By Greg Matics
The Jackson Star-News
Thu Dec 10, 2009, 12:13 PM EST
Ely, NV – Prison reform groups are calling for a federal investigation in the aftermath of a former Ripley man’s suicide in his death row cell at a Nevada prison.
Timothy L. Redmen (AKA Timothy Lee Redman), 45, hanged himself with his shoelaces in his cell [read more...]
MTWT apologizes for the condition of this witness statement regarding the death of Timothy Redman at Ely State Prison on November 18, 2009. Somehow, the account was mailed to the wrong place and the person who got it took it upon herself to chop up (“edit”) this statement. Unfortunately, this “editor” [read more...]
Prison officials are investigating the death of an inmate at Northern Nevada Correctional Center over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Director of Corrections Howard Skolnik said inmate Jamie Kline’s death while he was in the prison Regional Medical Center is under investigation.
Skolnik said Kline habitually refused to take his psychotropic medicines which meant the medical staff had to [read more...]
Newspapers within Nevada picked up the story about Timothy Redman’s death and, as we at MTWT and others, knew their “journalism” would be in the defense of the NDOC and would not be the truth in its entirety. The NDOC gives the public what they want us to hear, what they want us to [read more...]
MTWT has received mail from inmates at ESP and their family members regarding the 11-18-09 death of Timothy Redman on unit 3-B.
One inmate tells us, “Investigator General Thompson was on the unit to “investigate” but he never once asked any inmate what they had seen in the hours and minutes leading to Mr. Redman’s death,” [read more...]
Tortured to death at Ely State Prison
November 19, 2009
(Photos sent to MTWT by loved ones of Timothy Redman. Photos are property of MTWT, please contact before taking off the site. This is at the request of the loved ones of Timothy Redman.)
“They pumped can after can of pepper spray into the cell; they came [read more...]
PLEASE SEE UPDATED STORY CLICK HERE
Tortured to death at Ely State Prison
“They pumped can after can of pepper spray into the cell; they came back every 20 minutes and emptied another can …a big can, maybe half the size of a hairspray can. Then an officer looked in the cell, turned to the lieutenant [read more...]
By: Coyote Sheff
These few humble words go out to the “Local Boy 76” and to all who care to know what I have to say and to all who would like to join in these open chats. Please, try to stay as open-minded as you can, because I know that most people in society have [read more...]
Prisoner files lawsuit against Cortez Masto and three Deputy Attorney Generals for Failure to Correct False Testimony
Roger Libby has been in prison in Nevada for 19 years, almost all of which were spent on death row after his conviction for the killing of two men in Humboldt County in 1990.
Libby’s conviction was exclusively based on [read more...]
by Raymond Watison
Prisoners at Nevada State Prison are pleading for help. We truly believe that the administration is intentionally inflaming conflict. Not only are tensions between inmates rising, but those between correctional officers and inmates are at an all-time high.
Most importantly, we are starting to become angry because of an ugly rumor that is circulating [read more...]
On Sunday, July 27, 2009 I received calls from inmates at NNCC telling me about an inmate that I personally knew had been taken to the Carson Tahoe Hospital for excessive bleeding. I was told that this inmate was bleeding out of all of his orifices. On Thursday I received word from RMF [read more...]
By Coyote Sheff
Sitting in solitary for years and years, I’ve learned that an active mind is a dangerous mind, but I think having an inactive mind, under these conditions is even more dangerous and very harmful to ourselves.
Surrounded by madness and perversion, these guards and this administration seems to want us [read more...]
Note: This was emailed to us by a wife of an inmate that has been dealing with the Nevada Prison system for a number of years. After finding Make The Walls Transparent, she had to the urge to write to us and the anger she has built up in that time can clearly be read [read more...]
By Coyote Sheff
It is 3:07 a.m. as I sit here in this cold silence of another imprisoned November night, I can hear the echoes of the ghetto life ringing clearly in my head; the gunshots, the sirens, the dogs barking the helicopters. It has been years since I’ve been in the [read more...]
By Coyote Sheff
Note: This is in part a response to a poster on the Ely Times Message Board who calls himself Localboy76 (Click the link to see the posts he is responding.)
It is important what Local Boy 76 said about how prison has tendencies turn officers into animals…
I find it hilarious how people try [read more...]
