The spirit I felt in Federal Prison on Christmas morning was beautiful. However, as the day progressed many of the Women started fighting over the phone. It seemed strange to me that they would get so angry in an effort to call a loved one? As things escalated one of my neighbors decided to beat up another inmate. She smashed the Woman’s head into a table and really hurt the girl right in the middle of the day room, the damage to the Woman’s face required hospitalization. I think what disturbed me most was how the officers on shift handled the violence. The Woman that was injured was a bloody mess so she had to go to the officer station, otherwise they wouldn’t have known about the fight. I guess they weren’t watching the cameras? When the officer came to my neighbors room to take her to the Lieutenants office he said, “You beat her up pretty good, I’ll give you that. Good job.” He said it in front of all the other inmates, and everyone started clapping and cheering as he walked with her out of the unit. Later that night the officer came over the loud speaker and said, “I’m going to reward you all for not snitching on the fight earlier, good job! I’m letting you all out early tonight so you have more time to hang out.” Not exactly the attitude I would expect from an officer? The day after Christmas several of the Women got into a gang fight, and almost threw one of the Women over the top tier of the unit. It’s rare to have so much violence here, I certainly think the officers attitude didn’t help our situation. One of the girls ended up with a dislocated shoulder and had to go to the hospital, of course she told the officers she slipped trying to get off the top bunk. Many of the Women are walking around all bruised up, so far the situation hasn’t been investigated. I am grateful that I feel protected by my Father in Heaven, I certainly don’t feel those 2 officers are taking our safety seriously.
Chad told me yesterday that a public official is asking to have the video footage released of a shooting that took place at the Utah Federal Courthouse on April 20, 2014. I was at the Federal courthouse the day the shooting happened and while sequestered at the courthouse spoke to one of the US Marshals who said, “The victim was shot 8 times in the chest, he stood up with a pencil in his hand and it could have been used as a weapon.” Lethal force seems extreme, couldn’t they have tazed the man if they were concerned? Chad and I were in the courtroom next door when the sots were fired and saw some of what happened. I think the public should be allowed to see the video footage, we have to keep those charged with our safety accountable? They should be above reproach when they are charged with protecting our safety and our liberty. Not releasing the video on a very basic level implies there’s something that they don’t want others to see. After the shooting they locked the Federal courthouse down and everyone had to stay inside until the FTC came in to investigate and make a statement. I ended up walking out of the courthouse just before they locked it down and was asked to do an interview with the press. I agreed to do the interview but told them I didn’t know much but that I would be willing to tell them what the US Marshals told me. On the way home from the courthouse my attorney called and said, “Portia, what were you thinking? The government is so mad at you right now. They want to be the first ones to address the press in these situations.” I said, “Well I’m mad at the government too, I guess we’re all mad.” The next day I was put in jail by a magistrate judge and consequently terribly abused under the auspice of a mental evaluation that took place in US Marshal custody.
I may sound paranoid, but I question the integrity of the Federal Government. I was talking to an officer about my situation recently and he said that most people want to believe that government is good, but many times they aren’t. The public just doesn’t know what happens behind closed doors. You should always stay away from the Federal Government, they will do what’s best for them in every situation and use whatever force they have to. I’m not surprised they did what they did to you, they probably didn’t want to go to trial and you weren’t cooperating. I told him that I have video footage of what they did to me and he said, “Now that surprises me. Usually they would destroy the evidence.” I told him because of the severity of the abuse I suffered I thought I had been raped and that’s why they had to produce the video footage. He said, “What they did to you was illegal.”
I love my country and the principals it was founded on, I certainly don’t believe our government is all bad. I do believe that any institution in power that doesn’t have to be accountable to those it serves will likely become corrupt. The next time you hear someone has been indicted by our Federal Government Just remember that to accuse someone of a crime is easy, there is no oversight. If you refuse to plead guilty they might just lock you up for a mental evaluation and put you in a cell without clothes or water. They can hold you in isolation even after you are found competent to stand trial until you plead guilty. If you want to withdraw your plea they can refuse to give you any time to do it, and force you to move forward with sentencing. Likely, when you get sentenced you will get the maximum sentence regardless of any mitigating circumstances. But there is nothing to fear because God will stand by you every step of the way. You get to decide how you will respond, so you get to decide how it all ends. I refuse to be angry and bitter because I know God is with me, the experiences I am having are invaluable. Thank you all for reading and commenting over Christmas, it helps a great deal to have friends out there. I’m looking forward to the new year ahead
