More from Reggie Blanton

THE CHAOTIC DEPTHS OF MY SOLITUDE:Entry (14th January 2009) I have largely felt discouraged from doing a lot of journal writing, like what I use to do for the DRIVE site, because it started to feel like an unfulfilling endeavor. The struggle I wrote about IS my life, not was; but IS. Granted I may not have articulated my struggle in a heart wrenching manner—no, no, I don't need to say it that way. Perhaps the bottom line is I wasn't persuasive enough. I couldn't shake society's conscience enough for them to see these flames of mine that melt flesh right off the bone. Too strong a metaphor? My neck burns right now. Unfulfilling indeed. Why expose the death, the decay, the blood stains, the horror, the dried up tear stains, the mucus, mu naked abused body, my soul to a people who merely find it entertaining reading as they stare, transfixed at their computer screen, sucking the food off their finger tips, in their cozy homes; safe, secure, maybe. Maybe living. But who knows this? Any part of this? I almost said "Nevermind, because it's about me anyway" but it's not just about me; its about us. It has always been about us, only "us" haven't realized this much; with the exception of a few. A small few. Ha! They just brought me a food loaf to eat for the lunch I turned down because spoiled food was on the tray. I'll explain in a minute. I guess what I'm trying to say is, the overall response of the people (outside these ghastly tomb walls, as well as those banished a prisoner in this wilderness of death) to the DRIVE movement had "wounded" (see poem with same title) me deeply. Maybe one day I will feel encouraged to expound upon my wounds. Nevertheless the pain made me yank my hand back away from sharing myself, everything I am, away from my journal writing, and I questioned my wound. And it spoke to me. I fought it, it fought me. It cried, I cried, We smiled at each other. Yet all the while, unbeknownst to you, the peeper in my window, my struggle continued. And for the meantime I feel motivated to let you peer into The Chaotic Depths of my Solitude. Perhaps my actions today was the result of my refusal to accept my chains, a refusal to accept being forced into this preconceived role the system needs me to play, not only out of need for their prisoner (those enchained, whether they are aware of it or not, physically or psychologically; and in this case, I'm even speaking of the pursued prisoner-to-be) to perpetuate the ignorance of the system uses to justify keeping their Frankenstein of a system alive and putrid, but alive. But the prisoner is also the mirror that reinforces the systems sense of self, of itself, when it looks into that mirror, at what it has made. Only it doesn't see it this way. They see no other way of looking at life; or death. (Shrugging my shoulders) It really just depends on how complex you believe this philosophical question to be. I know I have been thrusted into a line to die,"Die!" They scream with a crack of the whip "you have no self! Toby! Die!" They cry "Your spirit, the humanity of it, I will not tolerate! It may help you remember; help you rebel. Die!" They spit, spasming as if trying to cast a hex upon my soul; as if the gurney will arise, bolts flying from the floor as it brings itself to me. You would think I'm merely being creative, but I heard that certain racist organizations and other groups that want us dead "lay hands" on us everyday. Whatever "lay hands" is suppose to mean. "I hear that whipCRACK!!!!!SmokeCame from the slice in your skinBurning bright redLike crack pipes…." --excerpt from my poem "Free Style,!" Yeah that whip stings all sorts of epithets upon my Afrikan soil, my flesh, but no matter how hard they try, though I may fall to one Knee, bowing to no one, but the ONE, and maybe my Queen, they will not uproot my soul. They can't make me believe I'm guilty; they can't make me believe I deserve to live like this, fighting against a slow psychological and spiritual death, they can't make me believe I have no rights, that I deserve to die. I can never BE 999395. I AM life! I AM life! And life moves; it breathes, even if through chemical agents. And so I refuse passage, upon the property of my Humanity, to any oppressive, suppressive or repressive force. Well I refuse as much as possible because I'm hard pressed on every side of my BEing, and it's hard to defend yourself against mass misconception, media propaganda, the complicity of the judicial persecution system, Texas Department of Corrections inc., a reaper of death sentence that lurks over me, drooling, these vamirish sensory – depriving conditions, the psychological warfare this administration teaches its staff to wield against us daily, the numerous policies they violate daily, the spoiled, inadequate and ill-prepared food, systematic indifference, the reactionary suicide and homicide of fellow prisoners, their complacency, the pain of not being able to show Mama the full extent of the righteous man I've become, the pain of not being able to touch, smell, taste my Queen…. Should I go on? Sometimes some of these things snake their way through the aura of divine energy, I cultivate around myself through meditation, Hatha yoga and the liberating affect of struggling. Like right now, I have an intense headache from prolong exposure to chemical agents they doused me with a few hours ago. It was all in my hair, its on my walls, my floor, cell door, its pretty much over everything. And believe me when I say