In August 2023, a SIS officer at FCI Cumberland gave me a shot for striking another inmate with my fist. The officers claimed it was shown on video, without producing it, and I was found guilty by the DHO officer. However, the incident never occurred. (I heard a lieutenant tell the SIS officer that the video didn't show me hit anyone, but he replied, "It doesn't matter; I'm writing him a shot anyway.") I appealed the DHO report, but the appeal “disappeared.” It never made it to the post office. I therefore went to court. Now we are in court and the prison refuses to produce the video. Instead, it has submitted a sworn statement from the DHO testifying that he reviewed the video and accurately summarized it in his report. The law in the Fourth Circuit is very clear: If prison officials won't produce a video to support their version of events, it creates a "strong" presumption that they are lying about what the tape shows.To be continued.
August 2023