Open letter in response to the abuse and illegal confiscation of Kevin “Rashid” Johnsons media mail, legal mail, and personal property (by Jason Renard Walker)

For the past several months there have been many attempts by prison officials to disrupt the efforts of me and Kevin Rashid Johnson, exposing them for killing and denying prisoners food, medical care and basic necessities. Normally, acts like these carry on without guards and medical staff being punished. This is due to the fact that prison officials have become accustomed to the prisoners turning a blind eye to what they see or are unaware of how to effectively bring heat to the right authorities. In response, a prisoner dies, paperwork is fabricated to conceal what happened, and business goes on as usual.
Since the day Rashid showed up to the Clements unit Maximum Security Prison, officials haven’t been so successful in getting away with abusing prisoners. His knack for getting abuses reported to media circuits has brought a lot of heat to this prison and curtailed their business as usual persona.

On December 21, 2016 I watched as Lieutenant Turner, Officer Leonard, and other guards went to Rashid’s cell. Without any explanation he was stripped to his boxers and shoes, handcuffed, and escorted off the cellblock. Several minutes later Turner (a white female) and Captain Flowers (a white female) conducted an unusual cell search—targeting his legal and media mail.

He was put back in his cell and the door closed. Rashid hollered at me to let me know they took some of his personal property, legal mail, and all of his media mail. Their reason for the confiscation was bogus. Since they claimed that his property was improperly stored, they took it.

Evidence shows that this was in retaliation for his anti-prison-abuse work, which he has taught me, and others. There’s a good chance that they are using this opportunity to read his legal and media mail, with the taking of his personal property as a filler. This is what makes everything so flagrant: on page 14 of the offender orientation handbook, the rule for improperly stored items is only effective when the prisoner is not in his/her housing area. Otherwise he is allowed to have items anywhere as long as they are being used.

Even more so, Rashid is allowed to have excess legal work under the subsequent legal storage rule. He was due for the law library to do their six-month check to insure he’s complying with the rules. He was told in November that the check would be done in two weeks and to have all of his property out in the open. As of today they still haven’t been by, which his why his personal property was out of the lockers.
Rashid tried to explain this to Turner and Sergeant Arlene Waak, but they refused to verify his claim with the law library. Since he was still handcuffed from behind and rightfully complaining, they seemed more intent on spraying him with OC pepper spray that was ordered during his complaining. A video camera operated by Jennifer Young C.O. III was present to capture the audio. Officer Leonard was then ordered to spray gas through the open food slot despite the use of force rules stating that a medical staff member be present before any gassing. The handcuffs were removed right after.

L.V.N. Tammy Williams was available and in the sally port (out of view of Rashid’s cell) laughing and giggling with Turner and the pod officer “Scott.” Once I protested about no nurse being present, Williams came out of the sally port, went into the area of Rashid’s cell briefly, then went back into the sally port—which was well after he’d been gassed.

Even though he’s documented as having high blood pressure, he was left in the cell without being given a change to have his body and living area decontaminated, as the use of force manual states. The gas had us all choking—even officers far away.

Many of us requested witness statements, but neither the ranking officials nor passing officers provided one. In fact, Turner came to my cell to taunt me, that since she wasn’t a direct witness, she can investigate everything and “don’t read trash.” This explains why she and the others hung out in the sally port—to avoid paperwork and play the judge.

Ironically, but not by surprise, whenever things go foul, Turner is the supervisor on duty. Before Rashid made it to Texas, a prisoner named Arcade Joseph Comeaux filed complaints on prison guards and medical staff. This made him a clear target, which resulted in him being denied meals, medical care, and having all of his legal property and personal property taken on frivolous grounds. During this time, Turner was the supervisor on duty along with Sergeant Lance Mondragon, another dirty guard.
Low-level guards were allowed to get away with harassing Comeaux, which more than likely was approved by her. Being sprayed in his cell with a high power water hose was part of this treatment.
Exposing staff corruption was the center of these attacks and they carried on until he died from heart failure, which was due to him being punished by not being provided medical care. A big reason his death wasn’t successfully brushed under the rug, like many others, is because Rashid investigated, spoke with witnessing prisoners, and contacted Comeaux’s wife.

With the help of an Oregon lawyer who worked with Rashid, a civil suit was filed and is still pending. Civil suits for Christopher Wooverton and Alton Rodgers were also filed with his help. Articles on the behalf of all these prisoners who died due to the staff’s acts were posted in various media publications.
It’s no wonder why Turner would target his legal and media mail. She, unlike many, realizes that prisoners that won’t shut up despite the consequences are dangerous to the unjust way this prison operates. Rashid won’t stop exposing them for making this a practice and how he too is undergoing the same treatment by Turner who’s all too familiar with his involvement with the Comeaux lawsuit (everyone knows.)

Turner has a history of framing prisoners who speak out (including myself) with the help of Officer Kayla Guerrola (who’s a defendant in the Rodgers suit.) She’s not the average supervisor and knows how to use other supervisors and guards as puppets to live out her sick and twisted fantasy of torturing those who pose a threat to ending corruption at the Clements unit. All the while she sits behind the scenes and watches as her co-workers take the blame for scenarios she creates.

Jason Renard Walker # 1532092
Clements Unit
9601 Spur 591
Amarillo, TX 79107

I swear that the foregoing is true and correct under penalty of perjury.

To view a scan of the original letter from Jason Renard Walker, click here.