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December 7th 2004, marks the second anniversary of a rather noisome and obscene incident at Shasta County Jail. (It may even have been the prototype for the depravities perpetrated in the other Abu Gharib (that notorious prison in Iraq). On that date, December 7th, 2002, Deputies of Shasta County Sheriff Jim Pope, carried out a nefarious act. Allegedly conducting a “strip search” they carried out a physical body cavity search as defined in California Penal Code §4030 (d)(3), which states: “Physical body cavity search” means physical intrusion into a body cavity for the purpose of discovering any object concealed in the body cavity, upon one inmate in cell block/POD 1B, and blanket/strip searched some others. The inmate singled out for degradation and humiliation by Sheriff Pope’s Deputies Edmund Bennett (male) and Carrole Burch (female), happens to be ethnically Jewish, and a foreign national still awaiting “speedy trial” two years later named Moshe Stein (male.) But, before we discuss that incident, let us quote an article that appeared in the Redding Record Searchlight, by Maline Hazel ( mhazle@redding.com ), in which sexual misconduct by “officers” in Tehama County are discussed. To quote the article: “Ex-Officer Pleads Guilty to Oral Sex with Inmate. Red Bluff—A former Tehama County Correctional Officer pleaded guilty Friday (Dec. 3, 2004), to two misdemeanor counts of having oral sex with a female inmate. Patrick Samuel Pattison, 27, entered the plea in Tehama County Superior Court, according to Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen. Pattison is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7, 2005, and faces up to a year in County Jail. In a separate case, ex-Correctional Officer Darrel Leroy Stroud, 54, is charged with having touched an inmate’s breast on two occasions. He is scheduled for trial Feb. 1, (2005). All of the alleged encounters that Pattison and Stroud were involved in were consensual, according to Cohen, which is why neither man faces felony charges. Stroud and Pattison were placed on Administrative Leave in April by Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker. A State Department of Justice investigation then took place”—unquote. (The above article appeared in the Redding Record Searchlight on December 4, 2004. The above article shows a mature, fair, civilized and law-abiding approach to a despicable set of incidents by an Honorable County Sheriff (Sheriff Clay Parker). Now, back to Shasta County (sorry, but we really have to!) To quote from one of the numerous complaints submitted to Jail Authorities about the incident on Dec. 7, 2002, involving Sheriff Pope’s Deputies Bennett and Burch, and pre-trial detainee Moshe Stein: (Quoting from a Writ of Habeas Corpus form that the original of somehow disappeared after being entrusted to the mail) Ground 5 My rights guaranteed under the fourth amendment of the constitution of the United States, were violated by an unlawful strip/body cavity/physical body cavity search conducted by a male officer in the presence of a female officer and two female inmates. Supporting Facts: On the morning of December 7th 2002, during “Laundry Exchange” Deputy Edmund Bennett made me endure an illegal strip cum body cavity cum physical body cavity search in the clear view of Deputy Carrole Burch and in the clear view of two female inmates on “Laundry Exchange.” This caused me great psychological trauma as my earliest memories are of my mother and the “writing” as I called it (tattoo) on her forearm. Memories of her telling me that the “bad people” did it to her. (The tattoo was a letter “A” followed by numerous digits—signifying Auschwitz—Berkenau Death Camp), and memories of her telling me how lucky I was to have parents; and the memories of her tears as she told me how those “bad people” had killed both her parents and my father’s parents. Memories of being raised by foster parents after the death of my parents in 1953. Memories of my foster parents teaching me of those camps, and of the methods of the guards used whilst disposing of unwanted Jews. Stripping them, searching them, probing body cavities, then heading them into gas chambers disguised as “showers.” Memories half forgotten, but savagely resurrected that morning on December 7, 2002. Augmented now with memories of Deputy Bennett standing behind me in call 18/POD 1B. Of him ordering me to remove the blanket I was wearing; ordering me to bend over; telling me to bend lower and lower. Memories of looking thru my legs and seeing Deputy Burch watching me; seeing her look over her shoulder and step aside so the women on Laundry Exchange had an unimpaired view. Memories of Bennett telling me to grasp my buttocks with my hands and “spread them”—then of him telling me to “cough” as he stepped behind me. Memories of him insert what felt like a finger into my anal orifice. Memories of him saying, “Have a nice day, Jew” as he stepped away. “After searching me no others were strip searched that I saw” unquote. What followed in the Writ were legal arguments, etc. most of which are either above, or in “Abu Ghraib of Shasta County Jail,” elsewhere on this site. The above does indeed sound like something taken from the works of Dante, or perchance the scribbling of The Marquise de Sade, or even Medieval Inquisitions, but it happened in Shasta County. As demonstrated, some people, even Sheriffs can face up to their legal, moral and constitutional obligations. Unlike Tehama Sheriff Clay Parker, the authorities of Shasta prefer to avoid issues that may cast them in a bad light. Throughout history “Great” leaders have tried to hide form their obligations and duties, immortals like Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin Dada, Stalin, Count Vlad, and many more turned their backs on morality and decency and tried to distance themselves from the depravities of their underlings (or Deputies). But, by tacit approval, or the failure to rectify problems they branded themselves as guilty as the actual perpetrators. Now, possibly Sheriff Pope of Shasta County does not know that something noisome is happening in his Jail? Possibly he has simply forgotten to check on the rambunctious actions of his Deputies? Possibly he is too busy politicking to see? Possibly he needs new glasses? “The writing is on the wall,” is a figure of speech, but truly, reading
about the Honorable conduct of Sheriff Clay Parker, the writing truly is
now on Sheriff Pope’s Wall.