Bill Would Reform Law That Denies Access to Courts for Victims of Prison Rape and Other Abuses
WASHINGTON – December 16 – Congressman Robert Scott (D-VA) introduced landmark legislation today that is aimed at reforming how prisoners can bring lawsuits defending their rights. Congressman Scott’s bill would reform the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) which was [read more...]
By
Matt on December 11, 2009
The litany of lawsuits filed by the Concerned Citizens for a Safe Community and Chairman Donna Cox could come with a hefty price tag.
Corrections Corporation of America and Nye County have both filed claims against CCSC for court costs totaling over $7,500 in the wake of the unsuccessful federal suit brought against them in an [read more...]
White Pine county authorities say an inmate on death row for a Las Vegas murder has hanged himself in his Ely prison cell.
The sheriff’s office says Timothy L. Redmen was found dead from an apparent suicide on Nov. 18. They say the cell door was wedged shut and had to be removed so prison officials [read more...]
An Ely State Prison inmate killed himself Thursday in a barricaded cell.
According to White Pine County Sheriff Dan Watts, the deputy coroner was sent to the Smith Valley prison after Timothy Lee Redman hung himself.
Redman, 45, had barricaded his cell, jamming the sliding door and refusing to remove the obstacle.
Watts said prison maintenance staff was [read more...]
A man on death row for a 1990 murder in Clark County committed suicide last week at Ely State Prison.
Timothy L. Redmen, 45, hung himself in his cell Nov. 18, White Pine County Sheriff Dan Watts said.
Redmen jammed the cell door with a weapon called a shank. The door had to be removed to [read more...]
An inmate on death row for a Las Vegas murder at the state prison in Ely has hanged himself in his cell, the White Pine County Sheriff’s Office says.
Timothy L. Redmen, 45 was convicted of the 1990 fatal shooting of Max Biederman, whose face was mutilated with a wrought iron railing and his hands [read more...]
Make the Walls Transparent would like to apologize to all our readers for our failure to keep up to date with the news. Due to an emergency situation, we were unable to post articles, but we are back with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm, and we will be posting information critical of the [read more...]
Inmates in the Nevada state prison system aren’t the only ones who have had brushes with the law.
There have been seven felony arrests of prison staff in recent months. One of the officers was charged with armed robbery and attempted assault on a law enforcement officer. That alleged offense occurred in Nye County.
Howard Skolnik, [read more...]
Despite a newly imposed ban on smoking at Nevada prisons, American Indians will still be able to puff tobacco in their ceremonial pipes during their religious ceremonies.
Howard Skolnik, director of the state Department of Corrections, has told a state advisory Indian committee that the pipe smoking practice will be allowed to continue as long as [read more...]
Nevada’s prisons chief said Thursday he’s joining in a national effort to get Congress to let states use signal-jamming technology to control illegal cell phone use by convicts.
Corrections Director Howard Skolnik says state lawmakers in 2007 imposed criminal penalties for bringing cell phones into prisons and giving them to inmates. But he said the ability [read more...]
State embraces an outside set of eyes on its strapped system
A nonprofit group will be allowed to closely study the state Corrections Department and recommend ways to improve the system, officials decided this week.
Howard Skolnik, the department’s director, is working on an agreement with the Vera Institute of Justice for a two-year study of the [read more...]
In an unusual move, the Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday ordered a Las Vegas woman released from prison.
The order comes a month after the court reversed the conviction of Joy Winston as an habitual criminal, concluding the state failed to present sufficient evidence to support the jury verdict.
Winston, 52, was convicted of burglary for allegedly trying [read more...]
The guard towers surrounding state prisons may close and medical care to inmates could be curtailed to comply with the state’s monthly furloughs.
The state Board of Examiners on Tuesday gave Howard Skolnik, director of the state Department of Corrections, another 30 days to figure how he will meet the requirement, passed by the Nevada Legislature, [read more...]
Here he comes again, his hands covered in heavy black mittens, his head stuffed into a net that makes him look like a beekeeper, his legs and wrists closed in shackles.
Clark County Detention Center officers dress him this way because he has been known to spit, throw punches and kick.
The inmate shuffles through a sliding [read more...]
Normally, the defendants’ box in Judge Douglas Hedger’s courtroom is not an ideal place to be.
And with 30 arrests from 2000-2008, Richard Heavin knows that well — he’s entered the Henderson Municipal Court judge’s courtroom as a defendant on many occasions.
