Bre Lane
- Advocacy
- Addressing Sexual Violence
- Seeking a bridge/advocate between inside/out
- Care Work
- Engage in the power of families
- Legal Education
- Excessive heat
- Retaliation/abuse of the disciplinary system
- Legal work from the inside
- Solitary confinement
- Sleep deprivation
- Mental health care
- Increase oversight of law enforcement
all letters
Bre Lane
transcription
Bre Lane [Redacted]
379 Fm 2972
Rusk, TX 75785
Skyview Unit
March 13, 2023
J.L.I. C/O TYLER Walton Esq.
139 MAC Dougal St. B22
New York, NY 10012
In Re: Correspondence W/ [Redacted] + Other J.L.I. Members + Staff
Dear [Redacted],
I am writing this missive to (a) respond to your JPay dated 2/23/23, which I received only a few days ago, b ) To inform you , your students , the world of what I've been going through and last but not least to speak up for those currently without a voice, living + deceased.
[Redacted] first off , please do not feel had for being confused about how the whole JPay messaging system works + for the delay it caused in your response. It was due wego TOBBY fault of your own Am just thankful even received it b/c I am currently at a different
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facility, a psychiatric facility to be exact. And females aren't allowed our tablets. Only the males. Go figure. So, needless to say, I can only write to you via snail mail until I return to the Lane Murray Unit. I still don't have an address for you outside of JLI. If you have one please send it in your next JPay or let me know if this is fine. I'd rather my letters to you are sealed otherwise you may not receive them. So if the way to continue private correspondence from my end is to use JLI please let me know. You, however, may continue to use JPay. I should receive it in no more than 3 days time but respond via Snail mail as Pre mentioned.
Now, before I go into how I ended up here + all that's gone on since my arrival, to answer your question, yes! you may Share my letter with the Mellon foundation + anyone else you feel may need to read it. For too long I've held back about the abuse, mental, emotional & physical, the murders, attempted murders, suicides + cover- ups that I've witnessed here in TDCO at the hands of people who according to the TDCO mission statement are here to promote positive
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change" I would be lying if I said I have not met a few positive staff members Whether they were officers, teachers, therapist or church volunteers. Yet, still they were far + in between.
Some time after my E-message to you, I found myself in a deep dark depression. Of course felt it coming on + as usual attempted to ignore it + smother it with other things, i.e. games on my tablet, food, reading + anything else I could think of to stave it off. And before I knew it, it was right at the forefront. I am currently housed in Ad Seg. Restrictive Housing to the politically correct, so I live alone. I kept seeing my body dangling from the light fixture, which is the best place to hang yourself from + most often used. I knew I needed to get help once I had the noose prepared + on the light. I won't say exactly what I did after that in case any of my family reads this but I will say I eventually sought help. The process to make it here at SKyview unit is a long, painful degrading one.
It goes like this. Once you make it off the Unit either by actually dying due to hanging, overdose, etc. or by being evaluated
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by someone from mental health they then transfer you "Crisis Management" or "MPF" (Medical Psychiatric facility or something like that), which is located at the Mountain View Unit. Mtn. View is where Death Row for females is located. Specifically right where MPF, or suicidal females go. And by "specifically" I mean we are mere doors apart. We can talk them + vice versa. They are just behind a gate.
Upon entering MPF we are stripped naked, searched, vitals taken, put in a nasty feces, urine + who knows what else -infested cell. The temperature is freezing, even if it's freezing outside. And after a few hours of begging, we may or may not be given what is called a "suicide blanket" keep warm. The only time I've seen a "suicide blanket"before coming @to prison was on the back of an 18-wheeler or furniture moving truck. They're either blue or green + very hard + obviously made to "repell" heat b/c even though they call it a "blanket" + use it as a form of punishment by taking it away + leaving you butt naked if you don't cooperate or piss someone off, you're still cold.
