Prison Torture in America

Shocking Tales from the Inside

Paul Singh

• Publisher: Science Literacy Books
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781949454024
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Política y relaciones internacionales
• Subtopic: Corrupción política y mala conducta

As an experienced physician, Paul Singh, MD, DO, PhD, was stunned by the cruelty that inmates with physical and mental conditions endured. Denials for treatment, gross incompetence, deadly neglect, reckless infliction of pain and falsified medical records — despite interventions from the courts — produced life-threatening conditions, emotional deterioration, loss of limbs, and even death.

Prisoners were on a carousel of requirements that they repeatedly fulfilled with the promise that their health care needs would be met. In a never-ending cycle, those viewed as complaining too often were put in solitary confinement as punishment, regardless of age or medical condition.

Singh covertly recorded the experiences of 15 inmates and their battle for care. His exposé reveals the shocking truth about the violations of fundamental Constitutional rights in the U.S. prison system, so egregious one might think the prisons were in countries with barbaric dictators where basic human rights do not exist.

Prison Torture in America and its Companion book, Prison Papers is a must-read for anyone who wants to know the truth about capital punishment and what goes on in our prison system.

Paul Singh is an American scientist, philosopher, physician and a professor of urogynecology. He is the author of critically acclaimed books, Discovering Our World, The Great Illusion, The Seduction of Religion, Guilty at Gunpoint, The Death of the Rule of Law, and Prison Papers.

SECTION II

THE TRAIL OF TEARS

CHAPTER 3

BLEEDING OF CANCER FOR FIVE YEARS: THE TESTIMONY OF PETE

I WAS ARRESTED ON FEBRUARY 8, 2003 AND WAS transferred to MDCLA [Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, a federal facility]. One week later, I saw an MD at the MDCLA medical clinic for the first time. Dr. Nicholas Arafiles took my weight and my blood pressure but did not do a physical exam. She put me back on some meds that I had been taking prior to my arrest. I was 56 years old at that time. The physician told me that she would be my primary physician and see me at the Chronic Care Clinic. She was curt with her answer and obnoxious in her manner. She also instructed me to report to Sick Call and inform medical staff of any urgent or emergency needs.

Three months later, I noted blood in my urine for the first time. Accordingly, I reported to the medical Sick Call. The medical staff ordered a blood and urine test but did not give me an appointment with the physician till six weeks later. When I finally saw Dr. Arafiles at the end of June, she told me that the urine test results were not available to discuss. I told her that I was starting to pass more blood in urine since the problem started. She gave me a urine sample canister and instructed me to go to bathroom and urinate in the cup and get it as full as possible. I noted that urine was dark and rusty color, clearly showing blood in it. She suggested to me that it was an isolated incident and probably would vanish. Then she said, “You know [Pete], I am not an expert in such conditions. I am not a urologist.” I requested then she should refer me to a urologist. I offered to pay for the cost of visit with the said urologist. Dr. Arafiles said, “It will take a long time to refer you to a urologist and it would be complicated.” Then she said, “I don’t think you need to see a urologist. I promise you it will go away.”

In early July (I do not remember the date), I reported a Sick Call to Dr. Arafiles when she was conducting sick calls in the housing unit. I complained of severe lower back and pelvic pain, something I had never experienced before. She got upset and stated, “You have no medical problems. It is all in your head. If you continue to approach me with these complaints, I will have you placed in the psych ward.” I continued to complain of blood in my urine and my belief that complications of pain were associated with my request for a diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Arafiles continued to ignore my requests to see a urologist.

I requested that she, Dr. Arafiles, send me to White Memorial Hospital to be evaluated by a urologist and that I would be willing to pay the cost. In response, the medical staff did not send me to a psych ward but on August 6, 2003, they awakened me at 3:30 a.m. and ordered me to pack my belongings. I packed, and the guard escorted me to R&D (Receiving and Discharge) department at MDCLA. Two hours later, I was transported to San Bernardino County Jail. I arrived there at 11:00 a.m.

During the Medical Screening, Intake Process, a nurse called Ms. Canada took history from me verbally. I told her of all my health conditions including blood in the urine and I requested to be seen by a staff physician. The nurse said that she would make sure that I got the asthma medication that I needed before the next day. I continued to see blood in the urine with intermittent debilitating back and pelvic pain and painful urination.

