San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

Servicemen sentences overturned

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Two servicemen on military Death Row had their sentences overturned this summer, reports the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). U.S. Air Force veteran Andrew Witt and Vietnam War veteran Robert Fisher both had attorneys who failed to present mitigating evidence of mental health issues and trauma in their initial trials.
Witt was sentenced in 2005 for murdering an airman and his wife. After a three-week capital resentencing trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces imposed a life sentence, according to DPIC, which cited the La Crosse Tribune.
Fisher, who had received a Purple Heart from President Lyndon B. Johnson, was convicted of the 1980 murder of his girlfriend. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania overturned his death sentence and granted a new trial.
In both cases, attorneys failed to present evidence that their clients suffered from head trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD can cause serious psychological after-affects for years after a soldier returns from combat, according to DPIC.
In Witt’s case, the attorney failed to present mitigating evidence that he had suffered a traumatic brain injury just four months before the murders. Witt’s death sentence was the first one handed out to an airman since 1992.
In Fisher’s first trial, his attorney failed to present the mitigating evidence of trauma and other mental health issues Fisher experienced due to his service in Vietnam.
Twelve veterans have had their death sentences reduced to life in prison, while four veterans in military prisons are still on the U.S. military death row.

Dr. Downey overcomes hurdles

Approximately 10 Counties Responsible For a Quarter of U.S. Executions

More inmates taking meds for mental health issues


 

“VIETNAM WILLIE”

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As a child Vietnam Willie always knew,

His dream adventuring to see the world a view

He wanted the freedom to travel around,

Not knowing what in life may be found.

Vietnam Willie’s younger years, so lonely to do

Friends and family had other cares to respond to.

Imagining fantasies for fun as a secluded kid,

The green forest Vietnam Willie often ran and hid.

Vietnam Willie ventured into the Military Force,

Be sought out his new green forest

Joining the Vietnam War while Tet was still hot,

A land of trees and sand, God had forget.

It poured rain throughout the Season,

Washing the souls of grief, the reason

Tears from Angels falling on the land;

down through crimson dirt and golden sand.

Duty in this land was hell many had thought,

An ungodly refuge Vietnam Willie had sought.

Tour calendar did pass; stress day and night,

Life’s inhibitions no longer survived the fight.

With mental distain Vietnam Willie left that place,

Dreams in the night now have no mental face.

His friends and mind were still to remain,

Sometimes he question he questions, was he really sane.

Traveling the sunshine state, free world land,

Taking for wed a pretty round-eye in hand’

Love, Vietnam Willie, could never imitate;

From the Asian sand apathy would never abate.

A male child to Vietnam Willie was soon born,

Shortly baby’s crib and shoes noticeably forlorn.

He was taken from Vietnam Willie into God’s hand,

Because of chemicals spread in a foreign land.

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Deathly violence innocent people soon felt,

Feeling the ice that never seemed to melt.

Vietnam Willie released punished everyday

Thinking everyone would have to pay.

A prison forest Vietnam Willie soon did find,

His violent life and hell again had intertwined.

The very depth of Hades many don’t know,

Continuing three decades and more, in a row.

How long could Vietnam Willie live this way,

Traveling through life’s mental forest everyday?

How long will the inner pain and dreams last,

Viewing those nightly places of the distant past.

Vietnam Willie, Vietnam Willie, what life had he?

Vietnam Willie, Vietnam Willie, what life must be…

By John Tidwell

VGSQ Media

“if y’all think I did it…just give me a lawyer, dawg, ‘cause this is not what’s up.”Warren Demesme said during police questioning.The Louisiana Supreme Court held that this reference was too ambiguous to count as a request for counsel.REASON Magazine, January 2018

73 percent of Alabama is within a drug-free zone, defined as extending three miles from schools, colleges and housing complexes and resulting in a five- year enhancement.  REASON Magazine, January 2018

 

San Quentin’s big transition as non-designated facility

First annual “victim awareness event” at CIW


https://sanquentinnews.com/stings-entangle-sex-workers-victims-perpetrators/

"The American soldier standing guard at Christmas"

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The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed around the room and cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow feel, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, then the

Sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see was near.

Standing out in the cold and dark of night.

A long figure stood his face weary and tight.

A soldier. I puzzled some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled.

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,

“come in this moment, it’s freezing out there!

Put down your pack; brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a Cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light

The he sighed and he said “It’s really all right,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night”

“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”

Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gran always remembers.”

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of Nam’

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while

But my wife sends me pictures, he sure got her smile.

Then he bent and carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue.. An American flag.

