[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ARIZONA

[Rick Halperin]

Fellow Abolitionists

I have just received the latest article from my friend Richie Rossi, now in
his 21st year on the row in Arizona and presently having an extremely hard
time following upon the first English edition of his book, Waiting to Die:
Life on Death Row. His resilience never ceases to astonish me!

Brian Crowther



**********************************************


ARIZONA:



The Seven Year Itch

Most likely you have heard the expression "The Seven Year Itch."
Traditionally, this expression referred to a certain strong itch to stray
from a monotonous marriage or relationship. One or both of the partners who
were compelled to be together had thoughts of "greener pastures."

It occurs to me that this is an apropos way to describe the situation we
here on death row in Arizona feel at this point in time. In September 1997,
our death row population was abruptly and rudely uprooted from our home at
Cell Block 6 and hustled over to the state's most secure control unit priso=
n
called Special Management Unit 2. A deadly shooting incident outside on the
death row forced labor chain gang precipitated this move. A prisoner was
killed as well as his civilian wife who was shot to death by the prison
guards as she stood outside of the prison fence. Opinions differ as to
whether it was an escape attempt gone bad or a suicide pact. Either way, al=
l
the rest of us were made to suffer for this event. We suffer to this day.

It is seven years now and many of us here have the itch. We crave change.
Many events over these seven years have only increased our suffering. Our
behavior had not merited this treatment. In the move over here we were
pushed, tugged, and physically shoved around like human sacks of potatoes.
We lost most of our personal property. More importantly, we lost the
lifeblood of any prisoner: the window in our cells. We are now in concrete
boxes with no sunlight at all
and no view of the outside world. For any human being, such a deprivation i=
s
horrendous.

All of our hobbycraft items and supplies were taken from us and these
privileges have never been restored. We can not engage in any artistic
endeavors as a pastime. If we are caught drawing, we get a disciplinary
write- up. In the boredom and loneliness of death row confinement, our mind=
s
are encouraged to waste away. Allowing us to engage in a meaningful pastime
could be very useful and constructive. The administration knows this is the
value of hobbycraft, and their refusal to consider allowing these privilege=
s
is a deliberate punishment.

For a time, we were allowed to come out of our cells, uncuffed, to clean th=
e
pod we live in. This program was quickly shut down. We have never been
allowed out of our cells uncuffed again, and we have never been offered job=
s
to help us pass the time. This is what prisoners refer to as "hard time." A=
t
Cell Block 6 there were a number of jobs that allowed us to feel as if we
were contributing and being useful. Not this past seven years. Even our
personal shoes became a victim of this punishment cycle. One day the goon
squad came to our cells and did a massive search. Apparently, someone in
this unit decided he could not take the loneliness and desperation any
longer
and hung himself by his shoe strings. All the goons came for were the shoe
strings, but what better way to take the shoes themselves. So they did.
Since
1998, we have only been issued cheap deck shoes that have no support at all=
=2E
These deck shoes cost the prison three dollars a pair and are made in China=
,
most likely by Chinese prisoners.

After a few years of inactivity, no exercise or exercise equipment, and no
jobs, the administration decided we needed an opportunity to stretch our
legs. The forced labor death row chain gang would be resurrected. The chain
gang provided us prisoners with shovels, rakes and hoes with which to
redress grievances that had been festering for years. When a prisoner would
fight with another prisoner, the officers were then free to engage in human
target practice. This was often the case. And if you were not hit by a load
of buckshot fired from the guards' shotguns, you could easily succumb to th=
e
punishing 110=B0 temperatures. The chain gang went on for quite some time. =
It
was finally ended when a severe budget shortage forced the cut back of the
police manpower used to administer the chain gang. Humanitarian
considerations did not figure into this decision. It was Cool Hand Luke
revisited. Over these seven years, numerous legal developments have taken
place as well. All to our detriment. The prison won a law suit that
permitted it to close the prison law libraries and thus close the door on
many poor persons trying to fight their conviction. A catastrophic event fo=
r
us all. Shortly after Timothy McVeigh bombed the Federal Building in
Oklahoma, the conservatives in Congress seized the opportunity to pass the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. Finally, the liberal justice=
s
would be limited as to the amount of relief they could grant in the federal
courts on habeus corpus and a time limit of one year for filing such a
petition. Additionally, over 60 crimes are now eligible for the federal
death penalty. This has caused much pain, suffering and death to us. Just
recently, the U.S. Supreme Court denied relief in the Summerlin case out of
Arizona. If we had won, about 100 prisoners would have been allowed a
resentencing due to the fact that they were improperly sentenced to death b=
y
a judge as opposed to a jury. Although a forbidden practice under current
law, since we came before, we are denied the constitutional right extended
to the so-called "current cases." How do you deny a constitutional right to
some and allow others to benefit? It just doesn't square. Fairness
of the law should extend to all.

All of the events I have mentioned and countless other ones should serve to
validate the premise of this article. In this seven year period of forced
bondage, I and many others have developed a strong case of The Seven Year
Itch. We need a change so badly we can taste it, but we are helpless in thi=
s
marriage of convenience that we call the death penalty. Scratch the itch as
hard as we like, we cannot change a thing. We are bound together until deat=
h
do us part.

******************************

=A9 Richard Rossi
50337
P.O. Box 3400
Florence, AZ 85232
Death Row
(October, 2004)