Open Letter to Colorado DOC Director Williams–EC Theus-Roberts

E.C. Theus-Roberts

D.O.C. #156128

Colorado State Penitentiary

PO BOX 777

Canyon City CO 81215

Director Williams

Greetings! I take it for granted that you are familiar with Lord Acton’s oft-quoted adage:

                “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

                Presently, administration artificially maintains in C.S.P.’s population prisoners without negative chronological notations, no incident reports, and no Code of Penal Discipline (COPD) infractions who are otherwise program compliant to the letter. These same prisoners are denied progression often without explanation. Such denials continue for months at a time. My experience has been prisoners are denied and denied until an incident or appropriate pretense arises then they are told “Well we were going to progress you, but now…” This is only the beginning.

                Prisoners who are approved to progress from one level to the next in the Special Management step down system that replaced Ad-Seg spend months waiting because according to C.S.P. officials, there are “no beds”. This is a farce par excellence. The week of November 7^th, my pod, (E-8) had five people finally leave for the next lower level after an average wait of four to five months after approval because there was no bedspace. Yet, paradoxically, the pod next door (E-7) never had more than nine people in it. That means at least seven beds were available during that time.

                Besides gerrymandering bedspace as if it were voting districts, there are the innumerable, habitual arbitrary acts and frequent derelictions. Just two examples will suffice.

                About three months or so ago, a black prisoner killed a Latino who D.O.C.’s intelligence services labelled a member of an STG (security threat group). Following a lockdown of the facility, which was followed by searches and a longer lockdown of ever Latino D.O.C: labeled as part of said STG. Finally in early November all STG offenders were let off of lockdown. They could finally come out of their cells, interact with others, and receive visits from loved ones. Only they could not. Officials decided anybody they had labeled that STG would be needlessly denied any visitation privileges. Administration’s reasoning? They felt it a necessary punishment to put an end to violence. It seems reasonable until one realizes that the STG-labeled Latino killed did not initiate the violence in the first place.

                As it regards frequent derelictions, one recent, personal example is illustrative. I was approved to progress to a lower level in August then, inexplicably, I was regressed back to the former higher level. No incident reports, no negative chronologicals, no COPDs, participating in work assignment, meeting with case management and otherwise program compliant. I filed an appeal of the decision and was told:

“I have reviewed your placement and progression while you have been at CSP. I believe that you are mistaken, you have been progressed out of MCH as of yet.” Luckily, I maintain my own records and sent the placement and progression reviews. These demonstrated that I was not “mistaken” and that whoever “reviewed” my placement and progression, needed to answer. My appeal, in fact, did not bother to do so.

                As there is no oversight, myself and these individuals, as well as many others, have no way to rectify these issues. More to the point, these are only a small handful of examples. I could spend three pages, front and back, and still not run out of instances, and these only from the last four months.

                Officials at CSP have a club mentality. Club members are always right. If and when outsiders challenge or level allegations against their actions the benefit of a doubt goes to club members. What that means for prisoners is arbitrary denials and no meaningful appeal. Without oversight there is no accountability. Officials and administrators take each other’s word as oath-bound truth and greet anything from prisoners with extreme skepticism. Such is the hopeless reality for prisoners at CSP. That is what is daily lived.

                It boggles the mind why you willingly follow the science for pursuing and promoting rehabilitation in every other custody level, but in Close and Special Management Close Custody the theme is still rehabilitation through punishment. I will tell you what myself and others told Warden Thomas Little in late June. Rehabilitation through punishment is not a thing. Tough on crime, total incapacitation and deterrence methodologies have not ever worked. If there is any doubt, Tom Clements’s assassination is irrefutable proof: with enough punishment adults do not reform. Is it not a tad bit hypocritical to claim Close Custody and Special Management prisoners are problematic and volatile, but deny them any meaningful opportunity to do or be otherwise?

                For over two thirds of CSP there is zero availability to pursue a college-level education. As I detailed for Governor Polis, members of Colorado’s legislature and in my article “It Costs Less to Educate than Incarcerate,” according to a US Department of Justice 2003 study, only thirteen percent of all prisoners are college educated. You, yourself, acknowledged education’s importance for rehabilitation in the recent past. Therefore, it makes even less sense why you allow the denial of equal access to education from universities. Add to that, close custody prisoners at CSP II have no programs at all.

                Worst of all, your example sets the standard for Warden Thomas Little. His comportment informs all his subordinates’ behavior from Associate Warden Lisac to Housing Captain Audet and regular unit officers. Warden Little is unresponsive, unconcerned, obstinate and decidedly in the deterrence camp. His modus operandi follows from yours. Rehabilitation is a non sequitur.

                In conclusion, I will leave you with these few words and ask you, not for the first time, if you will allow us real opportunities to better ourselves? Or will you continue in the Deterrence Fallacy while claiming we prisoners are the cause of our own plight? Regardless of ideology, one truth is certain:
                There is no benevolence in doing for others what you refuse to allow them to do for themselves.

                Will you rectify these issues and let us achieve a dignified livelihood or, like Little and his merry band, continue to be obstructionist? Oversight, accountability, and opportunity are the first necessary steps you can take with a pen.

                Always a humble scribe.

                E.C. Theus-Roberts