everything. Hold up, let me tie a sock around my head over my nose. Today, the floor officer awoken me to my lunch tray: a porkchop, I haven't seen in a long time, 2 biscuits, a boiled potato with gravy, green beans and beans. I was a lil happy, to see the porkchop, sick of the ground mystery meat, gristle and bone included, mixed with soggy over boiled noodles. I was just sitting down with my tray when my brother Obie Weathers, whos a few cages down from me hollered to get the officers attention. I was thinking to myself that something almost smelt spoiled. Then I heard weathers say the vegetables were spoiled. I smelled the tray and pulled my head back, almost ready to puke. Either the white beans (which are almost never cooked) or the green beans (which a lot of the times have stems in them) was spoiled. I also hollered at the officer and told him there was spoiled food on my tray, it was probably 11.30am. We waited and waited and waited. 2pm came around and we still didn't get any relief, we wondered why were were the only two targeted and given spoiled food, or was everybody else accepting it? You'll be surprised at how many times I've seen dozens of prisoners accept these trays, without one thing to say; almost as if afraid to let another prisoner know they had accepted the lashing. The food situation has been an ongoing thing for years; and it has gotten worse; worse with the attitude of this administration. Take for example the day after Christmas, Weathers and I received dinner trays with Oh-my-gawd-make-me-wanta-puke spoiled vegetables on it. When we addressed it to the two floor officers passing out the trays, "Man, you mean to tell me you couldn't smell these spoiled trays?!!! They both said their sense of smell wasn't working. We requested to speak to the Sgt. Two sgts came to the pod, Sgt Williams and Sgt Turner. (coincidently, neither of their noses were working either! Can you believe that Sgt Turner said "you mean to tell me after all that good food we fed you yesterday, you're gonna complain?" However, Sgt Williams made sure Weathers and I was given a generous compensation for the spoiled meal. Here again was Weathers and I the only two out of 84 people that received spoiled vegetables, or did everybody else accept the crack of the whip, just being grateful in their sick mental state, not wanting to stir the Massa's anger? The absurd thing is that this food is even making its contaminated way out of the kitchen. Then when the pod officers get the chow cart (which keeps all the trays warm while they use "chow carriers" to carry the trays to the prisoners) they don't offer us a second line of defense by inspecting the food. What disturbs me is how officers, when I confront them about ill-prepared trays, sometimes say "hey I give y'all what they give us" or "Everybody got the same thing" If pod officers knew what we were suppose to get, what's suppose to be on those trays they bring to us from the kitchen, they wouldn't be able to use ignorance as a defense (which is probably why out of all the psychological warfare they teach these officers to use on us, they don't teach them what our trays are supposed to look like) when a prisoner complains about the adequacy of a tray. Further, it doesn't matter that everybody else accepted their tray or got the same thing. Im not going to accept an ill-prepared tray. And whether everybody got the same thing is irrelevant if the tray is missing some food. Part of the reason why I and a few others refuse to accept being treated like hogs being slopped is to take these lines of defenses away from the officers. Officers are not suppose to subtly encourage prisoners to accept the crack of the whip! Then when I'm the only one out of 14 prisoners that gets what we was only suppose to get in the first place, maybe my actions will act as a mirror showing them their true selves; maybe they'll also assert their humanity. Sadly, many react by lashing out at the mirror that reveals their sickness than to lash out at the system that tricked them into accepting being encouraged to accept slop! This is the mindstate I refer to as reactionary homicide. The next day, food from lunch was stuck in clumps underneath my dinner tray. What does this mean, besides that these trays weren't cleaned? A tray carrier holds 7 trays that slide in one above the other. The food stuck underneath my tray can easily fall onto the tray directly below it, contaminating it. Several days later the trays were missing either cornbread or bread. Again Weathers and I were the only ones, at least on our section, to address this issue. In doing so, we were compensated with an extra tray. But this was no Victory, 1) we shouldn't have had to address officers about trays missing food. The kitchen Sgt, Pope should be on top of his job. 2) Everybody wasn't compensated for what their trays were missing. And because we know that some prisoners just don't know what they are supposed to have, we are sure to discuss these matters over the run so everybody on the section can hear it. One particular prisoner below me that knows rules, policies, and procedure front and back had caught my attention with his silence, I hollered at him, asking him why he accepted an inadequate tray, He said he doesn't eat cornbread or bread. I thought it was a convenient response. So I waited till the next time cornbread was on the tray before calling his name, he ignored me at first, then when he answered I asked him if I could have his cornbread. I really didn't want