Some anonymous person said recently that in the two-entity contest to prove sentience a heap of lava rocks were ahead of Shasta County upper management by points.
To Continue - Abu Ghraib II
I have thought about my vitriolic remarks regarding Shasta Enclave, it’s Jail and it’s keepers, and feel that I owe some of the Staff an apology. Certainly there are some evil people working here, and some downright stupid ones too: But there are also some fine and upright people on the staff. Please, Dear Readers, at this festive time of the year, permit me to sing the praises of a few. There is a Deputy Meek, who not only saved my life by her attention to her duty on November 14, 2002, and subsequently saved the life of Donald Papenfus when he attempted suicide. There is Deputy Estil who, on April 19, 2003 carried me out of the “POD” after I was disabled by a Machiavellian attempt by other staff to kill me by over-medicating me. Deputy Slater and others who spend most of their time at paperwork, and the “quiet achievers” who act as Prowlers and Service Officers. These good people bring to mind those famous words from William Shakespeare in “Julius Caesar,” specifically Marc Antony’s burial speech when he said: “Friends! Romans! And Countrymen! Lend me your ears! For I have come to bury Caesar, not praise him - - -The evil men D O lives after them, but the good is oft’ interred with their bones.” Wise words, and true, for it is easy to remember the vile and the evil, the cruel and the callous; but the quiet achiever and the true hero is often forgotten. And what, after all, is a real hero? I believe that a real hero is one who does what is right, no matter what, and gets up one more time than he gets knocked down. A friend told me to be careful when I was talking to him on the telephone. He exhorted me to forget about “tilting at windmills.” After all, Don Quixote already has that job sewn up. I thought about his words and remembered when I was a boy, my birth parents were no longer alive, and I was being raised by adoptive parents. The local Rabbi tried to teach me about values and life, and succeeded! Yes, I remember that kind man with his gentle voice and his true courage and heroism. You see, he survived Treblinka, a prison camp, worse than this, and he taught me not to hate. He was a hero! My mothers taught me how to love and what love truly is—they were heroes! My Dads taught me morality and showed me true strength. They were heroes! A Sensai in a small Dojo in Japan taught me patience and humility. He was a hero! And those good people who work here are also heroes. Yes my friends, it would be easy to “go with the flow!” But, if I ignore the evil around me, I will become like “Four Star Jim” and the other high muckity-mucks of Shasta Enclave—simply another accomplice of the Machiavellian miscreants who are perpetrating the evil herein. OUCH! So, since I owe those people of my childhood, and those heroes who saved my life here (twice—don’t forget!), and those quiet achievers, then I suppose I better keep going. My problem is that I am basically a coward and am very afraid a lot of the time/ So please forgive me if, from time to time, I lack the courage to put pen to paper. Now, though, since it is the Season of both Hanukkah and Christmas, I wish everybody the Joy of the Season, and beg each and every person to be moderate, caring, and happy, and to take a minute to marvel at the bounty of God’s Gifts to us all. My Love and Prayers to the World for Peace, Moshe (Sometimes known in the past as “the Phantom Scribbler”) Moshe I. Stein
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