So, I made it to MPF + after a few hours received my "suicide blanket." As I
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mentioned, it stays freezing with the temperature somewhere in the 60s Well, since it was late Dec, a cold front also came through + we all had hypothermia + possible mill frost-bite. They refused to turn on the heat or give out an extra "blanket." People were cryin + begging. We all got sick, coughing, colds, etc. Their favorite lines to people who were complaining was " No one told you to come over here" or "you brought yourself over here go back to your unit." This is what the "Officers" said not the doctor or therapist.
Eventually, after waiting almost a month, I was brought here to Skyview Unit, where for another month, I was without clothes, in an empty cell with a suicide blanket. But let me back up. Upon arriving here on January 5, 2023 at midnight, 21 saw the Doctor her name was [Redacted] + it was my first time meeting her. Unfortunately I've been Coming here for years in search of help + meds that actually work more than harm. Anyway, Dr [Redacted] was new to me + my last time here was 3 yes prior in 2020. So, we talked, I told her about my depression + about the recent loss of family members I had yet to grieve + she basically ensured
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me that I'd get some help "But" she wanted to change my medication. The medication she wanted me to try would "Only make my hands shake + have my tongue moving in out of my mouth." Something like a snake I suppose. I had to decline. She then went over a whole list of other meds She wanted me is try as opposed I what I was on. I told her I didn't want any other meds but help with grief. To make a long story short, she said I could have some clothes + a mattress, a hot tray. (Oh, I forgot to mention, at MPF + here you eat cold PB+J sandwhiches or bologna or salami the whole time.) Anyway, I was seen by maybe 2 other people not doctors, and on the 12th Of January I was discharged to return to my unit. No warning, no other talks with the doctor, no help, no nothing. The other 2 people were just evaluating me + they all I decided, well mainly Dr. [Redacted], that I was fine. Especially since I refused the meds that would "make my hand shake + my tongue move". I was told by a Sgt. here name [redacted] to "get ready, I was going back to Mountain View"
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Since he said I was going back to MPF where I's just left, I automatically assumed I'd be going there + then to the other Hospital for men + women like this one but on the outskirts of Houston called Jester 4. However that was not to be + unbeknownst to me at the time I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life. I did as told by Sgt. [Redacted]. He handcuffed me + walked me downstairs. Upon seeing the officers there to transport me I asked why exactly I was going back to Mtn. view, just to have a clear understanding of what was going on.
They then informed me I was not going to Mtn View but back to my original unit Lane Murray. I was confused even more + let the Sgt. know I was still suicidal + in need of mental health support. I had no idea I was being sent back to my Unit without receiving any type of help. Sgt. [Redacted] also said the had it wrong by telling me I was going back to Mtn. view. To make a long story short, I was escorted back upstairs, stripped of my clothing again + placed in an area called "Seclusion" where there is" nothing but feces on the wall. Oh + blood.
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There's no toilet no nothing, There's a drain/grate type thing in the bottom of the wall, that unless you have a penis you can't minate in. And any other type of bodily function, whether penis or not is definitely out of the question. Hence the feces + blood smeared everywhere. I was not given a suicide blanket so I stood the naked + freezing for hours until I was told by officer [Redacted] + Sgt. [Redacted] that the major wanted to see me. Now, if this were a movie some type of wird creepy music would start playing, But this is real life + therefore stranger than fiction.
I'd never met the major before + had no idea why they were requesting to see me. I even asked the Sgt. officer [Redacted] +they claimed to not know. [Redacted] let & [Redacted] know he had me + walked me into a dayroom where 2 people were sitting at a stainless steel table. One was a black man whom I'd recognized + the other was a white female playing on her phone who I didn't recognize. The black man stood up, flanking the major's left side. She looked up from her phone brifly + told [Redacted] & close the door + me to sit down. I sat down across from her + after about
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3 to 4 minutes she finally says, "so what's going on" Being that I was looking off in a different direction, so as not to stare at her hile she was on her phone playing Candy Crush a whatever She caught me off guard + my first response was "who me?" A very innocent question. But the black man who turned out to be Captain [Redacted]s, pipes up + says "No She's talking to me" And on Q she says,"No I'm talking to him I just wanted you in here to hear our conversation". The Sgt. is standing about 5 ft. away watching everything. Instead of responding in kind I say "Maam since you're not a doctor or the therapist I really wasn't sure if you were talking to me."
