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THE CITIZEN PAGE FIVE
Li ts Berrie .joil problems
Sanitation, ledricity, attomey
J
'8 lack agenda at forefront
, Jr.
. An NNPA feature
ASHINGTO - The at c s of
Je Jackson's hi oric bid for the Pre '
dency are becoming more virulent as e
ppro ch this summer's Democratic Con-
I
vention in San Franci o. Why?
I it because of hi "Hymie/Hymie-
to n" remar s? I it becu of his re-
f to condemn Minister Loui
Farrakhan, Ie er of the ation of Islam,
for his alleged threat to Ilton Coleman,
the ington Po reporter who re
vealed J ckson's ethnic comment?
. The controversial incident con
tinue to dominate media coverage of
J ck n' campaign, but they are inciden
tial to the larger concern of Americ 's
politic e tablishment.
The concerns center on the pivotal
po ition of BI voter in the 1984 elec-
tion. In clo pre' ential conte , a
m iv vote by the Blac community
could give the Democratic P rty the mar
gin of victory.
Re gan' plurality was very slim in
ate ith ub antial number of Black
voter. In ew York, he on by only
165 000 vote . He carried South Carolina
by 11'000 wtes, ippi by 12,000,
Tenne e by 4,700, orth Carolina by
39,000, AI an by 4,100 and Alabama
by 17,000.
In the e of hi victoriou primary
campaign cro the face of America, the
charismatic Jackson has imul ted sev
eral hundred thousand Blaclc to regi er
for the first time. For the Reagan drnin
i ration, these ne Black wters are a
pre nt nightmare that could easily b -
come a vember reality if an awakened
Blae electorate turns out for the fall
election in unprecedented numbers.
The Democratic leadership, on the
other d, elcom the new Blac
voter , who traditionally vote overwhelm
ing for the Democratic candidate. Their
fear' that Jackson will u the growing
power of hi campaign/cru de to bargain
for specific policy con . on in civil
rights d other black intere area .
For the flf time in American history ,
the Blac agenda' not only in the fore
front of an American Presidential cam
paign, but aBc candidate, pported
by the majority of Blac voter, is in a
sir tegic posi ion to politically punish
tho who reject that agenda.
Runoff primarie are at the top of the
Black agend . Jackson, with few dissen
ten in th� Bl c conununity, in . st that
runoff primarie, metime called cond
primarie , di riminate ain BI c can
didate who finish fir with a plurality of
vote in the first primary which includes
two or more white candidates, but sub -
quently 10 cond primary which only
include one white candidate.
White voten' who plit their vote
among candidate in the fir t primary
then unite to defeat the Black candidate.
Ten states have law requiring party nom
inee for local, state and federal offices to
receive majority vote.
The abolition of runoff primaries and
other electoral device that discriminate
again blac voter has been a con . tent
theme of the J ckson campaign. The
Democratic leadership which, of cou ,I
includes southern leaders, has ju t a con
si tently rejected this position,
Runoff primarie are clearly unfair to
millions of Black voters in America. If the
Democratic leadership wants to capitalize
on the surge of new Black regi ration, it
will .pot spend its time castigating
Jack n, but instead incorporate his cam
paign concern into Democratic national
policies.
THE CITIZENS ENCOURAGES
ITS READERS TO EXPRESS
THEIR OPINIONS AND VIEWS
Send to: The Citizen1'.O. Box 216
B nton Harbor, M I 49022
To Whom it ay Concern:
The Berrien County Jailor it is
no called the Berrien County Correc
tional Facility is a far cry from what Ber
rien County and Sheriff Forrest L. J ell
profe it to be.
This f cillty' ppo to be run
under federal nd ate pri n regulations,
but the jail guards (under the supervision
of Sgt. James J er ) run the jail anyway
they feel like. I myself as victim of
this, on April 9, 1984. Y vi't were
taken for t 0 eek (from April 9th to
April 23rd) becau I refused to accept
bedding material hich w mutilated. I
refused the items because the "sheet"
was tom totally in half, the to el w
tom in half, and the "T-shirt" 100 ed as
though it a ot with ot gun.
The jail rules clearly stated that if
you damage or deface any part of the jail
OT its equipment you will be pro cuted
for destruction of police property. Thi
carrie a maximum penalty of four yean
or 2000 (t 0 thousand dollar) fine.
( c. 570.3776CLl970· SA28.609(2.
