Crusader Books is happy to present its first publication: DEPARTMENT OF CORRUPTION - Darren Rainey - The Untold Story by Harold Hempstead
The author gained his epithet of The Caged Crusader through his dangerous and lengthy struggle to seek justice for Darren Rainey - a Muslim man who-s murder at the hands of Florida prison guards he witnessed - In the ultra-violent climate of the Florida Department of Corrections Harold literally risked his life to reveal what he knew about this horrific torture-murder - Driven by his conscience - Harold felt compelled to pursue the course of justice and spent almost two years writing to various official departments before finally getting his story published in the Miami Herald newspaper -
This initiated a belated police investigation and also a major overhaul of the FDC - Sadly the killing of Darren Rainey was covered up by Florida-s corrupt officials such as State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Dr Emma Lew - No-one has been charged over the torture and killing of Rainey - nor the torture of various other convicts in a specially rigged torture-shower at Dade C I - Florida -
Harold was illegally used as a police spy from the age of 13 and in his early twenties was incarcerated for 165 years under questionable circumstances - In prison he underwent a profound religious conversion and this has guided his courageous activism under the most harrowing circumstances - The story he has to tell is testimony to all the ills of America-s tragic policy of mass-incarceration - and of how an absolute belief in the power of good can animate a man to struggle so hard against such cruel and unjust captors and the injustices they perpetuate -
This is truly a story of the triumph of the human heart and its refusal to keep silent in the face of evil -
You can buy the book here and also see a list of upcoming publications from Harold Hempstead-s publishing house CRUSADER BOOKS
Harold Hempstead also has a blog with a large collection of articles he has written on the Rainey murder and various other human rights and constitutional violations in FDC -
Darren Rainey
Harold Hempstead
4th January 2019 - Jeremy Schanche - The Invertebrate Press - Kernow - UK
A historically factual book about the Darren Rainey murder, the systematic culture of corruption in the Florida Department of Corrections and the murdering, torturing and abuse of Florida prisoners.
A compelling expose of the hidden world of brutality and corruption in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Harold Hempstead was incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) for 17 years. On 17th March, 2017 he was involuntarily Interstate Compacted to the Tennessee Department of Corrections in an attempt to censor him on the Darren Rainey case and stop him from engaging in prisoner civil rights activities.
During his years incarcerated in Florida he was incarcerated at the majority of Florida's most violent prisons.
In this historically factual book Harold Hempstead chronicles:
1) A tremendous amount of facts on the Darren Rainey case that have never been told to the public. Harold Hempstead exposed the brutal scalding death of Darren Rainey to the Miami Herald newspaper.
2) The murdering, starving, torturing and abusing of Florida inmates by prison staff.
3) The mass-poisoning of the food that inmates eat, with pills, chemicals, feces and urine by FDC staff.
4) The extreme physically and sexually violent conditions in the Florida Department of Corrections.
5) The rise in gang membership and violence in Florida prisons.
6) Drugs, cellular phones and contraband-smuggling activities.
7) A tremendous amount of facts about the culture of corruption and the unconstitutional conditions of the Florida Department of Corrections.
This eye-opening factual book truly exposes the world behind the walls in the Florida prison system and shows why reform and independent oversight are needed in the Florida Department of Corrections.
MINI AUTHOR BIO:
Harold Hempstead has a Doctor's Degree in Biblical Studies from Calvary Christian College and Seminary and a Paralegal Certification from Blackstone Career Institute. He was incarcerated for 17 years in the Florida Department of Corrections prior to his March 17, 2017 involuntary Interstate Compact to the Tennessee Department of Corrections. In 2015 the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida awarded him with the Maurice Rosen Act of Courage Award for placing his life on the line to expose the brutal and fatal scalding of Darren Rainey and for exposing the systematic culture of brutality in the Florida Department of Corrections. Harold Hempstead is serving 165 years in prison for burglaries and dealing in stolen property.