Now, please keep in mind that I'm still naked except for this truck pallette blanket or whatever it is + I'm at a mental facility. I've never Spoken with a major because I was suicidal. Anyhow, her response was this "l think it's pretty fuckin obvious I'm not a doctor. I'm think it's pretty fucking obvious." Then she says "I'm the major." I said "well, I've never met you before ma'am so I wasn't sure." She Days" Well, I'm sorry. Let me fuckin introduce myself". Which she never did by the way. I had to ask
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Officer [Redacted] afterwards what her name was. Anyway she then starts to say that she's going to "teach me a lesson", + she's going to break me + I'll break before she does ". Now I'm completely lost + I have no idea what she's talking about. I feel it must be a case of mistaken identity. I am CONFUSED. I still don't know her name or what she's ranting about so I'm just looking + wondering why no one has told her that those super long lashes she has on don't go with her face. Or anyone's face for that matter b/c they were like birdwings. Of course I say none of this + after she says she's going to put me on her "special major plan." I ask "what is that?" b/c I'm completely dumbfounded at this point. She says" "Oh, something I just Come up with." I ask, "what does it consist Of?" Her:"Oh, a cell search every hour en the hour. A food loaf until I say otherwise". So now I realize she's cuckoo b/c all of this was unprovoked. I said " A food loaf for what?" She says "Oh, dashing, spitting, jacking the tray slot." I said "I don't ever do stuff like that. And they know I don't do stuff like that"
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She asks "Who's they" I said the people that deal with me + know me." She goes, "well, there's a first time for everything." And went on with her "I'm going to break you" rant. Then she tells the Sgt. "get her the fuck outta here + go ahead + start that." I found out shortly after meeting her first off that her name aas [Redacted]. [Redacted] + She's obsessed with "breaking people."I was not the first person she said that to or the first one on her special plan. But I was probably the last. At the time there were 2 other female inmates here, One named [Redacted] + the other named [Redacted] that she had done the same thing to; put on bogus food loaves + said she was "going to break", The "hourly cell search" is a tactic used on prisoners of war at war camps to get them to talk or "break" them by causing sleep deprivation. The food loaf is all the food you will receive on a tray combined together in a disgusting loaf + served most of the time ice cold. So imagine beans, green beans,
comote + a mystery meat in a corn bread
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batter, hall frozen/ half-cooked, Please don't think this is tasteful like sometype of dressing or stuffing because it isn't. It's disgusting + the way it's made + served is to make a person feel less than human like an animal. Hence, the reason it's reserved for people who dash or spit or throw bodily liquids on the law. And this is what she did to me as well as had her officers + Sgts. utilizing her sleep deprivation tactics. Which is a very blatant attack + violation against not only my civil but human rights.
It started that very first day, January 12th, I was not fed dinner + it was too soon to order the food leaf because paperwork has to be filed + signed off on "by her", But they started the search + Officer [Redacted] simply refused my dinner meal said she was just "doing as the was told." When I was my brought out of my "empty" cell for a cell search, the major's flunky, Cptn. [Redacted] came to watch. After being put back in the cell the 2 female officers were flirting + playing with him, the Cptn., While Sgt. [Redacted] took my handcuffs off. I was cuffed behind my back, which I had a "no cell behind back" park due To
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pre-existing injury, so I couldn't hold my blanket up. it fell open + halfway down. Sgt. [Redacted] continued I take my cuffs of but one "refused" to open. During which time his hand brushed against my bare buttocks on several occasions until an officer, [Redacted] asked if he needed help , he said "nah I got it." Then he miraculously had it.
