By Uhuru B. Rowe
August 26, 2018
Email: uhururowe76@yahoo.com
“Corrections officials tend to have a single-track mindset: guards oversee prisoners in an attempt to maintain security and order. But what if the looking glass needs to be reversed and the jailers need to be overseen instead?” — Christopher Zoukis
Twelve. That is the number of preventable deaths of incarcerated people said to have occurred here at Sussex 2 State Prison (S2SP) since November of 2016. Actually, it’s more than twelve. Because these deaths were happening so frequently, many of us stopped counting at twelve.
I described two of these deaths in a post on my blog titled, “Different Prison, Same Old Abuse.” With this post, however, I want to raise public awareness about one death in particular, and that is the murder of John Tran which resulted from the gross negligence and utter disregard for human life demonstrated by S2SP officials.
John Tran was within two years of going home to his family. Whenever he found the occasion to talk to me about his son, he always had a twinkle in his eyes. Unbeknownst to Tran and to those of us who considered him a friend, he would not get the chance to see his son again on the other side of these prison walls. That’s because on January 11, 2017, he was beaten to death during, what many say was, an hour-long confrontation with his cellmate. But Tran’s cellmate should not have been blamed for his death, as was the case. Blame should have been cast solely at the feet of S2SP officials who were aware of a potential violent conflict between Tran and his cellmate and yet did nothing to prevent it.
Below are three acts of gross negligence by S2SP officials which contributed to Tran’s murder. I discovered these facts during the course of interviews I conducted with the prisoners who were present that fateful day in Housing Unit 2, Pod A (HU2A) where Tran was murdered.
Number #1: Due to critical under staffing levels which has plagued S2SP the last two years, there wasn’t a correctional officer (C/O) stationed on the floor to monitor and patrol HU2A on the day Tran was murdered. The under staffing levels at S2SP, which has reached almost 40% according to news reports, is so bad that C/Os are being bused in from prisons across the state to temporarily fill vacancies. However, S2SP remains understaffed, especially at night and on the weekends. Consequently, this under staffing contributed to Tran’s death because there were no C/Os stationed on the floor in HU2A at the time of Tran’s death and his screams and cries for help went unheard and unanswered.
Number #2: All cells at S2SP are equipped with an emergency call box with a button that, when pressed, alerts the C/O stationed in the control booth that there is an emergency situation taking place in that particular cell. C/O D. Clark, who was stationed in the control booth on the day Tran was killed, deliberately ignored the emergency alert to Tran’s cell as he lay dying in a pool of blood. At the time, C/O D. Clark had a well known history of deliberately ignoring these emergency alerts and should not have been stationed in a control booth that day or any other day. Yet, the S2SP administration assigned C/O D. Clark to the control booth anyway, and continues to do so, even after Tran’s murder. Had S2SP administration not assigned C/O D. Clark to the control booth and had C/O D. Clark responded to the emergency alert to Tran’s cell, Tran would still be alive and his cellmate would not have been (unjustly) charged for his murder.
Number #3. In the weeks leading up to Tran’s death, Tran and his cellmate made several requests to Housing Unit #2 Manager (HUM), J. F. Mills, to be moved to another cell, which Mills ignored. These cell change requests, as they are called, are normally granted if it is found that the two people housed in a cell are not compatible. These requests, however, are routinely denied here at S2SP and has often resulted in violent, bloody conflicts between cellmates. Had HUM Mills moved either Tran or his cellmate once he was made aware of their incompatibility, Tran would still be alive and his cellmate would not be (unjustly) charged for his murder.
S2SP officials failed Tran and his cellmate at almost every level. As a result of their gross negligence, Tran lost his life and his cellmate is charged for his murder even though S2SP officials are at fault. This is the type of corruption I’ve been writing about in order to educate the People about the conditions we are subjected to behind these walls on a daily basis.
Because in all honesty, how many of you would have known about all of these deaths, including the murder of John Tran which was caused by the gross negligence and disregard for human life displayed by S2SP officials, if I didn’t write this post? And now that you know, what should you do?
On June 21, 2018, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered state officials to investigate the abuse claims made by immigrant children at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center. The same investigation should be made in regards to the 13 or more preventable deaths which has occurred here at S2SP since November 2016, especially the circumstances surrounding the death of Tran.
So, I’m calling on you, The People, to call Gov. Ralph Northam, at 804- 786-2211, and Secretary of Public Safety, Brian Moran, at 804-786-5351, and demand that they investigate these deaths. Demand that S2SP HUM Mills and C/O D. Clark be immediately terminated for their gross negligence and disregard for human life which led to Tran’s murder.
Otherwise, if you, the The People — whose tax dollars pays the salaries of these crooked and corrupt prison officials — don’t speak up and demand action, we’ll keep dying behind these walls and those responsible will continue to avoid accountability.
All Power to All the People!