Peek v. Ciccone
Citation | 288 F. Supp. 329 |
Decision Date | 01 August 1968 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 16140-3. |
Parties | Harold L. PEEK, Jr., Petitioner, v. Dr. P. J. CICCONE, Director, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri, Respondent. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri |
Carl E. Yates, Springfield, Mo., for petitioner.
Calvin K. Hamilton, U. S. Atty., by Bruce C. Houdek, Kansas City, Mo., for respondent.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Petitioner, a federal convict confined in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri, filed in this Court a petition for a writ of mandamus "for production of witnesses and documents to substantuate (sic) denial of due process of law and cruel and inhumane treatment with leave to proceed forma pauperis."
In the petition the petitioner states that he is a convict serving a "long sentence"; that his transfer to the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, from McNeil Island and then to the Medical Center was "cruel and in humane treatment because it resulted in brutality and mental and physical suffering"; that he has been forced to take drugs which "muddle a man's mind preventing him from writing clearly to courts, politicians or relatives"; that various reports of his "stability" or "instability" which allegedly have been forwarded to the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy are prejudicial reports made by "prison officials"; that he is not allowed to see these reports and this is a denial of "legal representation"; that his work assignment at the Medical Center is "`forced slave labor' under the guise of `rehabilitation'"; and that he has been brutally treated, confined in the "hole", a building where no "heat or too much heat is applied, small rations of water and a starvation diet, plus deprivation of hygiene facilities."
After considering petitioner's complaints, this Court determined that the nature of the petition was habeas corpus. The respondent was ordered to show cause why a writ of habeas corpus awarding injunctive relief should not be granted.
Respondent's response to the order to show cause states that on January 31, 1962, petitioner received a total sentence of twenty-five years for violating Sections 2112 and 2114, Title 18, U.S.C.1; that his initial commitment was in the United States Penitentiary, McNeil Island, Washington, on February 2, 1962; that he was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, on December 5, 1965; that on March 24, 1966, petitioner was transferred to the Medical Center; that upon entering the Medical Center, "petitioner was housed in Ward 10A 2, which provides close individual custody for psychiatric patients"; that upon his entry to the Medical Center, he refused to accept a work assignment and on April 1, 1966, he "was placed in Ward 21E in a strip cell for discipline and maximum security"; that on April 2, 1966, he "refused to accept food and water and demanded that he be personally waited upon by custodial personnel"; that on April 9, 1966, because of petitioner's changed attitude, he was scheduled to be moved to Ward 10B where he would be allowed more freedom and comfort but that he refused oral medication which had been ordered for him and the custodial personnel were required to administer the medication intramuscularly and with force; and that petitioner was not injured, but one custodial officer was injured and, therefore, petitioner's scheduled transfer to Ward 10B was cancelled.
Respondent's response further stated the following:
Petitioner's traverse of the response to the order to show cause entitled "Rebuttal Brief to the Opposition" stated that the administration of drugs by members of the Medical Center staff who were not "certified doctors" or "registered medical assistants" was unlawful and improper; that petitioner had not received a psychiatric hearing as provided by Section 4241, Title 18, U.S. C.; that his transfer to the Medical Center was unlawful because "prison officials" had misrepresented his "psychiatric record of illness"; that his confinement at the Medical Center prevented him from obtaining legal relief from custody; and that petitioner desired to have an injunction issue "to prevent coercive use of force * * * for the purpose of forcing slavery in a prison job. * * *"
After the filing of petitioner's traverse, this Court received a letter from petitioner on May 31, 1967, in which he complained of religious practices in the Medical Center, especially in connection with alleged refusals of his requests to change religious preferences. Petitioner requested that the Court "entertain this letter as a motion for an order, or injunction, to prevent further interference by Jackson Reed Protestant Chaplain at the Medical Center in my, or other inmates' freedom to choose a religion without all the stalling preventatives." This letter was treated as a supplement to the petition for habeas corpus filed herein.
After receipt of this letter, this Court considered the issues raised by the petition for habeas corpus, the response to the order to show cause, the traverse thereof, and the letter from petitioner stating interference with his religious freedom at the Medical Center. Thereafter this Court entered the following order: "Order Appointing Counsel, Granting Time For Respondent to File Response, And Granting An Evidentiary Hearing." This order further requested that counsel meet and prepare a stipulation and statement of the issues in accordance with the procedures in the Cortez case. See 32 F.R.D. 391.
Respondent's supplemental response to the order to show cause was directed toward petitioner's complaints about interference with his religious freedom at the Medical Center. This response stated that religious practices at the Medical Center are governed by the "Policy Statement: Institutional Religious Program" issued by the Director of the Medical Center; that this policy "is reasonable under the circumstances and necessary to the orderly administration of that institution"; that an inmate of the Medical...
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...v. Hartness, 485 F.2d 238 (8th Cir. 1973), upheld a prisoner's right to send out a Christmas mailing. Similarly, in Peek v. Ciccone, 288 F.Supp. 329, 333-34 (W.D.Mo. 1968), a prisoner who believed he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ was permitted to communicate this belief to the Pope,......
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...73CV94-SW-R and 73CV312-S-EBH-R, unpublished (W.D.Mo. 1973); Haynes v. Harris, 344 F.2d 463 (8th Cir. 1965); Peek v. Ciccone, 288 F.Supp. 329 (W.D.Mo.W.D.1968). Nor does the inmate's disagreement with the nature or type of medical care provided present a constitutional claim. Bowring v. God......
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Williams v. Anderson, 90-2487
...an on-going psychotherapeutic program, it violated the residents' Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Id. at 455. In Peek v. Ciccone, 288 F.Supp. 329 (W.D.Mo.1968), a district court upheld the one-time forced administration of an antipsychotic drug to an inmate who had a medical history......
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