📞⚡ Monday 3/25 – Friday 3/29
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phone numbers are located at the end of this post
Trigger warning: Mentions racist violence by guards at SCI Rockview
About
This is the second week of a phone zap that has not yet resulted in any further action taken by PA-DOC to reprimand three guards who hung nooses in the office (bubble) at SCI Rockview. We believe the facility’s inaction is symptomatic of the deeper condition of normalized antiBlack genocide and white supremacist class warfare in this facility (and across PA-DOC facilities). At SCI Rockview alone there was eleven preventable deaths in 2023, as well as several instances of beatings of prisoners by guards.
Following a letter campaign from the inside and a multi-day phone zap by outside supporters last week, our imprisoned comrade who filed the initial grievance about this issue was thrown in the hole (solitary) and may potentially be transferred as retaliation for speaking out. Since then we have also learned that there were other grievances submitted since the noose incident first happened, to no filing by SCI Rockview staff.
Update: as of 3/26 we have learned that a second prisoner was placed in the hole.
So, now the goals of our ongoing phone zap this week will be to demand the release of comrades from the hole, as well as continuing to pressure the DOC and other officials to take action against the guards. As of now: the officers have faced no consequences; the grievances were denied by the superintendent’s assistant (who doubles as the grievance coordinator); and the internal investigation into the “noose incident” has been closed. This is unacceptable, and prisoners in the facility have not relented in their work to expose this situation for the world to see. We owe it to the comrades in the belly of SCI Rockview, and especially to our comrade who was put in the hole for speaking up and letting the world know about this situation. This is the second time prisoners at SCI Rockview have faced severe consequences for speaking out, all the while the guards have enjoyed incredible degrees of insulation and impunity. The first phone zap we conducted resulted in an imprisoned comrade being thrown in the hole and eventually transferred to an entirely different state.
Some further Background:
In November 2023, a group of guards hung two nooses at SCI Rockview – in a location visible to roughly a hundred prisoners. Prisoners who witnessed the nooses have been outraged by this disturbing racist act, and have since demanded that these guards face consequences. In January we launched a two week phone zap campaign that forced PA-DOC main offices to contact the warden. While many Black prisoners remain tormented by this racist act, the guards responsible have enjoyed impunity, with officials in the facility even making attempts to silence anyone on the inside who speaks out. Last week we launched a second phone zap campaign, because there has been absolutely no initiative on the part of PA-DOC to reprimand the guards or acknowledge the legitimacy of prisoner concerns.
We have little reason to believe an internal investigation will achieve what the prisoners have been demanding, which includes the following:
- Release Charles Gilyard (# AY3679) and Charles Carrington (#HS1233) from the hole and do not transfer them to a different facility.
- Investigate superintendent’ secretary Nicki Paul – who is also the grievance coordinator enabling much of this nonsense.
- Investigate the hanging of nooses as a “hate crime” and take their impact seriously
- Terminate Sgt. Mosser and c/o Richards
- Mandatory therapy for c/o Kirchner
We need an external investigation of SCI Rockview & its staff. This facility has seen 11 deaths (that we know of) in 2023 and a severe pattern of racist discriminatory practices. Please join us in calling PA-DOC offices and officials, to further expose this incident and amplify the demands of our captive comrades.
Further updates on the situation (as of 2/27):
Further updates as of 3/28:
We have an update on Charles Gilyard (AY3679), who was targeted and put in the hole at SCI Rockview for filing grievances and for continuing to *speak* up after the grievances were denied and internal investigation dropped. Charles (AY3679) was moved today to SCI Houtzdale, located an hour west of SCI Rockview. He has been there since approx. 3:30pm.
We received word that Rockview did not ship any of Charles’ belongings and he is to start from scratch with no property. Charles is in his 60s. His experience in the hole (isolation) without any calls permitted and hyper-immobilized for over a week has taken a toll.
3/29 we will be calling SCI Houtzdale and PA-DOC Central Office to demand that his property be salvaged and shipped. We are also asking any letter writing collectives and books thru bars groups to send Charles (AY3679) some love and light.
The administration at SCI Rockview is deeply paranoid, fearful, and engaged in explicit damage control right now. SCI Rockview was a site of double digit fatalities and constant gratuitous violence in 2023. The noose situation is tip of the iceburg shit. We are curious to know the extent to which the Correctional Officers union is having a play in this cover up. We are starting to connect the dots a bit more. The reasons for the unprecedented quickness of these transfers is because this cover up is at a high level. Like we been saying but many keep ignoring, the “noose incident” is just the tip of the ice-burg in SCI Rockview – a site of ritualized gratuitous violence that is symptomatic of a more general condition of genocide that constitutes PA-DOC. PA-DOC knows this. This is why they have been so opaque and deflective with the public questioning and independent external investigators. And this is why they have came down so hard on prisoners who will not let this incident go without consequences. If guards face consequences for something as allegedly “minor” as hanging nooses in the facility, what will PA-DOC be forced to do when the stories of beatings and premature death are dug into further?
If we don’t hear from Charles Carrington (#HS1233) by tomorrow morning we need to call and do a wellness check. After filing his grievances about the noose incident, he expressed concern for his life and was communicating that he felt SCI Rockview staff were trying to kill him. He was allegedly transferred today. Charles G. was transferred today also. But his wife had heard from him. Charles C. has not been heard from yet.
