“THIS IS EVERY MONTH” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 14, 2019) — A letter dated February 1, 2019 directed to Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) Commissioner Tony Parker states that protective-custody inmates at the Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX) are denied “access to the courts” in the form of a legal aide. Inmate Grenda Ray Harmer, […]
“ACTING IN AN OUTLAW FASHION” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 15, 2018) — Approximately two weeks ago, the warden at the Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX) in Wartburg, TN, Shawn Phillips, changed places with the warden then at Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, Mike Parris. Parris had been warden at MCCX prior to his transfer […]
“I’M GOING TO WRITE YOU UP IF I CATCH YOU DOING ANY LEGAL WORK OR RESEARCH FOR ANY INMATE” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 4, 2018) — In a memo dated March 29, 2018, MCCX inmate Grenda Ray Harmer reported that the law library supervisor threatened him with a “write-up” if he were to perform “any […]
USING “FORGED ENROLLMENT DOCUMENTS” by Omowale A. Shabazz, TDOC #244104 (Oct. 30, 2016) — [Editor’s Note: The following correspondence and documentation were received earlier this month from the above-named inmate, with the second letter and enclosure arriving last week clarifying his name change from Fred Edmond Dean to Omowale Ashanti Shabazz. Shabazz is housed at […]
“THIS PLACE IS SO CORRUPT” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 17, 2016) — On Tuesday, The Post & Email received a letter from an inmate at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, TN, from whom we have heard twice before, describing two inmate stabbings and another of a correction officer at the West Tennessee State […]
“THE SECRET TO MY MOVE IS RETALIATION” by Jerome L. Johnson, TDOC Inmate #150724 (Feb. 15, 2016) — [Editor’s Note: In December, Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) inmate Jerome L. Johnson was inexplicably moved, against prison regulations necessitating a justified change in classification, to Site 1, the most dangerous part of the Northwest Correctional Complex […]
“BLOOD, INFECTED SORES” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 8, 2016) — Several weeks ago, The Post & Email received two letters from Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, who is an inmate at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, TN. Fitzpatrick is serving a three-year sentence for “aggravated perjury” and “extortion” after attempting to inform the McMinn […]
“CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 4, 2016) — In December, Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) inmate Jerome L. Johnson was unexpectedly moved from Site 2 to Site 1 at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) as a result of what he believes was retaliation by prison staff for his refusal to participate in […]
WHILE FITZPATRICK’S MEDICAL, PHYSICAL SITUATION RAPIDLY WORSENS by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 30, 2016) — The letter below was sent by certified mail on January 14, 2016 to the official whose position, but not his name, was indicated on a form as the party to whom complaints regarding withheld prisoner mail were to be directed. The […]
INMATE LETTERS BELIE REPORTED CONCLUSION OF “SMOOTHLY OPERATING” PRISON SYSTEM by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 30, 2016) — In September, the American Correctional Association (ACA) conducted a three-day review of five Tennessee state prisons which reportedly produced the conclusion that the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) had in place a system which is “smoothly operating.” However, […]
MULTIPLE INMATES REPORT REMOVAL FROM TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL TRAINING, PLACEMENT IN PRO-SOCIAL LIFE SKILLS CLASS by Sharon Rondeau (Jan. 21, 2016) — Since last spring, The Post & Email has received reports from inmates at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, TN stating that they have been forced to enroll in the Pro-Social Life Skills (PSLS) […]
“IT TOOK ABOUT 30-40 MINUTES TO DESTROY THE CELL” by LCDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.), TDOC Inmate #540003 (Jan. 15, 2016) — [Editor’s Note: The following letter was received on Friday, January 15, 2016 and details an ongoing situation of which The Post & Email has been aware and about which it has recently […]
“HOW DO I GET SOME MEDICAL HELP BEFORE I DIE?” by Sharon Rondeau (Nov. 5, 2015) — The following letters were received from Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) inmate Donald Lynch on Monday and relates to ongoing medical problems he has had while incarcerated at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, TN. Other inmates […]
“WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS IN STORE?” by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 5, 2015) — On Friday, The Post & Email reported that an appeal to a disciplinary write-up filed by TDOC inmate Jerome Johnson to Commissioner Derrick Schofield was denied, with Schofield upholding Warden Mike Parris’s decision to enforce the discipline outlined in the report. […]
APPEALS TO TENNESSEE GOVERNOR BILL HASLAM by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 2, 2015) — Beginning in late May, Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) inmate Walter Francis Fitzpatrick informed The Post & Email that he was pressured to participate in the Pro-Social Life Skills (PSLS) class taught by a Mr. Terry Hopper at the Northwest Correctional Complex […]
WHY ARE INMATES FORCED TO TAKE CLASSES? by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 12, 2015) — On September 3, The Post & Email received documentation from TDOC inmate Jerome L. Johnson indicating that he was appealing a grievance against NWCX Warden Mike Parris and several staff members for issuing him a disciplinary “write-up” for his refusal to […]
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS NOW SAY “ASSAULT;” MASTER REPORT CITED “ILLNESS” AS CAUSE FOR HOSPITALIZATION by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 5, 2015) — On Friday, The Post & Email received a letter from Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) inmate Bryant K. Lewis, who has written to us over the summer in a series of letters about violence within the […]
“A CLEVER DECEPTION” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 29, 2015) — On June 29, 2015, TDOC inmate Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III completed a form with the purpose of obtaining proof of his high school graduation in order to be excused from the Adult Basic Education (ABE) class in which he had been enrolled the day before. […]
“THE OUTCRY IS VERY REAL” by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 26, 2015) — A Tennessee legislative subcommittee will meet on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. CDT at the Capitol, Legislative Plaza, Nashville to discuss complaints from corrections officers stemming from a scheduling change which took effect last year blamed for poor morale, a significant number of resignations, […]
“FEDERAL CRIME STOPPERS” NEEDED by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 10, 2015) — On Saturday, The Post & Email published an article containing the first four pages of a 44-page handwritten letter received last week from Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, who is imprisoned at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville,TN. The letter further detailed his forced […]