance, I've also included a quote from a testimonial about State Attorney Rundle:
"State Attorney Fernandez Rundle prides herself in being a career crime fighter and has been relentless in her commitment to keep our streets safe. She is recognized as a pioneer in the creation of numerous programs dealing with issues that affect our community"
and you know it must be true, because I got it from her own personal website!
Despite spending a lot of dubious money on self-promotion, this DINO, this Democrat In Name Only seems to be admitting she can't handle the job. How else are we to interpret this curious statement she made:
"we are always faced with new challenges and our work is never done"
There you have it, folks... their work is never done.
"In 2010 or 2011 it was on the news that a man in
central Florida was talking about burning a Koran on TV. This became such a big issue that people
across the World were commenting on it.
However, when the New Yorker magazine published an article in April 2016
entitled ‘Madness’, and it mentioned
Darren Rainey’s Koran being thrown in the trash, I didn’t hear any comments on
it. I’m not a Muslim but to me there are
certain things that are right and certain things that are wrong. To me, the man in 2010 or 2011 in central Florida
that was talking about burning a Koran on TV was wrong. To me, it was wrong for Dade Correctional
Institution Staff to throw Darren Rainey’s Koran in the trash. What do you think? Do you think it’s wrong for a person to be disrespectful
to another person’s religion by burning or throwing in the trash the primary
religious book that person believes in?
Do you think it’s wrong that Dade Correctional Institution staff threw
Darren Rainey’s Koran in the trash? Do
you think it’s wrong that Dade County State Attorney Ms Katherine Rundle said
on March 17th, 2017 that she’s not going to prosecute Darren Rainey’s
killers?
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.
For years I have known that the quest my sister (Windy Hempstead) and I
have set out on to obtain justice for the murder of poor, black, mentally
disabled, Muslim, prisoner Darren Rainey was going to be a hard one. Why?
Because I’ve learned throughout my life that most people in this World
don’t believe the lives of certain people have the same value/worth as
others. Most people discriminate or are
racist against certain races and groups and the people they discriminate
against or are racist against, they place below themselves and put a lesser
value on their lives. Out of the 6
classes of people I can think of that are most disliked in America (especially
the South) Darren Rainey fit into 5 of the 6 groups. Poor people, African American people,
mentally disabled people, Muslim people and prisoners are 5 of the 6 most
disliked peoples in America. Rainey was
a poor, black, mentally disabled, Muslim, prisoner and that is why my sister
(Windy) and I knew this would be a hard fight.
I think what people are failing to see is that the fight for justice for
Rainey is not just a fight for Rainey, it’s a fight for the value of life; it’s a fight to show that all life has
value; it’s a fight for all poor people,
all black people, all mentally disabled people, all Muslim people and all prisoners. Will you please join Windy, Jeremy and me in
this fight for the value of life? Just
like your life has value, Rainey’s life has value, and all life has value. I’m asking that you please send emails to
Alicia Garza, Rev. Al Sharpton of The National Action Network, Rev. Jesse
Jackson of The Rainbow Push Coalition and any member of the Black Lives Matter
movement you know and ask them for help in obtaining justice for the murder of
Darren Rainey.
Please share this blog with your friends and anybody you think could help
us in obtaining justice for the murder of Darren Rainey. Please sign our petition on Change.org
Here's something practical anyone can do: Print out some of these flyers and start passing them around. Tell people about what happened to Darren Rainey and help Harold Hempstead with his long struggles to shine the light of public knowledge onto some very dark events in the Florida prison system. These flyers are for the petition drafted by the 'Caged Crusader' calling for the murder of Darren Rainey to be investigated at the highest level:
Free Speech Poster
Jeremy Schanche interviewed by Cat Watters, People's Internet Radio, NYC, on the film of Harold Hempstead's evidence affidavit on the events of 23rd June, 2012 at Dade Correctional Institution, Transitional Care Unit where Mr Rainey died.
Last year I interviewed Harold Hempstead and I was very interested by what he said about his beliefs on the value of human life. Harold is a Christian and although I am looking at the World through a different philosophy, I am in agreement with him on many things. I'm inspired by his respect for all human life, as I think it's the best way for humans to view each other. Darren Rainey was of the Muslim faith, but this in no way stopped Harold from dedicating himself to helping Rainey.
On 17th March 2017, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released the official report on Darren Rainey's death - in my opinion it's a pack of lies. When you compare it to The Huffington Posts' article discussing the forensic evidence, you'd think they were describing two different events.
