| RETURN TO PAM PERILLO'S HOMEPAGE |
This report just came from Pamela Perillo.
Pam spent over 20 years on Death Row in Texas
Pam's sentence has been reduced and she is now doing a term of years and is eligible for parole. For now, she's still in prison in Texas and she sends this report and asks for assistance - she reports on abuses she has suffered as a result of guard and administration anger at her "escaping the needle..."
By: Pam Lyn Perillo
As told to: Mina Gayton
PAM LYN PERILLO
TDCJ No. 932235
2305 RANSOM ROAD H2 – 16
MT. VIEW
GATESVILLE
TX 76528
LEGAL RESEARCH FOOTNOTES:
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
* STANDARD 23 –7.1 RESOLVING PRISONER GRIEVACES
* STANDARD 23 –7.3
ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT
(1) RESOLVING PRISONER GRIEVANCES 23-7.1 – Subsection (D (VI)
THE PRISONER’S RIGHT TO FILE:
D The Institution’s grievance procedure should be designed to ensure the cooperation and confidence of prisoner’s and correctional officials and should include:
VI “Provision for access by ALL prisoners, with guarantees against reprisal”; and not discriminate under any circumstance.
(2)
ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT 23-7.3 A-B
A
The policies, practises, operations, and conditions of correctional institutions
and the acts of correctional employees should be subject to inspection and
investigation by an auditor-general or inspector-general responsible to the
senior correctional authority of
the jurisdiction.
B In any jurisdiction with an ombudsman or similar official, the jurisdiction of that person should extent to receiving and investigating complaints from prisoners.
OPENING BRIEF:
Considering the fact that an offender’s rights have been violated, the offender then reserves the right to present a grievance; that which is submitted to the proper authority for investigation and ultimately resolution.
However, if the offender is in any way intentionally hindered from doing so by any correctional representative, or its employees, then you have a direct violation of the offenders FIRST AMENDMENT rights which are clearly protected under the Constitution of the United States.
The 1st Amendment encompasses the political right to communicate, associate, and present grievances to the Government and its members. This includes but is not limited to the Dept. of Corrections.
It is fully understood by an offender/inmate that should any violation of his/her rights, such as abuse either: emotional, physical, psychological, harassment, the abridgement of civil rights; the offender reserves the right to present a formal complaint. The following is a descriptive account of such violations infringed upon myself a “former death row female offender” currently housed on a maximum securite unit.
I am seeking redress through the system whose control I’m presently under, with the still faith to be totally rehabilitated so that I too may be reintegrated into the society outside that I have not seen for 22 years.
When I left death row
and was placed in general poplation I never imagined the whole new world
that I would be walking out to. Nor did I ever imagine that my being
off of death row would be more of a political fight than I ever faced while
on death row. I returned to TDCJ, after making a plea bargain with
this state for a Life sentence. I was assigned a new number and
taken to the Plain-State Jail. I was escorted from the bus which transported
me to this state jail, to the chaplain’s office. I was informed that
I would be housed in segregation while I
was at this facility due
to the fact that my case was such “a high profile case”, and because I was
“doing so much time…”
I stayed there a little
over a week then was transferred to the Goree unit which just so happens
to be a male unit. I spent 15 days there in transit then was again
transferred to the Reception Unit at Gatesville and placed in transient status
for nearly 3 weeks. I spent approximately 45 days on this level and
was not able to visit with my family the entire time I was there in transit.
I was then sent to the Hilltop unit, also in Gatesville. This was a
fairly small unit where I
stayed almost a year In
all my 20 years spent on death row I had never gone through so much political
turmoil as I have since I’ve been off death row. There are so many instances
where I’ve been harrassed by the correctional authority in which whose control
I am helplessly still under. I am harrassed in such a way that it definitely
constitutes my assertion that my fair right as recognised by the Department
of Justice, to make parole, is being jeopardized.
HILLTOP UNIT
I was called “Miss Death Row” by a Sgt. Pain the whole time I was on this unit. He never addressed me by my TDCJ recognized name.
I was told: “You missed
the needle…” by a Lt. Johnson. I was pulled out of my dorm or out
of line for instance to eat, all the time; Yelled at and verbally antagonized
constantly for no legitimate reason whatsoever; which for me was an emotional
form of harrassment. On this
unit they searched my cubicle
3-4 times a week for no apparent reason at all, treating me entirely different
than the other offenders; they never found any contraband. I was spoken
to like I was some kind of animal, constantly being verbally abused.
When I attempted to find some form of resolve with the unit warden about the
way I was being treated, her response was: “It’s just because you’re a high
profile inmate and it will all die down.” The fact is that it never
did: in fact, it got worse for me!
I stopped going out of
the dorm with the mindset that I’d avoid targetting of me as I felt I was
to the officers, to include the rank that I’ve named specifically here.