But today, the day after his 45th birthday, Heavin was honored to take his seat [read more...]
Note: I found this on another blog I came to by accident “The Truth As I See It“. I read it because the title caught my attention. It is a very good piece and a lot of truth spoken in it. Take the time and read it, really read it. It’s powerful and ask some [read more...]
WhatsTrue wrote on Nov 29, 2009 2:18 PM: The Ely Times
” Mr. D. Hinton, I think it’s time for you to take a breath. Your anger is showing though your writing. Not everyone will agree with your ideas and your blaming the guards. Your fight is with the warden, director. Not the guards. Your stories [read more...]
For the record, in my opinion, you are cowards. To make my point, I will address a couple items that should have you poor feeble-minded parasites howling with anger at our state correctional administrators, including the governor and the prison commissioners.
In High Desert State Prison, I have an affidavit in my possession stating the bad [read more...]
RE: Assemblyman Harvey Munford D-Las Vegas Nevada
Assembly Bill 424
The idea that The Director of Prison’s should play a part in determine parole eligibility for inmates is way out of line. It is the perfect example of Nevada’s entire judicial problem, cronyism and conflict of interest!
Assemblyman Harvey Munford, D-Las Vegas [read more...]
For the Record
Meeting of the Board of Prison Commissioners
July 14, 2009
To the Members of the Prison Commission and the Public,
Since last meeting, April 14th, nothing has changed that I have noticed: inmates in Ely State Prison are still not being treated properly for serious medical problems, the prison is [read more...]
Note: Ely State Prison is what you would call “permanent lockdown”, and basically these men are in solitary confinement 23 hours a day (most men 24 hours) 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Yes, they do have cellies in some cases, but both men are on permanent lockdown the same amount of time. [read more...]
If there is anyone who knows of an incarcerated person or has previously been incarcerated that has left our prison system who has ALWAYS MAINTAINED THEIR INNOCENCE and was prosecuted by former Washoe County Assistant District Attorney/Federal Prosecutor Ronald Rachow please contact me.
In a recent development a Washoe County judge has ordered the District Attorney [read more...]
Fiscal Year 2008
(July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008)
The following is provided in response to your request for information regarding the costs paid by the state to defend inmate litigation. This is ONLY for the state to defend the lawsuits. This is what the tax dollars in Nevada are paying for. This does not include [read more...]
Dear Community Leaders and People for Criminal Justice Reform:
To update you, all the key budget bills that Gov. Gibbons vetoed have been overridden by both houses of the Legislature. We need to thank them and congratulate them all for working together in a non-partisan way for the good of all Nevadans!
Today I’m [read more...]
Wishing Petitioners To Death is a 2006 Cornell Law Review article by law professor Shari Lynn Johnson that documents how federal appeals court judges falsified the facts in several capital cases to justify upholding the defendant’s conviction and death sentence. Professor Johnson knows the facts in the cases she writes about because she was a [read more...]
Attention Readers:
If you or anyone you know has lost or been denied visitation privileges with a loved one in a Nevada prison, please contact info@makethewallstransparent.org. There is a committee working on this issue, as it has come to our attention that many families have been denied visits for arbitrary or illegal reasons. This situation seems [read more...]
By
Rita on April 21, 2009
A California executive does time in Nevada State Prison–and lives to write a book about it
By Joe Schoenmann
This article was published on 04.04.02 before Howard Skolnik became director of Prison, Skolnik is quoted in this article as assistant director.
Editor’s note: After this [read more...]
By
Rita on April 19, 2009
Rebuttal to “WHY WE MUST FIX OUR PRISONS“
by Professor Randall G. Shelden, Criminologist
Senator Jim Webb has been an outspoken critic of America’s prison system for some time now. He is not alone; nor is he the first to point out how horrible this system is. His recent piece in Parade “Why We Must Fix [read more...]
By
Rita on April 13, 2009
NOTE: These are various public comments submitted to the Board of Prisons meeting on April 14, 2009. There are five listed, each one of them different, but at the same time saying the exact same thing: The lack of medical care is deplorable in the Nevada Department of Corrections and civil rights are being [read more...]
On Tuesday, April 14, in Las Vegas (by video) and in Carson City (live) the Nevada Board of Prison Commissioners will meet to allow the public to put on record its complaints against the Nevada prison system and make suggestions for improvement. Prisoners are asking other prisoners to urge their supporters, friends and loved ones [read more...]