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TEXAS DEATH ROW PRISONER HANK SKINNER REPORTS :
....On 7/30/01 I filed a grievance against
all three wardens for
misconduct in violating policy &
state statutory law by denying special
visits to the class of Level II &
III prisoners. In violation of policy
warden Zeller himself decided the grievance
& denied it 8/23. Official
are prohibited from personally ruling
on / resolving any complaint
brought against them. It's a
blatant conflict of interest. On 7/30 I
filed the grievance at 6:30 AM when
the grievance investigator made
rounds. At 12:00 noon that same
day two officers, Gelitz & Bonds,
turned off the water to my cell &
announced a shakedown. Seeing that I
was the only one being singled out
for this treatment I asked Bonds the
reason for it. She replied, "I
guess you need to quit writing
complaints on the warden, huh".
They confiscated property I'm allowed
to possess (magazines & ordinary
commissary items) wrote me a major case
for "possession of contraband", which
the Major, Timothy Lester, graded
& approved. At the hearing
the captain found me guilty before I could
present my defense. On 8/23/01
I received the step 1 answer to the
visitation grievance which Zeller himself
ruled on & signed off on.
8/24/01 at 7:00 AM I filed the step
2 appeal of that grievance. 11:00
PM that same day they come announcing
another shakedown. I asked the
Sgt. Raymond Duff what was the purpose
of singling me out for this
shakedown. He said "They told
me to do it". When I asked him who
"they" were, he refused to tell me.
Duff personally supervised the
shakedown. He took my dental
bridge, my shorts, socks, toothbrush,
soap, to-shirt, drinking container,
spoon, etc. They stayed in my cell
so long my feet went to sleep standing
out on the run so I sat down.
I'm cuffed, hands behind my back.
Duff finally comes out of my cell & I
tell him that he's thrown out the above
listed property. It's in this
big ol' pile of stuff they got out
on the run, including my bedding &
other stuff. He kicks the pile,
covers it up more, says, "I don't see
nuthin'". I asked to speak to
the lieutenant. Instead he tells the
officers to use force against me to
pick me up & put me in my cell.
They jerk me up & try to run me
face first into the cell door. I put my
foot against the door to stop the collision
(couldn't use my hand. I
was cuffed behind my back & the
officers had me by the arms.) They spun
me around & slammed me face first
into the concrete.
Well, it only hurt for a minute or two.
I got a bruised up face,
shoulder & foot. Few scratched
up spots. They put me on Level III "
-HANK SKINNER
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