I can live through the cold and being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weigh of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sisters and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside, “he said, “Harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,

“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,

For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret

“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

By VGSQ member

“if y’all think I did it…just give me a lawyer, dawg, ‘cause this is not what’s up.”Warren Demesme said during police questioning.The Louisiana Supreme Court held that this reference was too ambiguous to count as a request for counsel.REASON Magazine, January 2018

73 percent of Alabama is within a drug-free zone, defined as extending three miles from schools, colleges and housing complexes and resulting in a five- year enhancement.  REASON Magazine, January 2018

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Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin

“STARTLED”

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When you jump in the night,

You’ve been startled with fright.

Must have been scenes from the past,

The vision will never be the last.

When you cry out in the night,

You’ve been startled with fright.

You know the reason, not hearing a sound,

Like trees falling in the forest, no one around.

When you toss n turn, sweat in the night,

You’ve been startled with fright.

Where’s the peace of abundant sleep?

You fill there’s no relief down deep.

When there’s a flash in the night,

You’ve been startled with fright.

Without life, the vision is at end,

The gun the wrong message you send.

By John B. Tidwell

VGSQ-Media

“64% of California’s jail population is awaiting trial or sentencing as of December 2016.” Most remain in pretrial custody because they cannot afford bail.  Jail Profile Survey, http://www.bscc.ca.gov/

“if y’all think I did it…just give me a lawyer, dawg, ‘cause this is not what’s up.”Warren Demesme said during police questioning.The Louisiana Supreme Court held that this reference was too ambiguous to count as a request for counsel.REASON Magazine, January 2018

73 percent of Alabama is within a drug-free zone, defined as extending three miles from schools, colleges and housing complexes and resulting in a five- year enhancement.  REASON Magazine, January 2018

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Study shows rural jails add to mass incarceration

Reflections of a veteran: Davis Bennett

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Davis Bennett, far right, toasting with army brothers and sisters

Davis Bennett, far right, toasting with army brothers and sisters

Davis Bennett, 75, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1961. He is one of the many combat veterans serving time at San Quentin State Prison.

Bennett served in Vietnam in October 1967 and December 1970.

“I was assigned to the 1st Armored Division and was a machine gunner on an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier),” he said. His unit consisted of three tanks, three APCs, a company of about 150 infantry men and a mortar squad of about 12 men.

“I was wounded three times while in an APC. Once a VC (Viet Cong) rocket-propelled grenade, better known as an RPG, was fired at the vehicle, and it exploded on the side of the APC. I was hit in the jaw by shrapnel fragments. It took two of my teeth.”

Bennett was wounded twice more. He was hit in his lower back side, coming out of the APC’s turret. The other injury came after his APC hit a mine, throwing him off the turret and damaging his right arm. When the APC hit the mine, most of its crew was killed and the rest were seriously wounded.

“It was very bad,” he said. “We were trying to help the wounded, and there were body parts on the ground and in the trees. I’ll never forget that day.” His APC unit was awarded the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.

Bennett was awarded several medals and ribbons for his service:

Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters

Three Purple Hearts

Five Good Conduct Medals

National Defense Ribbon

Vietnam Service Medal

Three Non-Commissioned Officer Development Ribbons

Army Service Ribbon

Two Overseas Service Ribbons

Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation

Vietnam Campaign Medal

Combat Infantry Badge

Expert Rifle M-16

Today, he is being treated at the prison hospital for cancer that developed in his jaw. He thinks the cancer is related to the old war injury he sustained when the RPG hit his APC.

Bennett was born Feb.10, 1942. He was raised in Winona, Miss., and is the youngest of 10 brothers and six sisters. All the boys have served in the U.S. Army. He served in the U.S. Army 21 years and nine months. He retired as a First Sergeant.

The Bennett family moved to California, along with an uncle, in 1955. They moved to Oakland the following year.

Bennett was living with one of his brothers in 2008. There they befriended a homeless man, Nemo. They would let him hang around their house and sleep in their yard. He would also help Nemo by giving him $5 a day, and from time to time they’d have a drink.

One day in 2012, Bennett went to the bank and withdrew $3,000. He sat on his porch counting the money. Nemo asked for some.

“I give you money all the time, and I am not going to give you anymore,” Bennett said.

Bennett says Nemo threatened to beat him up. Bennett picked up a shovel and told Nemo to leave. However, Nemo responded by attacking and punching Bennett. In the chaos, Bennett said he got his handgun. Nemo hit him once again, and he shot Nemo in the chest. Nemo walked away and died later.

“They at first wanted to charge me with first-degree murder and then second-degree. They lowered it to manslaughter. I received a seven-year sentence. I will be released on June 5, 2018,” Bennett said.