I asked [Redacted] if she could notify O.I.G. because I wanted to go ahead + report the major. I had done nothing a warrant what she'd done + was having done to me. [Redacted] said she would call Lieutenant [Redacted] + let him know. It was now about 4 p.m. + she kept saying he was busy + finally she'd call him in the morning. At 7 am. the following morning, I was pulled out for my "cell search" again by Sgt. [Redacted], C.O. [Redacted] and [Redacted]. Another officer by the name of [Redacted] was also there doing overtime. Once I was pulled out, as soon as [Redacted] entered the cell I was promptly attacked by C.O.s [Redacted] + [Redacted] while Sgt. [Redacted] watched. He waited till they were done + asked if they were ready meaning for him to call an "I.C.S." over the
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radio. They said yes. By this time I was on the ground on my stomach + still handcuffed "in the back". They went through the motions but when the camera came said "On camera" that I had just been assaulted by C.O.s [Redacted] + [Redacted]. There was one officer who stood around the corner. watched the attack named [Redacted]. She didn't participate outside of being a look out. I know + have known all of these officers for a longtime. All except Sgt. [Redacted] & Major [Redacted].
[Redacted] was on some type of sick power trip. The other 2 inmates I mentioned Well [Redacted], [Redacted], she got tired + went ahead after 3 weeks of hell, told [Redacted] "I'm broken. you broke me", and all the Searches + food loaves stopped. Cptn. [Redacted] + the SAFE Prison Officer [Redacted] both told me to just tell her I was broken" + everything would stop.
I need to skip ahead because I'm sure you all are tired of reading. But several officers not just inmates saw what was going on + were very upset. My Mom was notified + then she notified the Ombudsman. [Redacted] investigated the
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complaint against herself [underlined] + refused to submit my statement + said I refused to make one! After weeks of trying to talk & O.I.G. + my family making complaints, almost 2 months later I'm written a case or infraction for "assault on an officer" against C.O. [Redacted]. I failed to mention that the same day she & [Redacted] attacked me after I asked for medical + Safe Prison, they came + apologized + once again said they were just doing what they were told." [Redacted] also said she was mad about a statement I made against her to O I.G. (in 2020) but that wasn't why she assaulted me "She had to." Her words not mine.
To address what took place in 2020, [Redacted] + [Redacted] once again, attacked my roommate who was due to go home in a year. I was at medical + while I was gone they both went in + beat her up + trashed our cell. Mostly her things. Shortly after, the very same day, she killed herself. She had written many grievances + complaints on [Redacted] + no one would do anything about it. When I talked to O.I. G. I told them everything she'd told me. nothing ever happened to either of them.
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There's a lady hace who's 65 years old, diabetic with heart problems + going blind. [Redacted] has attacked her numerous times. Even once kicking her in the vagina. Her name is [Redacted] + she wants the world to know what she's going through. She's been assaulted by other officers as well. TDCO #[Redacted]
[Redacted] is blind mentally retarded. TOCA [Redacted], She's 21. [Redacted] physically assaulted her too. She had someone write a grievance on her behalf like [Redacted], my deceased roommate, still nothing was done. [Redacted], also Mentally ill + assaulted by [Redacted]. Nothing done.
It goes on + on. This is why the bogus case was written against me even though I see parole for the first time in 20 years + have been case free since December 2021. They're mad because I speak up + speak out. [Redacted] + her roommate were left for dead by C.O. [Redacted]. They had both overdosed then get scared + told [Redacted]. She refused I get help for them or even report it & they almost died. [Redacted] had to go to
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the E. R. All of this can be verified. The women are still here at Skyview unit or in TDCO + will gladly tell their story. [Redacted] + [Redacted] have a history of being partners in crime + assaulting inmates. [Redacted] as well but she's slowed down some + just mostly write false Statements on her co-workers behalves. All of it is wrong + the world needs to know about all of the injustices we face + are forced to deal with on a daily basis. We're already incarcerated, away from our loved ones, being beaten, raped + even murdered. And still our voices go unheard. I'm tired but I won't be bullied into silence, I won't be stifled with threats, bogus cases + food loafs. I want/need the world to know what goes on here in TDCO. Not just this Unit but TDCO as a whole. Look up the amount of murders + suicides + see what you find. I dare you. And then I dare you to do something about it. It can be just posting or sharing this story. It can be going to a rally or contacting your local or federal congressman. It can be writing
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To anyone of us with a few words of encouragement. It can be saying a prayer; God help us all.
