Letter Appeal For Jerome White-Bey - Still Being Denied Medical Treatment!!

Jerome White-Bey is the founder and president of the Missouri Prisoner Labor
Union, an organization of Missouri prisoners and their outside supporters who
are organizing around labor and other prison conditions. Since the founding of
the MPLU, Jerome has been subject to administrative harassment and retaliation.
He was in the "hole" (administrative segregation) for two years following the
formation of the MPLU and has constantly been moved in and out of segregation
since. 

Jerome had been told over a 3-4 year period by doctors at three different
prisons that he had kidney problems which was a result of having diabetes. This
kidney infection had been left untreated for a long period of time and after
letters of complaint and phone calls made to the prison from a previous letter
appeal Jerome was then sent for tests and told that it was not in fact his
kidneys that had been making him unwell but that he has serious liver problems
from having Hepatitis C, which he was unaware he had till that point. He was
then told that he needs a course of Interferon treatment that will last for 12
months and he'll have to be transferred to another prison to have the treatment.

Then, after further time and more letters of complaint, he was told his transfer
to start the treatment had to be delayed because he had a hypothyroid. He was
given medication to take and told that this medication should bring his thyroid
to a normal state after two months. Shortly after he was moved to the
segregation unit under an investigation but no-one has ever told him why. Jerome
feels that this was nothing more than retaliation against him for the previous
letter appeals.  After many months passed and filing numerous complaints he was
eventually told that he had been cleared of all the allegations made against
him. But all the time that he was in the Segregation Unit his health relating to
his thyroid condition, which should have been brought back to normal a long time
ago now, and his Hepatitis C has not been monitored at all. He was not even seen
by a doctor during this time. 

Jerome now faces a new problem. After being cleared of all the allegations
against him he should be released back into the general population but because
his custody level has just recently been dropped from a C-4 to a C-3 that means
that he can not be housed in that prison so he will have to remain in
segregation until he is transferred, which could take a while. All this time his
health is not being monitored and gives the prison administration more excuses
for delays. But the answer is simple! A place in a C-3 level prison does not
need to be found yet because he should be transferred to start the Interferon
treatment for his Hepatitis C and the longer they take approving this the worse
his condition becomes.

Jerome thanks everyone for the complaints that have been made previously to get
him this far but asks that we write letters or call the prison again to get him
transferred and started on the treatment he needs.

Please write letters of complaint to:

Lisa Jones, Constituent Services Officer
Missouri Department of Corrections 
2729 Plaza Drive 
P.O. Box 236 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
USA
(573) 751-2389


Ms.Angela Chandler, Health Services Administrator
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
2727 Highway K
Bonne Terre, MO 63628
USA 
(573) 358-5516

Ms.Shanta Pribble, Director of Nursing
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
2727 Highway K
Bonne Terre, MO 63628
USA 
(573) 358-5516

Write letters of support to:
Jerome White-Bey
#37479
ERDCC
2727 Highway K
Bonne Terre, MO 63628
USA