Writings from Rev. Pinkney dated 11/30
On 11-20-2015 at about 10pm, 6 correctional officers came to arrest me in prison, claiming I was at the front door of the prison smuggling handwritten notes: this is impossible.
Let the truth be told, this country, this state has gravitated back to the 60s, the days of the freedom rides. John Lewis was selected to speak for the group, facing a battery of cameras, microphones and notepads. There was a strange silence as he was transfixed by what he saw coming up behind the reporter, Norman Ritter, the Time Life Bureau Chief from Atlanta. He saw white men brandishing baseball bats, bottles, lead pipes, knives, guns. The people stood helpless as the racist white men barreled into them. Some of Lewis' group jumped, some were pushed, and some were literally thrown over the railing onto the roofs of cars parked in the post office lot below. The Freedom Riders realized that whites, who had been secluded at various observation posts, were closing in on them from all directions.
When I think about Marquette Prison and Warden Robert Napel, they are closing in on me from all directions. When I say this guy rules with an iron fist, I mean it. Warden Napel makes up the rules to fit his needs. The DOC can say you are making a three-way call without any evidence to support the charge; if the department says you are making a three-way call, that is the final decision, regardless of the facts.
The grievance process is a fraud. An employee of MDOC handles the grievances and always rules in favor of the department. The hearing process is a fraud on the people, including taxpayers.
On 11-25-15 at about 2:10 pm I was released from Level 5 segregation without my property. The 2pm-10pm correctional officer (who once wrote 39 misconduct tickets in one day) refused to call the property room so I could receive my property. For six days I had only house shoes (sandals) to wear in sub-zero weather. It was snowing and cold, and my feet got wet and cold every single day. I have to go outside to get to the chow hall.
Correctional Officer Balsa refused to allow me to call my attorney. She made several threats.
But the good news: For about a week, News TV 6 in Marquette, Michigan, televised the 11-21-15 protest at the front gate of the prison. The prisoners saw the coverage and the residents of Marquette now have been informed that the MDOC is a fraud. Residents came out to support "Free Rev. Pinkney." As a result of this news coverage, I've become a hero to the prisoners and around Marquette.
In Muskegon Prison, the Warden stole over $300,000. I suspect the warden in Maruette has stolen more than a million dollars of taxpayers money, under the guise of being tough on crime. Let's have a major protest and demand Warden Robert Napel be fired!
The Shakedown of Prisoners
It was a very sad day at Marquette Branch Prison. On Nov. 25, 2015, at around 9:30am, Warden Robert Napel ordered a shakedown of a unit with more than 200 prisoners in it. The correctional officers were like gang busters, around 30-40 untrained, unskilled, uneducated, unprofessional correctional officers. They were more like the Keystone Cops.
The untrained correctional officers destroyed the prisoners' sleeping area. They threw all the prisoners' sheets, pillows, blankets, clothing, food, radios, and TVs all over the place. It appeared to be the scene of a battle with no help coming. The prisoners' resentment, frustration, and anger was overwhelming, given that they had their world rocked by the shakedown. Who would believe the scene I witnessed. To explain it to the world, nobody would believe it if you have never been to prison.
The Michigan Department of Corrections headquarters in Lansing allow Warden Robert Napel to operate Marquette Branch Prison in this way. The Warden has a belief that all blacks should be in jail or prison, a Nazi mentality.
During the shakedown several officers were complaining, with an expression of grief an pain, at what the Warden asked them to do. Some stated that it's time for the Warden to retire or become a refugee on the run. He should retire because he believes that prisoners should not be treated humanely and with dignity in any matters of health care, personal safety, and general living conditions. He discriminates based on race. Some correctional officers also believe there should be an audit of Marquette Branch Prison, including but not limited to the money allocated for the prison and the prisoners' benefit fund, and all other funds he has control over.
Warden Napel is using every trick in the book to harass, intimidate, and threaten me. He is the battleship behind the attacks on me, but this is all part of war. We are dealing with a person who believes in ruling with an iron fist who has created a real jungle at Marquette Branch Prison. The prison calls 16 to 18 prisoner counts per day, day and night, which is sheer stupidity and harassment.
This is why Warden Robert Napel must be terminated or forced to resign as soon as possible. Warden Robert Napel must go! Resign now!
-Rev. Pinkney
