Torture, As Down-Home American As Applie Pie
That last post, calling the US a potential Rwanda? Drop the 'potential', insert 'actual.
Raw Story: Video shows Ghraib-like torture by sheriffs lead to man's death, say groups, family Jennifer Van Bergen Published: Tuesday July 25, 2006On Feb. 6, 2006, Jessie Lee Williams, Jr., a 40-year-old black man in a Southern Mississippi jail, was allegedly hooded and hog-tied by police, beaten about the head and testicles and ultimately died from blunt injuries to the head.
The coroner determined the death was a homicide. The local sheriff indicated law enforcement agencies were investigating and that the individual targeted by the investigation is “no longer employed by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department.”
Despite the fact that the beating was videotaped, no arrests have been made.
Williams’ family has filed a $150 million civil suit for damages. Last Friday, the sheriff’s attorney in the Williams case asked the court to halt the civil proceedings until the criminal investigation is complete in order to avoid self-incrimination.
The complaint documents numerous previous incidents of abuse in the Harrison County jail booking room where Williams died, including beatings, hooding, use of a restraint chair – called “the torture chair” or “the devil’s chair” by inmates – and a technique similar to water-boarding where a sheet was wrapped tightly around the head of a man in the restraint chair and water was poured into the breathing hole.
In April, US Attorney Dunn Lampton told reporters, “We’re moving at a good speed.” Lampton told Harrison County Sheriff George Payne not to discuss the investigation with anyone and Payne has not returned RAW STORY’s calls.
US Prisons the Training Ground for Military Detentions?
A recent Amnesty International report covered by RAW STORY revealed that nearly 200 African-American men in a Chicago prison have alleged torture between 1971 and 1991. The report concluded there are troubling similarities between detainee abuse allegations in US military prisons around the world and US prisons at home.
Williams’ treatment, like that of many of those in the Chicago cases, is similar to reports of abuses at Abu Ghraib, the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other US detention facilities in the Middle East. The nurse’s notes in Williams’ case states that Williams was placed in a restraint chair, hooded, sprayed with pepper spray, and had blood coming from both ears. He was told by the restraining officer that the officer would kill him, after which the man choked him until he couldn’t breathe.
Based on witness statements, the attorney for the Williams’ estate commissioned an artist to create an illustration which shows Williams being carried hooded and hog-tied.
The caption reads, “This picture is a depiction made of the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility's booking room on the night of February 4, 2006, based upon witness statements, in which Jessie Lee Williams, Jr. was hog-tied, shackled (hands to feet), sack on his head, blood dripping from the beating, and carried like a human suitcase – soon to be slammed/dropped on his face – two times.” Such treatment closely resembles methods depicted in photographs of detainees at Abu Ghraib.
James Johnson, an Australian with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Psychology, who has been an advisor to the Australian government and has been researching the US penal system for eleven years for a book, says, “I believe that the principal method of torture applied in the prisons is psychological. However outright brutality is used quite regularly.”
Johnson provides examples from letters inmates have written him: solitary confinement, rapes, beatings, use of restraint chairs, hooding, shackling to the floor, sleep deprivation, extreme air-conditioning, reduction of food allowance, refusal of medical treatment, electric cattle prods, TASERs and water-boarding. Williams suffered serious burns on his back from being shot with TASERs.
“Everything you have read about them using in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo is used in American prisons,” Johnson avers. “ That is where most of the torturers gain their experience.”
001006.jpg){kind=link}
001016.jpg){kind=link}
Read the rest here, if you can bear it.
Posted 6:32 PM by Republic of Palau
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq."
-- U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, 21 July 2003
Self promotion
Martin:
Wis[s]e Words
International (political) weblog.
Booklog
Republic of Palau:
Take it as Red
Progressive weblogs:
Descriptions underneath are as much as possible taken from the weblog itself.
Fun-loving Feministas
Carnival of the Feminists
Held on the first and third Wednesday of each month and aims to showcase the finest feminist
posts from around the blogsphere.
Fetch Me My Axe
...we've all got something to grind. By Belledame222.
Pandagon
It's just Amanda now, strong on feminism.
Red State Feminist
Women's and Children's Issues, Family Law, Domestic Violence
Lefty lawyers
Lawyers, Guns and Money
No idea if they're really lawyers, actually
TalkLeft
The politics of crime.
Middle East knowitalls
Aron's Israel Peace weblog
short commentary on news items, articles and op-ed pieces about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bethlehem bloggers
Voices from the Bethlehem ghetto.
Jews sans Frontieres
Mark Elf's anti-zionist blog.
Juan Cole
Required reading on Iraq and the Middle East.
Today in Iraq
What's really happening in Iraq
Soulfull scientists
Pharyngula
Science, politics and the intersection between them. By PZ Myers.
Science and Politics
Bora Zivkovic is trying to understand US politics by making strange connections between science,
religion, brain, language and sex.
Thus Spake Zuska
Not very polite.
Steadfast socialists
Actually Existing
Ruthless criticism of all that exists, except for the good bits. By Phil Edwards.
