A FIGHT FOR THE VALUE OF LIFE

A FIGHT FOR THE VALUE OF LIFE

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

THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER

Caged Crusader

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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. 

Here's the film I made

The affidavit quoted in the film can be read in full here.

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.  

Harold Hempstead 'Caged Crusader' talks to Jeremy Schanche

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.

THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF INTENT TO HARM DARREN RAINEY

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

Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress . . . .

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

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

What does the evidence show?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER

Caged Crusader

State Agents Witnessed Slippage Heat Damage Darren Rainey Shower Murder

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.  

Please sign our petition on Change.org - 

THE LIFE OF BLACK,MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER

Caged Crusader

DADE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER SAID SHE DID NOT KNOW WHY RAINEY’S BODY WAS HOT WHEN TAKEN OUT OF SHOWER AND HOURS LATER

The following is a statement from Harold Hempstead, Florida's 'Caged Crusader.'  It was written on 2nd April and published 9th April, 2017...

On 3/17/17 the Dade County State Attorney issued an inter-office memorandum stating they weren’t going to prosecute anybody for killing Darren Rainey.  I have this document in my possession and I’d like to share what it says starting in the last paragraph of pg.54.  The last paragraph of pg.54 reads:

“Dr Lew noted that Rainey had an elevated body temperature (as taken by a nurse) after he was taken out of the shower and his temperature was still elevated hours later when it was taken as part of the autopsy protocol.  Without knowing what Rainey’s temperature was before he was placed in  the shower, it is hard for Dr Lew to asses this fact.   The only comment she could make was that, along with knowledge of the time of death, elevated temperature contributed to decomposition and most likely to his skin slippage.”

Did Dr Lew really say she couldn’t say why Rainey’s body was hot when he was taken out of the shower, and was still hot hours later?  Let’s see what the most logical reason would be.  On pg.49 of this same report, Dade C.I. Cpt. Dixon said she tested the water in the shower Rainey was killed in 2 days after Rainey’s murder at 160°F.  Rainey’s killer Ofc. Clarke on pg.14 of this State Attorney’s report said, when he seen Rainey’s body on the shower floor, his body was covering the drain and there was water pooled around him.  Throughout this State Attorney report several inmates say the shower had excessively hot water in it that Rainey was killed in.  In the State’s Memorandum/Report that Dr Lew is cited as saying she didn’t know why Rainey’s body was hot when taken out of the shower and hours later, it clearly states that Rainey’s body was laying on the shower floor in 160°F water.  This is what happens when people twist facts.  Their own words can be used against them on major relevant facts.  Not something that is trivial.  It is very hard to believe that Dr Lew would state she didn’t know why his body was hot.  Wait a minute!  I guess it’s not.  If she said that the reason why his body was hot was because he was just taken out of an excessively hot shower, then that would mean a murder prosecution had to happen.  A murder prosecution could not happen.  Why?  Because Darren Rainey was a poor, black, mentally disabled Muslim prisoner and his life does not matter to Dr Lew and the Dade County State Attorney. 

Please share this blog with your friends.  Please share this blog with anybody who you believe can help with getting justice for Rainey!  Please sign our petition on Change.org entitled THE LIFE OF BLACK, MENTALLY DISABLED MUSLIM PRISONER DARREN RAINEY DOES MATTER. 

Caged Crusader

Caged Crusader Won't Be Silenced

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

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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

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Here's an interview between Cat Watters of People's Internet Radio 
and Jeremy Schanche, 5th April, 2017:

Please follow Harold Hempstead's blog for regular updates:
Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress

Rainey Cover Up and Hempstead Assault Ghosting

On 17^th March 2017, Katherine Fernandez Rundle formally closed the official enquiry into the death of Darren Rainey at Dade C.I. (prison) Florida, 23^rd 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:

https://haroldhempsteadcagedcrusader.wordpress.com/

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 7^th 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       17^th 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.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Schanche

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139206653.html

Newly released video interview of Harold Hempstead by Julie Brown of the Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article139985658.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article140231758.html

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’...

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-death-in-a-florida-prison-goes-unpunished

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. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/darren-rainey-inmate-death-dade-correctional-institution_us_58d94c9fe4b03692bea82e1b 

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

Where's Harold?

Jeremy Schanche

A great article from Al Jazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/shower-death-prison-sparks-anger-170320181402828.html

Transported to the East…..  this story gives an insight into how prisoners are transported from state to state in USA:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hastings-747611-cagle-prisoners.html

Who's gonna tell about, who's gonna tell about, what's going on down there?

Darren Rainey