This is a fight for the value of all human life - please join us. Many people have already given years of work to this struggle, Inmate-witnesses risking brutal retaliation for speaking out, journalists who've looked into this case and uncovered a pattern of corruption and suspicious custody-deaths, civil-rights lawyers and human rights groups challenging the legality of the state's actions, religious groups witnessing the truth and spreading the word and the independent activists working on the case in different capacities, some of whom I know give so much of themselves to this kind of work.
Though the above groups are approaching the case of Darren Rainey's death from differing perspectives, I believe there is a common unity of purpose, a shared motivation of outrage at an act of extreme barbarity that simply cannot be tolerated or excused away. I see the death of Darren Rainey as a historic turning-point. In a World that is sadly so accustomed to cruelty and murder, the nature of Mr Rainey's death was so inhuman that it seemed to signify and symbolize all the killings we've been hearing about in these times. If Darren Rainey's death becomes the focus of a continuing and growing movement for justice, then his brutal killing will take on far more significance than it already has.
There's many ways people can contribute to this cause. Follow the Caged Crusader's blog, to study the evidence and keep informed of new statements and reports. Print out and display the above posters in public, or, even better, make your own. In the electronic age, where people are conditioned to get their information through a screen, a poster on a wall has more impact than ever. In dry countries, posters can be glued to walls with PVA glue using a house-painting brush. If you live in Britain, lamination is advisable.
If you are a US citizen you can raise this issue with your representatives. Non-US citizens are of course free to email the black Civil Rights leaders mentioned above, asking them to add their support to the movement for justice for Darren Rainey.
Raising awareness of this issue with human rights and religious groups in your own country would also be very helpful. This will gradually increase the pressure on US authorities to treat this crime seriously. There is already a federal investigation looking into the death of Darren Rainey, but with an extreme reactionary racist like Sessions for Attorney General, US justice is going to need all the help it can get from the public. I think we can all see clearly which direction the new regime is pushing the USA towards. You certainly hear people talking about it enough - well why not do something about it? Get involved with the movement for justice, get involved with the resistance and show those in power that they will not crush our humanity. Do it for Darren Rainey.
The following is a copy of what Harold Hempstead has just asked me to post to his blog: Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress
The information was dated 2nd April, 2017, received by me on 8th April and published the following day.
2 OFFICERS, 3 NURSES AND A FIRE RESCUE
LIEUTENANT SAY RAINEY’S BODY HAD SKIN SLIPPAGE, WITH REDNESS, FELT HOT AND
APPEARED TO BE BURNED, ON NIGHT RAINEY WAS KILLED
Here are some of the many important facts that
appear in the Dade County State Attorney’s 3/17/17 inter-office memorandum
stating they’re not going to prosecute anybody for murdering Darren Rainey:
Pg.9:
Ofc.s Clarke and Thompson, Nurse Patino and Lt. Lopez (Miami Dade Fire
Rescue) all said that Rainey’s body had red areas and skin slippage or coming
off and some further advised that, in their opinion, he had possibly sustained
burns while in the shower.
Pg.18 Dade C.I. Nurse Patino said when the shower
was off the night Rainey was murdered, steam was in the shower, Rainey’s skin
was peeling off and his body felt hot.
Pg.19 Dade C.I. Nurse Robinson said that she went
to the shower when Darren Rainey was dead in it and the shower room felt warm
and steamy. She also said Rainey had
skin slippage.
Pg.20 Dade C.I. Nurse Wilson said that she seen
Rainey’s body directly after he was killed and it appeared red and
wrinkled. She told the 911 operator on
the night Rainey was murdered that Rainey’s body appeared to be burned. Nurse Wilson noticed skin slippage on Rainey
also.
Pg.21 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant Alexander
Lopez who seen Rainey’s body on the night he was killed said he appeared to
have burns and skin slippage on certain parts of his body.
Pg.49 Dade C.I. Dixon stated she tested the water
temperature in the shower Darren Rainey was killed in 2 days after Rainey was
killed and the thermometer read 160°F.
According to the Dade
County State Attorney’s memorandum, the officer who placed Rainey in the shower
(and Ofc.Thompson) on the night Rainey was killed said Rainey’s skin was
slipping off, he had red areas on his body, and he possibly sustained
burns. Why would they say this unless
they knew the water Rainey was in was very hot?
If any staff tested the water before putting Rainey in it there would’ve
been no reason to think Rainey’s body was burned. The only logical reason why Ofc.s Clarke and
Thompson said Rainey’s body appeared to be burned was because they just had
Rainey in a very hot shower for a long time and they knew that’s what made his
skin look burned.
