Meyers v. Alldredge

• Citation: 348 F. Supp. 807
• Decision Date: 26 June 1972
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 72-132.
• Parties: Joel MEYERS et al., v. Noah ALLDREDGE, Warden, United States Penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

348 F. Supp. 807

Joel MEYERS et al., v. Noah ALLDREDGE, Warden, United States Penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, et al.

Civ. No. 72-132.

United States District Court, M. D. Pennsylvania.

June 16, 1972.

As Amended June 26, 1972.

Thomas Harvey, Ambrose Campana, American Civil Liberties Union of Pa., Williamsport, Pa., for Prison Solidarity Committee.

Leonard Kolleeny, New York City, Herman Schwartz, Buffalo, N. Y., Michele Hermann, Prisoners' Rights Project-American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York City, for plaintiffs.

Julius Altman, Asst. U. S. Atty., Scranton, Pa., Clair Cripe, Bureau of Prisons Legal Office, Washington, D. C., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NEALON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs commenced this suit on behalf of themselves and all inmates at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in which they challenge the constitutionality of conditions and practices at the Penitentiary following an inmate work stoppage in February, 1972.¹ The plaintiffs advanced the following contentions: (1) the actions of the administration were so fundamentally unfair and the charges against the plaintiffs and their class so fundamentally untrue as to constitute a violation of substantive due process; (2) the disciplinary procedures afforded plaintiffs and their class were so inadequate that they failed to comply with procedural due process; and (3) the punishments inflicted upon plaintiffs and their class were so harsh and disproportionate to the alleged infractions as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Evidence was presented and testimony taken on March 29, 30, and May 12, 15, 1972. A briefing schedule was established and final reply briefs were filed May 26, 1972.

A review of the evidence is necessary to place the issues in their proper perspective.

On the morning of Tuesday, February 15, 1972, at approximately 9:00 A.M. at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, rumors reached prison officials that an inmate work stoppage was scheduled to take place that afternoon in the Prison Industry Section. At 12:30 P.M., after inmates were returning to their work assignments following the noon meal, between 150 and 200 men began milling about in the open area between the Industry building and the Institution warehouse. Captain Paul Dodd, Chief Correctional Supervisor, investigated and, at his behest, an inmate named Saunders climbed up on the loading platform and inquired as to what the men were doing out there. At this point, plaintiff Ronald Phillips ascended the platform and read from a three-sheet document entitled "United Prisoners Bill of Rights". He was followed by plaintiff William Irwin who complained, admittedly in an emotional manner, about the prisoners being "robbed", "wages being withheld", "that those who withheld their wages are criminals and should be in jail", and about the unfairness of the Parole Board. The crowd reacted in kind and some raised their fists shouting "right on". Plaintiff Clarence Jones also expressed himself briefly as did two other inmates, Hartwell and Humphrey. There were between ten to fifteen inmates on the platform, including plaintiff Joel Meyers, who in addition to making a speech, was observed carrying "quite a bit of paper, whispering and passing the paper around", and plaintiff John Alger, although Alger did not address the crowd and there was no testimony as to his conduct at that time. This activity lasted for almost an hour and, when it began to snow, Captain Dodd suggested that the inmates move inside to the Auditorium where they could meet and attempt to prepare a list of grievances which he, in turn, would submit to his superior. He stressed that they remain non-violent and stated that there would be "no reprisals because of this incident". The inmates then moved into the Auditorium where they remained until 3:30 P.M. and during which time a committee of nine inmates (3 white, 3 black and 3 Spanish-speaking) was created to meet with the Administration at 6:30 P.M. that evening. In the meantime, at approximately 2:00 P.M., the Administration announced that all inmates in the shops, warehouse and remaining industries were to be allowed to leave if they desired, and at 2:30 P.M., all had left. There was also a walkout by part of the food service detail necessitating staff employees being placed in the kitchen to complete preparation of the evening meal. At 5:00 P.M. prison officials felt that tension was mounting and a large number of inmates were milling around the "Red Top", the center portion of the main corridor in front of the Dining Room, into which all other corridors feed. The scheduled meeting at 6:30 P.M. did not materialize because many inmates complained that the 9-man grievance committee had not been properly selected and was not representative of the prison population. At the request of inmate John Wagner, Associate Editor of the Prison Digest International, another prisoner meeting was scheduled in the Auditorium; Deputy Warden George L. Cansler having announced over the public address system that the inmates had until 8:30 P.M. to elect a committee of 8 to 12 men, and the administration would then meet with this committee. The meeting was concluded prior to 8:00 P.M. and a negotiating committee of 16 was elected with plaintiff William Irwin as Chairman, and plaintiffs Joel Meyers, Ronald Phillips, Clarence Jones, Lucky Johnson, Edward Mason, Ronald Tucker, Michel Buyse and John Alger as members of the committee (also known as the first committee). Irwin informed Cansler that because the committee desired to formulate grievances, it could not meet with the administration that evening and, further, that they were shutting down all work activity, except in the hospital. After the inmates returned to their quarters, the administration decided to suspend all activities and to secure the institution by locking all inmates in their housing units. Plans were made to place staff employees in Food Service and, beginning the next morning, to feed one floor of each housing unit at a time. Because of the delay in food preparation and the additional time required to feed the inmates in their quarters, the institution was placed on a two meals per day basis except in segregation where three meals a day were served. There were no threats or acts of violence, although prison officials believed that the rising tension in the institution required prompt action on prisoner grievances.