So by my refusi g the mutilated
items, insomuch. a protecting my rights
under law, my visits, commisary, and
phone privilege (I w loc ed in my cell
for three day without. a ower) ere
taken.
1 wrote a letter dated April 11, 1984
to Zoe S. Burkholz about this matter.
Clothing i . ued 'once a eek no matter
ho mu y or how much you prespire
and this is a dogmatic.
The conditions in the jail are to say
the le , unbearable.
The showen are scum-coated from
not being cleaned, the toli ts in each cell
are in the same condition although I will
admit that out of the 28 days I have been
here they did p out the toliet brush
and some cleanser once.{Monday, April
23rd, 1984 after the inve igation by
your paper became public). e have not
en the brush or clean r since.
There is what they call a "day-room"
where the television t' located. The
jail or correctional f cility doe not pro
vide a television for the inmate a other
jails and prison do. At the pre nt time
my own personal t in our block.
(Block I-E) There are no seats available in
the day-room for the inmate to sit on, so
to watch television we must it on the
floor, which is m de of solid concrete. If
we bring our matresses out into the day
room to sit on, the officer will t e them
for whatever amount of time they deem
enough. There is a cable outlet in each
bloc (in the new portion, I don't know
about the old section) to which a cable
is uppo d to be supplied to e ch bloc
so that television reception can be re
ceived uninterrupted but no cables have
or will be i ued becua the jail either
doesn't have any or they refu to p
them out to the inmates.
There are wall soc ets (Plugs) in each
cell in the new section Ie ding people
to believe that a any correctional facility
an inmate can have electrical item such
a r dio, tapeplayer, electric shaver, etc.
But this rictly is not the c becau
the power in the wall outlets is turned
off. There are many other things: the
jail claims to have medical t ff. That is
laugh. What they have are two order-
-lie who dispense medication which is
prescribed by Dr. Cornell whenever -he
show up at the jail. R. Fields is the male
"nurse" and I know from personal
kno ledge he used to or at Ri erwood
located t emorial Ho pital because I
orked in Hou Keeping at he ho ital.
You can put in all of the si I call .p
you ant. If the jail guard don't ant
you to see the "doctor" I mean nur
then you on't. The killing part . you
ha\'e to 'buy" medicine off the com
misary, ho can you be made to pay for
medical help or medicin hen you are
being held by authority of th County
of Berrien. It l the respon 'bility of the
County to pay for all medical need .
I 0, to th called ttomey
the county pu e at everybody. The
only thing they are good for is to get you
a ple bargain. They don't u any type
of legal expert' e to help their client .
I seriously doubt that they po any
real legal talent, becau t ey don't dis
play any. I am being m e to °t in j il
at this ery moment on charge the
pro cutor no evidence t all to
prove. The numbers are 84A025 10
& 84A02511 respectively. Both charge
are obtaining money unde fal pre
ten . One c state that I ld my
car to somebody and then reported it
stolen to the insurance company. The
darn catch' th t on the day tile in
surance company paid me off for my car,
I gave them the title to the car. The
othe case states that 1 took some item
off my car (tire , rim ,etc.) and reported
the olen, but the in ance company
claim I put the item in the basement
of girlfriend, reported them olen,
received money r thi. But the pro
secutor has no evidence to support the
claims, none whatsoever and yet my
bond has been t at a ridicuulous S20,
000 (t enty thousand) c t. Jerry
Clark of the State Police put note on
the cover of my court folder tellin the
Judg he wanted bond to b high so I
could not h ve cont ct with the witne -
e. The Judge ordered me not to cont ct
my 0 n girlfriend even through we ju t
brought into this world a baby boy
(6 eek old now), named Ronni
P tton, Jr.
Berrien County ha a very na y
habit of holding people in jail knowi
all the time th t the charges n't be
proved. But t y hold people to collect
the money they receive from the Federal
and S ate fund to pay for County ex
pen . After 180 days (6 months the
time limit for a f and peedy tri )
the County ju up and drop charge
and lets the person go if he ill not and
h not ple ded guilty. This i an atro
city to all people, but even more to
the poor Blacks.
Ronnie Patton
P.S. Stal
o. 13 has nothing on the
Berrien County Jail.
Publish each Wednesday at
219 East Main Str t
Benton Harbor. Michigan 49022
Pho : 6161927-1527
by
w Day Enterpri
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