it, I was just interested in what he would say. Surprisingly he told me "hell nah" because he was going to eat it. Maybe he was just hungry that day. The crack of the whip! I could go on and on all the way into the present, but I think you glimpse, so say the least, the complexity of this situation. Anyway 2 p.m rolls around and the floor officers were picking up trays. They like to call it "slopping trays" but I try to enlighten them by saying "you slop hogs, not human beings" That's what you do serve hogs slop, lest they feed their hogs corn. Be that as it may, other prisoners would have to say vigilant and persistently address these dehumanising comments if we hope for officers to break the habitual behavior. Im tempted to postulate that part of the reason we're having these problems with our food in particular, and with our treatment in general, is because of a perspective that many officers share that leads to such comments. When the floor officers came to my cage and I told them I was going to hold the tray and occupy the food slot (refusing to allow them to close it) because they already knew what the problem was and I was able to get them to see my spoiled tray in the same light they would see receiving spoiled food from a restaurant, not to mention sympathize with the fact Weathers and I hadn't eaten since breakfast, they didn't react harshly, spewing subtle threats. They understood and was happy to rest while we waited for the Sgt to arrive. Sgt Ludwig arrived, I immediately accepted the fact that I was going to end up gassed when it was all said and done. How he had even made Sgt in the first place--- well, I was going to make a mindless statement. Him making Sgt. Is not beyond my comprehension. You move up in rank by demonstrating you will patriotically stand to their "good old boy" system of complicity and play a lil dirty if you have to. Sgt. Ludwig has no communication skills. It doesn't matter what you have to say or how much logic there is to it, its always "hurry up" and some kind of indefinite resolution mixed with a direct order and a threat of being subjected to gas (chemical agents). He truly epitomizes the officer that would rather break a prisoner from standing up for himself and smile while doing it, than to resolve the situation in a way that purges the problem from the equation to avoid future problems. Should I tell you about the one time he told me he wanted to gas me in such a way that the "gas runs down your back and down the crack of your ass" I was only able to get him to divulge these desires to me by saying with a smile on my face "you like to gas people don't you? You wanted to gas me huh?" something like that. I handed Sgt Ludwig the tray to smell, hoping he wouldn't say his nose wasn't working. To my relief he agreed the food was spoiled. The he said he'll see about getting Weathers and I some extra food later in the evening at dinner. I asked why we couldn't get another porkchop tray. He said there was none. Once I brought up the officers dining room (ODR) which is the main kitchen he wasn't listening anymore. All the food that comes to Death Row which is located in 12 building of this unit, has to come from the main kitchen, ODR. This is where the food is cooked and stored. I told Sgt Ludwig there has to be something left in the refrigerator because Weathers and I was hungry and hadn't eaten since 3 in the morning. Before I could finish he said there was no refrigerator. Which is a lie. Before I couldn't finish saying he could get us some sandwiches (which they keep for those who missed their meal for some reason) Sgt. Ludwig said "Im just gonna gas ya!" as he walked off with a smile on his face. I wrapped my head in a sheet. It made me look like a ninja. I covered my eyes with some plastic, and waited, silently hoping some other officer with some sense would arrive. When Sgt. Ludwig came back with the camera woman, and a face mask with a can of gas in his hands, Cpt Lacox followed behind him. When I politely called Cpt Lacox over, he gave me an indifferent attitude and said what his Sgt says goes, denying me my right to access to my chain of command. Blind complicity. Sgt Ludwig started giving me 2 direct orders "to relinquish the food slot or chemical agents will be utilized" I turned my back to the food slot bracing myself. I head him position the canister at head level, I closed my eyes, held my head down some, and focused on my breathing. The Sgt Ludwig blasted the back of my head with a 5 second burst (though its supposed to be 3) of chemical agents. I could hear and feel the gas sizzle through the sheet and in my hair. I held my position contemplating how far I would allow it to go. When they called the 5 man riot team, decked out with helmets, elbow pads, knew pads, shin guards, and a point man with a shield, I let the Sgt have the slot back. Sgt. Ludwig closed my food slot, then said, "Offender Blanton, you've been subjected to a use of force. To decontaminate, use copious amounts of water…" Copious amounts of water? I was in my cage. All I had was a small sink. I had gas all over me, my walls, floor, etc. Decontaminate? Heres what the use of force plan, right off TDC's website, says about decontamination.Exposure to CS (type of gas used on me)a) Decontamination of individual: i. During the initial recovery period, the individual may be quite alarmed because he is unable to breathe normally. He should be encouraged to remain calm and reassured that once recovery starts, it will occur