From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Subject: Montana Prisoners Brutalized
Organization: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 08:21:16 GMT

[From PeaceNet via misc.activism.progressive]
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** Topic: Montana Prisoners Brutalized ** 
** Written 11:41 am  Apr  7, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:justice.usa ** 
From: News Desk <newsdesk> 
Subject: Montana Prisoners Brutalized 
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/* Written  7:51 pm  Apr  7, 1992 by peg:greenleft in cdp:greenleft.news */ 
/* ---------- "Issue 51. April 8, 1992" ---------- */ 
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US prisoners brutalised 

By Steve Painter 

Prisoners in the US state of Montana were stripped naked for four  
days after an alleged riot at the state prison last September,  
says the American Civil Liberties Union. Authorities sent in a  
SWAT squad after an incident described as a riot, but which  
involved only a few inmates. 

An ACLU lawyer has established that the SWAT squad forced the  
prisoners to lie face down on the floor, amid water and broken  
glass, and remove all their clothing. Their hands were cuffed  
behind their backs and they were tear-gassed. 

After about 30 minutes, most of the prisoners suffered cut feet  
when they were forced to run barefoot and still naked down a  
hallway littered with broken glass. Later, they were forced to  
run a gauntlet of up to 100 officers armed with clubs and chains.  
Still handcuffed, the prisoners were slammed to the ground. 

The prisoners were then forced to lie in a field while guards  
continued to brutalise them. Guards broke prisoners' spectacles  
and kicked and taunted them. Most suffered sunburn, and they were  
told to urinate and defecate where they lay. 

Towards evening, the prisoners were given a blanket each and  
ordered to the reception unit, where they were held for 23 days.  
For the first four days they were naked except for their  
blankets, and for 12 days they were not provided with soap,  
toothpaste or towels. They were not permitted to shower and were  
given two sheets of paper towel daily for toilet paper. 

In the unit, prisoners were fed two meals daily, consisting of  
two sandwiches and a biscuit. They had to drink from a tap with  
their hands. Many developed scurvy. 

When the investigation into the riot began, prisoners who refused  
to talk were beaten and tortured with mace. Several who became  
rebellious as a result of this treatment were hogtied, hands  
cuffed behind their backs and ankle cuffs attached to the  
handcuffs. 

The prisoners were isolated from the outside world for four days,  
until an ACLU-assisted lawyer obtained a court order directing  
the Department of Corrections to allow contact. The ACLU's  
National Prison Project says such ``extremely brutal maximum  
security conditions ... breed the exact response they are meant  
to prevent, that is, they contribute to the problem and invite a  
future riot''. 
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