If an incarcerated veteran wants to learn more about VHV or if they or their family may qualify for additional benefits, please contact:

Mary Donovan, Executive Director of VHV 

PO BOX 432

San Quentin, CA 94964

mary@veteranshealingveterans.org

The VHV website is veteranshealingveterans.org

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http://sanquentinnews.com/vietnam-veterans-group-of-san-quentin-scholarship-award/

San Quentin’s big transition as non-designated facility

350 men honor Veteran’s Day at SQ

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Sponsors and the Veterans Healing Veterans group on the Lower Yard

Sponsors and the Veterans Healing Veterans group on the Lower Yard

Every year, the 11th day of the 11th month in the United States commemorates Veterans Day. It was no different in San Quentin for the more than 350 incarcerated men who once served in America’s armed forces.

Nearly a dozen community supporters ventured inside the prison to pay their respect with about 50 of the incarcerated veterans who gathered in front of a stage set on the prison’s Lower Yard.

The tribute began early Saturday morning with 1970s music blaring and the smell of burning wood coming from the Native Americans’ sacred grounds.

In the distance, inmates played a pick-up basketball game against the Lincoln Hill Community Church. Across the yard, UC San Francisco Dons joined a match with the prison tennis team.

Meanwhile, on stage, the incarcerated veterans, many with combat experience in wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan, readied themselves to tell stories about their military experience.

First, though, everyone in the yard stood at attention as the national anthem played. All the veterans saluted the flag as the civilians and correctional officers held their right hands over their hearts.

At the conclusion of the national anthem, someone from the Native Americans’ sacred grounds yelled the Marines’, “oorah,” which brought several whistles and an applause.

The tone of the event ranged from joyous to solemn.

“This is a very hard day for me,” said veteran Eric Davidson with his head hung as he earnestly recalled his service. Davison served across the globe in the 1st Marine Division and 1st Force Recon Battalion from 1988 to 1998.

Dennis Nelson, another veteran, served in the Marines. He did three tours in Vietnam, 1967, ’68 and ’69.

“Veterans Day honors all American veterans, both living and dead,” Nelson said. “In fact, Veterans Day is intended to thank living veterans’ dedicated and loyal service to their country. The biggest national debt is not government spending or federal deficits, but that debt America owes to these veterans.”

David “Solo” Bennet, who emceed the Seventh Annual Veterans Healing Veterans From the Inside Out Veterans Day celebration, said, “I consider myself as an advocate and a helper.”

He added: “As a human being it is my responsibility to give back and pay forward the help and assistance given to me by people in my past.”

JD Martin, who served in the 82nd Airborne, 173rd Airborne Division, said he watched the latest Ken Burns documentary on Vietnam.

“It showed all the trauma and horrors of the battles,” Martin said as he read about what it meant to be a soldier during the Vietnam era.

“I will not be explicit because after 50 years, the horror is still there,” Martin said.

Dennis Barnes served in Vietnam between 1967 and 1973. He did three combat tours.

“At this very moment, men and women are serving around the world under all kinds of weather. They are vigilant and of all races looking out for our freedoms. Be proud of them. We can complain about all kinds of things, but be thankful for our veterans — remember America needs you.”

“The survival of democracy depends on the sacrifice of veterans,” said James “Shorty” Dunbar, clerk for the veterans program. “The most cherished wish of all veterans is for peace.”

The program’s chairman, Gary Cooper, summed up the sentiment for many of the incarcerated veterans, “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, and that’s true. I will always be a veteran, before I am an inmate.”

Tina Rutsch has been visiting San Quentin for about two years to help veterans to tell their stories through theatrical performances.

She said the experience of having the honor of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as a teenager was impactful to her.

“Since then, I’ve always had an interest in veterans, but my path went to the theater,” she said. Years later, an experience with Marin Shakespeare Company gave her the chance to come inside San Quentin and work with incarcerated veterans.

She is currently recruiting incarcerated men for her next theater production.

“I’m excited. It is the third year for the Veterans Theater through Marin Shakespeare. We take ideas that the veterans have and share stories and experiences. We then connect shared stories and we talk and listen to each other to come up with the performance. We want to include all voices, veteran or not.”

Emcee Bennet said, “I get great pleasure in making others feel better about themselves. Playing an intimate part in putting on the Veterans Day ceremony was very fulfilling in that it brought together people from different walks of life and even from different generations.”

If an incarcerated veteran wants to learn more about VHV or if they or their family may qualify for additional benefits, please contact:

Mary Donovan, Executive Director of VHV

PO BOX 432

San Quentin, CA 94964

mary@veteranshealingveterans.org

The VHV website is veteranshealingveterans.org

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