STATEMENTS MADE ABOUT HAROLD HEMPSTEAD IN THE MEDIA:
Miami Herald newspaper - (Reporter Julie K Brown: 8/8/2015)
"Hempstead didn't set out to be a hero and, perhaps to some people, he isn't a hero at all. But it is likely that no-one would have ever known about the death of mentally ill inmate Darren Rainey, or about the systematic culture of physical and mental abuse of inmates in Florida prisons. had it not been for Hempstead. "
"Hempstead's steadfast determination to expose the monstrous acts he says he witnessed ultimately brought about an overhaul of the prison system, the firing of top corrections officials and officers, federal arrests and an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice ."
"Hempstead did all this from a prison cell and in spite of threats, intimidation and a haunting fear that one day he would suffer an accident and never wake up."
"Convicted burglar Harold Hempstead is responsible for helping to lift the curtains on systematic corruption in Florida's prison system."
Miami Herald newspaper - (Reporter Julie K Brown : 8/8/2015)
Article name: The Inmate Who Exposed Florida Prisons Culture Of Cruelty
"He saw something was wrong and he took a stand. What he did took real courage."
"The interests of all the people in Florida have been served by this inmate (Harold Hempstead) revealing the horrors and violence of both corrections officers and inmates. Because of him, we are better for it."
(Malcolm Tomlin - FDC Chaplain)
WTVT Fox 13 Tampa Bay, Florida
(Reporter Craig Patrick 11/9/2015)
"Harold Hempstead helped expose a scandal that rocked the prison system."
BOOK INFORMATION:
Title: DEPARTMENT OF CORRUPTION - Darren Rainey - The Untold Story
Publication Date: Prior to the end of 2018
Contact Harold Hempstead:
Mailing address: Harold Hempstead, I-M # 577366
Northeast Correctional Complex
P.O. Box 5000, Mountain City, Tennessee 37683-5000
TWO CRIME STOPPER CALLS CONTEND THE KKK WERE CONSPIRING TO KILL HAROLD HEMPSTEAD AND FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS STAFF WERE ALTERING PAPERWORK ON HAROLD HEMPSTEAD "On 5/23/16 when I was placed in confinement under investigation at Martin Correctional Institution, Cpt. Scarpatti told me that somebody called the Martin C.I. Warden and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Main Office saying there was a conspiracy to kill me.
On 5/24/16 I was transferred to Okeehobee C.I. Over the next about six weeks, FDC made several inconsistent statements to people in society contending different reasons why I was placed in confinement on 5/23/16. Not long after I arrived at Okeechobee C.I. I was interviewed by two men professing to be Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agents, alleging they were investigating a conspiracy to kill me. A few months after I arrived at Okeechobee C.I. I was advised by the Okeechobee C.I. Warden that two calls were made to the Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers contending that FDC prison staff were conspiring to kill me and FDC prison staff with the Inspector General’s Office were altering paperwork concerning me. The paperwork he was reading from also made reference to prison staff who were allegedly conspiring to kill me being members of the KKK. The two Crime Stoppers case numbers that appeared on the paperwork he was reading from were 104-65509 and 104-65662. Because I was never placed in Confinement or Protection over the foregoing, I was caused to believe FDC was trying to sweep these alleged calls under the rug. This caused me to think there might have been some truthfulness to these calls. In December 2016, I was transferred from Okeechobee C.I. to Hardee C.I. I felt that pursuing an investigation into these calls more seriously while at Hardee C.I. would be in my best interest so in January 2017 I drafted a sworn affidavit wherein I provided all the details I knew on these alleged calls. I mailed this sworn affidavit to approximately two dozen people in the State and Federal Government, media, Civil Rights groups, etc.. As of the date that I’m writing this blog, I haven’t been able to find out who was behind these alleged calls to Crime Stoppers or any new information other than what I placed in my January 2017 sworn affidavit. I mailed my sister Windy and Jeremy copies of this January 2017 sworn affidavit. I don’t if this sworn affidavit has been placed on this blog yet. If it has, I hope that my friend Jeremy provides a note at the end of this blog on how you can find this sworn affidavit on this blog-site.