quickly.ii. Move the affected individual to uncontaminated air (preferably facing into the wind if necessaryiii. Individual should remove contact lenses and be cautioned not to rub his eyes; in cases of severe irritation, the victim should irrigate his eyes with water (i.e by cupping water and splashing it on the face) or a one percent solution of sodium bicarbonate;iv. If chemical agent residue is found on any individual's clothing, the clothing must be removed to obtain complete relief;v. Generally an individual exposed to cs may shower immediately. However if CS dust particles are on the skin, as evidenced by a slight burning or tingling sensation when moist, showered should be delayed for about six (6) hours. When these individuals do shower they should use soap and avoid harsh rubbing of the affected areas.vi. In cases of gross contamination of the skin, the affected areas (except around the eyes) should be flushed with ethylene glycol or five (5) percent solution of sodium bisulphate, rinsed with water, and a steroid or antihistamine ointment applied. (b) Decontamination of Area:i. Ventilate the contaminated area;ii. Affected surfaces are to be washed with a five (5) percent solution of sodium hydroxide in equal portions of ethanol and water, and then rinsed with clear water.. There's a reason for all these safety precautions, none of which were followed. These cages are sealed up with plexi-glass over the screens on the door. The circulation is so bad inside these cages that you can see the lint floating in the air throughout the cage. Some days worse than others. Either way I was left in the cage about the size of a walk in closet, with chemical agents all over the walls, door, floor and myself. Even when the nurse came to ask me if I was alright, and I said I couldn't breathe, I was left in this contaminated cage. Left to think about my burning neck. Left to think about my throbbing headache. Left to think twice about being bold enough to assert my human right to decent meals. Left to ponder the crack of the whip. Obie Weathers also occupied the food slot. He was also subjected to chemical agents in the same way, he was also left in his contaminated cage; left to ponder the crack of the whip. As for how I was compensated for the spoiled meal, I was given a cold food loaf, which is nothing more than sliced pieces of bologna and mixed vegetables cooked into some harsh cornbread. Do I need to say it was cold because it came from the main kitchens refridgerator. Nevermind it wasn't fresh, nor consisted of what was on the tray per policy, or that they were using food as a punishment. If any of you feel Obie Weathers and I have been mistreated in any way, please share our story with others and encourage them to make a complaint to the TDCJ ombudsman at:P.O Box 99HuntsvilleTexas 77342-0099Telephone number (936) 437 8035Fax number (936) 295 8712With everything I amReg "Omari" Blanton©2008 by S. Stafford & Reginald Blanton. All text, pictures and graphics are copyrighted. Text, Picture, and graphics, unless otherwise agreed upon, cannot be copied, transferred, produced or saved without prior written permission of the publisher.IF ANYONE WISHES TO USE THIS PEACE OF WRITING, PLEASE KEEP ALL THE WRITING AS IS WITHIN THIS MESSAGE, THANKYOUwww.myspace.com/freereggiebwww.myspace.com/we_r_not_giving_up

Reggie Blanton, Texas Death Row, New Year's

MESSAGE FROM REGINALD BLANTON

Received today 7th January 09

First of all Happy New Year to you all. Sending all my supporters that has been with me all along in the struggle with me, Love and best wishes for 2009. And I hope that you will continue to help me in my fight to save my life. To those of you that are New to my struggle, Thankyou, and I encourage you to read up on all my case information on my myspace page.I know that my Wife Sandie, has put out on the Yahoo group a message about MLK Jr Day, in which I am asking you if any of My supporters are going to attend any rallies for that Day, if so please could you download my new Flyer from my myspace page www.myspace. com/freereggieb the new flyer's link is in the about me section on the myspace page, and hand a few of those flyers out for me. I need to draw more and more people to my myspace page, to view all the information about my case. As my myspace is the only main source where my information will be inputted. And any new information Sandie will also send out in my Yahoo support group.If you understand Capital punishment law, or death penalty law rather, please offer us your service, I have done extensive research into my own case; I understand how the law applies. Everything any organization that may wish to lend us assistance can find just about everything they need to know about my case right here on my myspace page, Most of the information here is what my lawyers have filed in my briefs and writs. This my myspace page deals with facts, not fiction. These are the issues we have been raising in the courts.My baby Sandie, she is not American legal minded, but shes learning, her concern is to get my voice out there and to fight for my Life, and to network for me. She is in constant contact with me and with my Mama. Between my Baby, My Mama and myself we have a triangle of communication. Sandie understands everything Im trying to do strategically, because of all this she is the Sole woman that I have given the green light to make minute decisions without first consulting me. I trust her 110 percent. I say this to say any of you can accept what my baby may say in emails, blogs, etc as being my own words. Time is off the essence and this is the only way that we can ensure campaign matters flow smoothly.Sandie is also my Power of Attorney of my affairs shared with Mama, this has been notarised and signed. Also Sandie has sole copyright of all my writings, photos, media etc. Also notorised and signed. If anyone would like to use any of my writings please contact Sandie, as the copyright will have to be applied.