The targetting of their harassment. I even stopped going to the “chow
hall” altogether which caused my body
weight to drop from 178
lbs dow to 122 lbs. This decline in my body weight was also the
result of the tremendous stress I was under relating to the constant harassment
I was continually victimized by.
I was sitting in the dayroom
on a Saturday night waiting for a movie to come on with the other offenders,
it was approximately 11:00pm. I was in a t-shirt, shorts and shower
shoes, when 2 SGTs came into the dorm and asked me to step outside.
When I did they told me to put my hands behind my back and they put handcuffs
on me. As they were walking me to the
segregation section of the
unit I asked them, “what is going on?” They would not say anything
to me in responding to my question, my right to know why I’m being treated
with the use of force, namely the use of the handcuffs when I was not as
all violent or insubordinate. The female SGT then spoke on her hand
radio and said: “the Hilltop trustee camp is locked down also.” They
placed me in a cell with nothing. They wouldn’t give me sheets or anything
the rest of the night I was there. Why? Why was I being singled out
on this night? According to the PD-21 there are 2 infractions here
that were imposed upon me, see below:
PD-21.22 HARASSING OR RETALIATING AGAINST ANOTHER:
Employees are prohibited from harassing, discriminating or retaliating against
another in any form, or for any reason. This includes all forms of harassment
or retaliation for reason other than sex, gender, race, color, religious
preference, national origin, age or disability.
PD-21.23 MISTREATMENT OF INMATES/CLIENTS OR OTHERS:
Mistreatment usually takes the form of physical abuse, but it may also include such actions as threats, unauthorized or illegal denial of privileges, entitlements etc.
With the reasonable consideration
that I am under the control of the embodiment of TDCJ and its correctional
officers assigned to govern these units and their practices, I am helplessly
at the mercy of the professionalism and conduct, their treatment to me while
I am incarcerated. But when these officers and ranks violate the standard
rules of their conduct to me then they violate my entitlement to be fairly
rehabilitated toward the goal of being reintegrated into
society, by way of making
parole. I’m being discriminated against and harassed.
The next morning at 8:00am I was handcuffed again and taken to the major’s office. When I entered the office, all of my property was scattered all over the floor in an office connected to this main office. Officers were everywhere in my property, searching in such a way that personal photographs were being flung to the floor, being trampled on carelessly by the next officer in the room. I was shocked at the attitude of negligence to my personal property there. Why? Why such handling of my property?
Anyway, a man in a suit
came out of the major’s office and told me that he was from “I.A.” and to
come with him.. I walked into the office and was instructed to have
a seat. He then said: “M. Perillo I understand that you had a visit
with your mother yesterday morning, did you discuss the escape with her?”
I was blown away at his question. Dumbfounded. I said: “would you please
repeat the question. I’m not sure I’m understanding what I think I just
heard you say. He was very mean and arrogant towards me, and
told me to tell him what me and my
mother discussed at our
visit, and to tell him about my plans to escape.
He then told me
that 2 phone calls had come into the Hilltop unit at 9:00pm the night before,
and that a female caller said that my mother and son had planned to come
and “break me out” of prison at 12:00am. I looked at him like he had
lost his mind, not really believing or
understanding anything at
this point of what he was saying. How do you defend yourself against
that insane suggestion? Then I got upset about the way that he was
speaking to me, and the way that he was involving my mother and my son in
all this madness.
I said to him: “Look,
let me tell you something. I just sat on death row for 20 years with
my mother and son by my side through every day of it. I’ve had 2 execution
dates and came 2 days away from my last date.
I was supposed to be put
to death at 12:01 am Sunday night but was given a stay of execution the Friday
prior at 9:00 am in which my mother and my son stood right by my side through
it all. If they ever had any desire to “break me out” of prison, it
would have been back then, when we didn’t know from one day to the next if
I was going to live or die!
Not now, now that I’m off
of death row with every possibility to be set free by making parole… to go
home.
I also told him that my mother has a very good job and makes very good money, and my son is graduating from Texas A&M, so why would they even want to give up their lives out there, and what they have going for themselves to “break me out” of prison? What, so that we could all be forced to live on the run for the rest of our lives? It made no sense at all, and the more that I thought about it, the more upset I became.
He sent me back
to my cell handcuffed again. About 30 minutes later the SGT came and
got me again, but this time he didn’t handcuff me. He took me back
to the M Major’s office, where I met with Warden Botkins.
She said: “Pam, I’m sorry
about all of this. I’m sure these are just some prank phone calls
from someone sick out there, or someone mad that you got off death
row. We are going to keep you in seg a few more days just for security
reasons. As soon as all this dies down, we’ll move you back to your
dorm.” I was returned to my cell and there I wrote a letter to my Mom,
telling her to call the warden there, Ms. Botkins, so she would know what
was going on.