[Redacted], you can edit this housever you want. (I give you full permission. Right now I'm so fed up. I need any kind of help + feedback you can give me. Any type of research your students can do to help me fight this bogus infraction. I'm angry because I'm due to see parole W/ in the next few months...Still, I refuse to lose my temper or dignity. If maybe you all can petition the Ombudsman's office to do a proper investigation. O.I.G., anybody. This has a stop. I know numerous officers willing to speak up about what's going on here but only to the "right people". They're scared of losing their jobs. But they also know these people are wrong, on so many different levels.
I need someone to look into this. The major has these officers doing her dirty work so she can keep her hands clean. But most of the officers she got caught up in this last situation are not willing to lose their jobs for her. Some of the officers refused to participate
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in her til sleep deprivation tactic + Others fed me food instead of the food loaf she ordered. Others witnessed the "I'm going to break you" crap + so on + so forth.
Anyway, just let me know what type of info + input you may have. Also, would any of your students be interested in helping me prépare an 11.07 writ? I plan to do it whether I make parole not for several reasons. I'm sony this is so long. please let me know if it's best to write you here at JLI for now. If you have another address let me know. Take care.
In love + solidarity,
[Bre] Lane
Bre Lane
transcription
Bre Lane [Redacted] 742 FM 712 Marlin, TX 76661 Hobby Unit
August 25,2019
Jailhuse Layes Initiative
[Redacted]
In RE: JLI NLG Local Empowerment is Abolition Jour
Greetings all NLG Members + panelists. I will keep this as brief + to the point as I possibly can knowing time is valuable + of the essence with everything going on + everyone working to change all the injustices occurring w/ in our Country, for your time + efforts. I'd like to sincerely thank you all not only for myself, for those also who aren't even aware of all the hours + sacrifies that are made in our behalf + for future generations. Your work is greatly appreciated !
With that said, my name is [Bre] I'm currently incarcerated in a Texas womens prison. I've served 16 yrs. (for a crime I didn't commit), on a 40 yr. sen-
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-tence. I'm located at the Hobby Unit in Marlin TX. I'm sure some of you have heard of it due to the high volume of assaults + other abuses inflicted upon inmates by the officers in charge of us. This is a concern I'd like addressed at your upcoming tour. And if I'm able, I'd like To correspond with someone who'd be willing To file a classaction lawsuit on our behalf.
Women are "actually" beaten here at Hobby Unit on almost a daily basis + then " punished" for trying to report the abuse. Men of all sizes (mainly huge compared to us females), are bashing women in the face, banging their heads against brick walls + steel benches, jumping them, slapping & kicking them the list goes on. It results in broken ankles, fractureed ribs, blackened eyes, skin scraped off of faces, bloody lips; anything you can imagine. And this is no exaggeration. The 2 Wardens; [Redacted] (aut . ) allows it + does nothing at all to stop it. The Captain [Redacted] is known you nothing but his brutality against females in TDCO.
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The sexual assault+ + manipulation pale in comparison to the beatings but occur just the same. I myslef was raped by a male officer + retaliated against for reporting it, although The Officer was charged, found guilty + later admitted to his wrongdoing. As I write to you I know a female who's pregnant by a male officer after being victimized.