The KKK is the oldest Caucasian brotherhood in Florida. Since the KKK started being rebuilt in the nineteen twenties, they’ve strived to get their members in positions where they can be most effective in strengthening up their brotherhood and spreading their beliefs to Caucasians that can further their goals. The KKK still has low-ranking knights and it is oftentimes the low-ranking knights that have done things that are deemed inappropriate, that have got the attention of the media (and government) and that oppose the primary goals of the KKK. The KKK has bylaws that explain that the KKK is supposed to be a secret society and that only literature and activities approved by the Imperial Grand Wizard can be made known or public to those who are outside of the brotherhood. It is a well-known fact by FDC staff and inmates that a very large quantity of FDC staff are members of the KKK and to think that the South (and especially Florida) doesn’t no longer have a large number of racist and KKK members in it, is to not know the history of the South and Florida.
It is sad that there’s still so much racism in our country and especially in Florida but it’s a fact that we have to accept. I know that my quest for justice for the murder of Darren Rainey and my activism against the unconstitutional conditions of FDC has brought a lot of attention and legal related issues to an agency that employs a large number of KKK members. Did I upset the Florida KKK members by doing the foregoing? I know that since 2014 FDC staff have called me all types of racial related names for taking a stand for a dead black man (Darren Rainey), such as ‘The Nigger Activist,’ ‘Nigger-Lover’ and ‘Nigger in White Man Skin, etc.. Also, I know that FDC is well aware of my communications with outside agencies concerning criminal activity and racism in FDC.
If anyone reading this blog can help me obtain an audio copy or verbatim printout of the alleged Crime Stopper calls mentioned herein I’d greatly appreciate it.
I’m a Protestant Reformed Presbyterian-in-America Christian who believes that I’m biblically commanded to take a stand for the value of life and help those who cannot help themselves. I believe all that people are equal. If Darren Rainey was an oriental man, Spanish man, a member of the KKK, or blue, green or orange man I still would of took a stand for the value of his life. Why? Because right is right and wrong is wrong. Will you please share this blog with your friends and anybody you believe would like to join us in our fight for the value of life? Will you please sign our petition on Change.org entitled THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER."
Jeremy Schanche looks at the basis of the Klan's mythological self-image.
Since the KKK claim to base their cult on 'white' culture, which comes from Europe, and since they further claim lineage with the Anglo-Saxons, let's examine some of their beliefs.
Clans: The Ku Klux Klan is not, in reality, a clan. A clan is a tribal unit - the KKK is a political club - as well as being North America's first organized terrorist organization. The Scots Clansmen were warriors against British Imperialism. Amerikan Klansmen are not warriors who engage in battle, but rather murderers, who work in packs against vulnerable and isolated people. They do not engage in equal combat on battlefields. They do not seek fair fights, because they are foul, not fair.
Perhaps they still think we can't see them behind their white sheets but we can see through all their sheet. Many of us can see through the white sheet. Regardless of which side of the white sheet you're on, the fact is white sheet is pretty transparent stuff these days.
Since one day we are confronted with the fruits of our actions, I think it's important to take stock occasionally and ask ourselves if we are really on the right path, or are we starting to wander off a bit? A lot of people get into things that they feel strongly about, and 'patriotism' is a powerful feeling - but is hating and harming our neighbours something you can do and still claim to be a Christian?
If you're a member of the K of sympathetic to their aims I think you should examine your beliefs and ask yourself 'which side am I on?' Because you can't be for Jesus and the Klan - when Jesus said "Love Thy Neighbour" he didn't wink and cross his fingers and say "I'm not talking about those black people" or any such thing and we all know it. So you'd better decide now - are you for the Klan or for Christ, because you can not be for both?
Aryans:
Not everyone realizes that the term 'Aryan' comes from Sanskrit - from India, from Hindu scriptures that were written many centuries and millennia ago. To be of the 'Aryan race' is to be a brown-skinned Indian.
Caucasians:
The Caucasian region lies to the north of Asia Minor, as the name suggests. The so-called 'Caucasian race' is not European, but Asian, not white, but brown.