The next day 2 officers
came to my door and told me that I was leaving. I thought I was going
back to my dorm, but they escorted me to a van and then transported me to
the Mountain View unit. I was placed in seg-transit, pending investigation.
I wrote my Mom again and urged
her to get down here right
away. She and my son came that weekend. I described every detail
of what happened, and they were naturally very upset. My Mom asked me
why had I.A. not contacted her or my son, especially if they were the ones
being accused of “breaking me out” of prison. They left and spoke to
the Major on their way out.
MOUNTAIN VIEW UNIT:
My Mom and son spoke to
the Major on their way out after the visit… He told them he was sure it
would get cleared up very soon. About 10 days later, while still in
the seg’ section of this unit, my Mom called and spoke with Warden Baggett,
and insisted that I be let out of seg’ or to
charge me with a legitimate
reason for having me there. I was let out of seg’ that afternon, and placed
in H-dorm. I was never spoken to again about the whole escape matter.
It’s been months now and
they’ve never attempted to help myself or my family understand anything
beyond the simple fact that I was up-rooted, mistreated, denied the reasonable
explanation of being treated like an offender in punitive status; an explanation
beyond the
hollow claim of a so called
phonecall, to include an investigation which would definitely
necessitate the act of contacting
my mother and son, my so called accomplices.
I wasn’t on this unti
2 weeks when this unit went on lock-down because a pair of garden/hand-held
clippers had come up missing. I was called to see the unit warden,
Ms.
Smith. She told me:
“the word on the street is that you took the clippers to use to escape with
…” and that I set the whole
thing up on the Hilltop Unit so that I could get moved to Mt View to be with
my “home-girl.”
For starters, I was locked in the visiting room the day the clippers came up missing. I was with my boss Mr. Ford and the rest of the paint crew painting the visiting room. I was nowhere near the yard vew or their tools at the time the clippers came up missing, or any other time close to it. A pair of clippers would be of NO USE to me!
In response to the accusation
of my “setting it up at the Hilltop unit to move here to Mt. View …” to
be with some “home-girl” … that’s ridiculous! How would I ever be able
to pre-determine where I’d get a transfer to? I have no “home-girl”
here. I am from the State
of California. So
who is my “home-girl”??? Why would I jeopardise my mother and son in a mess
like that? I wouldn’t!!
Warden Smith made no sense
at all, and I feel that she knew that. I told this warden the same
thing that I told the man from I.A. “It makes no sense.” It makes no
sense that I would try to escape now after all that I’ve been through and
being so close to going home.
Warden Smith said “Well
Perillo, what do you consider close to going home?” I said “that I
don’t have a death sentence any more and I see light at the end of
the road now, so that’s being close to me.”
I know that I’ve been
here 22 flat calendar years, so why would I go through all that I’ve been
through, and arrive today
to have so much going for myself now, to give it all up, to be “on the run”
for the rest of my life, as well as my family??? The clippers were found
somewhere on the unit, but do you think that Warden Smith called me back
into her office to apologize to me for her strong accusations that I took
them for my own senseless use? In a word: Not!!!
I was sitting on a bench
outside the command building, when 2 female officers were standing around
behind me talking with each other. One said to the other: “imagine
the schools we could have sent our kids to, and the money we could have saved
had we not had to support
her on death row all those
years with our taxes, and she’s still living.” It was without a
doubt said for me to hear
it.
Once, I was sitting on
my bed with my headphones on, writing a letter. There was a commotion going
on in the dayroom between some of the inmates and an officer “WATTS.”
I heard my bed number being called by this same officer. She was yelling
when I had
removed my headphones.
I said: “Did you call me?” She went totally “off” on me and told me:
“I told you to be quiet now!!!” I told her that I hadn’t said anything;
I was confused being that I hadn’t even spoken to her until I responded to
my bed number. I was listening to music; she must’ve mistook my bed
number for another offender’s which is a common mistake inside the dorms.
The disturbing part of
this incident which I’m point out is what she said to me next. She
said “I’m wearing grey, you’re wearing white, who do you think they will
believe, me or you?” I responded: “I hope me, because I am not a liar
and I didn’t have anything to do with
whatever had her so upset.”
Later that night I was called out and read a 3 coded case. The first
case I’ve ever had in 21 years!
When I attempted to talk
to this same officer she said to me with such animosity: “Get out of my
face!!!” The very next day I went to a Lt. Griffith and tried to tell
him what had happened. He asked me: “Who am I supposed to believe,
you or my officer?” I told him that I wasn’t lying, that I’ve been
in TDCJ for 22 flat years and that I’ve seen officers, I am clearly aware
of officers who have been: Taken off this unit, male and female for having
sex with inmates. Lt’s taken to jail for molesting their step kids, Captains
taken to jail for robbery. Captains in the newspapers for stealing
(many times!) A warden taken off a unit for stealing money from the
state, ie inter-unit funds.
