2nd Zap for H.H.
After three weeks, H.H. is still in SMHU (segregation) which means we need to keep calling to get him out.
After a confrontation with a white supremacist, H.H. was sentenced to 30 days Loss of Privileges (LOP). Instead of LOP he was put in detention in the Special Management Housing Unit (SMHU). This means lights on 24/7, complete isolation, cuffs whenever he leaves the cell (including showers), no laundry or property, and no outside books. This detention is inhumane, unsanitary, and against the MDOC’s own policies.
“This is detention and segregation, no matter what they choose to name it, because it’s the living condition that was ruled cruel and unusual punishment, not the name of where it happens.” —H.H.
They claim that H.H. is in seg not as punishment, but for his own protection. By their own policy, they should instead either release him with appropriate precautions or expedite his transfer to another facility. H.H. is a political prisoner who has been speaking out against conditions in Egeler since his arrest. He has brought attention to the facility’s callous and incompetent behavior during the COVID outbreak, the hazardous living conditions, and the injustices perpetrated against people forced to live long-term in a facility only intended for short-term occupation. H.H. has a reputation within the MDOC since the Kinross Uprising for speaking out against injustice and standing up for what is right. We need to stand with H.H. as he takes on great risks by shedding light on the evils of the MDOC and standing up to white supremacy in all its forms.
“Protecting” a prisoner is not supposed to include punitive detention and keeping people in torturous conditions. They could transfer H.H. or the racist they believe poses a threat to him. They are choosing not to house him in safe conditions and follow their own policies. We need to keep the pressure on!
We will keep calling every week until H.H. is housed in conditions that do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. This Monday 3/15 call and demand that he be released from the SMHU.
Warden Kim Cargor
(517) 780-5600
Press 1 for Egeler RGC, press 3 for main menu, press 0 for operator and ask for the warden’s office. Then ask to leave a message for the warden. Remember, you do not need to give your name, number, or location.
Sample Script
I’m calling to demand that Harold Gonzales (MDOC # 194496) and other prisoners detained punitively in the Special Management Housing Unit for longer than 10 days be released immediately from segregation. If the facility believes that Mr. Gonzales is unsafe in the general population at Egeler I demand that other steps be taken to ensure his safety or that he or those who pose a risk to him be transferred. The segregation conditions in the SMHU are cruel and unusual punishment.
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