**PLEASE NOTE**I am seeking more signatures on my petition, you can find my petition banner on my myspace page, and also a link on sandie's page please try to forward my petition to all that you know that may sign.The sample Clemency Letter which is in my blogs section on my myspace page. This sample letter was written by a lawyer, so please note it is a sample letter only and you can use your own words. From Now on please send the clemency letters either to reggieblanton@ hotmail.com or lawofparties@ hotmail.com clemency letters can still be sent to my Mama's email, however Mama's email and computer is always playing up, so please send to the emails above. Also send any clemency letters by snail mail to the P.O Box stated in the blog about my clemency letter on my myspace page. There is a reason why we do not want the letters dated, nor sent straight to the board, PLEASE DO NOT SEND STRAIGHT TO THE BOARD, as at a later date, other letters will need to be sent to the board, and for now the clemency letters are being collected in bulk at the above emails. It is important that the details on the clemency letter are followed. If at a later date this is changed, then Sandie will let you all know. To those that have posted the clemency letter on their websites or pages, please change it to the Original One that is on my blogs section where its headed Clemency letters Required, Please copy that blog, if you want to add it to your websites or myspace pages, and please keep my myspace link on there as well as sandies.We need to know where you all are, and what each other is doing in the campaign to help. Please also let Sandie know of anything that you intend on doing. If you are unsure of doing something, please contact Sandie on my myspace page. I need my support group to stay close, a circle so that we are not all spaced out not knowing what each other is doing for the campaign.A FEW PERSONAL SHOUT OUTS To
Dee, Happy new Year to you, Thankyou for all that you do, I appreciated all the help that you have given.To Jason, Kathy, and all from the CEDP Denton Branch, Happy new year to you all, and I really do appreciate the help and what you all do.To Antwan (Governor of Crunk) Thanks again for doing the song for me, it was awesome, and great to hear you and your wife at Kdol beginning of 08, it was great to hear the shout out from you. Happy new year to You, to Monica and the kids. May you have great success in your music.TO THELMA, yes you Thelma ha Hey Sue, Glad to hear that things are getting back to normal for you. Good luck for 2009. Thankyou again for being a moderator on my yahoo group and helping Sandie out.To Toni 4 prison reform. Happy new year, thankyou for the info that you gave sandie to send to me, much appreciated, I haven't read it all through yet, but I will. Thanks also for being a moderator in my yahoo group. Happy New Year.GABRIEL AND CARO. Sending much love to you both, happy new year.To Rebecca ( Ducki) To my newest penpal, thanks for being a friend, and thankyou for helping Sandie out. I know she really does appreciate your help. Happy New Year.To SB. The other SB, Hi Manu Hey girl how ya doing. I know you and Sandie are close, but no you can not marry her, shes mine. (smile) Seriously though Im glad she has a good friend in you.MY Queen. Baby I am missing you so much, I cant wait to see those New years Eve Pics, now with you and my step daughter together, lawd have mercy. One day il see that for myself. Yous two together are badddddddd news (smile). It still leaves a smile on my face, when Mama telephoned you, Mama wrote to me and told me, Tasha had not long had baby liam home, it was quite late, and Liam must have woke up, and Tasha came running down the stairs and all Mama heard from my stepdaughter Tasha was "that just aint right" yes I sure like that saying. Baby I know its been a hard few years for you, I know this, With your health, the other, and all the criticisms you get by doing what you do, Yet you still keep going love, you still keep fighting the fight for me. Give Kye a kiss and hug from me. I love you my Queen. To MY Stepdaughter Tasha Ok Tasha, Please give my grandson a hug from me. I suppose a hug for you too madam (smile) Your Mum sent me the photos of the recent ones of Liam, he has come on so well Tasha, you are blessed to have that Child, Its so hard to believe that Liam was born 12 weeks early, and he is doing so well. It was a nice birthday present for me, I mean my birthday is the 3rd June, your baby was born4th june 08, my sisters baby girl was born 4th june 08 your moms birthday is 5th june, And your mom and my mama became nannas the same day, this is something we will celebrate every single year. I hope I get home to see little Liam grow up, Please always tell him that grandpops Reg thinks of him often.To all on my myspace page, and my yahoo support group, Happy New Year.Reg (omari)1981- ????

Reggie Blanton Granted an Appeal Hearing

Texas death row inmate to appear in court

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