Petition of Peace
This petition is for the health and well being of inmates and staff of Bertie Correctional Institution. The policies put forth by the powers that be, namely the punitive actions and preventive measures under the guise of security, have created and catered to an overall debilitating and stressful environment for inmates and officers alike.
The close custody population has been under lock and key since September 4th, 2019. Since said date no inmate on the closed custody side has been allowed some of the basic qualities of life such as simply walking on grass, for the administration has went to extreme measures to ensure the security of the prison. Administration prohibits the population from using the outside yard for recreation, the population instead is only allowed an hour of recreation three times a week in a concrete enclosure that is still connected to the building only the roof is open. There is no exposure to vegetation to get real fresh air whatsoever. Even dogs are allowed to walk on grass, how much more so should human beings be allowed such basic qualities of life when it is readily available? Not only are the inmates denied the outside yard, they have also been restricted from using the gym since the above date. Again, under the guise of security, preventive punitive measures for fear of things that have not and may not even happen at all.
These preventive security measures also include keeping the population in their cells as much as possible. Since September 4th, 2019, the population has not been allowed recreation outside their cells for any period longer than three hours. For the better part of the time from said date to the date of this petition the population has been on twenty three hour lockdown with one hour of recreation out in the dayroom. Mind that there are no activities in the dayroom, most pods barely have board games. It is under the umbrella of so called security that the draconian policies of such strict lockdown can be imposed upon a whole population of people whom have not violated any rules of the institution. More times than not, inmates involved in the event that constitutes the lockdown are transferred to another facility while the whole population is punished. It is proven knowledge that long bouts of solitary confinement have averse affects on the short and long term mental health of individuals. Anxiety and depression are two major affects of solitary confinement, as well as two major causes of suicide. There have been two successful suicides at Bertie Correctional Institution within first twenty days of 2022. The top administrative officials have shown indifference to the well-being of the community for too long. They are so wrapped up in punitive prevention of a certain few individuals that they neglect the basic duty to rehabilitate the other hundreds of inmates who they are put in care of. Instead the policies being put into action are actually debilitating and destructive, counterproductive to the overall mission of any Correctional Institution. In addition to mental health, being stuck in a concrete and steel cell with no access to fresh air or freedom of movement for proper exercise is physically debilitating as well. Back aches, stiff joints, obesity, and problems with breathing can be directly attributed to the conditions of long term confinement.
Not only are the inmates affected by the policies put forth, but staff as well. Officers are constantly under pressure from above to work harder due to the tedious procedures involved with lockdown. Lower level staff has to deal with the backlash of the policies that the top brass hands down. Just as there is no meaningful communication between administration and the inmate population, so it is with staff. This creates a problem of morale amongst the work force, which in turn makes officers not want to work at the prison, leading to severe understaffing and putting further stress on the officers that are still available. Administration routinely uses the excuse of short staffing to justify keeping the population under lockdown as well, failing to realize that it’s the lockdowns that are causing the short staffing in the first place. Administration is oppressing the inmates and officers alike.
There is a thick line between keeping the prison safe and cruel and unusual punishment. The administration of Bertie, namely superintendents Clark and Locklear, are blatantly standing on the side of punishment with no regard for the silent destruction they are causing to the human beings they are charged with rehabilitating. Whether out of incompetence or indifference, the end game remains that people are suffering as a direct result of their actions and/or inactions. The People that sign this petition are calling for justice in regard to human rights. We want communication for a change. There will be no compromise…
In memory of Jeffery A. Jacobs and Dontavian Bartee