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How’s it going? I hope that as this letter reaches you, that it finds you and everyone else within the IOA community in the best of health, both physically and mentally.

First of all I can’t thank the men and women of the IOA enough, for their persistent protest over the last 6 months. It is because of you all that we can claim this small victory over a lockback regime for nearly seven months. So once again, thanks from the bottom of my heart.

I have received your last 3 letters and I appreciate the continuous contact and newsletters. I haven’t  had any stamps, so that’s why it has taken me so long to respond back. But here I am, still as faithful and strong advocate/ participant of IOA.

As for Durham County Concentration Camp, hasn’t nothing changed around here but the NEAR END LOCKBACK. Other than that Lt. Col Perkins and her unprofessional, unethical henchmen are still assaulting inmates, subjecting us to inhuman living conditions and monopolizing (something by law that they are not supposed to do) through canteen, globaltel, medical, etc. Sheriff Andrews stands behind all of this 100%, with telling lies to cover more lies.

Also let me be the first to say that all of the detention officers are not unprofessional/unethical henchmen/women. Nor do they condone the way that their co-workers carry themselves. But I will say that 80% of the staff here at Durham County Concentration Camp (D.C.C.C.) are very unprofessional/unethical henchmen and women.

They have an officer here named Perry. They knowingly and willingly allow this boy to assault inmates. Just a couple weeks ago he assaulted an inmate by walking up on him and violently shoving him to the ground, when the inmate was not coming at him in any kind of combative form. I witnessed all this personally. This same officer Perry, I witnessed a couple of months back in pod 3D get in a verbal confrontation with an inmate in his cell, and open his cell door and go in the inmate’s cell and assault him. Now that is not policy, nor procedure, I know for sure.

The crazy part about it, we, the inmates are in a catch-22 situation. If they assault us, and we defend ourselves…Then we get written up, assaulted by numerous staff, and most likely taken before the magistrate and assault charges taken out on us. Then if they assault us, and we don’t defend ourselves, then we still get written up, because they have to tell a lie to justify why they assaulted us. What are we to do? Catch-22.

Also, they have this Sgt. Mimms (there are 2 of them. They are twins, and both Sgts.) that they allow to keep on tazing inmates unjustly. About 3 or so months ago, he tazed a juvenile inmate in the back. Him and the juvenile inmate got into a verbal confrontation because the inmate was using profanity while talking to another inmate in a joking manner ( keep in mind that he wasn’t even talking to this Sgt. Mimms. Also, he’s a juvenile, so 9 times out of 10 he’s going to conduct himself as one, hence use profanity. Should that subject him to being electrocuted???) Well, this Sgt. Mimms took great offense because he is one of those fake-ass hypocrite, bible thumpers, that allegedly takes offense to profanity. But uses it whenever he gets mad. If that ain’t a hypocrite…Then what do you call that??? But yeah, he took offense, and told the juvenile inmate to go to his room  (in order to be locked back. Which I didn’t know using profane language in a sergeant’s presence constitutes grounds for lockback). The juvenile inmate and the sergeant got into a verbal confrontation about the inmate going to his room. During the time of the confrontation other inmates joined in verbally and told the juvenile to “just go in his room.” Sgt. Mimms then unholstered his taser and pointed it at the juvenile. Sgt. Mimms then told him to go to his room. The juvenile noticed he had the taser and was about to shock him, and he started to comply. The juvenile turned and started walking toward his room and Sgt. Mimms shot him in the back. IN THE BACK!!! Now there is no way that he could have been combative, or have been doing anything deemed worthy of being tased, if he got tased IN THE BACK!!!

Then when they do these unprofessional things, they get praises, instead of disciplined, by ranking officers. That makes them continue to subject us to these violent, inhuman, oppressive living conditions. Also, it causes us to be accused of falsified assault charges.

As far as the “new phase of the detainee walk schedule…” (Sheriff Andrews’ quote) it’s cool or whatever. Of course more hours out of your room (when you are already in your room more hours than you are out) is always going to be a plus. I can also tell you that I, as well as every other detainee, are very thankful for the near-end of the lockback situation.

But it is not enough. We need and want a complete end to the lockback. The same schedule that we were on 6 ½ months ago, before the lockback. We wish to be placed back on it. The hour and a half or so (from 9 pm – 10:45 pm) that Durham County Concentration Camp has taken from us, for no other reason than because they feel that they simply can. WE WANT IT BACK!!!

I am in full agreement with you all. An independent community team(s) needs to investigate this place and hold the right personnel accountable. But I doubt if they’d do that, because they’d have to shut this place down…Because they’d have to fire too many people.

Well, I’m about end this letter.

Your brother in the struggle,

Gregory Wilson

P.S. You can use my real whole name in the newsletter. And as the d.o. like to say…Make sure you spell it right!!    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