Aenglisch Hystorie:
Sometimes 'white' Americans like to call themselves 'Anglo-Saxons.' Let us clarify these terms. The Roman invaders departed from Britannia in the early 5th Century A.D., due to some troublesome Visigoths who were besieging Rome itself. The withdrawal of the occupying force created a power-vacuum among the now destabilized British, which was soon filled by various new invaders. These included the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, etc. who flooded in from around the area of what is now Germany. These tribes came to dominate the central region of Britannia, the land of the Brythonek Kelts or British Celts, and one particular Teutonic tribe, the Angles, imprinted their tribal name onto the land of the Ancient Britons, and so it became known as England, the Land of the Angles. To call yourself Anglo-Saxon is therefore to identify with the invading Germanic culture that was at war with Ancient Britannia, on and off, until 1496, when the last of the Cornish irregular armies was defeated by King Henry VIII's soldiers. The Anglo-Saxons had no connection with the Druidism of the Ancient Britons, which was largely destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 61, when they attacked the Holy Isle of Mona, or modern Anglesey.
Knighthood:
By definition, Knighthood can only be conferred by a monarch or other high-ranking member of a government and was traditionally bestowed for military valour in the service of a liege. If the Klan, who call themselves 'Knights,' were serious about Knighthood and Chivalry, they'd be challenging Black Panthers to armoured jousting with lances on horseback - obviously. You can't just assume Knighthood in a bourgeois parliamentary democracy - it is found in Feudalist and Monarchist societies, such as those of Olde Europe.
(Interesting fact about Knighthood: David Bowie was offered a Knighthood by the Queen of England but he turned it down. I take this to mean that he knew who he was - a charismatic bard and shaman, without needing anybody else's endorsement.)
Chivalry:
This is the code of honour by which a true Knight must live at all times. It is based upon the Christian ideals of mystical love and spiritual purity. A Knight vows to protect those who require protection, whomsoever they may be. In imitation of Christ, he devotes his life to serving others. Occasionally this would require engaging in honourable combat on the field of battle. (This is in no way similar to a drunken lynch-mob torturing an unarmed man to death, which seems to be the Klan's idea of chivalry.)
Wizards, etc.:
The governor of the Klan likes to be called the 'Grand Imperial Wizard,' a colourful title indeed, probably quite impressive to some of the dungaree-sporting cousins in the hollows, but if we break it down, the term is not really applicable. The 'Imperial' part of the title has some basis. Not a real empire in the historic sense, but a figurative empire perhaps - a secretive empire of infiltration and exclusion - a hollow hand within the glove of government, grasping at power for itself. To what degree the contemporary Klan has infested and corrupted the various wings of the governmental gooney-bird is questionable and cannot be answered by me. However, it seems to be taken for granted in the Department of Corrections that when your man goes off duty, he might well be changing into a different kind of 'uniform' and swearing allegiance to a different power-structure.
Imperialists they might be, but wizards they definitely are not. A wizard, if he is anything, is a worker of magic. That's quite a bold claim to make.
Ancient Britannia was the European centre of Druidism and despite Roman genocide and sacrilege, it was never totally destroyed, just driven underground. These ancient Caucasian wizards and Druids were men of the spirit - if they had tiny minds, stunted by ignorance and hatred, they would not have commanded the respect of the 'known world' and gone down in history as our spiritual forefathers.
The Klan might like to imagine themselves as empire-builders, we'll let that claim stand, but as far as Knighthood, Chivalry, Wizardry and particularly, Christianity goes - the Klan's claims are not only false but delusional and deeply ignorant of the truth for which Jesus Christ stood, for which he lived and for which he died on a cross.
Film of me reading Harold Hempstead's evidence affidavit on the slaughter of mentally disabled, black Muslim prison, Darren Rainey, Dade C.I., 23rd June, 2012 May Day Demo for Darren Rainey and Human Rights in FDC Cat Waters of People's Internet Radio in New York talks to me about the Darren Rainey case Please read my interview with Harold Hempstead, the Caged Crusader from last year. Harold talks in some depth about his Christian faith and how it inspires his activism for justice and Civil Rights.