Other than what these 2
officers said, nurses Patino, Robinson, Wilson who all seen Rainey’s body on
the night he was killed said his body appeared to be burned, his skin was
slipping off him, his skin was red and wrinkled, his body felt hot, and steam
was in the shower he was killed in.
These 3 nurses are trained medical providers that have specialized training
and experience with the human body. They
all seen Rainey’s body directly after he was killed. Did they all lie about what they seen? Of course not. They told the truth.
The same applies to
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant Lopez who seen Rainey’s body on the night he
was killed. He said Rainey appeared to
have burns and skin slippage on certain parts of his body. Did he lie?
Of course not. He told the
truth.
Why was Rainey’s skin in
the condition these state officials said it was in on the night Rainey was
killed? Dade C.I. Captain Dixon tells us
why: Because the shower water in the
shower Rainey was killed in was tested at 160°F.
Did I or somebody else
convince these state officials named herein to make these statements? Of course not. The state doesn’t try to twist these state
officials’ statements and say somebody manipulated them to make these
statements (like they did with the inmate witnesses.) Instead the state uses the Dade County
Medical Examiners statement to try and refute these state officials’
statements. In other words, to say they
were mistaken. Were these 2 Officers, 3
Nurses, and Fire Rescue Lieutenant all wrong about what they seen or were they
all right? I believe it is only logical
to say they were all right. I believe
that the reason why it took so long for the Medical Examiner to come back with
her far-fetched findings was because she had to search long and hard to refute
what these state officials seen and what Darren Rainey’s body proved. These state officials gave stronger
statements than what I did about Rainey dying in a hot torturing-devise
shower.
There is corruption in
this case at the highest level. Why?
Because Dade County doesn’t want to spend the money it’d cost to
prosecute Rainey’s killers. Rainey wasn’t
worth that amount of money to them. Why wasn’t
he? Because he was a poor, black,
mentally disabled Muslim prisoner and Black Lives Don’t Matter In Dade County.
Please share this blog
with your friends and anybody you think could help with getting justice for
Rainey.
On 17th March 2017, Katherine
Fernandez Rundle formally closed the official enquiry into the death of Darren
Rainey at Dade C.I. (prison) Florida, 23rd June, 2012. Mr Rainey died after being locked into a
chamber of super-heated steam. The
official report that was released to the press that day found ‘no wrongdoing’
in the treatment of Darren Rainey – even though his black skin was steamed off
and thrown into the trash. The report
went to great lengths to discredit the testimony of Harold Hempstead, Florida’s
‘Caged Crusader’ and the man who did more than anyone else in bringing this
event into the public domain and risks his life by doing so. Earlier the same day, or rather in the small
hours of the night, Harold Hempstead was woken from sleep, taken into a room
with three agents of the state of Florida (prison guards) and slapped to the ground, choked
and punched, before being told his property would be trashed and being put on a bus for an
unknown location, minus his legal paper-work. For several days his
whereabouts were not divulged to his family or anyone else and he was held
incommunicado. Eventually it emerged
that he had been transported to Tennessee.
These events have generated some media
attention and added fuel to the growing debate over what has come to be known
as ‘mass-incarceration’ in the United States.
This is all to the good, as public perception of USA has yet to catch up
with reality. Since capitalist lobbying
groups started succeeding in their mission to privatize the prison system back
in the 80’s we’ve seen a population explosion of inmates and the USA can now
boast of 2.3 million people behind bars.
Many Europeans make the mistake of imagining that American prisons are
perhaps slightly worse than ours. Sadly,
the prisons of Russia, or even China would bear much closer comparison to those
of the ostensibly civilized USA. The
catalogue of horrors is seemingly endless and the sheer barbarity of the topic
is very off-putting for many readers, particularly those used to getting their
news down the mainstream. ‘America’, as
it likes to call itself, is the world’s richest country and invests a lot of
money in movies – America is constantly pumping its own image out to the world
– even small children soon learn to ape the accent. The cultural domination is all-pervasive, but
there’s a horrific underbelly to it. Not
so far from Disneyland in Florida is the prison where Mr Rainey was steamed to
death and others were starved, raped and tortured, having been greeted on
arrival at the unit with the words “welcome to Auschwitz” by guards who meant
what they said. I hope people are not so
overwhelmed by the subject matter that they are paralyzed into docility, as action
is needed now more than ever if U.S. legislators are to be galvanized into
addressing this human rights crisis. They
only listen when a lot of people shout and shout very loud indeed.
