“WE SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED FOR THINGS WE DID NOT DO”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Apr. 5, 2018) — On Thursday, a letter arrived from NWCX inmate Billy Ray Cooper, Jr., #407119, claiming that a correction officer accused him of throwing an apple at her and promised to use the “incident” as a means by which to foil his upcoming parole hearing.
NWCX is located in Tennessee’s northwest corner in Tiptonville, close to the state’s borders with Missouri and Kentucky.
In his March 29 letter, Cooper wrote that on March 24, 2018, Correction Officer (C/O) Julie Abbott issued him a disciplinary write-up for “Defiance” but that the report is false. “There was a apple thrown in the unit that night but officer Julie Abbott was not even in the unit,” [sic] Cooper wrote. “I talked to the Sgt. in charge that nite (Sgt. Scott Bargery) and he even agreed that there was no apple thrown at officer Abbott. But he said whatever officer Abbott says he is going with instead of going with the truth.”
Cooper indicated that in “Building 12” between approximately 8:50 PM and 9:15 PM on March 24 an apple was hoisted by an unidentified party but that Abbott was not in the vicinity.
“I understand his officers are not going to go against each other, but also they have a job to do and they should tell the truth and do what is right,” Cooper asserted, then referring to video footage routinely recorded on prison security cameras. “The camera will show that C/O Abbott is lying in her report but I cannot get anyone to look at the camera. It is automatically their word against hours. There is many other C/O’s here saying that it is not right and they do not agree with what C/O Abbott is getting away with,” Cooper said.
Further on page 2 he wrote, “I told Ms. Abbott that what she said was a lie and she smiled at me and said whose words are they gonna take hers or mine. [sic] This is not right, we should not be punished for things we did not do.”
Cooper went on to say that he had been hopeful that his upcoming parole hearing would result in his ability to “get closer to my kids,” who he said are ages 10, 5 and 4. “I go up for parole in June and C/O Abbott knows this. She told me herself that I can kiss my parole good bye.” [sic]
Another complaint Cooper voiced was that Abbott reportedly refers to “black people” with “the N word then says she is allowed to use the N word because she has three mixed kids.”
“She has had other complaints on her but nothing is being done,” Cooper continued on page 3. “Other C/O’s don’t like her and have told me to push this issue.”
“I have not had a write-up in over 2 years,” Cooper said. “I don’t do anything wrong, I am doing my best to get closer to my kids and make parole, then a officer making up lies is trying to ****** my life up and keep me away from my kids and here in prison longer.”
As is noted in Cooper’s inmate entry (pictured above), a parole hearing was scheduled for March of last year but was “continued.”
I recently visited a family member at NWCX who used to live in the building where Officer Abbott works and my family member said that he moved because officer Abbott was having him strip searched and having his cell ransacked daily because he and Abbott had a disagreement. Allegedly based on what my family member said, Abbott uses having inmates stripped naked and having their cells ransacked as an intimidation technique.
According to my family member, allegedly Officer Abbott ordered the beating of an inmate named Millsap by other inmates in building 10 shortly before inmate Millsap went home because Officer Abbott and inmate Millsap had a verbal altercation.
My family member says that allegedly Officer Abbott also is allowed to work around inmates and their food with open active Herpes sores on her mouth when she is touching inmates doornobs, mail, etc…
Allegedly there was also a grievance complaint filed against Abbott for having inmates strip searched while she stands around and ridicules the inmates but nothing was done about the grievance.
Also according to my family member, allegedly an inmate attempted to file a PREA complaint against Officer Abbott but the inmate was ignored by Abbott’s staff members that the inmate tried to complain to.
According to my family member allegedly the inmates are afraid to complain because she’ll have other inmates to beat complainers like she did inmate Millsap or she will have her friends, officer Mealer and Briggs to go and ransack the inmates cell until they find something to write the inmate up. My family member said allegedly the way she gets an inmate cell ransacked is by telling officers that they have drugs in their cell. Allegedly even when Mealer and Briggs knows that it’s not true they will humiliate the inmate by being her enforcers during the strip search while Abbott stands around them and then they will destroy the inmates cell
When I asked my family member during our visit why didn’t more inmates complain, he said because nobody wants to be walking around with black eyes like Millsap was and nobody wants to be humiliated with a strip search while she stands around and nobody wants their cell destroyed by her enforcers Officers Mealer and Briggs.
When I left my family member after our visit I truly felt scared that the prison allows and condones such brutal and scheming conniving behavior as well as allegedly allowing someone with open active herpes sores on their mouth to work around inmates and their food.
Abbott sounds like a truly evil and sick person.