cells for weapons. Word spread quickly that Dahmer was going to be moving to a regular solitary-confinement cell and officials wanted to search cells to ensure nobody had weapons to harm him.
Security guards and officers meticulously combed each cell from top to bottom: window, walls, bed, toilet, sink, desk, and stool. They went through our personal letters, court papers, magazines, and books. They searched clothing, shoes, and personal items. Officers wrote reports on anyone who had any violation against any institutional policy or procedure.
At about 3:30 p.m., officers came to Cell 35–my cell. Handcuffed, they escorted me to the dayroom. During their search, an officer found a razor blade wedged between the window and the wall. The blade wasn’t mine; I was certain a prisoner who occupied my cell sometime before me left it behind. Nevertheless, I was not in a position to discuss my innocence, nor was I even asked.
I was immediately sent to Desegregation Unit 2. I relinquished my regular clothing and received orange clothes, sheets, a blanket, pillow, and pillowcase.The door slammed on Cell 2. I was in temporarily lockup until further notice.
Around 9:30 p.m., Officer Hoffman, the officer who found the razor blade in my cell, gave me a copy of Adult Conduct Report No. 392098, typed on Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Corrections letterhead. The report listed the charges brought against me. They were:
• Damage or alteration to property;
• Possession, manufacture, and alteration of weapons; and
• Possession of contraband, miscellaneous.
The officer wrote, “On the above date, 2/21/92, at 3:35 p.m., while searching inmate’s Martin, Calvin #139891, HU-2 [Housing Unit 2], Cell 35, I found a razor blade that has been removed from a razor. It also has tape placed across one side of the razor blade. The razor blade was concealed in the upper right side of the window screen.”
After hearing the allegations, I was really upset. I was
finally
turning my life around, making things better, and here I was, already incarcerated on modified charges and now blamed for a crime I did
not
commit.
I tried calmly explaining to Officer Hoffman that I was innocent and the evidence against me was from a prior inmate. I remember telling him specifically that it wasn’t my razor blade and that I hadn’t even been in that cell long. I relayed that I had heard the inmate housed there prior to me shaved with that specific type of razor and must have left the blade there. The razor in question was a “tractor blade” and I didn’t shave with that type of blade.
I thought it made sense and was easy to see the rationale I presented. How
could
it be my razor blade? I also pointed out that I wasn’t exactly a neat freak. We all knew it was the guys with sloppy, messy cells who got surprise searches all the time. I connected the dots for him, citing that if I
was
intentionally hiding a weapon, I would have kept my cell spotless to avoid frequent searches.
I rambled on and on, trying in vain to get the officer to believe me. My effort didn’t seem to matter much. There wasn’t anything he could do, whether he believed me or not.
I requested that Officer Hoffman check with the canteen for orders turned in by the inmate who had previously been in Cell 35. If he ordered those tractortypeblades from the canteen, I was positive I could convince the committee of my innocence.
The officer merely relayed that I would be granted due process.
The next day, February 23, I sent a note to the warden, explained the battery of things I had already tried to tell Officer Hoffman. I also wrote a letter to the security director, Mr. Davidson.
On February 24, I received a memo from Warden Endicott that stated: “I have received your note of 2/23/92 regarding a conduct report you received. It is clear from your letter that you have not been seen by the Due Process Committee. It would be inappropriate for me to become
Security guards and officers meticulously combed each cell from top to bottom: window, walls, bed, toilet, sink, desk, and stool. They went through our personal letters, court papers, magazines, and books. They searched clothing, shoes, and personal items. Officers wrote reports on anyone who had any violation against any institutional policy or procedure.
At about 3:30 p.m., officers came to Cell 35–my cell. Handcuffed, they escorted me to the dayroom. During their search, an officer found a razor blade wedged between the window and the wall. The blade wasn’t mine; I was certain a prisoner who occupied my cell sometime before me left it behind. Nevertheless, I was not in a position to discuss my innocence, nor was I even asked.
I was immediately sent to Desegregation Unit 2. I relinquished my regular clothing and received orange clothes, sheets, a blanket, pillow, and pillowcase.The door slammed on Cell 2. I was in temporarily lockup until further notice.
Around 9:30 p.m., Officer Hoffman, the officer who found the razor blade in my cell, gave me a copy of Adult Conduct Report No. 392098, typed on Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Corrections letterhead. The report listed the charges brought against me. They were:
• Damage or alteration to property;
• Possession, manufacture, and alteration of weapons; and
• Possession of contraband, miscellaneous.
The officer wrote, “On the above date, 2/21/92, at 3:35 p.m., while searching inmate’s Martin, Calvin #139891, HU-2 [Housing Unit 2], Cell 35, I found a razor blade that has been removed from a razor. It also has tape placed across one side of the razor blade. The razor blade was concealed in the upper right side of the window screen.”
After hearing the allegations, I was really upset. I was
finally
turning my life around, making things better, and here I was, already incarcerated on modified charges and now blamed for a crime I did
not
commit.
I tried calmly explaining to Officer Hoffman that I was innocent and the evidence against me was from a prior inmate. I remember telling him specifically that it wasn’t my razor blade and that I hadn’t even been in that cell long. I relayed that I had heard the inmate housed there prior to me shaved with that specific type of razor and must have left the blade there. The razor in question was a “tractor blade” and I didn’t shave with that type of blade.
I thought it made sense and was easy to see the rationale I presented. How
could
it be my razor blade? I also pointed out that I wasn’t exactly a neat freak. We all knew it was the guys with sloppy, messy cells who got surprise searches all the time. I connected the dots for him, citing that if I
was
intentionally hiding a weapon, I would have kept my cell spotless to avoid frequent searches.
I rambled on and on, trying in vain to get the officer to believe me. My effort didn’t seem to matter much. There wasn’t anything he could do, whether he believed me or not.
I requested that Officer Hoffman check with the canteen for orders turned in by the inmate who had previously been in Cell 35. If he ordered those tractortypeblades from the canteen, I was positive I could convince the committee of my innocence.
The officer merely relayed that I would be granted due process.
The next day, February 23, I sent a note to the warden, explained the battery of things I had already tried to tell Officer Hoffman. I also wrote a letter to the security director, Mr. Davidson.
On February 24, I received a memo from Warden Endicott that stated: “I have received your note of 2/23/92 regarding a conduct report you received. It is clear from your letter that you have not been seen by the Due Process Committee. It would be inappropriate for me to become
Similar Books