Agents of the State of Florida have had a
major influence over the life of Harold Hempstead since they convinced his
vulnerable mother to let them employ him illegally as a child-spy at the age of
13.State agents trained the youth to
observe and record events properly, like a real policeman.Being an honest lad at heart, he did so – and
was soon reporting irregularities within the St.Petersburg Police Department,
including sexual abuse of minors.A
train of events was set in motion which ended up with Harold being locked away
for 165 years.What can I say about
something like that?I’m a blogger, a
writer and street-musician.I feel way
out of my depth – how can anyone begin to understand prison who has not been there?165 years?That’s hard to understand.Like a
lot of people, I’m trying to make sense of some events that seem to defy
sanity.Not only the early life story of
Harold Hempstead, but the horrific torture and murder of Darren Rainey.
At Harold’s blog, you can see several of
his sworn statements about prison conditions in Florida:
I’ll be updating the Caged Crusader blog
soon, with more of Harold’s witness statements.
I’m also hoping to find time to go through the Rainey-death-report and
look at its many inconsistencies and contradictions – this is, after all, a
document that has basically condoned torture and murder – that’s my belief and
I know I’m not alone.
Most of the reports that went into world
media tell only the tip of the ice-berg.
Amongst other things, there is almost no mention of Darren Rainey’s
Muslim faith, let alone the death of Daniel Geiger – the inmate for whom the
‘shower-treatment’ was invented in the first place. Geiger was starved and repeatedly tortured by
FDC staff in the mental hospital at Dade prison, but he’s not even mentioned as
being dead in the report – apparently he’s listed among the living. Daniel Geiger died on 7th
November, 2016 in the custody of Florida Department of Corrections. A vital witness in the Rainey case, he was
never interviewed by police or anyone else in authority – that opportunity has
now passed.
I’d like to thank the people at the Miami
Herald newspaper who have done so much to tell the world the story of Darren
Rainey and Harold Hempstead.
Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle (Lady Macbeth?)
Email To: Julie Jones, Secretary,
Florida Department of Corrections 17th March, 2017
C.C. Media, Human Rights Orgs.
NO CHARGES FOR PRISON GUARDS WHO
STEAMED A MENTALLY-DISTURBED, BLACK MUSLIM TO DEATH IN FLORIDA PRISON-HOSPITAL
SHOWER BUT HARSH RETALIATION FOR CONVICT/WHISTLE-BLOWER WHO TOLD THE TALE TO
MEDIA
(Attachment to Florida Shower Murder
Story - Disappearing Witness etc. See 'Caged Crusader')
Dear Secretary Jones,
I am writing to you to express my grave
concern over the treatment of one of your charges, Harold Hempstead. You will
be familiar with his name as the key witness in the murder of Darren Rainey at
Dade C.I. Today, four and three quarter years after Mr Rainey was tortured
to death by FDC staff, we have heard that 'no wrongdoing' has been found in the
manner of his death and that no charges whatsoever have been brought against
anyone involved.
I have also been informed today that
Harold Hempstead has been removed from the State of Florida and transferred to
the custody of another state. I am under the impression that this move
may not be totally legal.
Harold has repeatedly witnessed the
crimes of the state and fearlessly documented them. He has further
witnessed and documented the retaliation against him and others who use their
free speech to speak out against the arbitrary brutality and sadism of certain
of the guards. This is how he has come to the attention of international
media and the human rights community. A great many people are now taking
an increasing interest in his case and his history of advocating for some of
society's most vulnerable members.
I am in communication with several
members of the British government about the human rights crisis in Florida and
you may well be hearing from my government in the very near future.
In the meantime, I would be very
grateful if you would tell me where I can address my letters to my friend
Harold Hempstead, D.C.# 268866.
To: Caroline Mortimer - The
Independent, London. U R G E N T
Re: Your Article: Florida
Prosecutors Refuse To Charge Guards For Trapping Prisoner In Hot Shower Until
It Killed Him - 18.3.2017
Dear Caroline,
I approached your paper over this story
yesterday, offering to provide abundant information direct from my sources in
Florida, including Harold Hempstead. Your article has quoted liberally
from the official death-report, but has missed some vitally important points.
There is a great deal more behind this 'story' that I could inform you
about.
By portraying Harold Hempstead as an
unreliable witness, you are doing him a terrible disservice. Convicts in
USA who speak out about abuse by guards are very likely to be killed, and are killed
on a regular basis. Mr Hempstead is in prison for life, and not only
gains nothing by witnessing the truth about what happened to Darren Rainey, but
is endangering his life by doing so.
