False Accusations and a Successful Solo Hunger Strike Inside SATF‑CSP, Corcoran: Late May Reflections From Damon Anderson
Damon Anderson (no familial relation to your Waywards writer/publisher), a prisoner inside the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran (SATF‑CSP, Corcoran), recently shared with me a commentary for public dissemination after he faced false allegations and launched a successful solo hunger strike.
As noted before in this newsletter, Damon participated in multiple hunger strikes while incarcerated inside Riverside County jails. He’s also sued the Riverside Sheriff’s Department, which oversees the jails, and he assisted other detained persons with pro se litigation. I discussed some of that in an article for Shadowproof published in February.
You can donate to Damon’s fundraiser here to support his ongoing legal work.
You can read Damon’s account of being falsely accused and his account of the recent solo hunger strike he undertook below. The following text has been lightly edited to improve clarity.
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From 5/24/22:
Another day spent fighting and trying to survive. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it.
Maybe I should have just allowed the prison administration to screw me over.
They’re good at finding loopholes in their own policies to justify what they do.
Or, sometimes blasé indifference rules the day inside here. “You’re in prison, so you don't get a choice,” as the warden herself put it in my last 602 response regarding the prison’s lack of giving a shit about whether or not areas are sanitized after a known individual with COVID just occupied them.
If I would have just followed the herd I would still be on the yard finishing a semester of college and not in a cell 21 hours a day without my typewriter and a phone call every two weeks, eating cold, nasty food and being lied to by officers.
I'm not allowed to have a plastic cup here. I only get a paper cup every two weeks, as the last cop told me on supply day when I showed him a used paper cup, falling apart and soggy. Really, I mean no one else on this earth uses a paper cup more than once; yet, I have to make it last two damn weeks. That is just one of the ridiculous things that I am forced to endure all because I know my rights and am not quiet when those rights are violated.
Update on 5/26/22:
As of this writing, I’ve lost 151 days of good time credit for nothing. I had a disciplinary hearing, and I was not allowed to question the guard who accused me. Let’s put it this way. If I was to beat the shit out of someone and received a write up as a result, I would have only received a 90 day credit loss — and after 6 months of good behavior, I could get that time back .
Now that I supposedly made this threat, I’ve lost 151 days and I can't get the time back. The cop that I supposedly made this threat to did not write me up so I did not get to have him at my hearing.
On top of that, I was not able to prepare a defense because the specific, alleged threat was was never revealed to me. Because I am in the hole they provide an investigative employee. That person is supposed to ask questions for me and gather evidence on my behalf, yet every question I wanted asked was deemed not relevant.
So, therefore, I got fucked. What was alleged never happened. Nevertheless, they take 151 days of my freedom all because like *name redacted* said on body camera that I “cry too much.” If crying too much means standing up to this injustice and using my pen or typewriter to fight back and bring attention to these corrupt cops, then I'm gonna cry them a fuckin’ river.
I began a hunger strike the day of the hearing and planned to keep refusing food until the issue is reviewed and my good time is given back.
Update on 5/28/22:
I won!!! This is why going to the extremes with a hunger strike is so important. After refusing food, I was interviewed by a captain who agreed with me about all the procedural errors and the lack of evidence for determining guilt. So it will be re-heard. And dismissed!
If I would not have started the hunger strike then I would have received no justice!