I filed a series of written and verbal complaints to the medical staff and continued to ask for a treatment over a period of several months. I received a cursory and perfunctory physical and then was suddenly dismissed. No medical report of the physical [was] forwarded to me and no diagnostic test done, nor treatment given, nor a referral for urologist, something I had been requesting since May 2003 and now it was the month of August. I believe to this day that I was transferred from MDCLA to San Bernardino County jail and housed there under inhuman living conditions in a deliberate attempt to deprive me of medical treatment for my condition. This was a concerted effort to obfuscate my urgent medical needs.

On March 12, 2004, Mr. Scalisi. (my retained attorney) filed a motion with the court for Release of Bond in which he also set forth the medical complaints that I described to him. Honorable Judge John Walter assigned the motion to US Magistrate Judge Kenton Victor, who ordered me transferred back to MDCLA. Magistrate Kenton Victor also ordered MDCLA to examine my claimed conditions within 24 hours of my arrival back to MDCLA (unless, he said, the 24-hour period fell on the weekend and a physician was not on duty.) [The] magistrate ordered the warden of MDCLA to provide the court with a report of my medical exam results and a copy of it to my attorney. Court order was directed to the prison warden, Michael Benov, and Dr. Nicholas Arafiles. Both the prison warden and the physician ignored the court order.

It was March 24 when I arrived at MDCLA as per the magistrate’s orders. A mid-level practitioner, Jaime Santiago, evaluated me medically in the Intake Screening Medical Exam, which is documented in the form called Medical Record–Chronological Record of Medical Care. The document shows that the condition, blood in the urine, existed but [there] is no mention of any diagnosis or treatment. The document bears a stamp of Dr. Arafiles, which clearly showed that Dr. Arafiles was aware of the hematuria (blood in the urine) but did not do anything about it. Thus, the warden and the physician did not adhere to the court order by Magistrate Kenton Victor.

My pain was becoming excruciating and debilitating. I did not know and was left in the dark as to the extent of how serious my medical condition truly was. I was now routinely passing blood in the urine. Blood in the urine was continuous during my stay at MDCLA and at San Bernardino County. I was never examined by a urologist for 5 years, which is evidenced through my medical records that are available today.

On March 26, 2004, I was transported to the Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, California, for purpose of bond hearing. During the hearing, Judge Kenton told me that he never received the medical report from the prison warden, Michael Benov, at MDCLA, as per his court order of March 4, 2004. The judge said that he had called the MDCLA Health Services administrator who had informed him that I had arrived back at MDCLA from San Bernardino County on March 25, that MDCLA had not had the time to follow the court order from March 18. There was no exam nor any report from such an exam either then or anytime in the future.

Magistrate Judge Kenton further stated that the Health Services administrator had assured him (Judge Kenton) that the administrator would allocate Dr. Arafiles, my physician, prior to my move to San Bernardino to perform the said exam and prepare a report as I settled back at MDCLA. Medical records show that Dr. Arafiles made an entry on March 29 which was labeled CHRONIC CARE PULMONARY and COURT ORDERED. There is a notation made by Dr. Arafiles, based on my prior medical records. She neither interviewed or examined me for this notation. There is not even a mention of my complaint of blood in the urine. On the reverse side of the MD’s note, mid-level practitioner, Santiago, made an entry that stated, “On 2/2004, a condition of hematuria (blood in the urine) existed,” but no mention of any treatment or plan for treatment. Thus Dr. Arafiles violated [the] magistrate’s order by failing to perform an exam on me. She failed again to refer me to a urologist even after the court order, thus the cancerous tumor (to be discovered later) was permitted to grow for a period of five years inside my bladder. Magistrate Kenton in his Criminal Minutes General Docket entry date of March 26 stated, “Plaintiff is obtaining inadequate medical treatment for his condition at San Bernardino and MDCLA facilities.”

I prepared an Inmate Request to Staff, which is commonly known as Cop-Out or Form BP-8 in the federal prison system, on February 21, 2005, and addressed the request to the medical staff supervisor, otherwise known as the Clinical Director who is ultimately responsible for all clinical decisions. My complaint stated: “I am a 56-year-old who had the onset of blood in the urine approximately two years ago. Subsequently, I have had a recurrence of this problem periodically. I have no medical problem that could contribute to this problem. The most recent episode of blood in the urine was one week ago. I kindly request that a urologist evaluation be performed to evaluate the problem. Please ASAP! Thank you.” I deposited the document in prison’s mail system at MDCLA. I never received any written response, although BOP (Bureau of Prisons) policy requires such a response to all inmate requests via a Cop-Out that is received by any prison staff member. I was never scheduled to see a urologist. Instead, I was subsequently transferred from MDCLA to yet another facility.