American Leftist
'Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization.' -- Eugene V. Debs
Apostate Windbag
A journal of assorted leftwingery with a decided preference for discussing how the
late Christopher Hitchens is a twat
Bionic Octopus
"better...faster...coconutter."
Dead Men Left
Meaders is active in the RESPECT coalition, but don't hold it against him
GlobBlog
A blog about globalisation. By General Glut.
International Rooksbyism
Not just another scummie student commie's blog. By Ed Rooksby.
Law and Disorder
Socialism and the legal systems
Left I on the News
A leftwing view of the day's news and the way it's represented in the media. By Eli.
Lenin's Tomb
Erudite English Socialist Workers Party supporter.
A New Morning
German/English socialist leaning blog.
Perspective
by Alister Black, Scottish socialist. Writes mainly about local issues.
Sonic's Place
A computer generated, left-wing hedgehog's views on the world and the war
An Unenviable Situation
D Ghirlandaio on politics, art and the culture at large
Unrepentant Marxist
By Louis Proyect, veteran Marxist
Virtual Stoa
Home of the Dead Socialist Watch. By Chris Brooke.
They make fun of the right
So we don't have to.
Alicublog
Plays the stock market of the soul -- and sells short!
Go Fug Yourself
Mocking our betters in Hollywood and tv...
Jesus' General
An 11 on the Manly Scale of Absolute Gender
The Poor Man Institute
For Freedom, Democracy and a Pony.
Sadly No!
A group blog dedicated to make fun of idiots.
TBOGG
Faithful husband, soccer dad, basset owner, and Peggy Noonan stalker
World of Crap
Come point and laught at the fundies and rightwing loonies
Loveable liberals
American Samizdat
The collective effort of over thirty leftwing bloggers.
American Street
A collective of leftist bloggers, poisoning our precious bodily fluids.
Archy
politics, fringe watching, and other stuff. By John McKay.
The Burnt Orange Report
News, Politics, and Fun from Deep in the Heart of Texas.
Democratic Veteran
Because not every vet is a right winger or pseudo facist. By Jo.
Dependable Renegade
By watertiger, who has not yet shot anybody in the face ...yet.
Eschaton
The liberal answer to Instapundit?
FABlog
By David Ehrenstein
A Fistful of Euros
A groupblog focusing on the EU and European politics.
Hronkomatic
Paying good money to shut George Will up. By Jason McCullough.
Hullabaloo
Digby, frequent and eloquent commentor at various blogs finally has his own.
James Wolcott
Journalist, media personality and blogger
John Quiggin
Commentary on Australian & world politics from John Quiggin
Lean Left
by Kevin Raybould
The Left Coaster
Outside-the-Beltway perspectives on politics, current events, and the media
Left in the West
Written by Matt Singer, a Montanan who writes on local issues and national issues
and how they correspond to Montana and the west.
Liberal Oasis
Where the left is right and the right is wrong.
Mad Kane's Noteables
commentary on and song parodies about politics, current events, books, music,
and anything else that inspires her admiration or ire.
Majikthise
Analytic philosophy and liberal politics by Lindsay Beyerstein and others.
Making Light
Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden's politics and life blog.
The Martini Republic
Group blog. Nice design, good content.
Mikhaela's News Blog
By Mikhaela Reid.
Musings and Migraines
Chicago liberal's musings on war, peace, Jon Stewart, art, media. By
Lenora.
Nathan Newman
A community and union activist, policy advocate and writer with an excellent weblog.
Oliver Willis
Like kryptonite to stupid.
Orcinus
Policy, Culture and Journalism in the 21st Century. By David Neiwert.
Pacific Views
regime change begins at home, escalate nonviolence. By Natasha.
Polygon, the Dancing Bear
Occasional notes on politics, history, architecture, and life. By Lawrence Kestenbaum.
Prometheus 6
"What I want to do here is talk to the town criers. And I'll be talking more about people than politics."
Rittenhouse Review
A journal of foreign policy, finance, ethics, and culture. By James M. Capozzola
The Road to Surfdom
an intermittent weblog by Tim Dunlop.
Ruminate This
News, views, activism and a smattering of something else. By Lisa English.
Sasha Undercover
Observations and commentary on politics, women, culture, and daily life. Not for the faint of heart.
Seeing the Forest
...for the trees
Shadow of the Hegemon
Written by returned from the death Greek demagogue Demosthenes so is very eloquent.
The Sideshow
Avedon makes me think. Her weblog revolves around US politics.
Skimble
Culture, politics, commentary, criticism. Views from the left, headquartered in Chicago USA.
Slacktivist
Hopeful outrage, politics, culture and religion from a progressive Christian perspective.
Smythe's World
Politics, baseball and more.
Steve Gilliard's News Blog
Insightful (inciteful?) and interesting
This Modern World
By Tom Tomorrow
Thoughts on the Eve of the Apocalypse
By Bill Connolly
Through the Looking Glass
A chronicle of the absurd, in politics and life. By Charles Dodgson
Wampum
Progressive Politics, Indian Issues, and Autism Advocacy. By "MB".
Whiskey Bar
Free thinking in a dirty glass. By Daily Kos alumni Billmon.
Xoverboard
Blogging and cartoons! Whoot!
Progressive news
