Immigration Reform & Human Rights for the 21st Century 

The Pima County Detention Center in Tucson is a modern, temperature controlled facility to house inmates accused, but not convicted of crimes. Contrary to what supporters of Minuteman Shawna Forde claim, it is not a facility that engages in medieval detention techniques, nor is it a 5 star resort some of its inmate think it should be.

She tried to stage a “hunger strike” because she doesn’t believe an “innocent person” should be confined, much less in the restrictive environment of the Pima County jail.

The people behind the disgusting website Justice for Shawna Forde, which tries to portray Forde as a “Patriot” and a victim of a “government conspiracy”, put their own spin on the events:

Shawna Forde began a hunger strike at Pima County Jail on January 7 to protest the conditions in which she is being held under “Protective Custody.” We only became aware of this because communication with her stopped, and we were repeatedly turned away by jail staff when we attempted to visit her in person. The innocent political activist is no longer willing to accept inhumane punishment before she is even tried.

What they’re not telling you is that Forde is being held in protective custody for her own safety. In the Pima County jail, Forde is a minority among the largely Hispanic population. Forde is a known racist and hater of anything Mexican. The inmates know this and are aware of the crime she committed, the murder of a Hispanic father and his 0 year old daughter, and her intent to exterminate the entire family. Forde is not an innocent political activist. She is nothing more than a common criminal who was caught.

The second paragraph of this crudely spun fantasy reads like this:

Shawna has been held in solitary confinement and has not seen the sun for 7 months. This is in spite of the fact that she has been convicted of nothing and has not committed any infractions against the jail. For 7 months, Shawna has been denied medical treatment for her right hand and arm. She was wounded by an assailant’s bullets in January 2009. She suffered nerve damage which requires treatment so that she doesn’t lose the dexterity required to write. She has been denied sufficient light for reading. She has been denied prescription glasses for reading. Her abilities to read and write are crucial to her defense. She has been locked in a cell with no air movement, and subjected to extreme temperatures. Shawna is allowed only one thin blanket, and had to purchase, at her own expense, a sweatshirt from the Commissary, in order to stay warm in the winter when some CO’s didn’t turn on the heat to her cell.

The reason used for denying medical treatment for her arm is that her status, Administrative Segregation Level 3 (the lowest and most restrictive level, just above being chained up 24 hours a day), does not allow her to have any hot water which she needs in order to apply hot compresses to her arm. The pain medication which she had been given produced a bad reaction. Yet she is now in the Infirmary, and she is still not getting treatment!

Visiting the complaint once again that Forde is being held in protective custody, it’s for her protection from the mother’s that know this woman caused to be killed, another mother’s daughter and took her husband at the same time. Personally, I thin Forde should be housed in the general population and let come what may. It might save the county the cost of a trial and the state of Arizona the cost of her incarceration. Let’s think about justice for little Brisenia Flores and the fact that she is confined to a 3×5 foot box for eternity and will never see or feel the rays of the sun.

The allegation that Forde is being held in a facility with no air movement and subjected to “temperature extremes” is totally ridiculous. The Pima County Jail is a modern, well maintained facility. It’s not the Crown Plaza which I’m sure is where Forde thinks she deserves to be, but it meets the basic needs of the population.

Forde is quoted as whining

“I’ve tried everything [to get her status raised above AS-3]. I want it recorded that I have never disrespected one CO. I have followed ALL the rules, and yet I’m still in the hole 7 months later. Even the CO’s say they can’t believe it; they’ve never seen anyone in isolation for so long who has done nothing wrong!

The spin from Laine Lawless and company keeps getting more hilarious:

The final straw for Shawna was when they moved her, once again, from cell 4 (which was 8′ x 12′) to cell 1, which is 6′ x 10′. In a recent letter she says: “I can’t even swing my arms in it, so I can no longer exercise, and I can’t read because the light is opposite from the side my bed is on, and I won’t sit for hours on the cold and filthy cement floor covered with mold, blood, dirt, bugs and flies. The pod is filthy and they won’t even let us out to clean it.” According to her, H pod has 16 cells, and only 6 are now occupied, yet they moved her again to the worst cell, one where she can’t even yell out to other prisoners. Solitary confinement for long periods of time is torture. Are they doing this to break her down to the point where she would cop a plea?

The poor thing. She’s short and fat and she can’t exercise in a 6′x10′ foot cell. Pobrecita! Perhaps we should all petition Pima County to build her a cell to her specifications. She apparently can’t understand that she’s an inmate. Although we can imagine her handful of supporters have convinced her that she is somehow “special”.

In the final paragraphs of this fictional odyssey, her supporters really show what moonbats they are:

We have been repeatedly told by a supposedly reliable source that “Shawna just wants some space” and doesn’t want to see anyone but her legal team. Shawna’s last letter informing us of her strike for bearable conditions and the restoration of her human rights said nothing about wanting to be left alone. We believe that she is being restrained and force-fed. Her “refusal” to write letters, make phone calls, and to accept visitors is probably not her choice, but punishment for going on a hunger strike. Shawna made us aware that this would happen. We will continue to do what we know she would want–to publicize her plight and to let others know IT REEKS OF CORRUPT POLITICS.

It would appear that this is another con by Forde to 1. lose some weight so the witnesses and jury will not see the “short, fat woman” who was at the crime scene, and 2. to get out of her cell and into a room (#10) and the facilities medical wing.

That’s the latest on this debutante of the right wing whackos. We’ll keep you informed as more becomes available.
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