"The Dade County, Florida State Attorney’s Office contended that on the night Darren Rainey was killed, a sheet was covering my cell door window at different times so I allegedly wasn’t able to see everything I said I seen. They don’t contest that I seen certain things, just that the ‘sheet’ allegedly prohibited me from seeing everything.
I found from many years of experience that people in society who’ve never been incarcerated in Florida and/or have no knowledge of the life of the incarcerated, are not aware of a lot of things that would at first sound outrageous to them if they didn’t first inquire for more details. For instance, if I said I could be in a locked cell in a Confinement Unit with the whole wing of prisoners in their locked Confinement Cells and I could pass to other prisoners or obtain from other prisoners in their locked cells books, canteen items, clothes, writing supplies etc. without the help of any person outside the locked cells, most people in society would think that I was lying. Especially if I said it didn’t matter if I or the other prisoner(s) were on the first or second tier. Why would most think I was lying? Because they don’t know what ‘fishing’ is. If I said I could do the foregoing to anybody who was ever incarcerated in the Florida prison system (FDC,) they would know I could do such by ‘fishing.’ All Florida prisoners know what ‘fishing’ is.
What is ‘fishing.’ In order to know what ‘fishing’ is I’ll first have to tell you how we make ‘fishing lines’ and a ‘car.’
We make a ‘fishing line’ by taking thread out of a sheet, boxers, pants or shirt and tying all the strings together at their ends until we get our fishing line as long as we need it. We make a ‘car’ by emptying all the toothpaste out of a toothpaste tube, cutting off the side of the tube from about an inch under where the toothpaste comes out, filling the empty tube with soap powder filed from a bar of soap and mixed with water. We use the water to make the soap powder hard, the length and width of the tube and less than a quarter inch thick. We then tie the tube closed (with the hard soap powder in it) with one of the ends of the fishing line. We then have a ‘fishing line’ with a ‘car’ at the end of it. With the foregoing, I can be in my locked cell, hold on to one side of my fishing line and push my car under my cell door in the direction to and under another inmate’s locked cell door. We can then pass anything we want from my cell to his, or from his to mine, by tying it on the car or line. The more experience you have fishing, the better you get at it. We use ramps to fish from the upper tier to the lower tier. We fish in our vents, and even in our toilets. We fish out the top of our cell doors with wet toilet-paper balls we use to bounce off our cell doors until they fly upstairs. The list goes on and on.
I’m going to name just a few more things we do in prison but I’m not going to explain the details on these because I don’t have the space to do it.
Prisoners make wine from scratch.
Prisoners make wall-safes to hide their contraband, with screws and locks.
Prisoners can use a plastic mirror sold in the canteen to hide a cellphone or drugs in the water in a toilet. You can look in the toilet and not see it and the phone or drugs won’t be flushed away.
All these things sound strange to most people in society but if they were explained, like ‘fishing,’ they would then not sound so strange. When the Miami-Dade Police Department interviewed me in June 2014, they were too busy trying to limit me on what I could or couldn’t say instead of asking me how I could see. In June 2014 when I was interviewed I had been incarcerated for fifteen years straight. After fifteen straight years of incarceration it was only common sense to me that inmates can see out their cell doors with a sheet covering the window. Inmates placing sheets on their cell doors covering the windows is very common for inmates in Florida. We place sheets on our cell doors every time we use the bathroom and every time we want privacy for any reason. Having been incarcerated for fifteen years in June 2014, I had placed sheets on my cell doors one to five times a day every day for fifteen years straight. Inmates in the Florida prison system (FDC) are issued two bed-sheets a piece. Most inmates use one sheet to cover their bed and one sheet for the collar on their bed. The collar-sheet is also used to cover the cell door window, to cover the shower door when they shower, etc.. Since the collar-sheet is used for so many different things, inmates usually strive to keep that sheet clean. The more the sheet is washed, the thinner it gets. If you were to take any white sheet off your bed, cover a window with it, stand on one side of the sheet with the light off and look through the sheet into a room (or outside) that is full of light, you’ll be able to see everything on the other side (even if the white sheet is new). If the light is on in the room you’re in, and in the room on the other side of the sheet, you’ll still be able to see through the sheet.