Forms of retaliation taken against him
have included numerous transfers, depriving him of all his medications and
housing him in cells with no less than five convicted murderers. This is
because he testifies against ALL the abuse in Florida's prisons and he will not
stop witnessing and testifying. He has uncovered systemic starvation,
torture and grave violations of the constitution. The US Department of
Justice take his allegations seriously enough to be conducting ongoing interviews
with him pending a CRIPA investigation.
The same day - 17th March - that State
Attorney Rundle announced the finding of 'no wrongdoing' in Mr Rainey's death,
Harold Hempstead was transported out of the state of Florida an is,
effectively, in secret detention.
Mr Hempstead's history of exploitation
by the state of Florida goes back to when he was 13 years old and was illegally
recruited as a police spy. Having exposed corruption and sex abuse by the
police, he was put away for 165 years on dubious theft charges. His prior
history of police-work was deemed 'inadmissible' by the judge who said 'I hope
you die in prison'. If you understand the culture of profound corruption
and violence in Florida, you'll realize that they wanted Mr Hempstead put out
of the way, as he was a problem to the corrupt authorities - he did not 'play
the game'.
I can prove to you and your paper that
you have grievously misinterpreted the facts about Harold Hempstead and about
what happened to Darren Rainey. In the barbaric world of Florida's
prisons, life is very cheap indeed and it would be beyond ironic if a guy who
risks his life for truth got branded by the media as a liar - giving certain
guards more 'reason' to persecute him.
History will sooner or later vindicate
Harold Hempstead and show him for the genuine hero he is. When that
happens, it would be much better for The Independent if they had shown
themselves to be on the side of truth, rather than merely repeating the lies of
a demonstrably corrupt government department.
Please contact me to discuss setting
the record straight and give me a chance to provide you with the wealth of
information I have on this case. Nobody in Europe knows more about this
case than me, it's been my main focus for almost a year and I can back up
everything I say with facts and evidence. If you care at all for justice,
then please talk to me.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Schanche (The ‘Independent’ failed to respond to me
about this.)
This article by Eyal Press of The New
Yorker is well worth reading, as is his previous expose of FDC, aptly entitled ‘Madness’...
From 28.3.2017 this article is absolutely brilliant for pathological
evidence, but fails to do justice to Harold Hempstead and his role in the case,
in my opinion. The harrowing details it reveals about 3rd degree burns contrast starkly with the official report. But what about the skin on
the stairs? There is no mention of
that. I’ve contacted Huff Post and
offered the same as I did to the Independent, Guardian and numerous other
British and American news sites. Even
Buddhist groups, Socialist news services and Black Lives Matter have failed to
respond, as did Amnesty International… you get used to this kind of thing after
a while.
Email to: Julie Jones, Secretary,
Florida Department of Corrections
23rd March, 2017
Dear Secretary Jones,
I hope you can find time to study the
articles below. It seems neither reasonable, nor humane to prevent Harold
Hempstead (268866) from speaking to his family on the phone and I don't see how
this can be constitutional either. Please do the right thing and permit
Harold's free speech to resume.
The suppression of his free speech,
five days after being transported out of state, is causing intense distress to
his family, particularly his 72 year old mother who suffers from confusion and
is distraught with worry for her son. This is affecting her health, which in
turn has a negative effect on the entire family.
I sincerely ask you to ensure that
phone access is restored today.
With best wishes,
Jeremy Schanche
(Links were added on the email to wiki
articles on: Freedom of Speech in United
States, United States Constitution, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
United Nations Convention Against Torture.)
Email to: Julie Jones, Secretary,
Florida Dept. of Corrections. 20.3.2017
I'm Jeremy Schanche, British artist and activist. This blog features my paper, The Limpet. Here I write about human rights, the environment and politics. Please see my articles about Harold Hempstead and Florida Department of Corrections, with more at Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress.com.
I have another blog that's completely different - it's where you'll find The Caterpillar, a journal of collage, poetry and surrealism that is remixed as The Caterpillar Dub - the world's first Dub newspaper. Both of these can be found at:
http://yecaterpillar.blogspot.com.
In October 2024 I published my first paperback book of fiction - The Horned Whale or An Morvil Kornek by Jeremy Schanche - available at various bookshops and at Amazon.
ISBN: 9780993490903.
175,710 words.
£15.
Contains the mystery novel - The Kramvil, plus two novellas, poetry and glossaries.