I can’t truly describe all the psychological and mental suffering, in addition to the physical pain and suffering, in which I had to needlessly endure because of having an undiagnosed condition of bladder cancer, the tumor that caused me to pass blood through my urine for five years. I was not prepared to deal with such an extremely life-threatening health condition or bladder cancer since I had never been in prison before in my life. It was also embarrassing because everywhere I went in any kind of institutional setting to use the bathroom, someone was always present to observe the blood in my urine. The prison cells in MDCLA are designed to house two inmates and a door that could be closed during lockdown periods. Yet when the cell was locked down, I would hold off urinating until I no longer could bear [it] and only then would I break down to use the toilet. My roommate could see the blood in the toilet bowl and I felt humiliated.

In San Bernardino County Jail, the situation was even worse than MDCLA. Therein the housing units were 73-men open dormitory units, with the toilets and showers being open with full view of anyone within said housing units. There are no partitions between urinals, toilets, or the showers—they are completely exposed to anyone in the area. To urinate, I had to stand there releasing a stream of blood-saturated urine or was forced to sit down to urinate. This was necessary so that I would not be utterly humiliated by everyone watching me urinate blood into the toilet. Even female deputy sheriffs, who routinely worked in the housing units, were able to observe me urinating blood. I am a devout of Jewish faith, and a person from the Middle East who was born in Israel. Accordingly, I have a very strong religious and Middle-Eastern background and customs influence that mandate that Jewish men stand up to urinate and women sit down to do the same. I am still emotionally conflicted about the foregoing issues that I experienced at the hand of Dr. Arafiles and others employed by the FBOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons), ignoring my frequent and urgent pleas for medical help that was ignored with deliberate indifference.

I remained at MDCLA for fourteen (14) months until May 2005. My condition continued to get worse between my court appearance on March 26, 2004, and subsequent transfer. The pain grew consistently more intense and the duration of the pain lengthened in proportion to its intensity. Despite urgent pleas for medical help, protestations, and [my] literally begging to be seen by a urologist (and at my own expense), all requests were unceremoniously denied. The medical staff’s stock treatment was issuing me Motrin, hardly a treatment for bladder cancer; nor was any type of relief treatment administered to release me of needless pain and suffering. Further, neither my counsel, the court that gave the order for an exam and a report, nor I, were ever given any type of medical report response to the magistrate judge’s order of March 18, 2004.

I was transferred to TAFT Correctional Institute [TCI] in Taft in May 2005 as a result of being sentenced to serve federal prison time. In the custody of the FBOP, I promptly reported to the medical staff members during the Intake Screening that I had history of hematuria (blood in the urine) and concomitant symptoms of pain in the area. I was referred to a physician, Dr. Nduke Odeluga, on June 17, 2005. I reported my symptoms to the physician on my visit. I told him that I suffered from blood in the urine since early May 2003 in addition to lower back and pelvic pain. I also informed the physician that I had been reporting these symptoms to other medical department staff for the previous two years with no treatment forthcoming.

From the time I was transferred to TAFT, and remained therein until April 2006, my physical, emotional, and psychological health continued to decline further downward. This decline in health was spurred by the ever-increasing physical pain and inability to convince the medical department staff (and Dr. Nduke Odeluga) to diagnose my ill-health condition that was causing me so much needless pain and misery.

Dr. Odeluga at TCI saw me as a result of my report of blood in the urine and I reported symptoms to the physician specifically of blood in the urine, pelvic and lower back pain since early May 2003. I also reported to the physician that I had been reporting symptoms to the other medical staff for the past two years with absolutely no relief. During these discussions with Dr. Odeluga, [he] stated: “I don’t know what to tell you concerning this issue. I am not an expert in this area. I need to discuss this matter with [the] prison’s Health Services administrator to get approved to send you out to see a urologist.” Again, there was no appointment made to be evaluated by a urologist. I was given Motrin as usual to mask the pain I was experiencing. The Motrin did not alleviate the pain. In November 2005, I was transferred back to MDCLA.

During my entire time at Taft, and the other institutions, I was not provided with the care and treatment that human decency and modern society demands. I was given perfunctory type of care. Again, after my transfer to MDCLA in November 2005, I was not provided any care or treatment for the underlying condition that caused me to pass blood in the urine, which also caused excruciating lower back and pelvic pain. I suffered like this for five years.