Even though this is common sense, the Dade County, Florida State Attorney contended I couldn’t see through the white sheet I allegedly had hanging in my cell door at different times on the night Rainey was killed.
Not only was my sheet old, but it had been washed with bleach dozens if not hundreds of times. The MDPD and Miami Dade State Attorney never once mentioned a sheet on my cell door at specific times on the night Rainey was killed. I believe they never once questioned me about the foregoing because they had common sense to know anybody could see through a white sheet set up like I mentioned in this blog. I also believe the Dade County State Attorney has attempted to twist this common sense fact and try to get people to believe I (and anybody else) could never see through a white sheet how I present the matter herein.
This is just another matter that the Dade County State Attorney has attempted to twist in the Darren Rainey case. The Rainey case should send out a clear statement to the people of Dade County, Florida and the World that the Dade County State Attorney will do everything possible to let those who killed Rainey continue to walk the streets of Dade County, Florida as free men.
Harold Hempstead, a.k.a. Caged Crusader, a.k.a. 'Miami Harold', Tennessee Department of Corrections, April 2017.
I have a great deal more evidence from Harold to publish on the killing of Darren Rainey and other matters concerning FDC. Please follow this blog and share it widely. Also, please follow Harold's own blog which I administer for him. Please share it with anyone you know who cares about Human Rights. Thanks - Jeremy
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.
Despite Florida Department of Corrections' continuing attempts to rob 'Miami Harold' Hempstead of his Freedom of Speech, he continues to speak out fearlessly about the killing of Darren Rainey in a locked chamber of super-heated steam in Dade prison, 2012. His latest statements, published 8th April, 2017, criticizing the attempted suppression and cover-up by Florida D.C. and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle's office are signed under the name by which he's becoming increasingly known these days - 'Caged Crusader.'
HAROLD HEMPSTEAD TRANSFERRED TO TDOC ON 3/17/17
TO HINDER HIS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEDIA ON THE DARREN RAINEY MURDER CASE.
I believe that one of the reasons I was
transferred from the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) on 3/17/17 to the
Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) was to hinder my communications with
the media on the Darren Rainey murder case.
Why else would I have been sent outside of Florida 2 states away from
Florida on the same day the Dade County State Attorney released their decision
to not prosecute in the Darren Rainey case?
The Dade County State Attorney and FDC knew this
would extremely hinder my ability to communicate with the media about the Dade
County State Attorney’s decision and about their extreme twisting of the
facts. They knew that I would challenge their
statements and twisting the most, so they decided to send me to another state
on the same day they released their decisions.
By doing what they did it has made it where the State Attorney can tell
their twisted facts on why they aren’t going to prosecute and the person who
knows this case the best (me) (other than the media) is extremely hindered in
challenging their statements. Because I
was deposited into another state prison system with none of my property on the day
the State Attorney released their decision.
The things that FDC will do to cover up their
evils and try to discredit their witnesses.
Please share this blog with your friends. Please share this blog with anybody you know
that can help with getting justice for Darren Rainey. Please sign our petition on Change.org
entitled THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY
DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER.
Caged Crusader
----------------------------------------
WHY DID DADE COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY KATHERINE
FERNANDEZ RUNDLE FOCUS ON SMALL IRRELEVANT FACTS WHEN SHE DECIDED TO NOT
PROSECUTE IN THE DARREN RAINEY MURDER?
If you go to the Pinellas County, Florida Clerk
of Court records for the case I’m in prison on (Case No.: CRC 99-05695 FANO)
it’ll show that my State Attorney used the following in Voir Dire as a way to
tell the jury to not focus on small irrelevant facts that have no bearing on
the trial. The State Attorney said
“Ladies and gentlemen, imagine if you would, you were at the Superbowl with
fifty thousand people watching it in the stadium with you. A man jumps out of the sitting area on to the
field and kills a player. Everybody
watched the killing, you were all eyewitnesses, but none of your statements
will be identical. All the eyewitnesses
will say the man who went on the field killed the player, but outside of that,
to some degree or another, all the statements will be different. Some might say it was sunny, others might say
it was cloudy, many will say the killer was wearing clothing that he wasn’t
wearing; and so on and so forth. The important thing about their statements is
not the irrelevant facts, but that they all agreed that the man who went on the
field killed the player”
Now the foregoing to some degree was improper in
my trial because I wasn’t on trial for murder.
