[Written prior to Rev. Pinkney's release from punitive segregation in Level V]
Marquette Branch Prison is the one and only. There is not another prison like Marquette prison under Warden Robert Napel. He has the whole prison in an uproar. What he says goes. The prison leadership is questionable. We are at war,
Marquette's warden, known for his racist agenda, has now targeted me, Rev. Edward Pinkney, claiming I attempted to smuggle, when in fact I never attempted to smuggle anything. The question that plagues me and many is how to make sense of nonsense. There is so much nonsense going on here at this prison. It is like the world does not care, but giving up is not an option. Quitting is not an option.
We must continue to fight this battle at all costs. We are dealing with a system that is broken and the system is robbing the taxpayers. I call it poverty pimping, when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Marquette is a prison out of control, hundreds of miles from MDOC headquarters in Lansing, a real concentration camp with no regard for human suffering. This prison has untrained, unskilled, uneducated correctional officers--not all, but most. It's a jungle with lions and bears, snakes and spiders. The jungle is filled with poisonous people. The devil is blinding the people's minds from seeing reality. We see horrible things happening, the suffering and brutality that go on inside the prison, unimaginable to our eyes and senses. The prison system tortures the prisoners at Marquette Branch Prison. What I am witnessing is pure hell and evil, a living hell.
I have now been placed in a level 5 concentration camp at Marquette. A place where prisoners are assembled, a place where prisoners of war are confined. The Warden believes he is above the law, rules and regulations of this country. We must take a stand. I need your help immediately. They are closing all doors on the battle field with all of their power. I am reaching out for help. There are more of us than them.
When the system knows you are not guilty of anything, they try to destroy you. Can we stand together?
Marquette Prison targets Blacks who are attacked every single day, tortured. The correctional officers write bold tickets of misconduct, Blacks get the worst area, and are forced to do the dirtiest work. We must stop the racism inside Marquette Branch Prison and MDOC headquarters in Lansing at all costs.
-Rev. Pinkney