The following morning, Wednesday, February 16, at 9:00 A.M., correctional officers released the members of the committee and took them to Room 14 of the Education Building where they were allowed to meet. Shortly after 10:00 A.M., Wagner, who was serving as liaison between the committee and the administration, presented a list of five demands which the committee specified would have to be met before they would proceed to anything else. The five demands were: (1) a letter from the Warden recognizing the negotiating committee as such; (2) a letter confirming that there would be no reprisals by officials of the institution against members of the committee; (3) reopening of the visiting room which had been closed; (4) that the committee be allowed to have a legal representative at their meetings, viz., Philip Hinchey of Alexandria, Virginia; and (5) the presence at their meetings of a member of the press. The list of demands also contained the following notation:

"These 5 demand is priority before anything else is start, we will not start meet unles those 5 demand are receive, this demand should be read to the population by P.A. Systhem." (sic)

At 1:00 P.M., Warden Noah Alldredge and members of his staff proceeded to Room 14 and, after going over each demand, informed the committee that all five were rejected. The Warden indicated to the members of the committee that by meeting with them he was, in fact, recognizing them and he stated further that there would be no reprisals so long as they functioned as a committee in good faith and did not commit an illegal act. He implored them to undertake the compiling of grievances and gave them until 3:00 P.M. to prepare and submit the grievances or else he would disband the committee and attempt to form another one. When the Warden attempted to read a Bureau of Prisons Policy Statement to the committee, one of its members, Walter Scully, leaped to his feet and refused to allow the statement to be read. Scully also emphasized that the five demands would have to be met before the committee would begin to work on grievances. At 3:10 P.M. Cansler returned to Room 14 and, after determining that no grievances were to be submitted, disbanded the committee. At 4:00 P.M. after the committee returned to quarters, Cansler announced over the Public Address System that the committee would not present grievances and had been disbanded. He asked for the formation of a new committee and requested each of the 16 housing units to elect a representative. Eight units responded, from which eight committee members were elected and the administration selected eight representatives from the remaining units, thus constituting a new negotiating committee (also known as the second committee).

The next day, Thursday, February 17, the members of the second committee circulated among the prison population to collect grievances. They encountered resentment from other inmates and, subsequently, requested a meeting with the first committee. Only one member of the first committee, Scully, agreed to meet with them and at the meeting, he berated them and called on them to disband, which they did. At 2:30 P.M., plaintiffs Irwin, Phillips, Alger, Mason, Buyse, and other members of the first committee, viz., Hilty, Wolcott, and Scully, were placed in the S-5 section of segregation.² (Meyers had been confined in segregation since February 16th as a result of an altercation in the Dining Room and subsequently, February 19th...