[cia-drugs] New Orleans Jail Guards Drowned Jaywalkers

[Bob]

"the men that were in the holding cells could not get out. And the men that I spoke to that were able to free themselves were very, very certain that the other men in those holding cells have drowned" holding cell: large cell holding dozens of recently arrested persons accused of crimes while they wait for hearings Holding CELLS, plural! Guards deserted men who hadn't even had a hearing yet, just like the thirty old people drowned in a nursing home, and the owners of that nursing home have been charged. -Bob http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/13/1354215 AMY GOODMAN: Phyllis Mann, can you talk about the men and what happened in the Orleans jail? PHYLLIS MANN, defense attorney in Alexandria, LA: Sure. Last week, I interviewed 200 men who had been moved to Rapides Parish to the Sheriff's jail here from Orleans Parish. And two of the men, in particular, told me a story that just was almost unbelievable to me. These men were federal detainees, meaning that they had been arrested on federal charges and were being held in the local jail. They had originally been housed in O.P.P., which actually stands for Old Parish Prison there in Orleans on the federal tier. And as the water began rising, they were moved from that floor up to a higher floor, and ultimately they were placed by the guards in the gymnasium area in the facility, where they were locked in. Once the guards placed them there, they did not see any guards again. Some of the men that were on the same floor where they were, were not in this open gymnasium area, they were in holding cells. And as the water began rising, it got higher and higher. They had been there about a day-and-a-half with no food or water, and they had not seen any guards. And the water rose until it reached chest level. The men in the gymnasium were able to break the windows out of the gymnasium, and they literally swam out of that room to escape from the prison, but the men that were in the holding cells could not get out. And the men that I spoke to that were able to free themselves were very, very certain that the other men in those holding cells have drowned. These men that were able to free themselves literally swam out of the building and then found a guard to turn themselves in to. And they were then placed on buses and brought from Orleans to Hunt Correctional Center where they were given blankets, and they basically slept on the hillside for another day or into the following day, when they were placed on buses and brought here to Rapides Parish. And again, one of the many problems that we're facing and I don't know we have a solution to is until we can reconstruct the records of the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department, we will not even know who was housed in the various Orleans Parish facilities. We're not going to know how many inmates did not make it out of those facilities. AMY GOODMAN: Phyllis Mann, what were these men charged with that you interviewed? PHYLLIS MANN: The two men -- these men that told me the story were both charged with federal offenses. They were federal drug offenses. But as they were being relocated to higher floors in Orleans Parish Prison, not everyone who was relocated there was charged with a serious crime. Many of these men, just like the women that I talked to today, were arrested on very minor charges. They may have been arrested for public drunk or possession of drug paraphernalia, which could be something as minor as a roach clip. Some of them were charged with trespass. Some of them were on probation and had missed a court date or had missed a drug court hearing and were in jail for seven days to sort of get their attention. Well, my lord, we have gotten their attention now. AMY GOODMAN: Some haven't even been sentenced at all? PHYLLIS MANN: Many of them not sentenced at all. Many of them not even convicted. They are people who, like all American citizens, when they're arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and they have not even had an opportunity to go to court. Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM SPONSORED LINKS United state bankruptcy court western district of texas United state life insurance United state patent United state patent search United states patent office United state flag YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "cia-drugs" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.