This is only a small portion of the things occurring at this Unit. The water is poinsonous. I've contracted H. Pylori, the last watdens nephew was bringing in meth + instead of him getting in trouble she sent him elsewhere + took it out on the inmates. It's unbelieveable + I need someone who will listen + help me (us). To put together a course of action to bring light ot this situation. In the era of the #MeToo movement, how come no one has considered us? We are still women + being victimized in ways the public would not believe. So I'm asking for this (these) issues to please be addressed + dis-
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cussed. Someone has to be able to do something even if it's only to put me in touch with and investigative reporter. All of the women who've been abused in one form or another are more than willing to speak out. But only to someone who can/will help because so far the Office of the Inspector General + the ombudsman has done practically nothing on our behalf. This is in lieu of seeing women on camera (after being beaten), + pictures with blood + bruises everywhere.
We are in desperate need of help at this facility . Most women here feel helpless. Why are we forced to endure this in 2019?! It's preposterous + I'm begging for any one of you to please get in touch with someone who can shed light on this. This is a cry for help like none other. I know the Border Crisis is of importance but what about it citizens who are forced To live through even worse conditions right here in the United States of America? And women at that! Where is our voice? Aren't we important too?
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With that said, thank you again for your time + all that you do. Your efforts do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
In Solidarity,
[Bre] Lane
JHL.
P.S. please forgive me for failing to mention all the women who cut, hang + even succeed at killing themselves in an attempt just to get away from this Unit. As.write this, my room mate site with 27 staples holding her arm together She was denied help dealing with her mental issues, another concern that needs to be addressed. Just look at the statistics for "women" who've Committed suicide While in TDCO Custody. Mind you it isn't just this Unit but it shouldn't happen at all.
Bre Lane
transcription
BRE LANE
To: [Redacted]
RE: [Redacted], I sincerely apologize for ...
10 Aug 23
________________
[Redacted], I sincerely apologize for my delay in response to your previous missive. I've been so busy with school and let time get away from me. But to enlighten you on how global warming has impacted me and several if not all of us who've been forced to endure the inhumanity of living in the sweltering Texas heat, it was "Horrid". And I say " was " b/c due to all the activism and complaints by inmates and family and friends of incarcerated people, not to mention the heat related deaths and strokes of both inmates and officers alike, they've " temporarily " installed air conditioning. And yes, I said temporarily. They have these portable A.C. units outside that are somehow connected to the air vents and blows cool air inside. They run on gas and will be taken away once the weather cools down. According to regional director Sanchez their plan is to one day install permanent A.C. But for now I'm grateful because I literally did not think I'd make it through another deadly Summer. Not on this unit ( Lane Murray ), anyway. Maybe and definitely sadly, it was the death of a young lady last month that prompted this change. This simple act of " humanization ".
Or, it could've been the fact that so many TDCJ officers were and are still literally dropping life flies from heat strokes and other related illnesses. Whatever the case may be, beggars can't be choosers. Unfortunately, this temporary A.C. is only for certain areas of the unit. This particular building holds around 120 people split into 3 different pods. The other is one dorm with about the same amount of people give or take. However, we aren't necessarily the fortunate ones. Yes, we are blessed to be a part of this trial run but what about the other 1000 plus women on this unit?
Now for the kicker. We do have one dorm that has A.C. year round. And before they built a hospice to add on to it, the A.C. was strictly for the DOGS! Yes! A dogs life was way more important than someone who made a mistake and broke the law. Talk about dehumanization! It wasn't until one of our State Representatives recently spoke out about the inhumane treatment of Texas inmates, especially those of us being forced to live in extreme heat conditions, that something's actually being done. To paraphrase him, what he said was, " It's not a we don't have the money problem it's a we don't care problem ". And of course he was talking about the powers that be. Those in position to make a change but didn't care enough to do so. To be and treat others like humans. Regardless of any of our religious beliefs, nationalities, creed or whatever, we all have that in common. We're HUMANS and we should love each other as we love ourselves and treat each other as we we'd like to be treated. Being human doesn't cost a thing. It's when we go out of our way to dehumanize others that we could potentially lose it all. In love and solidarity, Bre.