Script for Calling (info is outdated but will be changed 3/29 in the morning)
I am calling on behalf of a community of people who are distressed by a recent incident of antiBlack harassment by a group of CO’s at SCI Rockview, who have faced no consequences for their racist actions. On 11/24/23, prisoners at SCI Rockview found two nooses made from extension cords hung by guards in the office (bubble). Two internal grievances have been submitted by prisoners who witnessed the incident, and prison officials have rejected both. The internal investigation on the matter has also been closed, leading us to resort to contacting anyone external that we can. We would like to make you aware that the facility admin has rejected both internal grievances, submitted by prisoners through the proper channels. And while the guards have faced no consequences for their hateful act, prisoners who have spoken out and lodged legitimate grievances have faced severe consequences that have placed them in the hole, led to transfers, and can compromise their records. We have little reason to believe any further internal investigation will achieve what the prisoners have been demanding, which includes the following:
- Investigate the hanging of nooses as a “hate crime” and take its impact seriously
- Terminate Sgt. Mosser and c/o Richards
- Mandatory therapy for c/o Kirchner
We on the outside would also like to add the following demands:
- Release Charles Gilyard (# AY3679) and Charles Carrington (#HS1233) from the hole and do not transfer them to a different facilities. Both Charles G. and Charles C. have been thrown in the hole as retaliation after an article was published in the Centre Daily Times detailing the “noose incident” and for demanding this group of guards who hung nooses be made to face consequences for their actions. They are being retaliated against for filing grievances, which is in fact against PA-DOC handbook policy.
- Investigate superintendent’ secretary Nicki Paul – who is also the grievance coordinator, and has been flippant and dismissive to everyone’s concerns about the nooses.
The hanging of two nooses is understood by many people imprisoned at SCI Rockview to be a hostile act and deeply offensive. Some are disclosing how these acts are part of a larger pattern of discriminatory practices used by correctional officers at this specific facility. If this was any other workplace, the act of hanging nooses would lead to severe consequences. The admin at SCI Rockview have not only displayed indifference to the racist act, but some even have made efforts to silence prisoners in distress by the incident. We urge PA-DOC officials to recognize the significance of the prisoner demands, which are derived from the exhausted grievances.
Phone Contacts
[use a *67 pre-fix to block your caller ID]
Chief Council (to demand the grievances be taken seriously)
Timothy Holmes, Chief Counsel | 717.728.7763 | tholmes@pa.gov
*also ask for Darina Varner (we are unsure how to contact her, but she oversees the grievance coordinators)
Office of Chief Counsel
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
1920 Technology Parkway
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Office of Population Management (to demand Charles’ not be transferred)
Michael Wenerowicz, Executive Deputy Secretary for Institutional Operations 717.728.4122 | 4123
Heather Fotiou, Assistant 717.728.4025
SCI Rockview
Main Phone Line | 814.355.4874
When calling the SCI Rockview facility itself, you can request to speak with the admin or security. If you choose to speak with admin, here are their specs: Superintendent is Bobbi Jo Salamon; Deputy Superintendent of Central Services is Mike Rowe; Deputy Superintendent of Facilities is Scott Woodring; Business Manager is Adam Beck; Superintendent’s Assistant is Nicki Paul (Nicki is also the grievance coordinator – and a big liar!). When you call the prison directly, ask to speak with any of these admin.
When calling the staff at Rockview, they will likely lie to you and say Charles is not in the hole, and they will deny the threat of transfer. Please ask what his official 802 grievance write up was… and report back to us if you find this information out. When calling other PADOC offices tell them that Rockview staff have been lying to us on a number of accounts.
PA-DOC Central:
Laurel Harry, Secretary of Corrections 717.728.4109
Randee Brant, Chief of Staff 717.728.4107
David Radziewicz, Special Assistant 717.728.4117
Deanna Washington, Executive Secretary, Deputy Secretary’s Office 717.728.4122
Central Office Main Phone Line:
717.728.2573
Abuse Report 24/7 Voicemail Center:
1.800.677.0330
General inmate-related issues, send emails to:
ra-contactdoc@pa.gov
Email the DOC Secretary at
ra-crpadocsecretary@pa.gov
PA-DOC Contact Form:
https://py-forms-prod.powerappsportals.us/DOCContactUs/
PA-DOC Eastern:
Morris Houser, Acting Deputy Secretary Eastern Region 717.728.4122 | 4123
Marilyn Richards, Staff Assistant 717.728.4114
Samuel Condo, Staff Assistant 717.728.4747
Capt. Bly, Inspection Captain 717.728.4126
An important thing to also note is that we have called the overseer of SCI Rockview’s region, Samuel Condo, over a dozen time – with none of our voicemails replied to. It appears he is dodging the issue by simply not picking up the phone for anything related to the “noose incident.”
PA State Government
Governor Shapiro’s office: 717.787.2500
Text governor Shapiro: 717.788.8990
Governor’s office – Right to Know Requests: https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/CitizensGuide.cfm
Michelle A Henry, PA Attorney General
Main Office Line: 717.787.3391
Press Office: 717.787.5211
PA Office of Inspector General – 717.772.4935
Government Misconduct Report Portal: https://www.osig.pa.gov/Pages/Report-Government-Misconduct.aspx
SCI Rockview is attempting to disrupt the cohesion of inside resistance to these racist guards by targeting and removing people who they think are its catalyst. While resistance inside remains steadfast, the regime is simultaneously attempting to thwart the energy of outside support into individually supporting comrades, while comrades inside are isolated and targeted for reprisal. The struggle from here therefore takes two lines: On the one hand we have defensive work: making sure the comrades who are singled out and face accelerated repression are materially supported and the prison knows we have all eyes on the unfolding situation. And on the other hand we continue our offensive work: adjusting strategy to force PADOC to not only recognize the prisoner demands but to fulfill the requested terms of relief from which such demands emerge.
Dreaming Freedom, Practicing Abolition 