Officers as well as rank taken off the unit for hitting inmates. So
how
can anyone inside this institution
suggest that the level of integrity of these officers is
above that of an offender
just because of the color of clothes? The sad element of this is that
this sets up the mentality in these CO’s that they are somewhat “above the
law”, thus, free to be 8 hour tyrants to offenders.
What upset me deeply was
that I’ve known Lt. Griffith for years. He knows that I’m not a
trouble-maker and that I
wouldn’t stand there and lie to him. The real inmate who did have the
actual confrontation with Officer Watts went to this Lt and told him that
the officer had her and myself mixed up regarding the incident that I was
wrongly written up for. Other inmates in the dorm wrote statements
to support the incident and the fact that this officer wrote the wrong person
up. I went to court in front of a Lt White; I was found guilty of a
3 coded case I had nothing to do with. Once I was found guilty of giving food
to a neighboring inmate. I was
guilty! I claimed
my guilt! I always will. Anyway, this same officer Watts came
to me after she had written me up and said: “Perillo, all the officers
here are talking about how you got yourself off death row after 20 years.
I sure hope that case I just wrote you won’t keep you here any longer.”
The entire time she had a grin on her face. Then she asked if she could
see my pictures of myself and the other ladies on death row.
I have repeatedly sent
forms to both wardens, Smith and Nance, the Major and someone from I.A.
asking them to talk to me about everything I have been through since being
off of death row, but to no avail, because not one person has responded.
I’ve requested a job change to the boiler room because I felt it would give
me the time I needed alone to adjust to
general population and also
remove me from the way of this harassment. I stated to the Major my
reasons for requesting this job. The job I received was in the clothing
room.
I was then told by a Mr. Veach that the Major told him I couldn’t work the boiler room because of the incident at Hilltop, and my crime. I never Number ONE, I never tried to escape!!! Nor was I found guilty of it. Nor was I changed with an attempt, or the conspiring to do so! I am being punished for, and unfairly judged for, a phone call they “say” came into the unit. As for my crime, I’m no longer in here for “capital murder.” I am currently incarcerated for the crime of “aggravated robbery” and I’ve served 22 flat years for it.
This is recognized by
the State of Texas and the Department of Criminal Justice. TDC must
also comply with the standards of recognizing this fact. So the reasoning
of which made me “ineligible” for this job makes no sense. There
are offenders with big crimes and big time working all over this unit, in
positions such as I’ve requested, so how can the major make
such a claim?
In all that I am saying
here is that I can somehow fathom this treatment to myself, “if” I was a
trouble-maker on this unit
and the one before, but I try very hard to keep a low profile. I don’t
even go out of the dorm much. I just want to do my time the best I can
and hopefully go home someday soon. I stay to myself, and I’m a very
hard worker no matter the job I’m doing.
I have a hard time understanding
what it is that these people in grey want from me. I feel and hold
an attitude of respect to these officers, and I’m trying my best out here
in population. I sat on death row for 20 years on this unit.
It’s been very difficult for me to be back on the Mt. View unit. Two
weeks after I was returned to this unit, I had to go to the old death row
section of this prison to put lights in there. I was in this place
for years; 14 ½ years with my best
friend, “Karla Faye Tucker.”
I can’t even find all the words to express all the emotions I felt
having to go back inside
there.
I went to Karla’s old
cell and mine and sat on our beds, in the now empty cells, and I cried.
You can’t just put a person in a cage for 20 years and then one day let them
out and expect everything to instantly be absolutely normal for the person
who is now out of this
cage.
I’ve gone through a very rough time with all of this. I lost 60lbs from all the stress and I hold all this inside because these people I’m asking to investigate, to talk to me, they seem to be ignoring my pleas. I’m put on what to me seems like the “Pay you no mind list.”
I never dreamed it would
be so political within the institutional and the administration division
my being off of death row. If people have a problem with me getting
off of death row, then they need to take it up with the State of Texas.
I’m just trying to do my time and make it out of here. If it wasn’t
for my family and the friends in my life, I would have certainly lost
the focus I feel I have
… my mind!
I’m going to close this writing with a scripture that has both sustained me and encouraged me:
II CORINTHIANS 5:17
By Pam Lyn Perillo as
told to freelance writer Mina Gayton
WRITE TO PAM AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT !
PAM LYN PERILLO
TDCJ No. 932235
2305 RANSOM ROAD H2 – 16
MT. VIEW
GATESVILLE
TX 76528
| RETURN TO PAM PERILLO'S HOMEPAGE |