I was on trial for burglaries and dealing in stolen property. However, what the State Attorney was in
essence telling the jurors in my trial was to not focus on the small irrelevant
facts but focus on the relevant facts.
From my 18 years of reading case law I have
learned that it is a common thing for State Attorneys to tell jurors to not
focus on the small, irrelevant facts but only on relevant facts. As a certified paralegal I also learned the
reasoning behind this in my college studies.
Small irrelevant facts have no bearing on a case.
Now please keep these things in mind as I
explain something important the Dade County State Attorney stated in their
3/17/17 written decision to not prosecute anybody for murdering Darren Rainey.
Multiple inmates that the State Attorney can
verify were in the wing on the night Rainey was murdered gave statements during
the investigation. All of these inmates
agreed on the following relevant facts:
(1)
Officer Roland Clark placed Rainey in the shower.
(2) The
shower had very hot water in it.
(3)
Rainey screamed while in the shower trying to get out of the
shower.
(4)
Rainey died in the shower.
There are the important relevant facts. The State stresses in their written decision
that the witnesses didn’t agree on the actual time Rainey was placed in the
shower and when he started to yell. The
witnesses agreed he died at night on 6/23/12 and that he yelled while in the
shower, but the State Attorney nit-picks and blames witnesses to a brutal
murder that happened months shy of 5 years ago for not keeping accurate time of
when everything happened. The majority
of people in this world don’t think about documenting the time of when they are
witnessing a brutal murder and the details that lead to that murder. They are usually in shock and try to block
out what they witnessed.
The inmate witnesses all agreed on the important
facts:
(1)
Officer Roland Clark placed Rainey in the shower.
(2) The
shower had very hot water in it.
(3)
Rainey screamed in the shower trying to get out of the shower.
(4)
Rainey died in the shower.
I’m sure most (if not all) would agree with me
that these are the important facts.
Why did the Dade County State Attorney focus on
irrelevant facts and not these important facts?
Because to Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Darren Rainey was a poor, black,
mentally disabled, Muslim prisoner, and his life did not matter. If Ms Rundle would have filed charges against
Officer Clarke
(1) She
would have been prosecuting an officer who is a member of the PBA – a group
strong enough to get her out of office.
(2) The
State Attorney would’ve had to pay a large quantity of money to prosecute the
case and Rainey’s life to Ms Rundle wasn’t worth what it cost.
(3) She
would’ve broke the pattern her office has had for a very very long time of not
prosecuting law enforcement officials who unlawfully murder African
Americans.
These are the reasons why Ms Rundle in her 3/17/17
decision decided to focus on small irrelevant facts and not relevant facts.
Please share this blog with your friends and
whoever you think could help with obtaining justice for the murder of Darren
Rainey. Please contact Revs. Jesse
Jackson, Al Sharpton and the founders of Black Lives Matter and ask them for
help in getting justice for Darren Rainey.
Please sign our petition on Change.org entitled THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES
MATTER.
Caged Crusader
---------------------------------------------- Here's an interview between Cat Watters of People's Internet Radio and Jeremy Schanche, 5th April, 2017:
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.
The author gained his epithet of The Caged Crusader through his dangerous and lengthy struggle to seek justice for Darren Rainey - a Muslim man who-s murder at the hands of Florida prison guards he witnessed - In the ultra-violent climate of the Florida Department of Corrections Harold literally risked his life to reveal what he knew about this horrific torture-murder - Driven by his conscience - Harold felt compelled to pursue the course of justice and spent almost two years writing to various official departments before finally getting his story published in the Miami Herald newspaper - 