Back at MDCLA, I was evaluated by Dr. Sinavsky, because Dr. Arafiles was not available. I complained to Dr. Sinavsky that I had been passing blood in the urine and having lower back and pelvic pain. Dr. Sinavsky ordered blood and urine tests. These tests did not diagnose the cancerous tumor that was growing inside my bladder that was continuing to get worse. Dr. Sinavsky also showed deliberate indifference to my serious medical needs by not referring me to a urologist.

I was placed back into MDCLA sporadically for a period of five years between February 2003 and March 2008. During this period, I gave at least 6–8 urine tests. I clearly recall at least two of these urine samples were obviously bloody samples to anyone’s eye. Yet none of the blood test results were found in the information I obtained when I received copies of my medical records when I was sent to Big Spring, Texas. It appears someone had sanitized the medical records to conceal the fact that blood was present in the urine samples. This fact of concealment has led me to believe that I was maliciously deprived of critically needed medical care treatment by a rogue medical staff that had factually and willfully acted with deliberate indifference. I needlessly endured the cruel and unusual punishment by the FBOP’s agents and employees for five years.

In seeking resolution, I had submitted twelve Inmate Requests to Staff Members forms (Cop-Outs or BP-8s) to various medical department staff in various FBOP institutions and prison officials in good faith attempt to informally resolve my complaints. These complaints were specific to the need to be examined by a urological specialist who could perform the test and diagnose my critical health condition. I did not receive a single written response for any of the requests that I had sent to certain staff members and prison officials.

The BOP has specific policies that expect all staff members who receive inmate requests to respond by providing a written response to any request made by an Inmate. FBOP policy also requires that the staff make a good faith attempt to informally resolve all the inmate’s complaints at the lowest possible level.

When I returned to Taft Federal Correctional Institute in January 2006, I again reported to Intake Screening medical staff members that I still had blood in my urine. I was scheduled to see Dr. Odeluga. When I saw Dr. Odeluga a week later, I told him once again of the same symptoms that I had before my departure from the institute the previous time. Dr. Odeluga replied, “When I see that it is necessary for you to see a urologist, I will make you an appointment.” I said, “What do you mean when it is necessary? It has been three years already, what do you want me to do, fall out on the floor?” In response, Dr. Odeluga said, “If you don’t leave right now and go back to your housing unit, I will call the guard, and he will place you in the SHU [solitary confinement].” I complied and departed the medical area for the fear of being punished for seeking medical attention.

I remained in TCI until May 26, 2006. From May 2005 to May 2006, Dr. Odeluga was my primary physician. He would give me only Motrin for lower back and pelvic pain. Through this one year at Taft, I provided two urine samples saturated with blood to the medical staff. And I gave two bloody samples to the nurse in the housing unit where I was confined. And I requested that the nurse deliver those bloody samples to Dr. Odeluga. Dr. Odeluga and I had a previous lengthy discussion about my ill health. Dr. Odeluga stated during the said discussion, “I am not too concerned about it. It is not urgent, because you are not passing blood constantly.” The physician also said, “When you have a bloody urine sample, give it to the nurse.” I did just that and gave two bloody urine samples in a two-week period. Dr. Odeluga still failed to send me to a urologist.

I was returned to MDCLA on May 26, 2006, and I stayed there till March 2008. During this two-year period, I was deprived of medical care and treatments to address my complaints of blood in the urine and lower back and pelvic pain. I was under the care of different physicians at MDCLA: Dr. Arafiles and Dr. Sinavsky. I could not convince either physician to properly treat me or to make an appointment for me to be examined by a urologist. I repeatedly asked and pleaded that they do these minimum requisite items for my health, and each one of them (Dr. Arafiles and Dr. Sinavsky) had overwhelming medical information and facts in their physical possession (in the form of my medical records) in addition to my verbal statements and complaints, but they refused to help. Any reasonable doctor would have known that I urgently needed to be examined by a specialist.

On December 26, 2006, I again prepared an Inmate Request to Staff Member form and addr...

Table of contents

• Prison Torture in America
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
• SECTION II: THE TRAIL OF TEARS
• SECTION III: REMINISCENT OF WAR CRIMES
• SECTION IV: LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CASE LAW
• SECTION V: CONCLUSION